Telecom/1996-04-telecom-walnutcreek.iso/back.issues/1993.volume.13/vol13.iss301-350

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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #301

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 4 May 93 00:17:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 301

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: CCITT Standards on Line (Stephen Tell)
    Re: Caller ID Information to a PC (Paul Robinson)
    Re: AT&T Sent Me $75 (Ronald S. Woan)
    Re: Zero Plus Dialing (Todd Inch)
    Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem (Todd Inch)
    Re: Need: Coupler With Answer Supervision (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Phone Service Expected to Save Lives (Kevin W. Williams)
    Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally? (Mark Fraser)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello") (Paul Gatker)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello") (David Tamkin)
    Strange "Hello's" (was The War on the Word "Hello") (John Schmidt)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Larry D. Tumbleson)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (John Schmidt)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
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The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
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Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
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Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Stephen Tell)
Subject: Re: CCITT Standards on Line
Date: 3 May 1993 15:27:57 -0400
Organization: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Ing. Hugo E. Garcia Torres) writes:

> I am looking for a online source of the CCITT standards, does anyone
> know where to find them, maybe via ftp??? All the help would be
> appreciated.

No ftp yet, but the ITU runs a mail server.  I forget where I found
out about this service.  Below is part of the help file, for brevity
I've only included enough to show how to get the complete help file.

TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM)

The Teledoc Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM) is a "robot" electronic
mailbox at ITU headquarters with access to the ITU Document Store. You
can send electronic mail to the TAM as you would send electronic mail
to a person outside your organization or company. However, your
message should only contain simple commands (see TELEDOC AUTO-
ANSWERING MAILBOX COMMANDS below). When the TAM receives a message, it
scans it for commands which it interprets and processes. It then
constructs and mails a reply back to you.

TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX EMAIL ADDRESS

The TAM is based on the CCITT X.400 electronic messaging standard.
Therefore, X.400 addressing conventions should be used. The TAM X.400
address is:

S=teledoc; P=itu; A=arcom; C=ch

The TAM can also be addressed using Internet RFC-822 conventions. This
address is:

[e-mail]

If you do not have direct access to either X.400 or Internet RFC-822
compliant mail, most major email service providers (e.g., MCI,
Compuserve) provide gateway facilities and can access the TAM.  See
Annex A for further information.  Also see Annex C for comments on
access from UUCP sites.

 TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX COMMANDS

The commands that you can send to the TAM consist of a command word
followed, in some cases, by an argument. Commands and arguments can be
specified in upper, lower or mixed case.

Every line of your mail message to the TAM should contain a valid
command. Only commands contained in the mail message are interpreted.
All other lines and the mail subject field are ignored (you can use
the subject field to document queries for your own use). Up to 50
lines per message are processed by the TAM. Each valid command
generates a separate reply.

START

This optional command tells the TAM to begin processing commands after
this line. If this command is present, any text in the mail message
before this command is ignored.

TEST

This command is used to test that the TAM can receive mail from your
electronic mail system and can also respond back to your mail system.
The TAM will acknowledge your message and send a help file. Typically,
if you have not received a reply within 48 hours, there is a
connectivity problem between your electronic mail system and the TAM.


HELP

This command sends the latest help file listing and explaining the
commands understood by the TAM (which may differ from this manual due
to enhancements).

END

This optional command tells the TAM to ignore the rest of the mail
message. This command is required if your mail message contains text
after your commands that you want the TAM to ignore (e.g., your
signature).

Here is an example message to the TAM using some of the commands
listed above.

           --------------------------------------------------
TO: S=teledoc; P=itu; A=arcom; C=ch (X.400)
    or
    [e-mail] (Internet RFC-822)
FROM: (NAME)
SUBJECT: (IGNORED)

START
HELP
END

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

This message above asks the TAM to send a help file listing and
explaining TAM commands.


Steve Tell       [e-mail] H: 919 968 1792  | #5L Estes Park apts
UNC Chapel Hill Computer Science W: 919 962 1845  | Carrboro NC 27510

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

Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 16:04:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Caller ID Information to a PC
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


The writer wanted to find a low-cost means to have a PC read the
Caller-ID information, other than spending hundreds of dollars for a
Xytel modem or some such.

If Canada uses the same Caller ID information as the US, then you
could get one of the boxes that Bell Atlantic sells.  They are about
US $50, and they return the information on the serial port, so you
read it just like an external data device, e.g. a modem.

I'm not sure where they sell them where you are, but you might be able
to order it.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ronald S. Woan)
Subject: Re: AT&T Sent Me $75
Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 20:10:01 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Austin School of Hardknocks


This is probably a dumb question but how much of that $75 would have
to go to the local telephone company for switching carriers?


------All Views Expressed Are My Own And Not Necessarily Shared By IBM-----
Ronald S. Woan       (IBM VNET)WOAN AT AUSTIN, [e-mail]
outside of IBM                       [e-mail] or [e-mail]
others     [e-mail] Prodigy: XTCR74A Compuserve: 73530,2537


[Moderator's Note: Probably five or ten dollars of it at most.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Zero Plus Dialing
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Mon, 03 May 93 19:21:27 GMT


Almost one year ago, a charge from ZPD showed up as an additional page
to our GTE bill.

It was a credit-card call, placed from and to locations and times
where we weren't at.  My wife made the preliminary calls, but she
says:

ZPD said they were made on our (ROC) telephone credit card, and gave
that number back as our telephone number plus a bogus PIN.  (Why they
were giving out a customer's PIN to someone who may or may not be that
customer is another issue.)

They said we'd have to call another firm (don't recall) who,
apparently, is either an AOS or a COCOT owner.

The other firm said complaints had to go through ZPD.

ZPD now says that the other firm is in Chapter 11 and can no longer be
contacted.  ZPD agreed to remove the charges.

All the above happened during the first month after receiving the
bill, almost a year ago.  This month, we decided to follow up, since
the charges were never credited, so we've not been paying that portion
of the bill and have had a "balance" from the previous month for the
last year.

When trying to contact ZPD through their MCI-owned 800 number a few
days ago, about 70 percent of the time you got through to their ACD
which said the next rep would help, then hung up after only about one
minute of holding.

The other 30 percent of the time, the call did not complete but
resulted in dead air with a funny echo in the background.  I started
putting that on hold to see how long it would keep the lines tied up --
it went on for several hours (hopefully costing ZPD or MCI some $$)
but then I dropped the call because the blinking on-hold line makes it
hard to sleep (I have REAL incandescent lamps in my REAL phones :-)

The next day my wife got through to ZPD, who said they had no record
of the call, but would we please send a copy of our phone bill so they
could check into it.  No, they were not going to get a copy of our
bill at our cost for photocopying and postage.  Well then, the rep
said, she could try to find it on microfiche and would try to credit
us ...

So, I called GTE, who still said that ZPD had to credit THEM first.
After insisting on speaking to a supervisor, and explaining that we
were no longer willing to deal with ZPD, they agreed to send some form
to ZPD "on our behalf" and credit our account.  Essentially, the GTE
supervisor said that they could still try to bill us, but that GTE
would no longer attempt to collect the disputed amount.

We'll see ...

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Mon, 03 May 93 19:30:51 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Carl
Oppedahl) writes:

>Both suggestions are right on point.  In my experience, the wire that
>has pair one as blue/white and white/blue, and pair two as
>orange/white and white/orange, and so on, tends to be twisted pair.

Yes, the four-conductor solid colored stuff isn't usually "paired".  I
think the older underground drop stuff may be an exception, though,
does anybody know for sure?  Also, I've seen some six-conductor
red/green/yellow/black/white/blue stuff used by GTE which actually IS
paired.  But these are exceptions, of course.

>And anybody doing their own wiring should install network interface
>jacks at the demarc point ... so that tests of this kind are easy to
>do just by plugging in two phones.

I thought it was the telco's responsibility to install a demarc JACK?
Around here (WA state) the new ones (residential) are all demarc/jack
combinations, and I've had the telco "fix up" the old ones by
replacing the protector/junction block with a demarc/jack at no charge
when I wanted to add wiring.  Anyone ever have a telco refuse to do
this, or has anybody else ever asked?

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Need: Coupler With Answer Supervision
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Mon, 03 May 1993 22:05:12 GMT


>> For an upcoming demo, I need to find a coupling device to which I can
>> feed audio that will answer when the line "rings", supply the audio
>> over the line, the hang up when the far end does.  Who might make such
>> a device?

> A couple companies come to mind.  Try Henry Engineering, phone
> 818 355 3656 and Telos Systems at 216 241 7225.

    Just found an ad for another coupler ... try Comrex Corp, 65
Nonset Path, Acton, MA 01720, phone [phone], fax [phone].


Harold

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

From: [e-mail] (Kevin W. Williams)
Subject: Re: Phone Service Expected to Save Lives
Organization: gte
Date: Mon, 3 May 1993 17:44:17 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
writes:

> Regarding the ROC allowing outgoing 911 calls only rather than entire
> disconnects to former customers:

> What does this really cost the telco (or the paying customers) to have
> this service *available*?

> I say "*available*" because we all probably agree that the actual use
> of this service (e.g. handling a 911 call) is paid for in other ways
> by (generally speaking) taxpayers or others who would pay regardless
> of who made the call from what phone (e.g. out-of-towner from payphone.)

> So my question is: Is there any real cost difference between
> disconnecting a line vs monitoring it for an outgoing call?  Seems
> like the hardware is already in place and there would be few if any
> cases where a connected line would actually prevent another (paying)
> customer from being connected due to lack of hardware. The percent-
> ages should be so small that they aren't even considerations for the
> sizing of the hardware.

> If there is no actual extra expenditure to do this, the "give a car to
> people who can't afford it for emergency use" analogy is a poor one.

> I agree that I shouldn't be forced to pay for others who can't/won't
> pay for service, but WOULD I really pay more?

First, I believe you are talking about what service is provided to
people on Temporary Disconnect, not people who have no phone service
initially. The whole purpose of TD is to save money: rather than send
an installer out to disconnect, and again to reconnect, you just set a
software flag. TD customers are normally routed to an announcement or
quiet, depending on the operating company.

Moving a TD customer to a group which only recognised the 911 routing
would be primarily an administrative difference. I suspect that all of
the digital switches could be tricked into doing it (even though you
would have to go through some less obvious menus/commands to get
there).

Usually, a TD customer only stays there for a matter of days or weeks.
Putting them in 911 only mode is probably no more expensive than
regular TD. A permanent service like this would probably be just as
expensive as regular service, so I cannot see it being on more than a
temporary basis.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Fraser)
Subject: Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally?
Organization: Wimsey Information Services
Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 03:34:12 GMT


If memory serves me correctly, the tariff in W. Canada is about $150
per month, plus a $300 install charge for 2B+D.  The 'D' is not
accessible to user data due to tariff and jurisdictional disputes.  By
the way, only the main VAncouver city core will get ISDN immediately,
with future deployments over several years.  The tariff, by the way,
is roughly equal to two "business" lines.  I havn't seen what the
non-busines tariff will be.


Mark

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Gatker)
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 03:34:43 GMT


On my answering machine I say: "You have reached 8071. Please leave a
message."

Why should I tell a _strange-r- caller my complete phone number? Ever
hear of a reverse phone book?

Even with Caller-ID, an individual can toggle it off if desired, as I
understand it. (At least here in NY).


ttyl,

[e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 3 May 93 22:49 CDT
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Organization: Contributor Account at MCS, Chicago, Illinois  60657
From: [e-mail] (DWT)


Monty Solomon wrote in <[e-mail]> in
comp.dcom.telecom:

> On a few occasions I have reached an incorrect long distance number
> and tried to ascertain the number that I reached from the party that
> answered the phone so that I could get credit for the call ...

At least in the USA, as far back as the introduction of Direct
Distance Dialing in the early 1960's, the only requirement for getting
credit for long-distance misdials was to find out the city you had
reached; there was never a need to get the whole phone number.

Whether a given long-distance carrier can give credit immediately
after the call to the wrong number or only after the bill is issued,
it seems logical to me that by the time the operator or billing rep-
resentative can find out the amount that was charged [in order to cal-
culate the credit] (s)he can also find out the number called, and it
shouldn't be much different from the number you intended to dial.

[Sigh; local calls didn't seem to work that way for the longest time
 here. Illinois Bell had a penchant for issuing credit for the cost
 of the call you intended rather than for the cost of the call you
 made. Often that worked out to their disadvantage.]

>  ... or to make sure that I correctly dialed the call.

After finding out that you've reached a wrong number, if you want to
find out whether you had been told an incorrect number or had made a
mistake in dialing, you can ask "Have I reached NPA-NXX-XXXX?" instead
of "What's your number?"

> The called party seems to think that their number is a big secret and
> refuses to divulge it which is quite silly since it will appear on my
> phone bill.

Meanwhile, until you get that bill (or perhaps never if your carrier
removes the charge immediately), you won't know their number, and by
the time you get the bill you're likely to have forgotten whose num-
ber that is.  They don't know who you are nor what kind of person they
are dealing with, so I can't blame them for preferring it that way.


David W. Tamkin   Box 59297   Northtown Station, Illinois  60659-0297
[e-mail]   CompuServe: 73720,1570   MCI Mail: 426-1818

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

Date: Tue, 04 May 1993 00:09:26 EDT
From: JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]>
Subject: Strange "Hello's" (was The War on the Word "Hello")


When I worked for Grumman Aerospace in the late '60s, I was on a Space
Station proposal effort for a while.  (you see how far things have
progressed in 25 years :-( ) Anyway, the secretary used to answer the
phone (which had Direct Inward Dialing) "Space Station".  All too
often the result was a couple of seconds of stunned silence or a
"huh", followed by a hangup.  This was at the time of the Apollo
flights, and well, some people thought they had a REAL long distance
wrong number!


John H. Schmidt, P.E.        Internet: [e-mail]
Technical Director, WBAU     Phone--Days     [phone]
Adelphi University                  Evenings [phone]
Garden City, New York 11530  Fax-------------[phone]

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

Date: Tue, 04 May 1993 01:44:10 +0000 (GMT)
From: [e-mail] (Larry D Tumbleson)
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers
Organization: Cintech Tele-Management


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Larry Jones) writes:

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

>> Which leads me to ask a related if somewhat trivial question. What are
>> telephone keypads laid out in a different orientation that calculators
>> or even the numeric keypads on PC's or terminals (the 123 row is at
>> the top while it's at the bottom for calculators and keypads). I find
>> this quite annoying at times. Weren't at least calculators and/or
>> terminals with keypads around before the advent of pushbutton
>> telephones?

The way that I have heard it told is that the equipment at the time
just couldn't handle the speed at which keypunch operators could bang
in digits.  A reverse pattern was used to slow them down just enough
so that misdialing wouldn't be a problem. I assume that it was thought
that most of the people wouldn't really care one way or the other.

> They were around, but only a miniscule fraction of the telephone-using
> population had ever used one.  Most calculators went by the name
> "adding machine" and were used by accountants.  Electric adding
> machines where most common, electronic adding machines were just
> starting to become available.  Terminals were rare -- most computer
> users were still using punched cards and magnetic tape.  Bell Labs did
> an extensive time and motion study of various button arrangements with
> random telephone users and picked the current arrangement as having
> the best combination of speed and accuracy.

If speed in accuracy were what they were after I think that the in
place "standard" for adding machines and keypunches would have been
used. Then again I can't figure out why any Bell does what it does
NOW, let alone back then.


Rick Goodrich    Cintech Tele-Management Systems

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

Date: Tue, 04 May 1993 00:21:54 EDT
From: JOHN SCHMIDT <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers


In cleaning up some old {New York Times} recently, I came upon the
article describing NY Telephone's new voice dialing service.  In the
article NYTel claimed that 20% of all dialed phone calls (I assume
both rotary and Touch Tone) were dialed wrong!  They claimed that, as
I recall, the voice dialer was something like 90% accurate after one
try and 99% after two, which was better than manual dialing.  I don't
know what they meant by "tries".

I find it hard to believe that 20% of all calls are misdialed.  Time
for either some new phones or new fingers! (or maybe new memory cells
in the brain.)

Also I'm old enough to remember "voice dialing", except we didn't
consider it a feature, and the clicks on the line told you someone
else was trying to reach you, you'd better hang up. No *70 to disable
call waiting before modem calls; of course no modems either!

For that matter you can dial "0" (or "00" for long distance) and still
get the old fashoned "voice dialing", for a slight per call surcharge ;-} .


John H. Schmidt, P.E.        Internet: [e-mail]
Technical Director, WBAU     Phone--Days     [phone]
Adelphi University                  Evenings [phone]
Garden City, New York 11530  Fax-------------[phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #301
******************************










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Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 03:11:14 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #302

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 6 May 93 03:11:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 302

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    PSI Introduces World-Dial Service (Monty Solomon)
    Motorola Alpha Cell Phone (Don Updyke)
    Another Interesting Intercept (Matthew Stone)
    Re: How I answer the phone (was The War on "Hello") (Tara Mahon)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on "Hello") (David Reeve Sward)
    Re: How I answer the phone (was The War on "Hello") (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility (Gregory A Lucas)
    Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility (Russell E. Sorber)
    Re: Can an Unlisted Number in US be Found? (Bob Sherman)
    Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally? (E Essenberg)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Guy J. Sherr)
    Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features (Tony Piper)
    Re: Want Digital Voice Recorder and Panel Phones (Roger Theriault)
    Re: AT&T Sent Me $75 (David E. Sheafer)
    Keypad Orders (A. Padgett Peterson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: PSI Introduces World-Dial Service
Date: Thu, 06 May 1993 00:03:37 CDT
Organization: Performance Systems International, Inc. Reston Virginia.



                FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                  PSI INTRODUCES WORLD-DIAL REMOTE DIALUP
                ACCESS TO THE OFFICE AND THE GLOBAL INTERNET

RESTON, VA, April 23, 1993 -- Mobile workers and telecommuters can
access their workplace or any Internet computer using PSI's
inexpensive dialup service announced this week.

Performance Systems International, Inc. (PSI), the nation's largest
provider of commercial Internet access and internetworking services,
has launched World-Dial in more than 40 cities across the U.S.

With it, users can reach their corporate site's local area network
(LAN) with its computers and data resources or Internet host computers
all over the world from home computers, terminals or portable laptops.
World-Dial is a means of extending access to users who are away from
the office but still need the resources of their office and the
Internet.

World-Dial can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  There is no
extra charge for telephone or electronic mail support from PSI's
Customer Support Group (CSG).

Pricing for World-Dial includes a one-time registration fee of $19 and
non-prime time usage rates as low as $1.25 an hour.  There is a
minimum monthly usage fee of $9.

World-Dial supports all the standard Internet interactive terminal
access protocols, such as telnet and rlogin.  In addition, telnet 3270
(or tn3270), a standard for IBM 3270 access over TCP/IP, is supported
for those IBM hosts attached to the Internet.

For network graphics users, the commercial standard of XRemote is
supported, numerous X-terminals and X-terminal software packages
support it on personal computers.

To access World-Dial, users need only a terminal or communications
package such as Cross Talk, MacTerminal or Kermit for PC or Macintosh,
and a modem.  World-Dial supports 1200, 2400, 9600 and 14400 baud
access, along with V.42 and V.42bis error correction and compression
on all 9600 and 14400 baud rotaries.

If users have an X-terminal or X-software package supports XRemote,
then the addition of a modem should provide them with Internet X
access at 9600 (V.32) or 14400 baud (V.32bis).

PSINet is nationally deployed with V.32bis modems; in the future,
V.Fast will be available.

PSI is a value-added internetworking services provider with a wide
variety of services for individual and corporate users of electronic
information.  Services range from electronic mail products to turnkey
integration of local area networks into the PSINet wide area network
system and the Internet.

                                # # # #

All brands, products and service names mentioned are the trademarks or
registered service marks of their respective owners.

For further information, contact Kimberly Brown of PSI at:
Suite 1100, 11800 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA, 703-620-6651 (phone),
703-620-4586 (fax), or [e-mail] (e-mail); or Michael Vernetti of
Kaufman Public Relations at 202-333-0700 (phone), 202-337-0449 (fax)
or [e-mail] (e-mail).

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

From: Don Updyke <[e-mail]>
Subject: Motorola Alpha Cell Phone
Organization: NCR NPG St Paul Minnesota
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 00:00:00 GMT


A new form of communications has occured today. Motorola has a new
very small cell phone that offers a NEW VALUE added. Its lock is
really disable not lock. I thought that lock was keep other people out
not make it not workable by anyone.

My wife bought a new phone and it is smaller, lighter and better
quality.  It has an alpha name/number display. However if you lock it
with a function 5 it has a really interesting FEATURE ??, its lock
makes it not allow out or incoming calls.  It is disabled just as if
you had powered it off.

Now I figured out that not all value adds are positive some feature
can add negative value to the product.

Does anyone know a way to make lock work like the rest of the industry
and only lock others from using the device and not disable it from any
and all uses?

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 21:32:38 MDT
From: [e-mail] (Matthew Stone)
Subject: Another Interesting Intercept


I was trying to dial an 800 number from my house (Toronto, Canada)
using Bell Canada (dunno if this matters) but I must have mis-dialed
as I got the following intercept:

The number you have reached 090-8388 is not in service ... (and it
goes on).

The actual number I dialed was 800-621-3232 and I know that 090 is not
a legit prefix.  So what's up with this?


Matthew

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 93 00:38:05 EDT
From: ptrph![e-mail] (Tara Mahon)
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Organization: PTR Prentice Hall


> When I shared a house on Major Street in Toronto with some other
> people, I would answer the shared house phone with the words "Sixteen
> Major".

In college, I shared a house with my boyfriend and eleven of his
roommates (all men).  They also liked to answer the phone with the
street address of the house.  Unfortunately, we lived at 25 Dix
Street.  Yes, everyone answered the phone with a charming "25 Dix!"
The abbreviated term was just "Dix!"

As you can imagine, living with that many people creates a long list
of unclaimed calls.  We would flip through 40 pages of a phone bill
and have at least a full five pages unclaimed.  One month, sick of not
knowing to whom we were placing these calls, an ambitious roommate
decided to call some of the more expensive unclaimed numbers to find
out who was on the other end, thus discovering who owed the phone bill
money.  He would begin the conversation by saying that someone at
Rutgers had called this number, but he didn't know who.

He:    "We have your number on our phone bill.  Do you know
        someone at Rutgers University?"
They:  "I don't know -- who is this calling?"
He:    "I am calling from 25 Dix."

And he wondered why they hung up.

(And the next month we had another unclaimed call.)


Tara Mahon    PTR Prentice Hall    [e-mail]

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

From: David Reeve Sward <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Date: Thu,  6 May 1993 07:44:04 GMT
Organization: Sophomore, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


> [Moderator's Note: Either that, or you could say something lewd, crude
> and rude about John's activities at the moment and why he isn't willing
> to come to the phone. That always stops 'em dead in their tracks.  PAT]

I tend to offer to take a message and mumble "uh-huh" a few times while
they give me something to write down.  They're satisfied, I'm
satisfied and they don't call back.  :)


David Sward    [e-mail]    Finger or email for PGP public key 3D567F

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

Date: 06 May 93 08:19:35 GMT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")


> I'll then repeat the company name, and still hear nothing.  I'll say
> "Hello?" -- then, <click><whirr><tape hiss> and the recording starts.

At which point I transfer the call to "Call Park".  The telemarketer
pays for his outgoing lines by the minute so I want to be sure that he
gets the full benefit of my "on hold" message for that time.  When his
machine disconnects, my telephone system automatically drops the call.

Kind of like reverse telemarketing.


Brian Vita   CI$70702,2233    CSS, Inc.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gregory A Lucas)
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 12:48:20 GMT


[e-mail] (Jan Richert) writes:

> [e-mail] (Yuan Jiang) writes:

>> I want to buy a cellular phone in the US or Europe, which can be used
>> in Hong Kong.  A cellular phone in Hong Kong costs twice as much as in
>> the US.  But a regular cellular phone from the US market does not work
>> in Hong Kong.  Here are my questions.
>> 1) Are there any venders who sell cellular phones that is compatible
>> with those in Hong Kong?
>> 2) Are cellular phones in Europe compatible with those in Hong Kong?
>> Is it just the frequency difference between phones in the US and HK?

> The Motorola GSM cellular phones sold in the US do work fine with the
> German GSM networks without modifications. There is just one
> difference: The US version of the Motorola phones do not have a slot
> for your SIM-card. Instead of this there is an ID burned into the
> phone. So you have to find a service provider in Germany who accepts
> this (we found one).

Motorola does not sell GSM phones in the US.  GSM will not be used in
the US, US TDMA and CDMA will be the digital systems used here.  The
current US phones are AMPS analog (there are a few TDMA phones being
sold).

Hong Kong has two separate types of analog systems -- TACS and AMPS,
with GSM being planned for the near future.  Note AMPS and TACS use
different frequencies.

Currently, England and Spain are using TACS -- so their phones will,
in theory, work in Hong Kong.  AMPS phones from the US will work on
the Hong Kong AMPS system.  I have no idea as to how you would
register your phone in Hong Kong, you should contact the two service
suppliers before you buy.


Greg Lucas
Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group - Arlington Heights, IL
"These are my opinions and not Motorola's"

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

From: [e-mail] (Russell E. Sorber)
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 14:45:49 GMT


[e-mail] (Jan Richert) writes:

> The Motorola GSM cellular phones sold in the US do work fine with the
> German GSM networks without modifications. There is just one
> difference: The US version of the Motorola phones do not have a slot
> for your SIM-card. Instead of this there is an ID burned into the
> phone. So you have to find a service provider in Germany who accepts
> this (we found one).

Be careful!  The vast majority of US cellular phones are AMPS/EAMPS
and not GSM.  Besides frequency and encryption differences, GSM is
digital and AMPS is analog.  These systems are vastly incompatible.

I'm sure that Motorola would be delighted to sell you a GSM phone,
they were the first to demonstrate a working GSM system at a German
trade show in 1991, but this is a different phone than you can buy at
your local US retailer.  In fact, I know of no US retailers that sell
GSM.

According to my information (1990 Cellular Data Handbook), Hong Kong
is a mixture of TACS, AMPS and has "great interest" in a GSM system.
I have since read that GSM has been added to the Hong Kong mix of
systems.  China runs almost exclusively TACS cellular systems which is
an anlog system with a different frequency range and different channel
spacing than US AMPS systems.


Russ Sorber
Software Contractor  -    Opinions are mine, Not Motorolas!
Motorola, Cellular Division    Arlington Hts., IL  [phone]

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

From: Bob Sherman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Can an Unlisted Number in US be Found?
Date: 6 May 1993 03:53:49 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Yoav Weiss (Mack))
writes:

> When I order an UNLISTED NUMBER in the US, can it possible be found?
> (Legally/illegally) ... if so, how do I prevent it?  How can anyone
> find it?

In addition to the public record means of obtaining un-listed numbers
that Pat has already mentioned, let me just say this. For the right
amount of $$$$ and the right contacts, any unlisted number can be
obtained. There are many places that offer this ILLEGAL service. In
addition, if you call certain types of numbers from your unlisted
telephone, your number will appears on their bills, register on their
ISDN ANI equipment etc. And then of course there is Caller ID.


[e-mail]    MCI MAIL:BSHERMAN
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Eelco Essenberg)
Subject: Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally?
Organization: Delft University of Technology
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 09:04:39 GMT


Hello!

The ISDN tarrifs in the Netherlands, for 2B+D connections, are as
follows:

    NFL 800,- first time connection charge,
    NFL 80,- per month subscription fee.

These figures are approximate, but should be within a few guilders of
the correct numbers. The exchange rate at the moment is approx.
1.80NFL/US$.  Additional charges apply per connection; I don't know
rates for that.

The Dutch PTT is using the German ISDN standard at the moment. They
plan to move to the European standard as soon as that will be
definitive. Makes you wonder what is going to happen to all the early
subscribers!


Greetings from the Netherlands,

Eelco Essenberg     [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 13:31 GMT
From: Guy J. Sherr <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers


As I recall, New York holds world records for the busiest phone on
earth and for the collection of the highest frequency of misdials
anywhere.  Exactly what the source for knowing a misdial from a
correct one completely escapes me though, unless, perhaps, it employs
the number of credits from disgruntled payphone users.

One technician I spoke with told me that 40% of the pay dialtone isn't
NYNEX anymore.

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

From: [e-mail] (Tony Piper)
Subject: Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features
Organization: Pinnacle Insurance Company Limited
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 03:39:07 GMT


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

> There was no information if there would be any setup charges, but I
> bet TELEKOM always collects bucks for something.

It's good to see that hard American dollars are still in circulation
in post-merger Germany!


Tony Piper
Internet: [e-mail] * Voice: 081 953 4433
CIX     : [e-mail]  * Fax  : [phone]
pinnacle.demon.co.uk is not associated with any other sites
in the demon domain. All opinions are my own, not my boss's


[Moderator's Note: Isn't 'bucks' a slang term for the money of any
country, or does it apply only to US currency?  If the former, then
there is nothing in the message to indicate *USA* money is being
paid.  Or does 'bucks' refer to our money in the United States?  PAT]


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

From: theriaul@mmddvan (Roger Theriault)
Subject: Re: Want Digital Voice Recorder and Panel Phones
Organization: Motorola - Mobile Data Division; Richmond, BC
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 14:16:55 GMT


Proctor & Associates ([e-mail]) wrote:

> I need sources for a couple of items:

> Instant Playback Voice Recorders (used in emergency answering centers
> for digital storage of audio signals, affording instant playback of
> the past 30 seconds or so of speech to aid in deciphering grabled
> speech);

Try Spilsbury Communications (aka RACE Technologies) in Vancouver.
phone [phone]. I'm pretty sure they make a multi-line digital
recorder for 911 etc ... use.


Roger Theriault   Internet: [e-mail]
UUCP: {uw-beaver,uunet}!van-bc!mdivax1!theriaul
CompuServe: 71332,730 (not too often)
I am not a spokesman for Motorola or anyone else besides myself.

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

From: David E. Sheafer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AT&T Sent Me $75
Date: 5 May 93 11:31:31 GMT
Organization: Merrimack College, No. Andover, MA, USA


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Ronald S. Woan) writes:

> This is probably a dumb question but how much of that $75 would have
> to go to the local telephone company for switching carriers?

AT&T adds the switching fee in the check, eg. New England Tel charges
$5.00 and AT&T sent $80


David E. Sheafer
internet:  [e-mail]   or  uucp:      samsung!hubdub!nin15b0b
GEnie:     D.SHEAFER             Cleveland Freenet:    ap345

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 93 01:55:49
From: [e-mail] (A. PADGETT PETERSON)
Subject: Keypad Orders


    At one time my wife led a team of inventory clerks and each
was equipped with a "comptometer", essentially a ten-key adding
machine that had the "bottom-up" layout familiar to computer
keyboards. The one in my attic is electric but do remember manual
ones.

    Watching an experienced operator blur those key was quite a
sight and might lead one to wonder if AT&T's intention in reversion of
this "normal" order might have been to slow such people down, much as
QWERTY was developed to keep operators from binding keys on early
typewriters.

    Then again it might be the the engineers had never seen a
"comptometer" and were simply following the rotary dial pattern with 1
at the top and 0 at the bottom.

    Just some thoughts,

    Padgett
        (myself, I prefer the function keys on the left)


[Moderator's Note: The industry 'biggie' from those olden times was
the Victor Comptometer Company. Their office, factory and warehouse
was here in Chicago. They made a wide variety of 'adding machines' as
we used to call them. The earliest models had 'keypads' which
consisted of nine columns (allowing numbers up to 9,999,999.99) and
ten rows, zero through nine. Ninety keys in all, plus a few more keys
for such features as causing the gears inside to work in reverse
(subtraction), a lock/unlock key to retain the previous entry as
needed, etc.

You had to pull a lever back and forth on the right side as you
entered each number to be added to the total. If you wanted to
multiply some numbers, let's say X times Y, you punched in the digits
of X (each digit locked in place until you pulled the lever forward),
then you pressed the locking key which meant the gears should not
disengage the buttons for the digits of X after the lever was pulled,
then you pulled the lever by hand Y times and on the final pull of the
lever, hit the unlocking key.  Another button caused the gears inside
to work in reverse so that subtraction was performed; and to divide,
of course you entered the dividend one digit at a time, pressed the
subtraction and locking keys, then the divisor digits, and finally
proceeded to pull the right handle back and forth, counting to
yourself as you went along, until the handle refused to move further,
at which point the number you had reached in your counting equalled
the quotient. What you did with the few gears inside left unturned at
that point (as advised in the little window display on the top) was
your business.

Many were the help wanted advertisements in the {Chicago Tribune} in
the 1950's which listed a job opening 'for a clerk who is experienced
in operating the Victor Comptometer or Burroughs Adding Machine
Company mechanical accounting tools'. By the 1950's, the hand crank
model was on the way out as companies everywhere converted to the
'new, modern' version of the same machine which was driven
electrically. Instead of yanking his crank all day, the accounting
clerk's job became easy; just touch a button when all the digits had
been entered -- the 'adding machine' would make a whirring noise and
spit a piece of paper out the top with all your figures neatly typed
out and totalled for you. As kids we thought it very funny to 'trick
the machine' by attempting division by zero: this would produce
machine infinity; the motor would hum forever until someone cycled the
power completely. On the other hand, with the old crank machines, if
you entered a zero as the divisor, you were welcome to stand there and
yank the crank until your arm fell off ... the machine didn't care!  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #302
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #303

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 6 May 93 03:43:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 303

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    What I've Been up to Lately - Windows Telephony (Toby Nixon)
    Framingham Phone Scam (Middlesex News via Adam M. Gaffin)
    France Direct vs Home Direct (Jean-Bernard Condat)
    Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted (Steven King)
    Bogus 800 Billing (Paul S. Sawyer)
    GSM Mobile Now in Oz (David M. Miller)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Toby Nixon)
Subject: What I've Been up to Lately - Windows Telephony
Date: 05 May 93 17:23:39 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond WA, USA


   Many of you may have wondered what I've been working on since
leaving Hayes and coming to Microsoft four months ago.  Well, it was
announced yesterday: Windows Telephony.  I've attached the original
press release below.  Copies of the preliminary version of the
specifications are available for downloading from Library 1 of the
WINEXT forum on CompuServe, and from ~ftp/vendor/microsoft on
ftp.uu.net (the file names are AP0503.EXE and SP0503.EXE, both
self-extracting ZIP archives). Developer inquiries and support are
being handled through Microsoft's normal support channels (e.g., on
WINEXT forum).  My time is pretty much taken up working on getting the
Windows Telephony SDK to market (later this summer), so I won't be
able to answer very many questions directly.  To get on the mailing
list for further information on Windows Telephony, send email to
[e-mail].


Toby Nixon
Program Manager - Windows Telephony
Digital Office Systems Group
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA


     For Release 9 a.m. PDT
     May 4, 1993

Intel and Microsoft to Enable Integration of Personal Computers and
Telephones Major PC and Telecom Participants Join in Support

   DALLAS, - May 4, 1993 - Intel Corporation and Microsoft
Corporation, joined by leading telecommunications and PC industry
companies worldwide, today announced a standard way to integrate the
telephone with the personal computer.

   Future products to add telephony functions to the PC will be based
on a new specification, called Windows Telephony Application
Programming Interface (API), that Intel, Microsoft and industry
participants have co-developed for the Microsoft(R) Windows operating
system.  The specification was reviewed and is supported by
approximately 40 companies, including major telephone- switch
manufacturers, PC and peripheral manufacturers, software developers
and network providers (see attached list).

Products to Add New Functions to PCs:

   Products based on the specification will enhance existing PC
applications and enable new applications.  Applications such as
database managers, personal information managers, spreadsheets, and
word processors will benefit by gaining direct access to the telephone
network. New communications applications enabled by Windows Telephony
include:

   *    Visual call control that uses the PC+s graphical user interface for
        call forwarding, conferencing and call transfer

   *    Integration of electronic mail, voice mail and fax

   *    Desktop audio and video conferencing

   *    Wide area networking that allows PCs to use the telephone network for
        both voice and data transmission

   The specification is intended to insulate PC users and applications
developers from the underlying computer hardware, connection model or
telephone network being used, including PBX, ISDN, Centrex, cellular
or analog telephone service.

   "We at Lotus see the Windows Telephony API as the first of a suite
of application programming interfaces we can use to incorporate
telephony into our Workgroup Computing products," said Alex Morrow,
general manager of Cross Product Architecture at Lotus Development
Corporation. "By making good use of the API in our workgroup
applications, we+re hoping to streamline business communications."

   "We fully support the Microsoft and Intel initiative on Windows
Telephony for desktop applications," said Tom Lowery, vice president,
Multimedia Applications, Northern Telecom.  "Open architectures are
essential for stimulating the introduction of high-value applications
that require seamless, transparent interworking between desktops."
According to Lowery, Northern Telecom will support Windows Telephony
as part of the VISIT Access program, which is the open architecture of
the VISIT Multimedia product line.

   "The specification will allow us to help our customers achieve the
efficiencies that come from integrating telephony and PCs," said Peter
Pribilla, group president, Siemens Private Communication Systems Group
and president and CEO of ROLM. "This alliance is another substantial
step in our effort to provide high-efficiency desktop solutions."

Extending the PC Architecture for Real-time Communications:

   "We are pleased to see such strong and unprecedented support from
the software, PC and telecom industry for extending the PC
architecture," said Ron Whittier, Intel vice president and general
manager of Intel+s Architecture Software Technology Group. "As Intel
introduces products based on this work later this year, we are looking
forward to working with our partners in the software and
telecommunications industry to bring exciting applications to PC
users."

   "Windows Telephony allows the integration of information on the PC
with real-time communications, which brings us another step toward the
vision of Information At Your Fingertips," commented Paul Maritz,
senior vice president, Systems Division at Microsoft. "The telephone
has long been an office staple upon which employees have relied to be
effective in their jobs.  With Windows Telephony, resulting products
will not only combine the strengths of the telephone with the power of
the computer, they will open up a whole new world of applications."

   The Windows Telephony application programming interface
specification is part of the Microsoft Windows Open Services
Architecture (WOSA), which provides a single set of open-ended
interfaces to enterprise computing services. WOSA encompasses a number
of APIs, providing applications and corporate developers with an open
set of APIs to which applications can be written and accessed.
Feedback received through the WOSA open process assures a fully
integrated framework and a complete set of telephony features for
software developers, telecommunications manufacturers and PC vendors
to deliver products. WOSA also includes services for data access,
messaging, software licensing, connectivity and financial services.

   Today, Windows Telephony is focused on enabling the desktop and
will be extended to server environments in future releases.
Additionally, Intel and Microsoft will encourage open cooperation with
other system software providers to bring the functionality provided by
the specification to other computing platforms.

Availability:

   Version 1.0 of the Windows Telephony API is available now.  For
more information, check the ISV Specifications library in the IntelR
Access Forum on CompuServeR (GO INTELACCESS). The specification also
is posted on CompuServe (GO WINEXT) and on the Internet at ftp.uu.net
~ftp/vendor/microsoft. Or copies can be obtained by faxing the
"Windows Telephony Coordinator" at Microsoft at [phone], or by
sending e-mail to [e-mail].

   Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is an international
manufacturer of microcomputer components, modules, and systems.

   Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader
in software for personal computers.  The company offers a wide range
of products and services for business and personal use, each designed
with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to
take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

#########

Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation.

CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc.

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.

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

From: [e-mail] (Adam M Gaffin)
Subject: Framingham Phone Scam
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 21:59:10 GMT


Middlesex News, Framingham, Mass., 5/4/93

The State We're In, by Tim Greene

"Fed a line by a phone-y"

     Fortini and Wilcox Realty in Natick must be the most cooperative
real estate office in the world.

     Or the most something.

     They tied up one of their four phone lines for a part of every
workday for the past two weeks so the New England Telephone repairman
could work on some faulty lines.

     Only, as it turned out, it wasn't the New England Telephone
repairman at all. It was some guy who was apparently using the line
for phone sex.

     When Jeff Fortini discovered last Saturday that the office was
the victim of a scam, he gave the caller an earful. Then yesterday
morning, the same caller phoned in three more times trying to set up
the same ripoff.

     ``I certainly will be leery the next time,'' said Sharon Fortini,
a partner in the office.

     Here's how it worked:

     A man identifying himself as a telephone repairman phoned and
said he was trying to fix a line and that he needed the help of the
realty office.

     He said an operator would call and ask whether the office would
accept the charges. He asked the office to accept them, but said the
office wouldn't really be charged.

     Sure enough, they got what sounded like a taped woman's voice
saying she was an operator and asking if the office would accept the
charges. Then immediately, the alleged repairman's voice, which also
sounded taped, interrupted and said, "Repair. No charge."

     As they had been instructed, whoever answered the phone in the
realty office pressed the conference button on the phone, put another
line on hold and hung up, leaving the line open on hold.

     They were to leave the line blinking and told not to pick it up
"because we might blow a chip," Fortini said. "We believed that."

     The repair calls came in every day. "We did it for two weeks,"
Fortini said, "sometimes for over an hour." Sometimes they even tied
up their FAX line.

     When the repairman kept it up for more than a week, his
explanation was, "oh, it's a big problem. We've got more lines tied up
than we thought," she said.

     Last Saturday, Jeff Fortini wanted to leave the office and leave
the phone on call-forwarding, but couldn't because the "repair line"
was busy. Frustrated, he called New England Telephone to find out how
to get the repairman off the line without blowing a chip.

     The company told him there were no line repairs going on in
Natick. Fortini picked up the line and heard part of a sexually
explicit phone call. He hung up, figuring the repairman would call
back to reestablish the call.

     The repairman did, and Fortini blasted him. The repairman phoned
again yesterday three times to try to get access to one of the lines,
Sharon Fortini said. "This guy thinks we're real idiots," she said.
"We did it for two weeks, and he had the nerve to call back today."

     New England Telephone said the office would have to wait until
the phone bill comes to find out where the calls were being placed to,
Fortini said. "I never wanted a phone bill so much in my life," she
said.

     Robert Mudge, a spokesman for New England Telephone, said this
type of scam happens off and on, and people who receive similar calls
should just hang up.

     "Under no circumstances do phone company employees need outside
lines seized," he said. "We have trunks in the network to do testing
at no cost or inconvenience to the customer."

     Likewise, they don't ever need credit card or account information,
he said, so don't give it out.

     The state attorney general's office has a name for this scenario:
fraud.

     Sharon Fortini admits feeling naive for being duped so long, but
wants to warn other unsuspecting good Samaritans. "I can't believe how
slick they were," she said.

     Some people are too nice for their own good.


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


[Moderator's Note: For the benefit of newer readers, Adam Gaffin is a
reporter for the {Middlesex News} and a frequent contributor to this
Digest. To Adam, thanks for another splendid contribution!   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 05 May 93 23:59:59 GMT
Subject: France Direct vs Home Direct


The France Direct service offer to all cardholders the possibility to
obtain directly and freely a French operator from some foreign
countries. The price of the phone call begin as soon as the
correspondant begin the call.

Call the following France Direct phone numbers from:

Allemagne   0130 80 003
Argentine   0033 800 999 111
Australie   00 14 881 330
Autriche    022 903 033
Belgique    078 11 00 33*
Bresil      0008 033
Canada      1800 363 40 33 or 1800 463 62 26*
Chine       108 33*
Colombie    980 33 0057 or 980 33 00 10*
Coree (Rep) 009 0330*
Danemark    800 100 33
Emirats
Arab Unies  800 1 9971
Espagne     900 99 00 33
Etats-Unis  800 537 2623 or 800 937 2623
            800 47 372 623 or 800 872 7835
            800 727 8350*
Finlande    98 00 10 330
Gabon       00 033
Hongrie     00 800 033 11
Hong-Kong   800 00 33 or 800 10 33*
Irlande     800 55 10 33 or 800 55 00 33*
Israel      177 330 2727
Italie      172 00 33
Japon       00 39 331 or 00 31 00 55 00 33*
Luxembourg  0 800 00 33*
Malaisie    800 00 33*
Norvege     050 19933
N-Zelande   000 9 33
Pays-Bas    06 022 2033 or 06 022 2533*
Portugal    0505 00 33
Royaume-Uni 0800 33 00 or 800 33 11*
Singapour   800 33 00 or 800 33 11*
Suede       02 07 99 033
Tchecoslo-
   vaquie   00 42 00 3301
Turquie     99 800 33 11 77

For the foreign people visiting France, some phone call exist in France for
a quick and direct access to local facilities:

Algerie     19 00 213
Allemagne   19 00 49
Argentine   19 00 54
Australie   19 00 61
Autriche    19 00 43
Belgique    19 00 32
Bresil      19 00 55
Canada      19 00 16
Colombie    19 00 57
Coree (Rep) 19 00 82
Danemark    19 00 45
Emirats
Arabes Unis 19 00 971
Espagne     19 00 34
Etats-Unis  19 00 11 (AT&T)
            19 00 19 (MCI)
            19 00 87 (Sprint)
Finlande    19 00 358
Gabon       19 00 241
Hong-Kong   19 00 852 or 19 02 852*
Hongrie     19 00 36
Irlande     19 00 353
Italie      19 00 39
Japon       19 00 81 or 19 02 81*
Luxembourg  19 00 352
Norvege     19 00 47
N-Zelande   19 00 64
Pays-Bas    19 00 31
Portugal    19 00 351
Royaume-Uni 19 00 44
Singapour   19 00 65
Suede       19 00 46
Turquie     19 00 90

(*): automatic version of the service for Carte Pastel International' users.

                  _____Jean-Bernard Condat_____
[Editor of _Chaos Digest_, the first computer security e-journal]
            CCCF, B.P. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France
             Phone: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
         InterNet: [e-mail]  or  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven King)
Subject: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 14:34:18 GMT


Does anyone have a circuit diagram for a ring-detector?  I can probably
come up with one myself but I'd rather be lazy if I can ...  :-)

Background: We have a voicemail system here, but 2500-style desk
      telepones.  The only indication that there's a message waiting is
      stutter dialtone.

Need:  Even after having voicemail for a year or more I'm pretty bad at
      remembering to pick up the receiver to check for voicemail after
      meetings or whatever.  I need some sort of visual indicator to
      remind me to check.

Solution:  If a ring-detector lit an LED whenever the phone rang and
      kepth the thing lit until either the phone went offhook or until
      a manual reset I'd at least know when someone called when I was
      away.  It wouldn't be perfect (the caller may not have left a
      message) but it'd at least tell me when I should check.

I thought of making a circuit to take the phone off-hook periodically
to check for stutter tone, but decided that there was too great a
chance of someone calling in during that couple of seconds.  Murphy's
Law says that I'd miss calls (well, they'd be routed to voicemail!)
when the circuit picked up to check for voicemail.

I checked the Telecom Archives for such a circuit but came up empty
handed.  Does anyone have one, or can point me to a reference?  Or
give me a Radio Shack part number?  :-)


Steven King, Motorola Cellular  ([e-mail])

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

Subject: Bogus 800 Billing
Date: 5 May 93 10:43:13 EDT (Wed)
From: [e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer)


I have found a few insights into some of the (IMHO) bogus
800-to-billed call schemes which we have discussed here.  The ones for
which we are being billed are being perpetrated by "Integretel" "on
behalf of" various "information" providers.  I hope that some of the
details which I have discovered will be useful to others with the same
problems.

  1.  Calls billed as "Collect from INFO CALL KS 913 338 1574" on lines
      that do not answer incoming calls.  The calls which generated these
      bill items were outgoing calls to numerous 800- numbers;  The time
      on the bills for these calls was before the time on the SMDR records,
      differing by approx. 10 to 60 minutes, yet the time difference was
      consistant for each month's bill.

  2.  Calls billed as "Calling Card" calls on lines which could not/would
      not be issued calling cards, to LOSANGELES CA 213 628 6753.  To get
      this billing either "02136286753" or "00" should have appeared on
      the SMDR, but these calls were dialed using various 800- numbers,
      the most popular ones being 800 568 7391 and 800 685 7392.
      Billing times have been 4-16 minutes earlier than the SMDR times.

  3.  Calls billed as "Collect from BOSTON MA 617 859 3773" on lines
      that do not answer incoming calls.  The calls which generated these
      bill items were outgoing calls to 800 359 0069, and the billing
      time was 3 HOURS before the SMDR time.

Calling any of the three billed numbers noted above gets a recorded
message giving an address to write to; so far we have not received any
replies by writing.


Paul S. Sawyer    - University of New Hampshire CIS - [e-mail]
Telecommunications and Network Services             - VOX: [phone]
50 College Road                                     - FAX: [phone]
Durham, New Hampshire  03824-3523

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

Subject: GSM Mobile Now in Oz
Date: Thu, 06 May 93 01:05:29 -0500
From: [e-mail]


GSM mobile service was recently begun, in Sydney at least.  The
numbers are 041+7D.


Best regards,
David M Miller     Internet:    [e-mail]
PO Box 695         CompuServe:  100032,341
Hornsby NSW 2077   GEIS/GEnie:  [e-mail]@internet#
Australia

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #303
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #304

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 6 May 93 04:30:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 304

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Bell Canada Botches Large Multi-Line Installation (Nigel Allen)
    900 Number Index (George MacDonald)
    The Perils of Caller-ID -- A Question (Jim DePorter)
    Wanted: Information on Telecom Australia ([e-mail])
    Great Wrong Number (was Misdialed Numbers) (Andrew Robson)
    For Sale: Rhetorex DSP 9432 Voice Processing Board (Raul Rathmann)
    Chicago Tribune Story About Phoneless People (Jim Rees)
    Subsidized Cell Phone? (Laurence Chiu)
    Voice Processing Magazine (Steve Forrette)
    Telephony Impedance Mismatch Problem - Help? (Ed Sinamark)
    The Net in China? (Andy Jacobson)
    Temporary Internet Connection Needed For Conference (Tim Arnold)
    Test Suites For Metropolitian Area Bridged Networks (Michael Mealling)
    Tormenting Telemarketers (Douglas W. Martin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 21:08:03 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Bell Canada Botches large Multi-Line Installation
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Canada Remote Systems, a Toronto-area commercial BBS, moved to a new
building a few days ago, and experienced some interesting problems
with its new phone lines.  Initially, when I called the new numbers, I
would hear a single ring, followed by a fast busy, although I am now
more likely to reach a regular busy signal. The explanation is given
in the following bulletins from CRS to its subscribers:

Problems with CRS Phone Lines
 Monday, May 3, 1993

Since Saturday May 1, CRS's phone lines have been experiencing
difficulty.  Bell Canada is aware of the problem and is working
towards resolving it.  The latest information we have is that the
problem will be resolved sometime during Monday, May 3.

Congratulations to all subscribers who have managed to get online or
reach us by phone since Saturday.  We have no idea why some lines are
working and others aren't.  In fact we are finding that the phone
lines have the annoying habit of going dead with no warning.

Once the phone system is repaired and reliability is restored to the
online systems, we will be extending all subscriptions by the length
of the downtime.  Please have patience as we try to work with Bell
Canada to resolve the difficulties.

Problems with CRS Phone Lines (some further information)

Tuesday, May 4, 1993

It appears that Bell Canada made a serious blunder when doing our new
installation.  Normally on installations of our size, such as law
firms and the like, Bell would normally install the required number of
lines into the building but not necessarily have the capability of
producing dial tones on each.  Bell works on the probability that not
all lines will be active simultaneously, so in a situation such as
ours with 215 lines coming into the building, Bell would normally
assign approximately half that number of possible simultaneous dial
tones.  By the way, we have the capacity for well over 700 lines to
accommodate future expansion.

Of course, it isn't possible to use this technique with us since all
of our lines are data lines which are busy all the time.

Bell only provided us with 128 possible simultaneous dial tones.
While we have machines ready to take your calls, there is no way to
access them until Bell can resolve the situation, which means some
engineering work and more installation.

We have not been able to get CityLink back online due to the
unavailability of phone circuits, but this will be a top priority once
things get straightened out.

We appreciate your patience in this situation.  Quite simply, Bell
goofed.  They are aware of it and rectification of the situation is
underway.

Now for a little good news.  We have upgraded yet another of our file
servers to a 66-megahertz 486DX2, which will increase system
performance. With the move we were able to completely redesign our
Novell network, with fewer nodes on each segment.  This has produced a
very noticeable improvement in performance.  We think once our Bell
troubles have been dealt with, you will be pleased.

(end of CRS bulletin)

CRS is also known as canrem.com.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (George MacDonald)
Subject: 900 Number Index
Organization: MV Communications, Inc.
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 20:18:14 GMT


I bet this has been asked a hundred times! Is there a 900 number index
available online, hardcopy, purchaseable or for free, ftp, email? I
tried the obvious

    1-900-555-1212

Got a rather amusing message:

 Due to network architecture changes this number is no longer in service!

Anybody have info on how to set one up? How much effort does it take,
what's it cost ... who to call?

I was wondering about the viability of offering some kind of data
service via a 900 number. It seems like the easiest approach for very
infrequent access by a large number of users, i.e. a customer may only
call 1/mo, be "online" for less than one minute and I don't want it to
cost more than $1.00.

Would a 900 number be impractical for this?

I use uunet's 900 number on occasion and find the concept very useful,
esp since I don't have to set up any kind of accounting with uunet for
this infrequent access.

Thanks in advance for any pointers,


George MacDonald

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim DePorter)
Subject: The perils of Caller-ID -- A question
Organization: Supercomputer Systems Division (SSD), Intel
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 01:13:29 GMT


Portland OR started caller-ID yesterday with Bell(?). My question is
that I live under GTE lines. GTE doesn't start caller-ID until June.
If I call Portland now will they see my number? Does *67 work even if
caller-ID isn't invoked yet.

  I really see no problem with this, but a lot of people are going to
think that because they're in GTE land they have no concerns until
June. I don't think this is true.


Thanks,

jimd

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Wanted: Information on Telecom Australia
Date: 5 May 93 12:11:38 ACST
Organization: Economics, University of Adelaide


Hi there fellow netters,

I am a university student doing a research on Australia Telecom's use
of fibre optics in their telecommunication lines to link the capital
cities in Australia. What I would like to know is:

i)   is this so?
ii)  what are the hardware and software needed for such links?
iii) what are the advantages and disadvantages of using fibre optics in such
     lines?
iv)  where can I find more information?


Thanks in advance,

cheers,

wizard

e-mail: [e-mail] (Dep't of Commerce, Adelaide Uni)

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Robson)
Subject: Great Wrong Number (was Misdialed Numbers)
Date: 5 May 93 02:40:57 GMT
Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc.


One of the best wrong number stories I ever heard was how a friend of
mine met his wife.

My friend is an imigrant with a distinctive accent and some preference
for speaking his native language.  He had dialed a long distance
number, got it wrong, and had it answered by a woman who told him it
was a wrong number.  But that answer was in his *native language* (as
had been his "is ___ there").

He didn't believe it was a wrong number!  It was much more probable
that his friend was just playing a joke on him.  It took several
minutes of conversation and a second call to the same (formerly wrong)
number to convince him that it was not a joke.

By that time, he and the woman had become quite friendly and had found
that they enjoyed each other's conversation.  One thing led to another
and eventually to a happy (last I heard) marrige and kids.

I thought it was a great story, and suspect it might be true since I
got it first hand.


Andy (N6VRP)

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

From: [e-mail] (Raul Rathmann)
Subject: For Sale: Rhetorex DSP 9432 Voice Processing Board
Date: 5 May 1993 03:15:07 GMT
Organization: CERFnet Dial n' CERF Customer Group


Hi,

I have a Rhetorex DSP 9432 Voice Processing Board for sale.  This is a
very powerful board that handles up to 4 analog phone lines.  It plugs
into a standard AT style bus.  Drivers are available for MS-DOS, UNIX,
OS/2, and MS-Windows. Low quantity pricing is normally about $1150.
It's been plugged in once to run a diagnostic test on it which it
passed with no problems.  I'll sell it for $950.

Email is preferred.


Raul Rathmann            |Computer and Voice| TEL: [phone]
Director                 |  Communications  | Internet: [e-mail]
Rathmann Technology Corp.|    Consulting    | CompuServe: 76400,1263

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Chicago Tribune Story About Phoneless People
Date: 5 May 1993 21:53:55 GMT
Organization: Center for Information and Technology Integration


There was a front page story in the {Chicago Tribune} on Tuesday about
people who can't afford a telephone.  Some people apparently use
beepers as a substitute, since they're cheaper than a phone.
Interesting how the beeper has gone from status symbol of the rich to
phone substitute for the poor.

I was disappointed that the story didn't mention the problem of
disappearing pay phones and pay phones that have been crippled for the
misguided "war on drugs."

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Subsidized Cell Phone?
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access System: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 02:26:22 GMT


I just returned from a business trip to Portland and happened to be in
a local department store where I spotted what seemed like remarkably
deals on cell phones.  There was a Pioneer cell phone which looked
very similar to a Motorola Flip phone for about $299 (might have been
PCC_700 or PCC-900) and a slightly larger model for $99. I was about
to buy one since I had been contemplating getting cellular service
(but in the Bay Area) when I noticed a small sign saying these prices
were only valid with activitation with Cellular One; otherwise add
$300!  I didn't ask at the time (perhaps I should have) but could I
have gotten the same discount by saying I was planning to activate
with Cellular One in the Bay Area?  As an aside, are Pioneer cellular
phones any good?


Laurence Chiu     Walnut Creek, CA


[Moderator's Note: All Cellular Ones are not the same company. They
were talking about *their* cellular company using that name. The deals
you talk about are very common; in fact they are about the only way
cell phones are sold; ie a tie in with a local provider who gives a
kickback to the phone seller.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 19:44:10 -0700
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Voice Processing Magazine


When I mentioned {Voice Processing Magazine} a while back in the
Digest, several readers asked me for contact and/or subscription
information.  VPM is a monthly publication covering (you guessed it)
the "voice processing" industry, which includes voice mail, auto
attendant, fax on demand, interactive voice response, etc.  It is
geared mainly towards corporate users, rather than the pay-per-call
industry, which has its own publications.  I have no connection with
the magazine other than as a subscriber.  Here's the information:

Voice Processing Magazine, ISSN 1042-0460
Subscription rate: $24/year US, $99/year foreign
Subscription address:
  P.O. Box 6372
  Syracuse, NY  13217-9399
Editorial address:
  3721 Briar Park
  Houston, TX  77042
  713-974-6637
  713-974-6272 fax


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Sinamark)
Subject: Telephony Impedance Mismatch Problem - Help?
Organization: Summa Four Inc.
Date: Thu, 6 May 93 08:48:52 GMT


I am trying to test a piece of telecomm equipment, an analog port card
that has a complex impedance.  The impedance is as follows:

o-----R1-------C1----------o
          |           |
          |----R2------

R1 = 300 ohms
C1 = .22 microfarads
R2 = 1000 ohms

Now the only instrument that I have access to has a 600 ohms
impedance.  The standard US impedance for telephone equipment.  The
above impedance BTW is one of the ones used in the UK.  I have to test
the circuit at 200Hz, 1000 Hz and 4600 Hz at -55dBm, -10dBm and +6dBm.
My question is how can I calculate a correction factor when testing a
card with the above impedance into a 600 ohm resistive load.  I know
how to calculate what voltage the circuit will output at each
frequency into the correct impedance but how do I show my dBm
measurement into 600 ohms is valid for a circuit that wants to see the
above impedance.  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Please e-mail any replies to the address below

Ed Sinamark         | The opinions expressed
25 Sundial Ave      | above are my own and
Manchester, NH 03103| not those of my employer
[e-mail]   |

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 13:27:33 -0700
From: Andy Jacobson <[e-mail]>
Subject: The Net in China


Pat, et al., I have not seen any details of Internet links to China,
and I know that the extent of the internet is a subject of interest to
readers of this list, so I pass along this note from the Pharmacy Mail
Exchange list. The author is Paul Hodgkinson, <[e-mail]>,
the list coordinator.

  To: [e-mail]
  Date: Wed, 28 Apr 93 17:24:30 BST
  X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
  Sender: [e-mail]


There is a list of addresses of schools of pharmacy in China on NISS,
Section P8J2C3 which is provided by the academic section of the
Federation Internationale Pharmaceutique. If you do not have access to
Telnet and would like this list, contact me and I will post it to you
direct.

China was discussed on this list last year. Two of our staff also
visited China.

As far as I know the network position remains the same. There is a
link between University of Karlsruhe and ICA Beijing. I think there
are links via Hong Kong which may have greater signficance in the next
few years. (HARNET .hkucs to jinan(Guangzhou) and Beijing)

However, reports from our staff indicate that, communications
facilities are strictly controlled by the government. I choose my
words carefully here.  While personal communications of a non
political nature are possible it is not an appropriate time to attempt
to expand Pharmacy Mail Exchange or other distribution systems into
China.  However, if anybody has information which suggests otherwise I
would be interested to hear from them.


Paul

Pharmacy Mail Exchange

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

From: [e-mail] (Tim Arnold)
Subject: Temporary Connection to Internet Needed For Conference
Organization: Statistics, NCSU
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 18:57:56 GMT


This group is the closest one I could think of for this question:

I need some ballpark schemes and prices for setting up an Internet
connection at a San Francisco Hotel for a 1/2 day "hands-on" Internet
access lesson.

If anyone could give advice on the most intelligent way to do this I'd
be very grateful.

If some SF company provides this service, ballpark prices would be
nice.

I want to use a laptop 486 PC to run a gopher client to my gopher
server in NC.  Popup graphics and sound files would add a lot to the
presentation.


Thanks for your suggestions.


Tim Arnold               North Carolina State Univ.
[e-mail]     Dept. of Statistics, Box 8203
fax: [phone]        Raleigh NC 27695

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Mealling)
Subject: Test Suites For Metropolitian Area Bridged Networks
Date: 5 May 1993 17:06:23 -0400
Organization: Office of Information Technoloy, Georgia Tech


I'm posting this for someone at BellSouth who doesn't have access to
news so please forward responses to me and I'll forward it to him:

He wants to know if anyone has any good test suites for a metropolitan
sized bridged network. Specifically for testing effects of multiple
protocols and such. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Michael Mealling   Georgia Institute of Technology
[e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 16:10:58 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Douglas W. Martin)
Subject: Tormenting Telemarketers


     You may have already seen this; it's quite old, but I usually
don't have time to read rec.humor.  Anyway, if not already posted --
Enjoy!

Doug Martin [e-mail]


[Moderartor's Note: We've run this a couple times in the past, but it
is always good for a laugh,so here goes again ...  PAT]

  From: [e-mail] (David L. Cathey)
  Subject: Tormenting Telemarketers
  Approved: [e-mail]
  Lines: 116


      Tormenting Telmarketers - A Game You Can Play at Home!

        Everyone has gotten a call from a Telemarketer.  The new
Scourge of the Telephone System.  Previously when the phone rang, you
always wondered if it was someone you knew, or another schmuck with
something to sell.  Well, the time has come to turn the tables.  We
need to take control of our own phones.  We need to take the "market"
out of Telemarketing.

        Premise: Telemarketers take the brute force approach to making
sales.  If you talk to a whole bunch of people, someone will buy what
you are selling.

        Counter-Tactic: Waste as much of their time as you can.  For
each minute that you waste means several potential customers that will
not be reached.  Make Telemarketing unprofitable.  Hanging up only
increases the changes for them to make a sale.  Don't let this happen!

Hints: Most of the preliminary stuff is done by someone making minimum
wage, and reads a script.  Let them finish.  It's easy points, and you
were watching Star Trek and weren't using your phone anyway.  It's
easy to keep them interested using "attentive grunting", similar to
when your mother calls.

  Scoring:

      Basic Point System:
          For each minute spent on the phone               10 pts.
          Getting transfered to someone who makes
                  more than minimum wage                   15 pts
          For each minute spent on the phone with
                  person making more than minimum wage     25 pts

      Bonus Points:
          Getting them to repeat part of the "script"       5 pts/each
          Getting answers to stupid questions              15 pts/each
          Changing the subject                             50 pts/each
          Making the sales person angry                   175 pts
          Making the sales person use profanity           750 pts
          Get their boss on the phone, and tell them
                  the salesman used profanity            1500 pts
          Getting their 1-800- number                      10 pts
          Posting their 1-800- number to alt.sex as
                  a free "Phone Sex" line                  50 pts
          Checking the number a week later and it is
                  busy or disconnected                   5000 pts

  Example:

          <Ring>
          Me:     Yes?
          Them:   Hi, I'm with Fly-By-Night Carpet Cleaning
                  and we're in your area [...]
[start clock->]
          Them:   [...] would like to know it you are interested?
          Me:     Sure...
          Them:   Well, we are currently offering [...]
          Them:   [...] depending on the size of the rooms.
          Me:     Well, how much for the whole house?
[15 bonus pts!]
          Them:   Let me transfer you to <???>
          Them:   Sir?
          Me:     Yes?
[25 pts/min!]
          Them:   How large is your house?
          Me:     Oh, about 2,000 sqft.
          Them:   [...] Well, that would be about $xxx
[stupid ?]
          Me:     It won't hurt the floor, will it?
          Them:   Oh, no! We use a [...this usually takes some time!...]
                  and is completely safe.
[stupid ?]
          Me:     Even with my pets?
          Them:   Oh, yes. The chemicals we use [...]
          Me:     Do you have to pre-treat, since I have pets?
          Them:   Yes, and we do that with [...]
[repeat!] Me:     But the original offer was for $39.95, does that
                  include treating for pets?
          Them:   [...]
[subject change]
          Me:     Well, it is kindof dirty.  The guys were over for
                  the game.  Did you see the Cowboys vs. the Rams?
          Them:   Yes.
          Me:     What a game!  That last touchdown pass!  Wasn't that
                  a great play?
          Them:   Well, back to your house...
          Me:     Oh yes, what about moving the furniture?
          Them:   [...]
[subject change]
          Me:     Do you clean furniture, too?  Those guys spilled some
                  beer.  Have you smelled old beer on furniture before?
                  But what a game, eh?!  I couldn't believe that they
                  couldn't move the ball in the second quarter...
                  [...]
[angry???]
          Them:   Ahem... Would you like us to come out?
          Me:     Well, when could you come out?
          Them:   How about next week?
          Me:     Hmmm...  Morning or afternoon?
          Them:   Either would be fine.
          Me:     Do you have anything the week after?
          Them:   Sure, can I put you down for Tuesday?

[Okay, let's try for those last big bonus points:]

          Me:     Well, I don't think it matters, since I have all
                  hardwood floors here!
          Them:   Dammit! <Yes! 250 points!>
                  <click>

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #304
******************************










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Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 05:03:18 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #305

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 6 May 93 05:03:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 305

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns ([e-mail])
    Re: Overcharging the Battery (Tad Cook)
    Re: Wanted: Hints and Tips on Setting up a Faxmodem (Monty Solomon)
    Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10 (Povl H. Pedersen)
    Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10 (Mark Eklof)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on "Hello") (Craig Richmond)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on "Hello") (Mark Walsh)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: TDC <[e-mail]>
Subject: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns
Organization: The Zoo of Ids
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 21:15:00 GMT


[Moderator's Note: Just when you thought the nightmare was over!
Just when you thought they took Freddie away from his family on Elm
Street once and for all!  .... read on .... PAT]


Release Date: 4 May 16:07 EDT

READ AND DISTRIBUTE EVERYWHERE - READ AND DISTRIBUTE EVERYWHERE
***************************************************************

                   Important Anouncement:

                           The

                           LOD

                      Legion of Doom

                         Is Back!

No that has not been a mis-print ... the LOD has returned!  The
world's greatest hacking group has formally been reinstated to bring
back dignity and respect to a scene that has rapidly deteriorated
since its departure.

Unlike many of these other "Groups" that go around with upper/lower
case names, that trade in PBX's, VMB's etc. and wouldn't know COSMOS
if it hit them over the head.  The LOD, at least to me, imbodies the
pinnacle of understanding that comes from relentless exploration of
the "system" backwards and forwards.  It is an organization dedicated
to understanding the world's computer and telephone networks.
Enabling everyone to progress forward in technology.  The accumulated
product of this -- the Technical Journals, full of information
unavailable anywhere except from telco manuals represents something to
valuable to lose.

It is a true tragedy that after the great witch hunt that was
Operation Sun Devil that the former LOD died.  If the powers that be,
think they can shut down real hackers by undertaking unprovoked,
uneeded not to mention unconstitutional draconian acts they are
mistaken. We will not be kept down!

We are a segment of society that enjoys what others label difficult
and technical.  Exploration into the uncharted reaches of technology
is our calling.  Information, learning and understanding is what we
are made of.  As the technology revolution impacts us all, it is the
hackers and not the medieval statutes of the land that will lead us
forward.

This will be the primary of purpose the new, revived LOD -- the
assembly and release of a Technical Journal.  The previous four
issues, now several years old BADLY need updating.

The Journal will rely heavily on reader submitted articles and
information, so anything you wish to contribute would be GREATLY
appreciated.  Acceptable submitions would include ORIGINAL "how-to-
guides" on various systems, security discussions, technical
specifications and doccumentation.  Computer and telephone related
subjects are not the only things acceptable.  If you remember, the
former journals had articles concerning interrogation and physical
security among others.

The next LOD Technical Journal will comprise almost entirely of
freelance or reader submitted articles. So without YOUR contributions
it can not proceed!

If you wish to hold the wonderful honour of being an LOD Member (won't
this look good on your resume), you may apply by contacting us. The
qualifications should need no elaboration.  Any of the previous
members that wish reactivation (doubtful) need only request it.

In addition to needing articles for the upcoming Journals, some sites
on the net to aid in distribution would also be welcomed.  Send all
offers and articles to the following email account:

                         [e-mail]

Closing date for article submittions to the LOD Technical Journal
Number 5 is: Monday 14 June, 1993.  Release date: Friday 18 June,
1993.

Since we have no monetary or contractual obligation to anyone, these
dates are of course tentative. But since or at least initially we will
rely almost entirely on reader submitions a date is needed to get
potential writers into gear.

In order that this gain exposure to as much publicity as possible
please post it on any networks that you may have access to.

Note that the LOD does not engage or condone illegal or criminal
activities.  This would cover, but is not limited to, theft of long
distance services, credit fraud or data destruction/alteration.


Lord Havoc

READ AND DISTRIBUTE EVERYWHERE - READ AND DISTRIBUTE EVERYWHERE
***************************************************************

End Message


[Moderator's Note: Thank you, Lord, for making my day, and it is only
4:30 AM at that ....  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: Overcharging the Battery
Date: Wed, 5 May 93 9:14:44 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Tad Cook)


In a post by [e-mail] (Yilmaz Cengeloglu),
our Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: The battery can stay in the charger longer than
> eight hours. A day or two at a time does not hurt. I would not just
> leave the unit in the charger all the time. Another good thing to
> remember is the battery occassionally needs to be run down very low,
> to the point the phone won't operate, *then* recharge it. This will
> make the rechargeable battery last longer in the long run.

Oh boy ... at the risk of raising a controversy, this sounds to me
like the old Nicad Memory Effect Myth.

It is so widespread now among the hams, two way radio folks, and now
the cellular industry that I really can't blame anyone for repeating
it.

The memory effect myth states that if nicads are repeatedly discharged
only slightly, that eventually they will "remember" this slight
discharge point, and never be able to do a full discharge again,
thereby effectively limiting the capacity of the battery.

I became curious about this awhile back after carefully deep-
discharging my nicads according to the popular notion, and then
reading a letter in the Technical Correspondence section of QST, the
ham radio magazine, from a couple of battery engineers at Gould.

These engineers claimed that there is no memory effect in nicads.

Their letter claimed that at one time NASA had been able to observe
memory effect in some nicad batteries, but only in a carefully
controlled lab study where cells were repeatedly discharged hundreds
of times to precisely the same point.  But otherwise, in normal use
nicad batteries do not exhibit a memory effect.

With the increasing use of carry-around electronics, I have been
seeing the memory effect myth more and more lately, so I decided to
look into it a bit further.  I called Zack Lau, who works in the lab
at the American Radio Relay League (publisher of QST), and also posted
a query to sci.electronics.

Here is what I found out, from the collective wisdom of all who
responded:

There is no memory effect, but there certainly is a danger to the
battery when a deep discharge is attempted.  The series connected
cells each have a slightly different capacity and charge, and when
attempting a deep discharge it is very easy for one or more of the
cells to go into reverse polarity, which is very damaging.  There is
also a problem with overcharging, so perhaps this helps to support the
idea of memory effect, since if you always did a deep discharge before
doing a full charge, at least there would be less chance of
overcharging.

Its too bad that nicads don't have a different charging curve, like
lead acid cells.  Then it would be easy to build a smart charger that
would only charge the cells for exactly the right amount of time.  It
looks like the only smart way to charge nicads is to have the charger
integrated into the device that is powered by the nicads.  That way an
intelligent charger could monitor usage, and only charge for the right
amount of time.

So probably the best thing to do is to use the device right up until
you get a low battery indication (but no longer!), swap battery packs
with a fully charged set, and then do a timed charge for no longer
than the manufacturer recommended charge cycle.  This would even be a
good rule if you believe in the memory effect!


[e-mail]  (if it bounces, use [e-mail])
Tad Cook     |  Packet Amateur Radio:  |  Home Phone:
Seattle, WA  |  KT7H @ N7DUO.WA.USA.NA |  206-527-4089

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 06:13:51 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Wanted: Hints and Tips on Setting up a Faxmodem


[e-mail] (Ramon F Herrera) wrote:

> I have been thinking about setting up a fax modem to be used from a
> Unix host.  More specifically:

>  - the modem is a Telebit WorldBlazer

The Telebit WorldBlazer does not currently have the ability to
discriminate between incoming fax and data calls.  You must configure
it to be in data mode or in fax mode.

Telebit is supposedly working on a firmware revision to implement this
functionality which is already available in other modems (e.g., ZyXEL,
Supra).

You can reach Telebit technical support at 800 835 3248, 408 734 5200,
or [e-mail].

You might be interested in the following Telebit Technical Service
Advisory which was recently posted to comp.dcom.modems.


   Date: 31 Mar 93 20:31:24 GMT
   From: nntp.telebit.com![e-mail]  (Telebit Support acct)
   Subject: Telebit Technical Service Advisory
   Message-ID: <[e-mail]>

   Telebit Corporation    ** TECHNICAL SERVICE ADVISORY **    March 17, 1993
                                                                   MOD.1.393

   Telebit Corporation, in keeping with its policy of providing the highest-
   quality data communications products, is providing this document which
   contains information on specific versions of firmware for the WorldBlazer
   and T3000 family of modems.  Telebit is confident that all problems
   listed in this document are fixed in version LA7.02.  If you are having
   any problems specific to one of the versions of firmware mentioned below,
   please upgrade the modem(s) to firmware version LA7.02.  Any modem
   problems not listed here should be reported directly to Telebit Technical
   Support at [phone] or [phone].


   To find out the current version of firmware in your modem:

        1)  Connect your modem to a terminal or a computer running a
            terminal emulation program.
        2)  Type ATI3.  Then press Enter.
        3)  Modem responds with current version.
            Example:   ATI3
                       WorldBlazer - SA - Version LA7.02
                       OK

   Upgrading firmware involves the following:

        1)  Printing out current configurations.
        2)  Disconnecting the modem from any DTE devices and opening up
            the case with a small Phillips head screwdriver.
        3)  Replacing the current firmware with version LA7.02.
        4)  Powering on the modem, allowing it to run through diagnostic
            tests. (about 30-40 seconds)
        5)  Reconnecting the modem to the DTE equipment and reprogramming
            nonvolatile memory from the original printout.

   Below is a list of known problems that pertain to specific versions
   of firmware.  Make sure a problem exists in YOUR version before
   requesting an upgrade.

       * Known Problems *

   -->  LA7.01

   1 - When used in an unattended answering environment, the WorldBlazer
       or T3000 will randomly fail to answer a call.  Power cycling the
       modem solves the problem.

   -->  LA5.01 has problem #1 in addition to the following:

   2 - During a V.32bis (14,400 bps) connection, a small amount of line
       noise may be detected, causing the modems to fall back within the
       modulation to a lower rate (such as 12,000 bps).  If the line
       conditions are improved, a V.32bis modem may request that the
       modulation rate be increased to the previous higher rate.  The
       WorldBlazer and T3000 will not respond to this fall-forward
       request.

   3 - After detecting an unacceptable amount of line noise on a V.32bis
       (14,400 bps) connection, the CD light begins flashing, signaling
       a retrain.  The modem does not reestablish the connection.  After
       the failed connection, the WorldBlazer or T3000 may begin to send
       the OK result code back to the DTE at approximately 10-second
       intervals.  This problem can be solved if the user forces a V.32
       (9600 bps) connection.  Setting S50=6 forces the connection
       speed to V.32.

   4 - All modem lights from MR to CTS are on and/or the user cannot get
       any response from the modem after the remote modem has disconnected
       the call.  Power cycling the modem solves the problem.

   -->  LA5.00W has problems 1 through 4 in addition to the following:

   5 - When *answering* a call with the modem connected to a UNIX system
       configured for UNIX UUCP-G protocol and a window size greater than
       3, the protocol startup will fail.  On many UNIX systems, a -x9
       debug dump of the session from the remote (originating) modem will
       report:  "UUCP Startup Failed"

   6 - When *originating* a call, the WorldBlazer does not connect in PEP
       mode to older TrailBlazer Plus modems with firmware version BA4.00.

       The table below summarizes the above information.

       * Firmware *    * Release *    *  Known   *
       * Version  *    *  Date   *    * Problems *

       -->  LA7.02     -->  1/93      -->  None

       -->  LA7.01     -->  12/92     -->  1

       -->  LA5.01     -->  8/92      -->  Has problem 1 in addition to
                                           problems 2, 3 and 4.

       -->  LA5.00W    -->  5/92      -->  Has problems 1 through 4 in
                                           addition to problems 5 and 6.


   After carefully examining this document, if you determine that your
   modem is experiencing a firmware-related problem, you may request a
   FREE LA7.02 upgrade from Telebit Technical Support.  Please call
   Technical Support at [phone] or [phone].  Follow the
   PhoneMail system prompts to Modem Technical Support.

   Note:  Please *call* Telebit Technical Support at the above number if
          you have any questions regarding this document.



Telebit Technical Support
Telebit Corporation
1315 Chesapeake Terrace
Sunnyvale, CA  94089
1-800-TELEBIT (1-800-835-3248)
Direct Dial: [phone]  UUCP: {sun,pyramid,uunet,ames}!telebit!modems
FAX: [phone]   INTERNET: [e-mail]  COMPUSERVE: "Go Telebit"

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

From: [e-mail] (Povl H. Pedersen)
Subject: Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10
Organization: UNI-C, Danish Computing Centre for Research and Education
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 21:54:23 GMT


According to Supra on CompuServe, the V.32bis will probably never get
MNP-10 support. They are currently in the process of making better
ROMs, and also voice support. The problem with the cipset of the
V.32bis (RC1414 or something like that) is that it can only address
512kbit memory, which is too little.

The new internal PowerBook modems they make uses the new Rockwell ACL
chipset, which supports MNP-10.


Povl H. Pedersen   -   Macintosh specialist. Knows some DOS and UNIX too.
[e-mail]    -   [e-mail]
--- Finger me at [e-mail] for PGP Public Key ---

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

Date: Wed, 5 May 93 19:19:45 EDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Stonemarche Network Covp
From: [e-mail] (Mark Eklof)
Subject: Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10


In comp.dcom.telecom, article <[e-mail]>, someone
wrote:

> It appears I was wrong about the MNP-10 support by the Supra modem
> Nonetheless I am highly satisfied with it (personal opinion). See
> below, a note received from Tech Support.

> The v.32bis modems do not support MNP 10 at this time. I am not sure
> when, or if, it will be available in the future.

> Terri    Supra Tech Support   [e-mail]    503-967-2440

    Interesting.  If Padgett is, indeed, incorrect, then the fault
lies in the Supra documentation.  I have a SupraFAXModem V.32bis, and
I'm looking at the specifications in Appendix E, on Page 57 of the
documentation.  It states that the Modem is "Compatible with"..."MNP
classes 2-5 and 10".  Several other places in the documentation refer
to MNP 10, as well.  I've never (knowingly) used it with another MNP
10 modem, so can't say that I've seen the modem work in MNP 10 mode.


Mark D. Eklof    Brookline, New Hampshire, USA   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Craig Richmond - division)
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Date: 5 May 1993 01:16:42 GMT
Organization: The University of Western Australia


[e-mail] (Andrew Funk) writes:

> There's a phone at work we only use for outgoing calls.  When it rings
> I've been answering: "Drug Enforcement Agency, Special Agent Smith!"

> Most callers kinda cough, then hang-up!

There are two other ones that fall into roughly the same category that
catch the caller off guard as well.

The first is the PABX (and presumably any caller ID phone) on campus
where you can see internal phone call numbers on some of the phones.
You phone someone and they pick it up and say "Hi Craig".  I've gotten
used to it now but it really throws you the first time they do it.

The other one is to answer the phone and say "Hello, I'd like to order
a family size pizza please."


Craig Richmond.  Computer Officer -  Dept of Economics (morning) 380 3860
University of Western Australia      Dept of Education (afternoon)   2388
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Walsh)
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone (was The War on the Word "Hello")
Date: 5 May 93 21:37:47 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA


Yesterday evening, it was *my* turn to dial a wrong number.

It went like this:

Me: Hello, is Linda there?
Him: Who is this?

Me: This is Mark Walsh.
Him: Who the f*ck are you?

Me: This is Mark Walsh, and I am calling on behalf of the
    United States Cycling Federation.
Him: What the f*ck is that?

At this point, I remembered that Linda's husband is an English
teacher, and he and the fellow on the other end of the phone were
probably not one in the same!


Mark Walsh (walsh@optilink) -- UUCP: uunet!optilink!walsh
Amateur Radio: KM6XU@WX3K -- AOL: [e-mail] -- USCF: L10861


[Moderator's Note: Oh well, what the f**k ... it happens to all of us
sometimes, but I must say since the advent of Caller-ID and 'Return
Last Call Received' (*69) there are a lot fewer people out there just
ringing off without even bothering to say they are sorry ... they know
they'll be called back and asked who the f**k they are or think they
are!   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #305
******************************










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          6 May 93 19:56 EDT
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Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 17:03:42 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #306

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 6 May 93 17:03:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 306

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers? (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers? (Monty Solomon)
    Re: 900 Number Index (Les Reeves)
    Konexx 203 Acoustic Coupler (D. Samson)
    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! (Justin Leavens)
    Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service (Marshal Perlman)
    Funding for Telecentres in Rural Communities (Tom Worthington)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns (Tom Gillman)
    Backlog of Talk Ticket Orders (TELECOM Moderator)
    Area Code Boundaries (William H. Glass)
    Address for Solana Electronics (Lawrence Roney)
    Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (William H. Sohl)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers?
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 23:46:11 GMT


[e-mail] (Daniel Burstein) writes:

> In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Andy Chan) writes:

>> Ok, how come there's no option to have the phone number be automatically
>> dialed when I call 411?

I am like it even more that Information calls to out-of-areacode
numbers are now smart enough to include the areacode. How often I
would dial for a number and then forget what AC I had dialed!

Don't pretend it doesn't happen to you ...

Now, if we could get PacSwell to permit permissive areacode calling.
I used to dial 408 for 415 numbers all the time (to us down in LA, the
BayArea looks like one big blob--they probably think the same of us)
and of course I would get the "please dial 415-555-1212" recording
instead of a number.


Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
 ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 02:56:02 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers?


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Andy Chan) writes:

> Ok, how come there's no option to have the phone number be automatically
> dialed when I call 411?

> [Moderator's Note: What you describe is common in many areas, and has
> been available for a couple of years for people who want to spend the
> additional money. Some telcos (apparently yours as well) have not yet
> implemented it; I suspect all will before too long.   PAT]

New England Telephone (NET) has provided this service for a while and
has just reached a settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General
where they will alert callers to the cost ($0.35) of using the
feature.

Currently, callers are provided with the option to have the call
completed with no notice of the additional charge.

Furthermore, according to NET representatives, the charged is assessed
independent of call completion.


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

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 6 May 93 17:30:58 GMT
Subject: Re: 900 Number Index


These are sources of 900 number info available in print. I do not know
of any available electonically:

THE BEST 900 NUMBERS, W. Brooks McCarty, St. Martin's Paperbacks, The
Philip Lief Group, ISBN 0-312-92496-8, Latest Edition, Approximate Price
of Publication: $3.50 (US).

  Super resource for only three dollars and fifty cents.  Carefully
  evaluated for quality of service this directory lists hundreds of
  of 900 services from Sports Hotlines to Cars to Pet Health Care.  Each
  service has a detailed description, the type of service (Interactive,
  Live, Recorded), and the cost of the service.

CONTENTS
 Astrology           Environment       Law              Sexuality
 Auctions            Film & Video      Lottery          Space Travel
 Business            Games             Magazines        Sports
 Cars                  Knowledge       Music             Hotlines, Games,
 Child Care            Action          News              Fishing, Racing,
 Citizenship           Trivia          Numerology        Skiing, Wrestling
 Comedy              Greetings         Pen Pals         Sports Picks
 Contests            Health/Medicine   Bulletin Boards  Stock Market
 Crossword Puzzles   Horror            Pets             Tarot, TV, Time
 Dating              Infotainment      Radio            Travel
 Earthquakes         Insults           Religion         Weather

2.00  DIRECTORY: 900 INFORMATION SERVICES  (Article)

THE 900 BOOM, WITH A GUIDE TO THE GOOD NUMBERS, Leonard Wiener,
U. S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, Section: NEWS YOU CAN USE, June 17, 1991,
Volume 110, Number 23, pages 60 thru 63.

  Thorough description of the 900 services industry and a listing of
  31 services that were tried, evaluated, critiqued, and recommended.
  The services include Sports, Investment, and International News.  Each
  service in the article has a detailed description, an evaluation of the
  service, and the cost of the service.

CONTENTS
 MONEY & BUSINESS            ENTERTAINMENT              TRAVEL
   Stock Market                Recordings                 Airlines
    (Current News & Quotes)     (Listen Before Buying)     (Schedules)
   Insurance                   Live Performances          Weather
    (Check Company Rating)      (Coming Events)            (For 600 Cities)
   Limited Partnerships        Videotapes
    (Determine Resale Value)    (Locate Hard-To-Find Tapes)
   Legal Help                  Movies
    (On-Line Legal Counsel)     (Reviews & Critiques)
   Getting an Address
    (Match Phone to Owner)

2.00  DIRECTORY: 900 INFORMATION SERVICES  (Article)   Continued
   THE 900 BOOM, WITH A GUIDE TO THE GOOD NUMBERS, Leonard Wiener,
   U. S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, Section: NEWS YOU CAN USE, June 17, 1991,
   Volume 110, Number 23, pages 60 thru 63.

CONTENTS, Continued
 SPORTS                                  HEALTH & MEDICINE
   Skiing                                  Prescriptions
    (Conditions on the Slopes)              (Medications Facts)
   Scores                                   (AIDS Drugs)
    (In-Progress Game Scores)              Animals
    (Results & Sports News)                 (Pet Health & Ailments)
   Horse Racing
    (Finishes & Stretch Calls)           CARS
   Auto Racing                             Buy & Sell
    (Stock to Indy Races)                   (Used Car Price Service)
    (Drag Racing)                           (Older Car Price Service)
   Cycling
    (Finishes & Features)                FOREIGN NEWS
   Lacrosse                                Israeli Radio Broadcasts
    (Results & Schedules)
   Body Building
    (Competition Results/Sched.)
3.00  DIRECTORY: 900 INFORMATION SERVICES  (Newspaper)

  USA TODAY contains several 900 information numbers throughout the paper.
  I have listed the Service types and what Section of the paper they are
  listed in.  Each Service is described in detail in the newspaper.

CONTENTS
 INFORMATION CENTER, Section 2C    LOTTERY HOT LINE, Sports, Section C
   News                              Daily Results from across the USA
    (Weather)
   Money                           STOCK HOT LINE GUIDE, Money, Section B
    (Stock Quotes)                   How to get Stock Quotes
    (Personal Portfolio)
    (CD Rates)                     WEATHER HOT LINE, Weather, Section A
    (Interest Calculator)            How to use the Weather Hot Line
   Sports
    (Latest Scores)
    (Horse Racing Results)
   Life
    (Horoscopes)
    (Soap Opera Summaries)
    (Movie Reviews)

4.00  DIRECTORY: 900 INFORMATION SERVICES  (Book)

AUDIOTEX DIRECTORY AND BUYER'S GUIDE, Editor, ABDG Publishing,
Los Angeles, California, Latest Edition, Approximate Price of
Publication: $25.00(US).

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

From: [e-mail] (D. Samson)
Subject: Konexx 203 Acoustic Coupler
Organization: Weber State University
Date: 6 May 1993 08:48 MST


I've seen several postings about acoustic couplers which mentioned the
Konexx as a possibility.  I just received my very own Konexx 203
acoustic coupler yesterday and tried it out at home.  It works fine at
2400 bps.

I'm going to be travelling for the next seven weeks with my bicycle
and my notebook.  Since I've no guarantee I can always find a modular
jack when I need one, I decided to get the coupler.  Its very small,
light, and is supposed to run 30 hours on its 9-V battery. (I wanted
to try RadioMail, but every indication was that I would have a tough
time connecting in many remote places and even from the wrong side of
the building in a large city).


Dolly Samson   Weber State University   Ogden, Utah   [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 13:06:16 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!


> [Moderator's Note: Well, I used to think the tariff requirements
> making 'the subscriber responsible for the use of the instruments'
> also applied to premium services such as 900/976, but a few writers
> here have said the tariff only pertains to services actually sold by
> telco (that is, phone calls) and not the premium stuff they simply
> bill for. So, it appears to be kind of a gray area if telco can turn
> off service or not based on unpaid charges from a 900 outfit. I know
> telco can't disconnect based on unpaid Yellow Pages advertising.  PAT]

   Again, I make this point: Even if the telco *doesn't* disconnect
for outstanding IP charges, the telco will still carry those charges.
When the subscriber disconnects, it will go on the subscriber's
Equifax report that he still owes the telco $2100. Then the subscriber
will never get phone service again until the Equifax mark is cleared
up (read: coughs up $2100).

   This is one of the prime reasons I hate the IP billing situation:
You can only put one name on a residential phone account, and that
person becomes responsible for whatever massive charges are
accumulated on that account, no matter who makes the calls. It's like
an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign their name. And
IP's are really only a problem because of the massive charges that can
be accumulated without warning (it's obvious when your roommate spends
five or six hours on the phone to another country, but those same
charges can be accumulated in about 30 minutes with an IP). Even
having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your phone
under lock and key! A poor roommate choice (including circumstances
like college where you don't even have a choice) can cost you
thousands of dollars and the use of your phone forever, and unlike
other credit outfits, you have no recourse in the case of fraud.


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
[e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshal "Airborne" Perlman)
Subject: Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Thu, 6 May 93 20:10:47 GMT


[e-mail] (William H. Glass) writes:

> Yep, there's one there.  You can only use a credit card -- no coins.
> How would you like the job of collecting the coins and carrying them
> back up?  BTW, the phone number is [phone] (according to my
> credit card billing).  Give 'em a call and ask for the wise guy who
> ordered the Domino's pizza.

Hmmmm, I was there a few years ago, and don't recall a telephone.
Where was it?

All I remember is our one armed guide that took us to the bottom of
the canyon on those mules, my behind hurting, and damn good food. Heh.
That sure is a good trip though ...


Marshal Perlman           Internet: [e-mail]
Florida Institute of Technology            IRC: Squawk
Melbourne, Florida                 Private Pilot, ASEL
407/768-8000 x8435          Goodyear Blimp Club Member

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

From: [e-mail] (Tom Worthington)
Subject: Funding for Telecentres in Rural Communities
Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 02:40:14 GMT


Telecentres are local information centres which enhance access to
economic, social, educational and training opportunities through the
use of computers and other information technologies, for people in
rural and remote areas of Australia.

Expressions of interest are called from community groups in these
areas seeking to establish demonstration telecentres in their
communities.  Funding for Telecentres is competitive and subject to
the production of a business plan which relates the proposal to the
needs of that community.

Further details may be obtained from Ian Crellin on 008 026222 or by
writing to:


Ian Crellin    Telecentres Project
Agriculture and Forests Secretariat Branch
Department of Primary Industries and Energy
PO Box 858   CANBERRA ACT 2600  Australia
Fax: [phone]

Posted by Tom Worthington, Director of the Community Affairs Board,
Australian Computer Society Incorporated, as a service to the community.

ps: ACS members in rural areas: why don't you offer to help with local
telecentres projects?

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 93 15:58:12 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Tom Gillman)
Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns


> In addition to needing articles for the upcoming Journals, some sites
> on the net to aid in distribution would also be welcomed.  Send all
> offers and articles to the following email account:

>                         [e-mail]

Interested parties might note that 'zooid.guild.org' had no address
record in the major nameservers nor an entry in the NIC database as of
1600 5/6/93.

On a side note, for those of us paranoid types out here, did you ever
think that maybe some unnamed law enforcement agency is trying to scam
us out and build a potential hacker database for future prosecution,
i.e. Operation SunDevil???

> [Moderator's Note: Thank you, Lord, for making my day, and it is only
> 4:30 AM at that ....  PAT]

You either stay up far too late, or get up *FAR* too early.


Tom Gillman, Systems Programmer
Wells Computer Center-Ga. State Univ.
[phone] [e-mail]
GSU doesn't care what I say on the Internet, why should you?


[Moderator's Note: There is no such thing as an 'unnamed law enforcement
agency' ... all law enforcement agencies have names ... and well known
names at that!  Yeah, I also tried to finger that booger when I got his
mail, but it did not go through. I also tried nslookup and got nothing.
I figured the readers would look into it further if desired. Yes, I was
up a bit early Thursday morning. There was a big commotion out in the
street with some gangs having a shootout or something.  PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 16:36:14 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Backlog of Talk Ticket Orders


The supply of Talk Tickets I had on hand were snapped up almost immediatly.
If you have ordered in the past 7-10 days, be patient, a new supply is
arriving early next week; orders received here during the last week of
April and to-date in May will be the first filled.  These tickets are
still available at $2 each or 10 for $15 by sending a check for the
number requested with a self addressed envelope. Anonymous orders can
be paid for with money order if desired, sent to a box number, etc.


Patrick Townson

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

From: William H. Glass <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Area Code Boundaries
Date: 6 May 93 13:18:28 CDT
Organization: Management Graphics, Inc.


   On a recent vacation, I stopped in the little town of Hyder,
Alaska.  One of the peculiar things about this town was that they use
the area code for British Columbia (their phone service comes through
Stewart, BC).  This made me curious -- how often does an area code
cross a major political boundary (e.g., state, provincial, or
international)?  Does anyone know of other examples?


   Bill Glass


[Moderator's Note: There are lots of examples of this. Start by
looking at maps of metro areas which sit right on state/province
boundary lines, etc.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Lawrence Roney)
Subject: Address for Solana Electronics
Organization: Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
Date: Thu, 6 May 1993 18:19:20 GMT


Does anyone know the address and/or phone for Solana Electronics?
They used to make local multiplexors and were located in San Diego, CA.

Their old address was:    Solana Electronics
            7877-T Dunbrook Road
            Suite A
            San Diego, CA  92126

Thanks.


Lawrence Roney - Network Systems Technician, Department of Telecommunications
         Santa Monica Community College District
         1900 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90405  | [phone]
       Internet: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (sohl,william h)
Subject: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Thu, 6 May 93 20:12:08 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
which was posted to rec.radio.amateur.misc, (Robert Carpenter) writes:

Quoted from p.28 of the May 3, 1993, issue of Washington Business, a
Monday section of the {Washington Post}:

   "...... [House] Subcommittee [on telecommunications and finance]
members saw a newly purchased off-the-shelf cellular telephone become
a 'scanner' capable of picking up cellular conversations around
Capitol Hill.

   "It took a technician maybe three minutes to reprogram the phone's
codes so it could be used for eavesdropping. 'Every cellular phone is
a scanner, and they are completely insecure', Sun Micro's Gage said.

   "His example underlined the problems of trying to legislate
safeguards in cyberspace. Only last year, the subcommittee originated
what became a law that makes illegal the use of scanners to eavesdrop
on cellular conversations.  Who needs a scanner?"


Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!cc!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #306
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #307

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 7 May 93 17:02:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 307

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    New NIST/NSA Revelations (CPSR, David Sobel via Monty Solomon)
    Updated - RFD For Open TELEMATIC Group (Ed Pimintel)
    India Involved With Balkan Telecom Modernization (Aninda Dasgupta)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns (Jacob Glopper)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: New NIST/NSA Revelations
Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 13:09:12 EST


[Moderator's Note: This was passed along to the Digest by Monty
Solomon on behalf of the CPSR.  PAT]

  Reply-To: David Sobel <[e-mail]>
  Sender: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility <[e-mail]>
  From: David Sobel <[e-mail]>
  Organization: CPSR Civil Liberties and Computing Project
  Subject: New NIST/NSA Revelations


  New NIST/NSA Revelations

        Less than three weeks after the White House announced a
controversial initiative to secure the nation's electronic
communications with government-approved cryptography, newly released
documents raise serious questions about the process that gave rise to
the administration's proposal.  The documents, released by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in response to a
Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, suggest that the super-secret
National Security Agency (NSA) dominates the process of establishing
security standards for civilian computer systems in contravention of
the intent of legislation Congress enacted in 1987.

        The released material concerns the development of the Digital
Signature Standard (DSS), a cryptographic method for authenticating
the identity of the sender of an electronic communication and for
authenticating the integrity of the data in that communication.  NIST
publicly proposed the DSS in August 1991 and initially made no mention
of any NSA role in developing the standard, which was intended for use
in unclassified, civilian communications systems.  NIST finally
conceded that NSA had, in fact, developed the technology after
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) filed suit
against the agency for withholding relevant documents.  The proposed
DSS was widely criticized within the computer industry for its
perceived weak security and inferiority to an existing authentication
technology known as the RSA algorithm.  Many observers have speculated
that the RSA technique was disfavored by NSA because it was, in fact,
more secure than the NSA-proposed algorithm and because the RSA
technique could also be used to encrypt data very securely.

        The newly-disclosed documents -- released in heavily censored
form at the insistence of NSA -- suggest that NSA was not merely
involved in the development process, but dominated it.  NIST and NSA
worked together on the DSS through an intra-agency Technical Working
Group (TWG).  The documents suggest that the NIST-NSA relationship was
contentious, with NSA insisting upon secrecy throughout the
deliberations.  A NIST report dated January 31, 1990, states that:

     The members of the TWG acknowledged that the efforts
     expended to date in the determination of a public key
     algorithm which would be publicly known have not been
     successful.  It's increasingly evident that it is
     difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile the concerns
     and requirements of NSA, NIST and the general public
     through using this approach.

        The civilian agency's frustration is also apparent in a July
21, 1990, memo from the NIST members of the TWG to NIST director John
W. Lyons.  The memo suggests that "national security" concerns
hampered efforts to develop a standard:

     THE NIST/NSA Technical Working Group (TWG) has held 18
     meetings over the past 13 months.  A part of every
     meeting has focused on the NIST intent to develop a
     Public Key Standard Algorithm Standard.  We are
     convinced that the TWG process has reached a point where
     continuing discussions of the public key issue will
     yield only marginal results.  Simply stated, we believe
     that over the past 13 months we have explored the
     technical and national security equity issues to the
     point where a decision is required on the future
     direction of digital signature standards.

An October 19, 1990, NIST memo discussing possible patent issues
surrounding DSS noted that those questions would need to be addressed
"if we ever get our NSA problem settled."

        Although much of the material remains classified and withheld
from disclosure, the "NSA problem" was apparently the intelligence
agency's demand that perceived "national security" considerations take
precedence in the development of the DSS.  From the outset, NSA
cloaked the deliberations in secrecy.  For instance, at the March 22,
1990, meeting of the TWG, NSA representatives presented NIST with
NSA's classified proposal for a DSS algorithm.  NIST's report of the
meeting notes that:

     The second document, classified TOP SECRET CODEWORD, was
     a position paper which discussed reasons for the
     selection of the algorithms identified in the first
     document.  This document is available at NSA for review
     by properly cleared senior NIST officials.

In other words, NSA presented highly classified material to NIST
justifying NSA's selection of the proposed algorithm -- an algorithm
intended to protect and authenticate unclassified information in
civilian computer systems.  The material was so highly classified that
"properly cleared senior NIST officials" were required to view the
material at NSA's facilities.

        These disclosures are disturbing for two reasons.  First, the
process as revealed in the documents contravenes the intent of
Congress embodied in the Computer Security Act of 1987.  Through that
legislation, Congress intended to remove NSA from the process of
developing civilian computer security standards and to place that
responsibility with NIST, a civilian agency.  Congress expressed a
particular concern that NSA, a military intelligence agency, would
improperly limit public access to information in a manner incompatible
with civilian standard setting.  The House Report on the legislation
noted that NSA's ....

     natural tendency to restrict and even deny access to
     information that it deems important would disqualify
     that agency from being put in charge of the protection
     of non-national security information in the view of many
     officials in the civilian agencies and the private
     sector.

While the Computer Security Act contemplated that NSA would provide
NIST with "technical assistance" in the development of civilian
standards, the newly released documents demonstrate that NSA has
crossed that line and dominates the development process.

        The second reason why this material is significant is because
of what it reveals about the process that gave rise to the so-called
"Clipper" chip proposed by the administration earlier this month.
Once again, NIST was identified as the agency actually proposing the
new encryption technology, with "technical assistance" from NSA.  Once
again, the underlying information concerning the development process
is classified.  DSS was the first test of the Computer Security Act's
division of labor between NIST and NSA.  Clipper comes out of the same
"collaborative" process.  The newly released documents suggest that
NSA continues to dominate the government's work on computer security
and to cloak the process in secrecy, contrary to the clear intent of
Congress.

        On the day the Clipper initiative was announced, CPSR
submitted FOIA requests to key agencies -- including NIST and NSA --
for information concerning the proposal.  CPSR will pursue those
requests, as well as the pending litigation concerning NSA involvement
in the development of the Digital Signature Standard.  Before any
meaningful debate can occur on the direction of cryptography policy,
essential government information must be made public -- as Congress
intended when it passed the Computer Security Act.  CPSR is committed
to that goal.


David L. Sobel   CPSR Legal Counsel
[phone]   [e-mail]

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

Subject: UPDATED - RFD For Open TELEMATIC Group
From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 07 May 93 19:28:32 EDT
Organization: Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]


This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) to create a new USENET
group:

GROUP NAME
comp.telematic.otg   "open telematic group"

STATUS
Unmoderated.

CHARTER
comp.telematic.otg(unmoderated) will be a newsgroup which will provide
a common forum:

(1) To create a platform to discuss ways, methods, procedures,
algorythms,

  applications, implementations of "ENHANCED" CMC (Computer Mediated
  Communications). Using a Hueristic approach to  assist in the design
  of CMC TELEMATIC APIs, Developer & Enduser Programming Tools.
  The emphasis here in on RealTime Online multimedia communications.

(2) To form a consortium/task_force that will indentify and help shape
    REAL TIME Online applications that make use of the following:

        A- Hi-RES Graphics, (JPEG/NAPLPS/Fractals/Mpeg).
        B- Text/Voice/Video Conferencing.
        C- FAX
        D- IVR (Interactive Voice Response) thru CTI computer Tel.
           Interface
        E- MIME <-> X.400
        F- CALS, SGML
        G- HyperMEDIA (OODBMS) - SQL extensions
        H- TCL-dp, tk-TCL, Wish
        I- Authoring Tools
        J- Px64, DVI, QUICKTIME, VFW, INDEO

(3) Hardware/Protocols:
    To identify and assist in hardware component integration/configuration
    in a network and standalone environment. In order to provide RealTime
    online multimedia transactions. These will include but will not be
    limited to:

    Plain Telephone Lines using 9.6k - V.FAST, EIA/TIA562
    TCP/IP, SLIP, PPP, X.25 etc..
    Host/Terminal interface using CDrom, CDromXA, Modular Windows,
    Kodak Photo CD, CDI, ISO 9660

(4) Platform independent MSdos, UNIX, Windows/NT, OS/2, MAC

(5) Client - Server Paradigm

(6) TELEMATIC Applications:
    A- Public Access System, Kiosk, Distant Learning, Online Full Text/
       Multimedia Doc research, M_MediaWAIS. Multimedia Library services.

       VOD (Video on Demand), Telecommuting (Home-Office).

    B- Informations Services, Product Information, Fund Raising, Product
       Sales, Affinity programs, Store Locator, Membership and renewal
       sales, Online Catalog(books, CD, Software etc..), Games (Interactive
       3D graphics with sprites, animation, holographics) over a network
       and on demand.

    C- Muli-language, Multi-interface credit card, debit card, oltp
       applications. Online Insurance Claims processing,
       Interactive TELEMATIC/Multimedia applications/solutions for the
       Retail, Financial, Corporate, Health, Gov., Educational,
       Advertising, public (Library-Museums).

    D- Network and Desktop (Text, Video and Voice Conferencing)

(7) To discuss the design, programming, and administration of systems
    and applications which use a TELEMATIC paradigm and programming
    tools.
    To use today's as well those emerging Telematics/Multimedia/Networking
    standards as a synergistic approach in creating platform
    independent "enhance" CMC as those identify above.

(8) To share ideas, information, and experience regarding design and
    programming of applications within a Telematic environment, including
    efficient file design and useful TELEMATIC programming techniques;

(9) To allow those using Telematic-like systems to relate their
    experiences with specific software and hardware implementations of
    telematic.

(10) To discuss conferences, trade shows, publications, and courses of
    interest to those working with (or considering using) an Enhance
    CMC Telematic system;

(11) To discuss new products of interest to the Telematic marketplace
     and users;

(12) To educate and inform others about the strengths, weaknesses, and
     general usage of the TELEMATIC paradigm in the real world;

(13) To provide Online Community, designers, programmers, and adminis-
     trators with Usenet access to have what they have not had before:
     a common newsgroup to share their ideas, concerns, experiences,
     questions, and knowledge with one another.

RATIONALE:

Overnight it seems, Multimedia/Telematic technology has imbedded
itself into every phase of computing. ALL PCs and workstations will
soon be designed with multimedia characteristics as standard fare.  We
are facing signicant challenges -- including hardware and software
incompatibility problems, plus a largely uneducated and unclear
marketplace.

Worldwide, there are hundreds of thousands of systems, with millions
of individual users, using computer to communicate. Usually their
software is limited to low-res graphics and does not support
TELEMATIC/Multimedia objects. Today we see disparate standards, lack
of connectivity and internetworking. There is now a clamoring for
platform independent OSs, so there must be a symbiotic
multimedia/telematic process. These would support the aforemention
applications/platforms.  In addition there is no newsgroups that truly
address the need to discuss all these emerging standards and how these
may best implemented.

SUMMARY:

      TELEMATICS has been defined by Mr. James Martin as the marriage
      of Voice, Video, Hi-res Graphics, Fax, IVR, Music over telephone
      lines/LAN. This would be a NOT_FOR_PROFIT group with bylaws and
      charter. The group would publish an electronic quarterly news-
      letter that would support multimedia objects as well a monthly FAQ.

In summary, a new news group called _comp.telematic.otg is proposed.
It will focus exclusively on discussions by, for, and of things
relating to any facet of telematic systems which are compatible with
(or were inspired by) the set of TELEMATIC concepts generally known as
"Enhance CMC".

Discussion of the proposed group comp.telematic.otg will be held on
"news.groups". (Note that the Followup-To: line of this article will
direct any responses there automatically.)  Copies of this RFD will
also be cross-posted to other newsgroups.  Readers should feel free to
re-post this article to other newsgroups whose readers might find it
of interest, as long as the Followup-To: line remains directed to
news.groups.

Requests for more information may be directed to me at the address below
at any time.

To assure prompt response [e-mail] is prefer.


IMG (Inter-Multimedia Group) | Internet: [e-mail]
P.O. Box 95901               |           [e-mail]
Atlanta, Georgia,30347-0901  |           [e-mail]
                             | CIS     : 70611,3703
U.S.                         | FidoNet : 1:133/407
                             | [e-mail]
                             | BBS     : [phone] zyxel 14.4k

Thanks to all those who have offer suggestions on how to formally
create this newsgroup.


[e-mail] (Ed pimentel)  gatech!kd4nc!vdbsan!willard!edimg
emory!uumind!willard!edimg
Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]

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

Date: Fri, 7 May 93 11:44:01 EDT
From: [e-mail]  (Aninda Dasgupta)
Subject: India Involved With Balkan Telecom Modernization


Forwarded from misc.news.southasia.1402 Fri May  7 11:34:04 EDT 1993

Headlines:
  * India Plans VSAT Satellite Network
  * India involved with Balkan telecom modernization

                           * * * * *

* India involved with Balkan telecom modernization.

Albanian PTT experts, impressed with India's technology, software
approach, are collaborating with the Indian Center for the Development
of Telematics(C-DOT) in several telecom expansion plans. The two
countries have signed an agreement for the installation of a pilot
Rural Automatic Exchange(RAX) with full global dialling capacity in
Alabama [?? I think it should read Albania, unless there is an Alabama
in Albania.] The agreement also allows for the provision, by the
Indian specialists, of expert analysis of Albania's plans for its
rural telecoms, as well as possible training for Albanian engineers.

    India is also involved with Slovenia's telecom modernization
plans. In February, the Slovenian based Iskra, which has joined forces
with Siemens and is now called Iskratel, signed a preliminary
agreement with India's C-DoT and the government's Telecommunications
Consultants India, for rural switching system. This could involve the
next generation of PABXs, cost sharing of software development and the
sale of administrator network software package.
[ SOURCE: Telecommunications, April 1993 ]

* India Plans VSAT Satellite Network

India's Department of Telecommunicatios (DoT), in response to the
rapid growth in software development laboratories around the country,
proposes to improve its international communications infrastructure by
building a network of VSAT terminals. The DoT's plan is to launch a
satellite communication network system of 200 Very Small Aperture
Terminals (VSATs) that will have direct access to the C-band
transponders of the INSAT-1A satellite that is usually used for
forecasting climatic conditions and broadcast TV.

    The DoT's plan was reportedly devised mainly to counter a plan
for a similar system by Hughes Escorts Communicatios Ltd, a General
Motors subsidiary. According to insiders, the DoT originally
considered Hughes's plan to launch a satellite-based data
communications network to boost software exports but then decided to
devise its own communications network for software exporters.

    The VSAT network is expected to be complete by the end of 1993
when it will provide software exporters with a fast data
communications service. This type of data service is currently
available only to firms located in designated electronic software
technology parks (ESTP).
[ SOURCE: International Telecommunications Intelligence, 3/23/93 ]


Aninda DasGupta ([e-mail]) Ph:[phone] Fax:[phone]
Philips Labs\n 345 Scarborough Rd\n  Briarcliff Manor\n NY 10510

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

Date: Fri, 7 May 93 14:56 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns


In comp.dcom.telecom was written:

>Interested parties might note that 'zooid.guild.org' had no address
>record in the major nameservers nor an entry in the NIC database as of
>1600 5/6/93.

I had no problem finding them.  Just because they don't have machines
directly on the net is no reason to condemn them.  The lack of address
records merely means that they exchange mail and news via a mechanism
other than SMTP and NNTP, most likely UUCP.  guild.org is also listed
in the current NIC database, which is maintained on rs.internic.net.
Results follow; these can be obtained with the following commands:

nslookup -query=mx zooid.guild.org

whois -h rs.internic.net guild.org

Server:  ns.CWRU.Edu
Address:  129.22.4.1

Non-authoritative answer:
zooid.guild.org    preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail.uunet.ca
zooid.guild.org    preference = 20, mail exchanger = relay1.uu.net
zooid.guild.org    preference = 20, mail exchanger = relay2.uu.net

Authoritative answers can be found from:
GUILD.org    nameserver = NS.UUNET.CA
GUILD.org    nameserver = NS.UU.NET
mail.uunet.ca    internet address = 142.77.1.1
relay1.uu.net    internet address = 192.48.96.5
relay1.uu.net    internet address = 153.39.2.5
relay1.uu.net    internet address = 137.39.1.5
relay2.uu.net    internet address = 192.48.96.7
relay2.uu.net    internet address = 153.39.2.7
relay2.uu.net    internet address = 137.39.1.7
NS.UUNET.CA    internet address = 142.77.1.1
NS.UU.NET    internet address = 137.39.1.3

The Guild Mail Park (GUILD-DOM)
   c/o Bellatrix Systems Corporation
   2597 Altadena Court
   Mississauga, ON
   CANADA  L5K 1G1

   Domain Name: GUILD.ORG

   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Sleggs, Peter  (PS61)  [e-mail]
      [phone]

   Record last updated on 05-Jun-92.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   NS.UUNET.CA            142.77.1.1
   NS.UU.NET            137.39.1.3


The InterNIC Registration Services Host ONLY contains Internet Information
(Networks, ASN's, Domains, and POC's).
Please use the whois server at nic.ddn.mil for MILNET Information.


Jacob DeGlopper, EMT-A    |  CWRU Biomedical Engineering
[e-mail]          |  Wheaton (MD) Volunteer Rescue Squad
[e-mail]  |  Opinions my own...
    *** mayhem goes home 15 May 93; use other addresses ***


[Moderator's Note: Thanks also to about fifteen other readers who
supplied almost identical information along with reasons why the site
might not be readily available for fingering, etc.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #307
******************************










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Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 20:04:31 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #308

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 8 May 93 20:04:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 308

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    V.35 and V.36 (V.10/V11) (Wilfried Dudink)
    Haiti Phone Network (Max Louis)
    Newspaper-Telco Alliance (Dave Niebuhr)
    Internet on the Nevada Plan (Paul Robinson)
    Recent Ad For ATT 800 Services (Badarinath Devalla)
    Call for Papers: Applications of Neural Networks to Telecom (Atul Chhabra)
    Presidents and Telephones (Scott Hazen Mueller)
    X.25 Service Pricing (Steve Fram)
    Prodigy Gateway/Mailbox Inquiry (Paul Barnett)
    Telecom History (Stephen Friedl)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 14:29:11 +0100
From: [e-mail] (Wilfried Dudink)
Subject: V.35 and V.36 (V.10/V11)


Hello,

Let's take a walk trough the CCITT V-recommendations guide.

THE PROBLEM:

We have a CISCO router with a V.35 interface. And we have a 64 kbps
leased line from the Dutch Telecom Company (PTT). The modem that is
used on the leased line is a V.36 modem (Electrical V.10 and V.11),
with a V.35 winchester connector. According to the Dutch Telecom
Company, the connection should work.  (V.10/V.11 should allow
internetworking with V.35) But we keep having problems on our serial
connection (interface restarts and aborted frames.)

THE INITIAL QUESTION:

Is it possible to use a V.36 Modem (Electrical V.10/V.11) on a V.35
interface?

SOME NOTES:

* Recommendation V.35 (CCITT Blue book, Vol. VIII Fascicle VIII.1)
    According to the opinion of the CCITT V.35 is out of date.
    Alternative techniques are described in Rec. V.36.
    The electrical characteristics are expected to allow internetworking
    with V.11 characteristics.

* Recommendation V.35 (CCITT Red book, Vol. VIII Fascicle VIII.1)
    The terminal-to-terminal voltage should be 0.55 volt +/- 20 %
    The DC offset should not exceed 0.6 volt.

So according to the CCITT V.35 should allow internetworking with V.11
signalling, but on the other hand in the electrical V.35 specs. is a
note that for instance the DC offset should never exceed the 0.6 volt.
And V.11 is about 2.4 volt

PLEASE HELP! Is it or is it not possible to use these modems?


Wilfried Dudink (Network Manager)


Getronics, Dep. I&A         Internet: [e-mail]
Network Management Center   X.400   : C=NL\A=400NET\P=GNS-X400
                                      O=Getronics\OU=GNS\S=Dudink
Gyroscoopweg 2                        G=wilfried
1042 AB  AMSTERDAM          Phone   : [phone]
THE NETHERLANDS             Fax     : [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Max Louis)
Subject: Haiti Phone Network
Organization: State University of New York -- Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 20:40:22 GMT


I am very concerned about the fact that Haiti has the only network
that operates very differently from the rest of the Caribbean.  First,
next to Haiti is the Dominican Republic and one can reach it from the
US by dialing directly 1-809-NXX-0000 while the system is different on
the western side. The numbers there are six digits. What is the NXX
then, the first two digit or do they have a completely different set
up? To reach there, one needs to dial 011+509 which classifies Haiti
as international.  What type of telephone switch do they have? Isn't
the Haitian Network part of the Caricom?  How bad is their network for
so much hiss on the call?  A lot of echo, probably analog satellite
transmission?  Can one put data on their line?  Is there any private
network there?  Who regulate the telecommunications industry there?

Any one that can provide me with some answers to these questions
will be so dear to me, because I am looking forward to solve this
mystery?


Maxo


[Moderator's Note: How things in the 809 area came to be 809 versus
'international' (that is, 011+) many years ago had to do with interna-
tional politics at the time; in large part that meant who the USA was
friends with; which countries (now) were territories (then) of other
countries, etc. For instance, why is Cuba country code 53 (to almost
everywhere but the USA, anyway) instead of part of 809? The 5x and 5xx
country codes tend to be Central America and South America, yet there
are places in 809 'further south' than the northernmost part of Mexico
which is 52. And why is Mexico considered 'international' to the USA
when Canada is part of the North American numbering plan? Mexico is
also part of North America ... Then we have the odd case of the two
sister islands just off the coast of Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Geographically they are part of Canada but politically, they are part
of France, so instead of getting a North American 'area code' they get
the international code 011-508. All the other 'fives' as noted above
are in Central or South America, except Cuba, which is right under our
nose and imminently qualified to be in the NANP instead of 011-53, if
we were speaking to them, that is. For that matter, why is Guam
(011-671) considered international while Midway Island and parts of the
Pacific Trust Territory are now being serviced out of area code 808
along with Hawaii?  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 20:07:54 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Newspaper-Telco Alliance


Today's {Newsday} announced that it had merged with NYNEX to provide a
News Phone.  Note that NYNEX is not mentioned again but New York
Telephone is which shows that {Newsday} is not as smart as it should
be.

The two companies agreed to begin testing a system for providing news
over the phone, in an unusual alliance between the publishing and
telephone industries.

"Under the test, people who subscribe to New York Telephone's Call
Answering Service would be able to receive news briefs from {Newsday}
including sports, weather reports ans state, local, national and
business briefs.:

"A six month trial is expected to begin this fall with 1,500 Long
Island residents in a community to be designated.  The users would
largely be {Newsday} readers who subscribe to New York Telephone's
voice mail service, Call Answering."

The article goes on to give a brief description of the service and how
it would work via 900 numbers.

The article describes how {Newsday} provides the information and
NYTel is the conveyor of it.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 11:18:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Internet on the Nevada Plan
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


The "Nevada Plan" is the name I picked for that company in Nevada that
set up a dial-up service in which you got the service for free, as
long as you called in via AT&T because AT&T paid them the local
termination fee that normally went to the local telephone company.

There is a company now that is offering full Internet, i.e. a Unix
shell account with E-Mail, Telnet, FTP, and news, accessible from any
telephone that can dial into the AT&T Long Distance network.  All that
is charged to you is the cost to make the phone call via AT&T.  This,
I think would be a nice idea for someone wanting not-too-expensive
E-mail as you could simply make one call once a day for 15c or so and
collect any mail in a one-minute period if you didn't need that much.

The way they make their money is on the "Nevada" plan, i.e. they get
the 2c per minute (or whatever it is) that AT&T would normally pay the
local telephone company to connect calls in an area.

The company operates the "Speedway" dialup service.  The company also
advertises that it does (or will) offer slip and uucp connections.  I
have no interest in this other than I have an account on their system
(Look below and take a wild guess at what it is) and I am trying to
get a domain name set up through them.

To contact them, send E-Mail to [e-mail] or dial in on 10288
(of course) 1 503 520 2222.  If you don't use AT&T (or you are calling
that number from a local exchange) you get a busy signal.

(This should also answer Tim Arnold's <[e-mail]> question
Re: Temporary Connection needed for Conference)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] or
(discontinued) [e-mail] or [e-mail] or
[e-mail] or  (guess what account name)@speedway.net


[Moderator's Note: Paul is talking about a gay party line chat service
out of Reno which is wired in such a way that if you attempt to call
it on any service other than AT&T, the call bounces with an intercept
saying 'you must dial 10288' to place this call. All you, the caller
pay is DDD rates in effect at the time. How does the proprietor of the
sex-o-phone service feed his family? AT&T gives him a piece of the
action, usually a couple cents on every minute of traffic he generates.
If you can show Mother that you are have the means to get thousands of
men calling you all night long night after night, she'll cut you in on
the action also whether it be for sex-talk or checking out your email
and newsgroups ... she doesn't give an iota.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Badarinath Devalla)
Subject: Recent Ads For ATT 800 Services
Date: 8 May 1993 16:41:44 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University


Howdy,

    I have been watching a lot of ads by ATT imploring customers
to keep AT&T 800 services. I read somewhere that MCI has 15% share of
800 services and that AT&T earns a lot of money with its 800 services.
I also read recently that some very fundamental changes have taken
place in the rules that govern 800 service providers. Can somebody
enlighten me on this 800 deal -- what it was before and what it is now?


Thanks,

Badari


[Moderator's Note: I'll be glad to, but everyone else will have to
read a commercial message as well! :)  Until this month, 800 numbers
were routed by their prefix to the carrier which was assigned the
prefix. If you had 800 service but wanted to switch carriers, you had
to switch 800 numbers as well. As the inventor of 800 service about
thirty years ago, AT&T had the lion's share of the business. All the
old-line companies, around for generations that have 800 service most
likely got it from AT&T. Because the number is plastered all over the
place in their ads, etc, they were stuck with AT&T or they had to get
a new number. As much as they hated their Mother, they hated the
idea of screwing up millions of dollars in advertising even more. So
they lived with it.  As of May 1, we now have 'portability' in 800
numbers. Instead of routing calls via their prefix, telcos examine the
entire 800 number and if it is known to them -- sort of like being in
a cache of freqeuently accessed things -- they process the call to
whatever carrier handles it. If it is not known to them, they consult
a common database maintained by Bellcore. Some 800 calls now go through
very fast (telco has it in the cache), others take a few seconds longer
than they used to while telco checks the database.

The end result is any carrier can offer 800 service with any 800
number; no more are the customers stuck with the carrier they had in
order to keep their number.  Now, customers can shop for 800 service
based on price and quality just like they do for 1+ service. Enter
your Moderator: I now sell 800 service on behalf of this Digest. You
keep your existing 800 number and pay rates of 17-18 cents per minute
with no monthly service charge.  If those rates sound good to you, and
you would like to help keep this Digest alive financially in a painless
way, then please authorize me to handle your 800 traffic. Any 800
service -- ATT/MCI/Sprint/others -- can be handled through my office
at 17-18 cents per minute starting now.  I'll be very grateful.  Write
'[e-mail]' for details. PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 17:50:20 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Atul Chhabra)
Subject: Call for Papers: Applications of Neural Networks to Telecommunications


FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS

******************** Due date for summary: May 14 ***********************

International Workshop on Applications of
Neural Networks to Telecommunications

Princeton, NJ
October 18-20, 1993

You are invited to submit a paper to an international workshop on
applications of neural networks to problems in telecommunications.
The workshop will be held in Princeton, New Jersey on October, 18-20
1993.

This workshop will bring together active researchers in neural
networks with potential users in the telecommunications industry in a
forum for discussion of applications issues. Applications will be
identified, experiences shared, and directions for future work
explored.

Suggested Topics:
Application of Neural Networks in:

Network Management
Congestion Control
Adaptive Equalization
Speech Recognition
Security Verification
Language ID/Translation
Information Filtering
Dynamic Routing
Software Reliability
Fraud Detection
Financial and Market Prediction
Adaptive User Interfaces
Fault Identification and Prediction
Character Recognition
Adaptive Control
Data Compression

Please submit 6 copies of both a 50 word abstract and a 1000 word
summary of your paper by May 14, 1993. Mail papers to the conference
administrator:

Betty Greer, IWANNT*93
Bellcore, MRE 2P-295
445 South St.  Morristown, NJ 07960
[phone] (fax) 829-5888
[e-mail]


Abstract and Summary Due: May 14
Author Notification of Acceptance: June 18
Camera-Ready Copy of Paper Due: August 13

Organizing Committee:

General Chair
Josh Alspector
Bellcore, MRE 2P-396
445 South St. Morristown, NJ 07960-6438
[phone]  [e-mail]

Program Chair
Rod Goodman
Caltech 116-81  Pasadena, CA 91125
[phone]  [e-mail]

Publications Chair
Timothy X Brown
Bellcore, MRE 2E-378
445 South St.  Morristown, NJ 07960-6438
[phone]  [e-mail]

Treasurer
Anthony Jayakumar, Bellcore

Events Coordinator
Larry Jackel, AT&T Bell Laboratories

Industry Liaisons
Miklos Boda, Ellemtel
Atul Chhabra, NYNEX
Michael Gell, British Telecom
Lee Giles, NEC
Thomas John, Southwestern Bell
Adam Kowalczyk, Telecom Australia
Tadashi Sone, NTT

University Liaisons
S Y Kung, Princeton University
Tzi-Dar Chiueh, National Taiwan University

INNS Liaison
Bernie Widrow, Stanford University

IEEE Liaison
Steve Weinstein, Bellcore

Conference Administrator
Betty Greer
Bellcore, MRE 2P-295
445 South St.   Morristown, NJ 07960
[phone]  (fax) 829-5888
[e-mail]

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

International Workshop on Applications of
Neural Networks to Telecommunications
Princeton, NJ
October 18-20, 1993

Registration Form

Name: _____________________________________________________________

Institution: __________________________________________________________

Mailing Address:
 ___________________________________________________________________

 ___________________________________________________________________

 ___________________________________________________________________

 ___________________________________________________________________

Telephone: ______________________________

Fax: ____________________________________

E-mail: _____________________________________________________________


I will attend | |

Send more information | |

Paper enclosed  | |

Registration Fee Enclosed  | |
($350; $450 after Sept. 15; $150 students;)
Please make sure your name is on the check (made out to IWANNT*93)

Registration includes Monday night reception, Tuesday night banquet,
refreshment breaks, AT&T tour, and proceedings available at the conference.

Mail to:
Betty Greer, IWANNT*93
Bellcore, MRE 2P-295
445 South St.  Morristown, NJ 07960
[phone] (fax) 829-5888
[e-mail]

Deadline for submissions: May 14, 1993
Author Notification of Acceptance: June 18, 1993
Camera-Ready Copy of Paper Due: August 13, 1993

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

From: [e-mail] (Scott Hazen Mueller)
Subject: Presidents and Telephones
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tandem Computers Inc., Cupertino CA
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 23:39:15 GMT


 From the February 1993 {McCall's}, "The Man Who Lost What He Loved"
by Doris Kearns Goodwin:

"When Dwight Eisenhower returned to Kansas on January 20th, 1961, he
had not placed a phone call in his 20 years as general and President.
Unaware that a dialing system had replaced local operators, he had no
idea what to do when he heard the humming of the dial tone."

Talk about being passed up by progress!

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 11:16:46 PDT
From: Steve Fram <[e-mail]>
Subject: X.25 Service Pricing


Folks --

We are in the process of negotiating a renewal of our contract for
X.25 services.

We currently have 9.6kbaud and a 19.2kbaud leased lines to SprintNet,
through which users connect to us.  The users call in via local
dialins around the US and internationally ('PAD service').  We do
about $30,000.00 of business with SprintNet per month.

SprintNet is setup so that clients negotiate the best deal that they
can -- no real set rates.  We will be soliciting competitive bids from
various X.25 vendors.  However, it would also be good to know what
other customers pay for similar services.  Since there does not appear
to be a SprintNet customer user group, I wonder if anyone in this
group would like to share pricing information for their SprintNet
contracts, or for their contracts with other Public Data Network
vendors (Compuserve, Tymnet, etc.).  If necessary, I can sign a
non-disclosure agreement.  I am willing to share our current pricing
arrangement with most anyone who is willing to do the same.


Thanks very much,

Steve  Fram   Technical Director, IGC
[e-mail]    1-415-322-9069

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Barnett)
Subject: Prodigy Gateway/Mailbox Inquiry
Date: Sat, 8 May 93 10:12:48 CDT


Previous messages in this newsgroup have given updates on the status
of the mail gateway between the Internet and Prodigy users.  I presume
that it is up and running at this time.

I would like to send a message to a Prodigy user, and was wondering if
there is an inquiry mechanism to determine a mailbox address, given
the user's name.  If not, I would settle for the correct syntax to
send a message FROM the Internet, given the Prodigy mailbox address.

Email replies are preferred.  If would like the information, drop me a
line and I will forward it to you.


Paul Barnett
MPP OS Development     (214)-497-4846
Convex Computer Corp.  Richardson, TX



[Moderator's Note: Others have stated elsewhere that they do not
believe Prodigy is yet connected.  I know they've talked about it.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Stephen Friedl)
Subject: Telecom History
Date: Sat, 7 May 93 13:55:00 PDT


Hi folks,

Last weekend, a couple of members of my family were cleaning out my
grandmother's house after her living there for years and years (ugh).
Part of the junk that I am sure you can imagine me finding was a coat
hanger.  It is wooden and rather nicely made, and it is from the
"Jos. R. Hendricks, Cleaner and Dyer" shop in Camden, New Jersey.

The telecom angle is that the phone numbers are listed:

    Phones / Bell 1393
           \ Keystone 23693

My guess is that this was from the day when there were competing
telephone services in town, and you had to have several phones if you
wanted to get calls from more customers.

Anyway, can anybody make any reasonable guesses as to the possible age
of this thing?  I really have no idea when the U.S. went to direct
dial long distance, but this has got to be a long time before that.


Stephen J Friedl | Software Consultant | Tustin, CA |     [phone]
fax-kind-of-guy  | I speak for me ONLY |   KA8CMY   | uunet!mtndew!friedl


[Moderator's Note: Camden readers can correct if if I am wrong, but I
believe 'Keystone 2-3693' would be now 532-3693. In the era when 'there
 were competing services in town' (if that was ever the case in Camden)
neither service would have needed five digit numbers, and certainly
not the competitor if Bell needed only four digits. Automatic intra-
community dialing commenced in most places in the 1950's. Long distance
dialing became common in the late 1950's. ANC (all number calling --
that is '532' instead of KEystone-2) was prevalent by the middle to
late 1960's.

Based on the similarity of the numbers '1393' and '23693' I suspect
the coat hangers may have been imprinted in anticipation of 'going
dial in style' as Mother used to say when she tried to get everyone to
lease a Princess light-in-the-dial phone as part of the community
conversion, which she began announcing several months before the
event. You were to ask for 1393 until the magic date, then dial on
your new Princess phone --ha ha -- (as we now would say it) 532-3693
after that point.  Why they did not make an even swap on the suffix
(1393 would become 532-1393) is hard to say.  Most places just tacked
a prefix on the existing number and prepended zeros as needed to flush
it out to seven digits, i.e. phone number 369 was <prefix>-0369 when
automation commenced. There may have been a conflict with party-line
numbers (all the old xxx-J, xxx-R, and xxx-W style phones had to be
renumbered) or there were two manual exchanges in town being merged
into one automatic exchange and there were number conflicts, etc.

The 'phone man' went door to door in the months prior to automation
retrofitting all the phones; they took off the face plate on the front
and installed the dial works where it had been. You were to ignore the
dial until the magic date, which nearly always was 2 in the morning on
Saturday. When our exchange was 'cut' in 1951, my curiosity was such
that I snuck out of bed to see what would happen.  At 1:59 AM I lifted
the receiver, heard the lady say 'number please?'  and asked for a
number I knew would not answer, the payphone in the elementary school
I attended, phone number 9254 I think.  She rang it, I waited through
5-6 rings and disconnected. I lifted the receiver again a few seconds
after 2 AM and got nothing. I waited 30 seconds or so and lifted the
receiver again and heard dial tone. Being about nine years old, I was
amazed.  And before automation, if you asked for a number in use the lady
would 'test' and hearing a click reply 'the line is busy'; now you got
that buzz-buzz-buzz sound instead. My belief is your coat hanger dates
to the early/middle 1950's. Anyone from Camden want to go further on
this?  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #308
******************************










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Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 23:33:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #309

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 8 May 93 23:33:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 309

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (Robert Burgoyne)
    Why 900 Numbers? (Bob Frankston)
    Looking For Cordless Phone With Separate Recharger Units ([e-mail])
    Calling Card With No Surcharge or Sign Up Fee (Frank Keeney)
    Protocol Analyzer Wanted (Drew Engel)
    A Who's Who of Oz/NZ Comms R&D (Alan Kennington)
    Vendors of Small Voice Mail Systems Wanted (Oliver Jones)
    Fiber Optic Costs (Haldun Haznedar)
    Konexx 203 Acoustic Coupler (Dolly Samson)
    Line Loss Calculator Wanted (Douglas LLoyd Stevens)
    Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority? (Cris Simpson)
    Bill Reconciliation Experience/Info Sought (David Hudek)
    Ideas and Thoughts About CalRen (Michael L. Rasler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Robert Burgoyne)
Subject: Individual Responsibility (was Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!)
Date: 8 May 1993 12:07:40 -0400
Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726


Justin Leavens ([e-mail]) wrote in response to TELECOM
Moderator who had earlier noted:

>> [Moderator's Note: Well, I used to think the tariff requirements
>> making 'the subscriber responsible for the use of the instruments'
>> also applied to premium services such as 900/976, but a few writers
>> here have said the tariff only pertains to services actually sold by
>> telco (that is, phone calls) and not the premium stuff they simply
>> bill for.

Let's get some things straight. I'm a 900 number IP, and I work with
other people doing the same thing. We're not sleazes. I'd appreciate
it if the Moderator would abstain from such comments.

The IP and the IP alone is stuck with the bill for uncollectibles.

The telco simply bills us for calls where the customer refuses to pay.

These chargebacks come with codes. They are the following:

    OTA - One time adjustment
    DAK - Denied all knowledge
    LEC - Refused to bill
    LRA - LEC Recourse adjustment
    PCP - State mandated adjustment
    TNC - Time and charges

When a customer refuses to pay, the carrier passes along the transport
cost to the IP, and deducts it from the check the IP gets for
customers who do pay. As far as the phone company is concerned, that's
the end of the matter. They got their money from the IP. The IP is
left holding the bag.

Chargebacks vary as a percentage of total revenue from 5-20%,
depending on various factors. For most IPs, this amount can be
absorbed. But there are always customers like the roomate mentioned
who suck an unduly large amount from the IP's check.

In this world, we have responsibility. Many people don't fully realize
their responsibilities, and whine when things like the roommate
situation happens. The case of one person making excessive long
distance calls on another person's phone has been a problem for a long
time. Pay per call services just offer another occassion for this to
happen.

If you want the responsibility of owning a telephone and having
service, it's necessary to take precautions. That responsibility falls
on the shoulders of the person who signed for the phone.

The IP spent money setting up and advertising their service. They took
a risk with the intention of making a profit. The more people whine
about protection from all responsibility, the more freedom is taken
away.  Personally I like freedom. That's why I live here.

> This is one of the prime reasons I hate the IP billing situation:
> You can only put one name on a residential phone account, and that
> person becomes responsible for whatever massive charges are
> accumulated on that account, no matter who makes the calls.

Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
on your next bill. Who's responsible?

> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
> their name.

No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but that
doesn't absolve responsibility.

> And IP's are really only a problem because of the massive charges
> that can be accumulated without warning (it's obvious when your
> roommate spends five or six hours on the phone to another country, but
> those same charges can be accumulated in about 30 minutes with an IP).

$2,100 in 30 minutes? That's $70 per minute. The maximum limit is
about $5 per minute. Most IPs won't let a caller make a phone call
that exceeds $100. The caller is cut off or warned.

> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your phone
> under lock and key!

People do this! And there's nothing wrong with doing it!

> A poor roommate choice (including circumstances like college where
> you don't even have a choice) can cost you thousands of dollars and
> the use of your phone forever, and unlike other credit outfits, you
> have no recourse in the case of fraud.

Boo hoo.


J. Robert Burgoyne                Maryland FYI            Laurel, Maryland
  301-317-0726 24 Hours    [e-mail]    301-317-0587 FAX


[Moderator's Note: I don't think I ever said *all* 900 services were
sleaze. There are some that are total ripoffs. If I ever run one, I
would hope to make it valuable to the people who used it, at an inex-
pensive price.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Why 900 Numbers?
Date: Sat 8 May 1993 10:37 -0400


What is the rationale for 900 service?

* It allows for billing without the nuisance of dealing with credit
cards for small transactions.  This is reasonable.

* It allows billing large amounts without the awareness of using
credit cards.

* It allows everyone to get an unbounded implicit line of credit as a
default, i.e., without having to accept a card. This is similar to the
days when gas companies and others would mail out credit cards to
college students and others. Maybe like giving out free sample
cigarettes.

* It makes scams easier.

I do notice that late night sex line ads are now using 800 numbers.
900 numbers may have served their purpose in establishing large
classes of phone-based services (many, if not most quite useful).  But
perhaps it is time to retire them.

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

From: [e-mail] (dx)
Subject: Looking For Cordless Phone With Separate Recharger Units
Organization: The Off Beat
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 04:29:27 GMT


I'd like to find a cordless phone that has:

    1. A regular corded phone at the base, and
    2. One or more remote charging units that the cordless handset
       can be left in.

This seems like a simple way to keep a phone in another room without
having to run wires.

The only phone of this sort that I've seen is an older GE model, and
the quality of the signal seemed to be very poor.  Anyone know of any
other manufacturers?


-dx

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

From: [e-mail] (Frank Keeney)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 08 May 1993 16:42:19 -0800
Subject: Calling Card With No Surcharge or Sign Up Fee


I just found a company that offers a zero surcharge calling card and
it costs nothing to get it. You just need to switch your primary
carrier.  There are no advance fees at all. ICR and Metromedia will
also pay any conversion fees and are giving one hour of free long
distance for signing up.

               CALLING CARD RATES:
      (ZERO SURCHARGE per call; full minute billing)
                DAY       EVE       N/W
     Mileage:  1-55         .285      .20       .17
           56 -292      .30       .215      .2025
           293-925      .305      .225      .21
           926-4251+    .3125     .23       .2125

       Plus additional CUMULATIVE volume discounts.
      (Compare to AT&T at $0.80 surcharge and up to $0.33 /min.)

If you would like to sign up for the service please send me your name,
Social Security number, address, and telephone number to be converted.

I am representing this service so if you sign up I will make a
commission on your phone usage. Please let me know if there is any
other information I can provide or questions I can answer.


 Frank Keeney                | E-mail  [e-mail]
 115 California Blvd., #411  | Fidonet 1:102/645
 Pasadena, CA 91105-1509 USA | UUCP    hatch!calcom!frank
                 | FAX     [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Every user of long distance should review their own
applications and *then* decide on a carrier. Too often, it is done the
other way around with (like the purchase of computer equipment and
software) the person buying something, *then* trying to configure or
fit their own patterns around it. The program Frank suggests above is
one that will work if you don't mind switching carriers and if (like
Orange Card), you make a lot of daytime calls from places where a
surcharge would apply. As soon as night falls, you lose big time both
on Frank's program above, and of course on the Orange Card as well if
you are at a private phone where you could be dialing direct, etc.

As I see it, the difference between Frank's program and the Orange
Card is that Orange has no allegiance to any carrier (thus no 1+
requirement) and cheaper rates during the daytime, but slightly more
expensive rates at other hours and on weekends. Does the $12 sign up
fee on Orange make a difference? (Yes, it is $12 now -- the $10 rate
was a special promo during the first three months of operation) ...
some would note that the sign up fee is equivilent to about 15
surcharges on AT&T ... others might say the $12 is equivilent to the
higher rates Frank's program charges on daytime calls amortized over a
large number of calls. Once you've made a dozen or more calls on
Orange, the $12 is spread in both ways: you've started saving on
surcharges and you've gotten under the rates charged by ICR/Metromedia.

I can't stress enough that your own personal application and
requirements are the all-important factor in choosing any telecomm-
unications service and feature, but there comes a point, as when
choosing between Sprint/MCI/AT&T for your 1+ carrier that unless your
volume is really huge, you are pursuing very tiny differences in
rates. 'Long Distance' is a very competitive industry these days. And
if your traffic is huge -- huge to the extent that those penny per
minute 'shavings' make a difference (like the guy who worked for the
bank and rigged the computer to put the fractions of a penny rounded
off interest in his own account and walked away a millionaire), then
you need to do two things: (1) pay closer attention to the prices
charged by carriers, and (2) contact '[e-mail]' -- why?
because I handle the 'biguns' har har ... don't I wish!  Like
ICR/Metromedia, Orange Communications pays a residual based on the use
of their card; the proceeds go to a project on which I feel a special
responsibility: this Digest. The Orange Card, 800 numbers and 1+
dialing are three ways you can demonstrate support for my favorite
Digest (and I hope yours as well!) in a painless way.  Write me for
details.  PAT]

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

Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 15:57:49 PST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Protocol Analyzer Wanted


Help!

I'm searching for an analyzer that will capture at 1 Mbit on an
RS422/V36 interface AND will allow for user defined protocol, or in
other words a nonstandard async protocol.

Any leads would be appreciated.  I have quite a list of vendors to
start calling.


Drew   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Alan Kennington)
Subject: A Who's Who of Oz/NZ Comms R&D
Date: 8 May 93 13:10:50 GMT
Organization: Statistics, Pure & Applied Mathematics, University of Adelaide


The May 93 edition of

    "A who's who of Australian and New Zealand telecommunications R&D"

is now available at the anonymous FTP site

    ftp.atri.curtin.edu.au (134.7.130.22)

in directory

    pub/documents/whos_who/au

The files there are:

  8875 May  5 09:36 README
 93637 May  5 09:36 cnr1.ps.Z
 65294 May  5 09:36 cnr1.tex
 16338 May  5 09:36 whomax.tex

The document can be created either from the plain TeX source (cnr1.tex
plus whomax.tex), or from the PostScript output from that source
(cnr1.ps.Z). There is no plain ascii version, apart from the file
cnr1.tex itself. If anyone can send me a plain-TeX-to-ascii conversion
program, I'll provide an ascii version.

The document is 22 pages long, and contains about 80 organizations and
about 280 individuals who work in comms R&D or related fields in
Australia and New Zealand. The list is most definitely not
comprehensive. It is the result of an informal collection of
information over the last few months. It is not a glossy slick
document, but it _is_ public domain and free. However, please do not
use it for junk mail or other such anti-social activities.

The document is provided for the facilitation of establishment of
professional contacts between comms people. I hope that one or more
people out there in net-land will benefit from it.

Further information may be found in the README file.

    The best of vegemite to all net-landers,

    Regards,

    Alan Kennington.

PS.  If anyone can tell me where to obtain a corresponding document
for the USA, or for Europe, or especially for Asia, I'd be much obliged.


Alan Kennington
TRC/Applied Mathematics  Time-zone: GMT+0930
University of Adelaide        Work: [phone]
Adelaide SA 5005               Fax: [phone]
Australia                 Internet: [e-mail]
X.400: C=au A=telememo P=oz.au DDA.RFC-822=akenning(a)maths.adelaide.edu.au

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 17:42:15 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Oliver Jones)
Subject: Vendors of Small Voice Mail Systems?


I'm seeking a vendor for a new or used small but expandable voice mail
system.  I'd appreciate any pointers anyone can give.

I will summarize responses.  Thanks.


Oliver Jones                 Vivo Software, Inc.
email: [e-mail]      61 Longwood Avenue
tel/fax: [phone]     Brookline, MA 02146 USA

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

From: haldun@wotangate (Haldun Haznedar)
Subject: Fiber Optic Costs
Organization: Texas Instruments
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 20:06:00 GMT


Does anyone happen to know how much it costs to install fiber-optic
cable in $/mile including labor?

Thank you.


HH

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

From: [e-mail] (D. Samson)
Subject: Konexx 203 Acoustic Coupler
Organization: Weber State University
Date: 8 May 1993 08:48 MST


I've seen several postings about acoustic couplers which mentioned the
Konexx as a possibility.  I just received my very own Konexx 203
acoustic coupler yesterday and tried it out at home.  It works fine at
2400 bps.

I'm going to be travelling for the next seven weeks with my bicycle
and my notebook.  Since I've no guarantee I can always find a modular
jack when I need one, I decided to get the coupler.  Its very small,
light, and is supposed to run 30 hours on its 9-V battery. (I wanted
to try RadioMail, but every indication was that I would have a tough
time connecting in many remote places and even from the wrong side of
the building in a large city).


Dolly Samson   Weber State University   Ogden, Utah   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Douglas Lloyd Stevens)
Subject: Line Loss Calculator Wanted
Date: Sat, 08 May 93 20:04:01 GMT
Organization: The University of Calgary, Alberta


I'm looking for a good shareware program (MSDOS) that will calculate
line loss for communications cable.  Any sugestions?


Doug Stevens   U of C Education   [e-mail]

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

DFrom: [e-mail] (Cris Simpson)
Subject: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority?
Date: Sat, 8 May 1993 00:00:00 GMT


[Moderator's Note: Not really a telecom question, but an interesting
diversion for a minute or two ... PAT]

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

A note along with my last paystub noted that ADP (the payroll giants)
had miscalculated some deduction for insurance.  The note said that
for people with Direct Deposit, ADP would just withdraw the first
deposit, and immediately deposit the correct amount.  (Since the
insurance isn't that good a deal, I don't get it, so I'm not in that
group.)

This raises the question: Who can withdraw money from my account by
wire?  When asked this question, Bank of America 1) Refused to answer.
2) When asked for a supervisor, hung up.  Another call to Customer
Service provided a guy that said that anyone authorized to DD is
authorized to withdraw for "corrections".  I never authorized anybody
to make "corrections" to my account!

So can someone deposit $1 in my account, and then make a "correction"
of their choosing?


Cris Simpson    Santa Clara, CA       [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: It is not your place to 'authorize' anyone to make
corrections to your account. The bank can use its right of offset
against future deposits made in your account to adjust the earlier
error. Part of your contract with your bank is that all deposits are
'subject to verification and correction'. Because -- I presume -- you
have been a good customer of the bank -- not a snotty, demanding and
beligerant customer like so many people -- the bank lets you have the
funds right away from a wire transfer. The chances of error are slim,
and you need the money. But they could hold it a day or two, count it,
check everything out, etc, and let you stew in your juices waiting for
them to make sure everything checked out okay.

When you authorized your employer to make direct payments to your bank
account, it was assumed that authorization included the right to
correct errors made in good faith by clerks who were acting for your
employer. A con-artist who puts $1 in your account then attempts to
withdraw all of your life-savings is hardly acting in good faith and
the bank would recognize him for the charlatan he was ... the use of
the phrase 'withdraw and immediatly deposit' might have been poor
phraseology. It would have been better and caused less confusion,
IMHO, for a notice to have gone out explaining the error and stating
simply that 'an adjustment will be made, debiting/crediting your
balance by the amount of the error ...'. Put another way, if you
deposited your paycheck personally, and the teller applied it to my
account instead, should I get an attitude when the bank sends me a
notice several days later explaining why they are 'withdrawing' the
money from my account they gave me in error?  Try spending a few
months working in the back office of a big financial institution
sometime, then write me again and let's see if your attitude has
changed any. ... See folks, I *told* you it would be an interesting
diversion for a minute or two.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 16:40:20 PDT
From: [e-mail] (David Hudek)
Subject: Bill Reconciliation Info/Experience Sought


When comparing call records generated by a switch (e.g., SMDR or AMA)
with detailed bills provided by various carriers, one sometimes finds
that they are not 100% in agreement. Are there any "industry standard"
commonly accepted levels for disagreement (e.g., within x% number of
calls per month, within y% total duration per month)?

I'm especially interested to hear of the experiences of anyone with a
switch making several hundred thousand billable calls per month over
two or more different carriers.

We have an AT&T 5ESS (playing a large PBX) and only get answer
supervision over the ISDN PRI trunks. For the others, the switch just
times out and assumes a call was made after it's been up more than a
certain number of seconds. (Didn't MCI have a similar problem in their
early days?) Even accounting for the known answer supervision problem,
the operations folks here have noticed a (very small) number of
discrepancies between the AMA records and the detailed bills from one
of the carriers. (AMA records were examined using both a commercial
call accounting package as well as some home-grown software I wrote to
decode the raw records of interest [btw, they really need to rewrite
the AMA spec provided in the 5E billing features documentation!
ugh!]).

After eliminating bogus records due to bugs in the call accounting
software, and disputes due to no answer supervision, they still had a
few discrepencies.  We were wondering what other peoples' experiences
have been. Do their switch records match their bills 100%, 99.9%,
98%, 95%, ... ??


adTHANKSvance,

dave hudek  [e-mail]
<disclaimer: these are personal opinions only. I do not officially speak>
<for any organization.>

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 01:35:15 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Michael L. Rasler)
Subject: Ideas and Thoughts About CalRen


I am an adjunct faculty member at American River College in
Sacramento, CA.  I recently attended a teleradiology demonstration at
Pac-Bell, Watt Ave., Sacramento.  I also recently read an e-mail
message on CALREN.

As a part of my doctoral dissertation, I have developed health science
curriculum and followed it with a comparative analysis to determine if
the curriculum helped students be more successful.  The significance
was .003.

I am writing my dissertation on teaching health science in a multi-
tech distance learning modality.  I would be interested in your
innovative vision you referred to as CalRen.

Please advise.


Sincerely,

Mike Rasler    [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #309
******************************










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Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 13:12:21 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #310

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 9 May 93 13:12:20 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 310

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones? (Steve Buyske)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Justin Leavens)
    Re: DTMF Universality? (Mark Evans)
    Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem (Jeff Hibbard)
    Re: Caller ID Information to a PC (Ben Cox)
    Re: Caller ID Information to a PC (Dennis R. Conley)
    Re: The Perils of Caller-ID (A. Padgett Peterson)
    Re: Cordless Always Transmitting? (Pierre Mussard)
    Re: Cordless Always Transmitting? (Kevin Kadow)
    Re: France Direct vs Home Direct - A Correction (Georg Schwarz)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: 1.2 Watt Handheld Cellular Phone? (Andrew P. Herdman)
    Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted (Aninda Dasgupta)
    Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally? (F Goldstein)
    Re: AT&T Area Code Handbook (Jim Rees)
    Re: Answering Machine OGMs (was How I Answer the Phone) (Michael Callahan)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 05:07:24 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Steve Buyske)
Subject: Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones?


With all the recent talk about Clipper chips, I was remembering the
court decision that cordless phone users had no expectation of
privacy. Are there any cordless phones that use some sort of
encryption device? I'm not thinking of hiding my conversations from
the NSA so much as hiding them from nosy neighbors.


Steve Buyske   [e-mail]  -or- [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 13:06:31 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers


In Volume 13, Issue 301, Message 13 of 13, <[e-mail].
edu> writes:

> In cleaning up some old {New York Times} recently, I came upon the
> article describing NY Telephone's new voice dialing service.  In the
> article NYTel claimed that 20% of all dialed phone calls (I assume
> both rotary and Touch Tone) were dialed wrong!  They claimed that, as
> I recall, the voice dialer was something like 90% accurate after one
> try and 99% after two, which was better than manual dialing.  I don't
> know what they meant by "tries".

   I would believe the figure that 20% of all dialed calls are not
completed (especially when I lived in GTEland, but that's another
story), but I would guess that 20% customer error is a slightly
inflated marketing number. What I don't understand is why the voice
dialer is 90% accurate? Is it 90% accurate at recognizing the name
spoken, or is it 90% accurate at dialing the number after it figures
out who you want to dial? I mean, machines are only as perfect as
those who program them ...


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: DTMF Universality?
Organization: Aston University
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 10:16:44 GMT


John Perkins ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Does anyone know if the rest of the world generally uses the same DTMF
> frequencies (and button assignments) as are used in the US?  (I'm
> particularly interested in the UK.)

It is an international standard.

Though one thing to note that often an NTSC colour burst crystal is
often used for a primary frequency to divide to get the tones.

Brent Capps ([e-mail]) wrote:

>  [e-mail] writes:

>> Does anyone know if the rest of the world generally uses the same DTMF
>> frequencies (and button assignments) as are used in the US?  (I'm
>> particularly interested in the UK.)

> The DTMF *frequencies* are the same throughout the world, however
> watch out for the minimum digit duration, interdigit timeout, return
> loss, and twist which vary from country to country.  Also some don't
> implement *, #, ABCD.  Unlike North America and most of the rest of
> Europe, the UK has no required minimum digit duration or interdigit

Well there is the de facto standard, specified by GPT and erriccson.

> pause time for manual DTMF senders, but it is recommended that the
> digit duration be at least 40ms.  Automatic senders are required to
> have 68ms minimum digit duration and interdigit pause.  DTMF receivers
> homologated for use in North America will occasionally miss DTMF
> digits if used in the UK.


Mark Evans                        [e-mail]
+(44) 21 429 9199  (Home)         [e-mail]
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard)
Subject: Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Sun, 9 May 93 11:25:52 GMT


[e-mail] (Todd Inch) writes:

> I thought it was the telco's responsibility to install a demarc JACK?
> Around here (WA state) the new ones (residential) are all demarc/jack
> combinations, and I've had the telco "fix up" the old ones by
> replacing the protector/junction block with a demarc/jack at no charge
> when I wanted to add wiring.  Anyone ever have a telco refuse to do
> this, or has anybody else ever asked?

I called Illinois Bell once to report excessive noise on one of my
lines.  Their first question was "Is it OK at the demarc?".  When I
explained that my house was wired many years before anybody ever heard
of demarc jacks, they explained that I would be billed if the problem
turned out to be inside the house.  I then asked that they install a
demarc jack so I could determine where the problem was, but they
insisted that they couldn't do that for free (although they could do
it for some massive amount of money, the exact amount of which I
forget).  Later, when I called back reporting that I could still hear
the noise on their line even after disconnecting all my inside wiring
from their protector/junction block in my basement, they chewed me out
for messing with "their" wiring.


Jeff Hibbard   Peoria IL

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

From: [e-mail] (Ben Cox)
Subject: Re: Caller ID Information to a PC
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 12:56:05 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ben Cox)
Organization: Ancient Illuminated Sears of Bavaria


Paul Robinson <[e-mail]> writes:

> If Canada uses the same Caller ID information as the US, then you
> could get one of the boxes that Bell Atlantic sells.  They are about
> US $50, and they return the information on the serial port, so you
> read it just like an external data device, e.g. a modem.

Bell Atlantic no longer carries these devices; the operator I just
talked to claims the company that made them went out of business.


Ben Cox   [e-mail]

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

From: Dennis R. Conley <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 08:45:26 CDT
Subject: Re: Caller ID Information to a PC
Organization: University of Kansas Computer Science Dept


In article <[e-mail]> Paul Robinson <tdarcos@
mcimail.com> writes:

> The writer wanted to find a low-cost means to have a PC read the
> Caller-ID information, other than spending hundreds of dollars for a
> Xytel modem or some such.

> If Canada uses the same Caller ID information as the US, then you
> could get one of the boxes that Bell Atlantic sells.  They are about
> US $50, and they return the information on the serial port, so you
> read it just like an external data device, e.g. a modem.

> I'm not sure where they sell them where you are, but you might be able
> to order it.

I talked to Bell Atlantic, of the seven devices they sell, none have a
serial port. They gave me the name of their two distributors, whom I
also called, and neither one of them has such a device.

The search continues.


Dennis R. Conley, Computer Science Dept., University of Kansas [phone]
[e-mail]                [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 09:58:20 -0400
From: [e-mail] (A. PADGETT PETERSON)
Subject: Re: The Perils of Caller-ID


[e-mail] (Jim DePorter) wrote:

> Portland OR started caller-ID yesterday with Bell(?). My question is
> that I live under GTE lines. GTE doesn't start caller-ID until June.
> If I call Portland now will they see my number? Does *67 work even if
> caller-ID isn't invoked yet.

This part of the problem I have had with Southern Bell for the last
year.  About three miles from my house is a very exclusive
neighborhood called "Bay Hill". Every call originating there (same
county, same LATA) comes through as "Out of Area" (not "Private" which
results from a *67). I have been told that this is because United
Telephone (the service provider for Bay Hill) does not support
Caller-ID.

I fully expect the entire USA to support Caller-ID within two years
but for now less than half the calls I get on that line (usually
local) give anything other than "Out of Area". If I did not need
Caller-ID for testing gadgets, I would drop it.


Warmly,

Padgett


[Moderator's Note: When we reach the point that all of the USA (or
most, remember, California is still kind of backward about this stuff)
supports Caller-ID, watch for the price of the service to increase and
the free installation and other discounts on it being given now to
disappear. IBT is selling it now with the understanding that it is
only 'partially effective' at the present time.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Pierre Mussard)
Subject: Re: Cordless Always Transmitting?
Organization: Guest of France-Teaser, (3617 EMAIL)
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 03:06:24 GMT


[e-mail] (steve l edwards) writes:

> I have a Cobra cordless telephone. I noticed there is no switch hook.
> Does this imply that the base unit is always transmitting even if the
> cordless unit is sitting unused in the cradle?

There usually is a red light showing if your cordless unit is being
recharged.  I would be very surprised if it did not command as well
'transmission off'.

Worth checking if my opinion is the truth, with users here more
knowledgeable than I am, or with the manufacturer tech support.

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

From: Kevin Kadow <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cordless Always Transmitting?
Organization: Technology News, IIT, Chicago, IL
Date: Sun, 9 May 93 13:30:30 GMT


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

) In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (steve l
) edwards) writes:

)> I have a Cobra cordless telephone. I noticed there is no switch hook.
)> Does this imply that the base unit is always transmitting even if the
)> cordless unit is sitting unused in the cradle?

    First, most cordless units recharge when the handheld is in
the cradle, the base on a good phone will recognize that the handset
is present and not allow cordless calls (security feature).

    Second, the BASE unit only transmits when a call comes in or
in response to a transmission from the handset (the handset sends the
security code, if any, when you turn it on. The base detects this and
comes on-line, and you get the dialtone, or answer the incoming call.

) It could use a magnet and a reed relay or a hall effect sensor.

    The first time I ran into a corded phone with that setup it
really perplexed me. I wanted to "pulse" the switchhook to pick up
call waiting, and couldn't. The phone did have a button labeled
"FLASH" that did just that.

        BTW, the magnet in the earpiece on the handset is strong
enough that a seperate magnet isn't need, all the base needs is a good
hall effect (magnetic field) sensor.

        Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic.


Arthur C. Clarke   [e-mail]   [e-mail]
My Employer Disagrees.

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

From: [e-mail] (Georg Schwarz)
Subject: Re: France Direct vs Home Direct - A Correction
Date: 9 May 1993 09:18:00 GMT
Organization: TUBerlin/ZRZ


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

> The France Direct service offer to all cardholders the possibility to
> obtain directly and freely a French operator from some foreign
> countries. The price of the phone call begin as soon as the
> correspondant begin the call.

> Call the following France Direct phone numbers from:

> Allemagne   0130 80 003
              ^^^^^^^^^^^ I think this should read 0130 80 00 33

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

Date: 09 May 93 07:52:33 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers


>One thing I learned from my father for dealing with chronic wrong
numbers -- those people who (presumably) have the number written down
wrong and keep calling back over and over.

The other day I took a wrong number on one of my inside company lines.
After anwering the line with my company name the woman caller said,
"Sorry, wrong number."

I asked the caller who she was looking for.  She said that she was
calling her house. I replied, "You DO have nice furniture ...".

Wanna bet that she made a beeline home?


Brian Vita   CSS, Inc.

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew P. Herdman)
Subject: Re: 1.2 Watt Handheld Cellular Phone?
Organization: R-node Public Access Unix (Data: 249-5366)
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 13:44:26 GMT


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

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

>> With all of the concern recently about cellular telephones causing
>> cancer, I'm curious about an ad I saw yesterday.  It seems that there
>> is a handheld cellular phone available that boasts 1.2 watts.  The
>                                                     ^^^^^^^^^

> I recently worked for a Cellular + PDN company in the Czech Republic.
> Their phones (Nokia 450) in addition to resembleing a boat anchor put
> out something like 10-15 watts!!!

I worked for Nokia here in Canada.  The most a phone ever put out was
3 watts, and 0.6 for handhelds.  It is illegal in Canada to have a
handheld phone put out more than 0.6 watts in that mode.  Making it a
hands-free mobile allows them to go up to 3 watts but most leave it at
1.2 watts.

I assume the same is true in the U.S.


Andrew    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 10:30:32 EDT
From: [e-mail]  (Aninda Dasgupta)
Subject: Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted


[e-mail] (Steven King) writes:

> Need:  Even after having voicemail for a year or more I'm pretty bad at
> remembering to pick up the receiver to check for voicemail after
> meetings or whatever.  I need some sort of visual indicator to
> remind me to check.

Your prayers have been anwered.  After playing around with my company
voice mail system and trying to get it to send me email when I got
voicemail, NYNEX lawyers got on my case for hacking on MY company's
PBX.  But thanks to AG Communications in Phoenix, AZ I have a tiny box
that lights up and blinks an LED if the phone rings and I don't pick
it up.  The LED stops blinking when I pick up the phone. Just what you
needed, no? The nicest thing after sliced bread.

Contact AG Communication Systems (a venture of AT&T and GTE) at (602)
582-7000.  The gentleman who let me beta test the box was John Riddle.
(I don't have John's permission to give out his phone number, but you
could probably ask for him at the number given above.) The last I
heard (OCT '92), they were awaiting FCC approval for the box.

Disclaimer: I am in no way connected with AG Communications or John
Riddle.


Aninda DasGupta ([e-mail]) Ph:[phone] Fax:[phone]
Philips Labs\n 345 Scarborough Rd\n  Briarcliff Manor\n NY 10510

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

From: [e-mail] ([e-mail])
Subject: Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp.
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 04:44:34 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dan Sahlin) writes:

> Swedish Televerket has just announced a residential ISDN service.  The
> basic service "2B+D" has an installation fee of USD 775 and a quarter-
> ly fee of USD 185.

> I believe these prices are far to high to attract individuals.

> Is residential ISDN pricing as expensive internationally?

The classical "reasonable" tariff is the one imposed upon New England
Telephone by the regulators in Massachusetts.  Residential and
Business rates are applied as usual to ISDN lines, with all of the
usual options.  ISDN is a supplement priced at $8/month for the basic
digital line and $5/month for the second B channel activation and
$8.50 for D-channel packet.

Installation is something like $75 more than an analog line.


Opinions are mine alone.  Sharing requires permission.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Area Code Handbook
Date: 9 May 1993 11:12:12 GMT
Organization: Center for Information and Technology Integration


In article <[e-mail]>, Carl Moore (VLD/VMB)
<[e-mail]> writes:

> So does anybody in Michigan know what is going on?  Could that August
> 1994 date actually be the full cutover?

According to Pamula Woodside, who is the Consumer Relations Manager at
Michigan Bell, permissive dialing for the 313/810 split starts on
December 1 1993 and ends on August 10 1994 (that's 8/10).  You can get
more info by calling the 313/810 split hotline at 1-800-831-8989
(don't know if you can reach that number from outside this area).

I've got on-line lists of which exchanges will end up in which area
code, and I'll be happy to email them to anyone who wants them.  I've
also got a map I can email (in uuencoded gif format).

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

From: Michael Callahan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Answering Machine OGMs (was How I Answer the Phone)
Date: 8 May 93 23:04:04 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620


In article <[e-mail]>, Gregory M. Paris
<[e-mail]> writes:

> [e-mail] (Matt Simpson) writes:

>> The answering machine question is a little tougher. My outgoing
>> message has no identifying information (name or phone number) .. I

I once found that my answering machine had taped its own OGM, somehow.
It was pretty amusing: I called home to check my messages, and heard
the phone ring four times (OK), a click, and then a busy signal.
"What??" I thought.  So, I hung up and called again, with the same
result.  This time, I idly held the phone to my ear as I wondered why
I would get a busy signal _after_ four rings.  Suddenly there was a
familiar beep and silence!

I don't know how the machine managed to tape its own message but I
thought it was hilarious.

I also realized that it could actually be useful.  My girlfriend's
parents have a machine but never turn it on because they don't like
getting calls. I thought they should use a message like this (or
perhaps one of continued ringing) so that only the people they had
specially informed would know to wait to leave a message.


Michael Callahan    [e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #310
******************************










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Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 13:56:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #311

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 9 May 93 13:56:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 311

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! (R. Kevin Oberman)
    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! ([e-mail])
    Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10 (Bob Snyder)
    Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10 (Joel Snyder)
    Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted (John Gilbert)
    Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns (Paul Houle)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns (Lynda Fincham)
    Re: How I Answer the Phone (Justin Leavens)
    Re: Want Digital Voice Recorder and Panel Phones (John Gilbert)
    Re: Setting up For Large Incoming Call Volume (Al Varney)
    Re: Subsidized Cell Phone? (Steve Forrette)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
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The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
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Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
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Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
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Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
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All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
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love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 12:09:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Justin Leavens <[e-mail]> writes:

>>> [Moderator's Note: Well, I used to think the tariff requirements
>>> making 'the subscriber responsible for the use of the instrument
>>> also applied to premium services such as 900/976,

>> Again, I make this point: Even if the telco *doesn't*
J> disconnect for outstanding IP charges, the telco will still carry
>> those charges. When the subscriber disconnects, it will go on the
>> subscriber's Equifax report that he still owes the telco $2100.
>> Then the subscriber will never get phone service again until the
>> Equifax mark is cleared up (read: coughs up $2100).

>> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your
>> phone under lock and key! A poor roommate choice (including
>> circumstances like college where you don't even have a choice)
>> can cost you thousands of dollars and the use of your phone
>> forever, and unlike other credit outfits, you have no recourse in
>> the case of fraud.

1.  The situation must have changed; I know that (at least it used to
be) that the telephone companies, like American Express, neither asked
for nor gave credit reporting information.  I remember there was one
movie where a man tried to apply for credit at a bank and in the
on-line look up the manager asked about an unpaid bill with Pacific
Bell.  I knew that (at that time) this was dramatic license as I had
checked; telephone companies in California may have exchanged
information, and you had, when applying for phone service, to certify
you were not in default with any telephone company in California.

2.  It's going to not be easy to report delinquent phone bills if they
don't have a social security number.  Unless the tariff schedules
permit them to refuse service for not giving one, while they could
require a larger deposit, you could simply not give them yours, or if
you've had a phone for several years, they probably don't have your
number.

3.  A corporate entity and the stockholders are separate under the
law.  If you get stiffed like this, you can always pay $50 and
incorporate and get a commercial phone line.  (Or incorporate the
'645th Avenue Church of Perpetual Insolvency' and get a "pastor's home
line" perhaps.)

4.  If the charge is something that they cannot disconnect you for not
paying, the chances are that it's also something they cannot refuse to
connect you for.

5.  No bad credit rating lasts forever.  With the exception of court
judgements (which can be renewed until they are satisfied) or
bankruptcy, no bad entry may legally be kept over seven years.  While
that may seem like forever, it isn't.

6.  When there is a dispute over a charge, the person has the right to
have a statement inserted into their credit record.  You could put
"The $2100 shown as outstanding to Winnemac Bell Telephone Company is
for calls to area code 900 numbers which I deny having made and which
the telephone company refuses to remove from my record."  It might
help.

(Note: Winnemac is the ficticious state created by Sinclair Lewis for
the books "Arrowsmith", "It Can't Happen Here", and others.)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Winnemac is also a fine little village in north
central Indiana. Very friendly place.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!
Date: Sun,  9 May 93 14:44:40 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory


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

>   Again, I make this point: Even if the telco *doesn't* disconnect
> for outstanding IP charges, the telco will still carry those charges.
> When the subscriber disconnects, it will go on the subscriber's
> Equifax report that he still owes the telco $2100. Then the subscriber
> will never get phone service again until the Equifax mark is cleared
> up (read: coughs up $2100).

I'm afraid this is untrue (unless Justin is in GTE land). Pacific Bell
has stated on in billing inserts that they WILL NOT handle disputed IP
bills in any way. If you dispute the charge, Pac Bell simply drops the
charge from the bill and notifies the IP to collect the bill
themselves.

Of course, the IP may well send the bill to collections and that might
show up on the Equifax. But I doubt that a disputed charges to a
telesleaze will have near the impact of one to a utility.


R. Kevin Oberman            Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Internet: [e-mail]        [phone]

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

Subject: Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 09 May 93 10:59:31 EDT
Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system


> [Moderator's Note: Well, I used to think the tariff requirements
> making 'the subscriber responsible for the use of the instruments'
> also applied to premium services such as 900/976, but a few writers
> here have said the tariff only pertains to services actually sold by
> telco (that is, phone calls) and not the premium stuff they simply
> bill for. So, it appears to be kind of a gray area if telco can turn
> off service or not based on unpaid charges from a 900 outfit. I know
> telco can't disconnect based on unpaid Yellow Pages advertising.  PAT]

The telco also has to provide you with basic (local) service --
provided that such service is paid up to date -- regardless of
outstanding bills for other services.

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

From: [e-mail] (Bob Snyder)
Subject: Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 13:39:16 -0400 (EDT)


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


> Interesting.  If Padgett is, indeed, incorrect, then the fault
> lies in the Supra documentation.  I have a SupraFAXModem V.32bis, and
> I'm looking at the specifications in Appendix E, on Page 57 of the
> documentation.  It states that the Modem is "Compatible with"..."MNP
> classes 2-5 and 10".  Several other places in the documentation refer
> to MNP 10, as well.  I've never (knowingly) used it with another MNP
> 10 modem, so can't say that I've seen the modem work in MNP 10 mode.

Worse than that; look on the front of your modem.  Mine shows in small
print near the LED display all the protocols it supports, including
MNP10.

What apparently happened is Rockwell told the modem manufacturers that
their chipset would include MNP10, and the manufacturers started
building their modems and preparing literature before Rockwell told
them that the chipset would not contain MNP10.  I thought Supra
corrected this for their later modems, taking MNP10 off the feature
list.

As I understand it, MNP10 is protocol designed for radio/cellular
phones, and isn't that much use to people with them installed in their
desktop machine or as a external modem.


Bob

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

From: [e-mail] (Joel M-for-Vnews Snyder)
Subject: Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10
Date: 9 May 1993 07:16 MST
Organization: Opus One
Reply-To: [e-mail]


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

> Interesting.  If Padgett is, indeed, incorrect, then the fault
> lies in the Supra documentation.  I have a SupraFAXModem V.32bis, and
> I'm looking at the specifications in Appendix E, on Page 57 of the
> documentation.  It states that the Modem is "Compatible with"..."MNP
> classes 2-5 and 10".  Several other places in the documentation refer
> to MNP 10, as well.

I haven't seen the docs on the Supra you're talking about, but my
general experience is that the Supras are very poorly documented.  I
suppose this is part of how they get their product out there so
inexpensively.

In any case, "compatible with" does not mean "will operate using."
This is common standardese.  If two systems, each with higher-level
capabilities x and y will interoperate, probably by falling back to
some common lower-level capability z, then they are "compatible," even
if you're not using the higher-level capability.

I thought that MNP10 was only useful for cellular phones, anyway?


Joel M Snyder, 1103 East Spring Street, Tucson, AZ, 85719
[phone] (voice)   882 4095 (FAX)  882 4093 (data)
[e-mail]                                    Opus One

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

From: [e-mail] (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted
Organization: Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 18:59:10 GMT


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

> I thought of making a circuit to take the phone off-hook periodically
> to check for stutter tone, but decided that there was too great a
> chance of someone calling in during that couple of seconds.  Murphy's
> Law says that I'd miss calls (well, they'd be routed to voicemail!)
> when the circuit picked up to check for voicemail.

Bell Atlantic was showing just the product you describe at the Chicago
Consumer Electronics Show a couple of years ago.

Contact: Bell Atlantic "Intrapreneurship Division" at 301-236-2049.


John Gilbert   KA4JMC   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Ring-Detector Circuit Wanted
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Sun, 09 May 1993 07:12:55 GMT


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

> Does anyone have a circuit diagram for a ring-detector?  I can probably
> come up with one myself but I'd rather be lazy if I can ...  :-)

> Background: We have a voicemail system here, but 2500-style desk
>      telephones.  The only indication that there's a message waiting is
>      stutter dialtone.

> Need:  Even after having voicemail for a year or more I'm pretty bad at
>      remembering to pick up the receiver to check for voicemail after
>      meetings or whatever.  I need some sort of visual indicator to
>      remind me to check.

> Solution:  If a ring-detector lit an LED whenever the phone rang and
>      kepth the thing lit until either the phone went offhook or until
>      a manual reset I'd at least know when someone called when I was
>      away.  It wouldn't be perfect (the caller may not have left a
>      message) but it'd at least tell me when I should check.

    I thought of building a device like this years and years ago,
but couldn't figure out a way to do it REAL CHEAP.  A friend who
thought it was a great idea figured we'd get real rich if we made one.
She wanted to call it the "Norma."  Well, I never did figure out a
REAL CHEAP way of making one, but someone did.

    You can order a Bell Atlantic Call Alert from Hello Direct
(800 444 3556) for $29.95 (catalog number 3455D).  The description
says "Put Call Alert on your line.  It's the foolproof way to make
sure your phone messages don't get lost in the daily shuffle.  Call
Alert flashes when your calls have been forwarded or when you've
received any faxes or messages by modem."

    "Got voice mail service with the local phone company?  With
Call Alert, you'll know you have messages without having to pick up
the phone receiver.  It's 'phone message insurance'!"

    I never bought one of these things, but I think it's a great
idea!


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns
Organization: Electrical Eng. Dept. - New Mexico Tech
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 18:18:26 GMT


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

> In addition to needing articles for the upcoming Journals, some sites
> on the net to aid in distribution would also be welcomed.  Send all
> offers and articles to the following email account:

>                         [e-mail]

    I sent mail to this address, and the only reply I got was a
message that said that [e-mail] was an unpaid account at
zooid (some kind of public access system), and that because tdc was
unpaid, tdc cannot receive mail from the USENET.

    Anyway, this seems to be a pretty impressive demonstration of
hacking skill.  Maybe the new LOD should stick to hacking COSMOS,
since it is easier and safer :-)

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

From: Lynda Fincham <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns
Organization: ZOOiD Online
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 02:58:00 -0400


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

>> In addition to needing articles for the upcoming Journals, some sites
>> on the net to aid in distribution would also be welcomed.  Send all
>> offers and articles to the following email account:
>
>>                         [e-mail]
>
> Interested parties might note that 'zooid.guild.org' had no address
> record in the major nameservers nor an entry in the NIC database as of
> 1600 5/6/93.

The reason you'll not find an NS records for "zooid.guild.org" is
because this is not an Internet site. We're a UUCP site that happens
to have a connection to Internet email. We're also subdomained under
the site "guild.org", which is not an Internet site either. If you do
an inquiry on "zooid.guild.org" using "host", you'll only get MX
records:

zooid.guild.org         MX    mail.uunet.ca
zooid.guild.org         MX    relay1.uu.net
zooid.guild.org         MX    relay2.uu.net

Nevertheless, this is not the most conclusive information. ZOOiD is a
non-profit, public access Usenet/email site that provides free and
minimal cost access to it's members. We don't censor anything our
members post, unless it is illegal, racist or extremely rude and
offensive. This whole issue has been rather a mess for our system, and
we hope it will not be repeated. Any inquires about this matter should
be directed either to the original poster of the message
([e-mail]). Any questions or other inquiries dealing with
administrative matters should be directed to me ([e-mail]).

Please make any responses to me via email, as I do not read this
group, this was brought to my attention by one of the members here at
ZOOiD.  Mailbombs, etc are not appreciated. Flames will be ignored.


Gaea (Lynda Fincham aka Mother Nature)   [e-mail]
ZOOiD Online, Toronto, Canada            [phone]
Free and Paid Public Access Usenet       [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Lynda included documentation in her message about
how to reach zooid ... the same information we printed in addition to
the MX records, etc day before yesterday. I omitted it from her note.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 09:13:39 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: How I Answer the Phone


Last weekend I answered what was probably my best mis-dialed call:

Me-    "Hello?"
Caller-"Hi...... Uh, is this Odyssey Video?"
Me-    "Nope, sorry. Wrong number."
Caller-"Oh.... Do you know their number?"
Me-    "Nope, sorry."
Caller-"Oh.... Well, do you know the name of the movie where Edward James Olmos
        plays a teacher?"
Me-    "Stand and Deliver."
Caller-"Uh, yeah.... Cool. Thanks."

Five years of USC Film School had finally paid off ...


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

From: [e-mail] (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: Want Digital Voice Recorder and Panel Phones
Organization: Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 17:14:49 GMT


>Proctor & Associates ([e-mail]) wrote:

>> I need sources for a couple of items:

>> Instant Playback Voice Recorders (used in emergency answering centers
>> for digital storage of audio signals, affording instant playback of
>> the past 30 seconds or so of speech to aid in deciphering grabled
>> speech);

Try Dictaphone at 1-800-447-7749.  I think the product is called
VERITAC.  We sell their products as an option to our radio dispatch
consoles and 911 systems.

In addition to the digital record-playback products, they also have
multitrack voice logging recorders with integrated timecode.
Previously voice logging was done with reel-to-reel recorders.  They
now have a DAT recorder that records up to 270 hours of eight channels
on a single tape.


John Gilbert          KA4JMC               [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun,  9 May 93 11:11:53 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Setting up For Large Incoming Call Volume
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


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

> Could someone point me to information on setting up an operator
> assisted environment to handle a large incoming call volume? I'm also
> interested in being able to obtain information on the caller. Pointers
> to that information would be great. Thanks.

   You didn't mention enough information to really identify the type
of application, or what YOU call "large incoming call volume", so I'll
touch on several possibilities.

   Most non-TELCo folks don't really want "operator assisted" incoming
call handling.  Operators handle calls by routing them to another
destination.  "Agents" handle the calls themselves.  If you really
want "operator assisted" call handling, you need a way for the
operator to re-switch the calls.  In most cases, this means you need
multiple PBX attendant positions or multiple CENTREX attendant
positions.  I'd recommend you talk to your PBX vendor AND to your
local TELCo for these cases.  The TELCo calls these "attendants", not
"operators".

   If your large call volume is really "agent"-type calls, then you
need to talk to your PBX vendor AND your local TELCo about "Call
Distributer" or ACD services.  These will route calls on a uniform
load basis to available agents, play music/messages while waiting for
an available agent, allow some re-routing of calls to other agents,
etc.  Think of Home Shopping Network as an example.

   If your needs can be handled by a smart voice response unit, then
there are a lot of vendors/providers out there.  One is AT&T InfoWorx
Interactive Voice Services -- customized systems where AT&T owns the
hardware and you pay on a usage basis.  Try Ron DeBlock on 908-805-2248
for information.

   If your needs are only occasional, AT&T American Transtech provides
services tailored to such needs, where they provide voice response and
live operators to handle your high volume call needs.  Try 1-800-241-3354,
ext. 2524 for information.


Al Varney - just my opinion

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Subsidized Cell Phone?
Date: 9 May 1993 10:24:05 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> TELECOM Moderator noted in
response to Laurence Chiu of Walnut Creek, CA:

> [Moderator's Note: All Cellular Ones are not the same company. They
> were talking about *their* cellular company using that name. The deals
> you talk about are very common; in fact they are about the only way
> cell phones are sold; ie a tie in with a local provider who gives a
> kickback to the phone seller.   PAT]

They may be sold that way in most places, but not in California.
There, state law (or is it PUC regulation) prohibits such a bundling
arrangement in cellular phone purchases.  A buyer is never required to
sign up for service in order to get the advertised price on a cellular
phone.  As a result, prices are often higher for cellular equipment in
California than in other places.  Many retailers sell their equipment
at cost in California; if the customer also signs up for service, then
they make a profit, and if they don't, then at least they don't lose
anything.

Most other markets have at least some retailers that are willing to
sell phones for less than what they pay for them, and count on the
commission they get from the cellular carrier (often $250-$300) to
make up for the loss and provide a profit.  These differences can work
both ways -- if you need service anyway, then it is often cheaper for
those who don't live in California, as they can take advantage of the
subsidized deals.  But, for those who don't need new service (such as
when you just want a better phone on existing service), you can save
money by buying them in California.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #311
******************************










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          9 May 93 17:34 EDT
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Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 14:59:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Special Report: FBI Raids Telco Manager's Home


This news report from the May 9, 1993 {Omaha World Herald} arrived in
my mail just a few minutes ago.

PAT

  From: [e-mail] (James R. Saker Jr.)
  Subject: FBI Raid on Curtis Nebr. Telco, Family
  Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
  Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 16:34:53 GMT


The following article detailing a FBI raid on a small-town family and
local exchange carrier was printed in this morning's Sunday {Omaha
World Herald}:

"FBI Probe, Raid Anger Curtis Man"
Stephen Buttry, {Omaha World Herald}, Sunday May 9, 1993

Curtis Neb. -- The evening was winding down for the Cole family. Ed
Cole, general manager of the Curtis Telephone Co., had dozed off on
the living room couch. His wife, Carol, was running water for her
bath. The 10-year-old identical twins, Stephanie and Jennifer, had
gone to bed. Amanda, 14, was watching "48 Hours" on television in the
living room.

   "It had something to do with fingerprints and catching criminals,"
Amanda remembers of the TV show.

   At 9:40 p.m., Amanda heard a knock and answered the door. In
marched the FBI. Thus began a year of fear, anger and uncertainty for
the Coles.

   Mrs. Cole, 40, still has nightmares about the night of May 13,
1992, when federal agents stormed into her bedroom, startling her as
she was undressing for her bath, naked from the waist up.

   "I used to go to bed and sleep the whole night," she said last
week. "I can't anymore."

   Federal agents did not find the illegal wiretapping equipment they
were seeking, and a year later no one has been charged. The agents
siezed nothing from the house and later returned the cassette tapes
they took from the phone company office.

   Ronald Rawalt, the FBI agent in North Platte who headed the
investigation that led to the raid, declined to comment, referring
questions to the Omaha office.

   "It's still a pending investigation, and we're not allowed to make
a statement," said agent Doug Hokenstad of the FBI's Omaha office. If
the investigation comes up empty, he said "we normally don't make a
statement at the end of the investigation."

   That infuriates Cole, 39, who says the raid cast suspicion on him
and the phone company and left them with no way to clear their names.

   "Either file charges or say there's nothing there," he said.  "This
was done in a highly visible manner, and there was no finality to it."

                       Request for Help

   Cole has asked Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., to investigate. Beth
Gonzales, Kerrey's press secretary, said the senator received Cole's
letter and is assessing the situation.

   The case that brought FBI agents from Washington, Denver, Houston
and Omaha, as well as nearby North Platte, to this tiny southwest
Nebraska town in the Medicine Creek valley apparently started with a
personnel squabble in the phone company office.

   Cole said two women complained of their treatment by two other
workers.  The women who complained threatened to quit if the company
did not take action against the other women, he said.

   Cole and his assistant manager, Steve Cole, who is not related,
observed the office workers for a while.

   "We found the same two making the ultimatum were the aggressors,"
Ed Cole said.

   He gave the complaining employees written reprimands, and they quit
Jan 16, 1992. The two women contended in a hearing concerning state
unemployment benefits that personality differences with Ed Cole led to
the reprimands and their resignations.

   Both women declined to comment on the matter.

                      300-Hertz Tone

   In an affidavit filed to obtain the search warrants, agent Rawalt
said one of the two, Carol Zak, contacted the FBI in March 1992 and
told them of "unusual electronic noises (tapping noises) on her
telephone line at the inception of a call received."

   Later in the affidavit, the noise is described not as tapping, but
as a 300-hertz tone. Steve and Ed Cole demonstrated the tone last week
on phone company equipment.

   It is caused, they said, by a defective 5-by-7 circuit board, or
card. The defect is common, and the company replaces the card if a
customer complains.

   The tone is not heard if a customer answers between rings, but if
the customer answers during a ring, the tone blares into the earpiece
for an instant, about the duration of the ring. Ed Cole, who has
placed wiretaps for law officers with warrents, said wiretaps don't
cause such a sound.

   "Most wiretaps, don't they have a loud, blasting noise to announce
there's an illegal wiretap?" he asked sarcastically.

                      Surveillance

   After Mrs. Zak told agent Rawalt of the noise on her line, the FBI
began recording her calls, the affidavit says. On April 30, the
affidavit says, the FBI began surveillance of Ed Cole -- not an easy
task in a town of 791 people.

   During the weeks before the raid, phone company employees noticed a
stranger watching the office and workers' houses. They guessed that a
private investigator was watching, possibly gathering information for
the former workers.

   "When somebody sits around in a car in a small-town Curtis,
especially at 3:30 when grade school lets out, people take notice,"
Steve Cole said. "We had a suspicion that we were under surveilance."

   The affidavit says agent Robert Howan, an electrical engineer from
FBI headquarters, analyzed tapes of Mrs. Zak's phone calls and
concluded that a wiretap on the line "is controlled from the residence
of Eddie Cole Jr. and is facilitited through a device or computer
program at the Curtis Telephone Company."

   Based on Rawalt's affidavit, U.S. Magistrate Kathleen Jaudzemis in
Omaha issued warrents to search Cole's house and company offices.
Federal agents gathered in North Platte and headed south to Curtis for
the late-evening raid.

                     Flashlights, Commotion

   When Amanda Cole opened the door, she said "The first people that
came in went past me." They rushed through the living room into the
kitchen to let more agents in the back door.

   The agents wore black jackets and raincoats, with large, yellow
letters proclaiming "FBI." Neighbors and passersby began to notice the
commotion as other agents searched the outside with flashlights.

   The agents showed Cole the search warrant and told him and Amanda
to stay in the living room. The agents asked where the other girls
were, and Cole replied that it was a school night and they were in
bed.

   Rather than flipping the hall light switch, the agents went down
the darkened hall with flashlights, "like they think my kids are going
to jump up and shoot them," Cole said.

   The twins recalled that they were puzzled, then scared, to wake up
as FBI agents shined flashlights on them. The intruders did not enter
gently, either.

   "After they left, our doorknob was broken," Jennifer said.

   Farther down the hall, the agents found the embarrassed and angry
Mrs. Cole. "They didn't knock or anything, and I was undressing," she
said. "They told me to get a T-shirt on."

   After Mrs. Cole put her clothes back on, agents allowed her to go
with them to get the frightened twins out of bed. Mrs. Cole and the
twins also were instructed to stay in the living room.

                      Interrogation

   As agents searched the house, Cole said, Rawalt told him to step
out on the porch. While he was outside, Mrs. Cole decided to call the
phone company's attorney.

   "They told me I couldn't do that," she said. "I worked at the
Sheriff's Office for several years, and I know no matter what you're
accused of, you're entitled to an attorney." She called anyway.

   Meanwhile, according to Cole, Rawalt was interrogating and berating
him loudly on the front porch, creating what Cole considered a "public
spectacle."

   "I've lived here 15 years. I've built up a reputation," said Cole,
who is president of the Curtis Housing Authority, chairman of the
Nebraska Telephone Association, and coach of the twins' softball team.
"And there's cars going by real slow. Here Rawalt brings me out on the
front porch, turn on the light for everyone to see and starts
interrogating me."

   Cole said Rawalt tried to pressure him to admit he was wiretapping
and tell him where the equipment was. "He pointed at my wife and kids
and said, 'Look at what you're putting them through,'" Cole said.

                     Three-Hour Search

   Cole said it would take about 20 minutes for an expert to examine
the phones in the house -- a teen line, the main line plus two
extensions, a 24-hour repair prone that rings at his home as well as
the main office, and an alarm that rings in from the central office.

   "The search continued for more than three hours, as agents looked
in closets, cabinets and drawers. The family could hear Garth Brooks
singing as agents played the children's tapes, apparently hunting for
recorded phone conversations.

   At the same time the Coles' house was being searched, agents
visited Steve Cole and Roger Bryant, a phone company employee who is a
neighbor of Mrs. Zak's.

   "They insinuated I had broken into my neighbor's house to put in a
wiretap," he said. The agents "asked me if I knew if Ed was making
electrical devices in his basement."

   (Cole said he wasn't. Agents found no such devices.)

   The agents told Steve Cole to take them to the phone company office
so they could search the switch room.

                    Number of Agents

   The Coles were not sure how many agents participated in the raid.
They saw at least five at the house but thought they heard others
outside and entering the back door and going into the basement. They
said seven agents were at the office, but they weren't sure which
agents searched both sites.

   When the agents said they were looking for wiretap equipment, Steve
Cole said "I told them it just couldn't be right. If Ed were to do
something or I were to do something, the other one would know."

   Steve Cole said agents searching the phone company, including
Howan, did not appear to understand the equipment very well. They
would not tell him why they suspected a wiretap.

   After 1 a.m., Ed Cole said, the search of his house ended, with
agents empty-handed and taking him to the office.

   About 4 a.m., the agents told Steve Cole about the 300-hertz tone.
"The minute they told me, I knew what it was," he said. He said he
quickly found the defective card for Mrs. Zak's line, demonstrated the
sound for the agents, then replaced it and showed that the sound was
gone.

   "I demonstrated it, and then they both got white," Steve Cole said.

                    Card Analyzed

   Howan then went to Rawalt, who was with Ed Cole outside the switch
room and explained what had caused the tone, Ed and Steve Cole said.

   "I'm jubilant," Ed Cole recalled thinking. "I've been exonerated."
But he said Rawalt told him: "I've investigated this for two months.
I've flown agents in from around the country ... I may charge you on
circumstantial evidence."

   "My heart just sunk," Cole said, "because that means they're not
here to find the truth. They're just trying to support their pre-
conceived ideas."

   He said Rawalt told him he would take the card for analysis.

   Cole said the searches could have, and should have, been conducted
without the embarrassing fanfare -- during normal business hours,
while the children were in school and his wife was at work.

   Because of the highly public nature of the raid, Cole said, the
company has hired a lawyer to investigate the investigation. The
company is trying, with little success, Cole said, to get information
from the FBI so it can reassure regulators, lenders, stockholders and
customers of the company's integrity.

                    Tapes of Calls

   Rawalt visited the Cole's house again in January. Although this
time it wasn't a raid, his presence upset the family. He returned
tapes siezed in the raid but told Cole that the circuit card was
stilll at the FBI lab being analyzed. It still has not been returned,
Cole said.

   "The FBI, the most respected law enforcement agency in the world,
has had this card in their laboratory in Washington, D.C., for almost
one year, and they still cannot determine if it has a tape recorder
strapped to it," Cole said.

   The bureau also has refused to give the phone company of its tapes
of Mrs. Zak's phone calls, which could show whether the sound on her
line was the tone from the defective card, Cole said.

   "It makes one wonder if they'd put a family and a company through
this just because they don't want to admit a mistake," he said. "If
they'll just give me my life back by making a public statement, it
would be over."


    (End of article forwarded to TELECOM Digest.)

 Jamie Saker            [e-mail]
 Systems Engineer        Business/MIS Major
 Telenational Communications    Univ. Nebraska at Omaha
 [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Thank you very much for sending along this report.
This is just another example of the clumsy, oafish and unprofessional
organization which has become such a big joke in recent years in the
USA: The Federal Bureau of Inquisition. Imagine: a telephone line out
of order which turns into a massive FBI assault on a private family.
And of course there will be no apology; no reparations; nothing like
that. The FBI is too arrogant and powerful to bother with making
amends for the damage they have done. I hope Ed Cole and his telco
demand and obtain revenge on everyone concerned, including first and
foremost Mrs. Zak, the scorned woman who set the whole thing in motion
when she got fired for her bad attitude at work.  I know if it was
myself, I would not be content until I had turned the screws very hard
on all of them, especially her.  PAT]












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          9 May 93 18:16 EDT
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  (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sun, 9 May 1993 15:48:12 -0500
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 15:48:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #312

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 9 May 93 15:48:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 312

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Alpha Pager Questions (Joe Pace)
    Re: SCAN (Shared Check Authorization Network) (Todd Inch)
    Re: Motorola Alpha Cell Phone (Gregory M. Paris)
    Re: CCITT Standards on Line (Raymond Conmey)
    Re: Overcharging the Battery (Liron Lightwood)
    Re: Funding for Telecentres in Rural Communities (David Leibold)
    Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features (Marko Ruokonen)
    Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers? (Barry Margolin)
    Re: US West Says I Can't Use 301+ on Voice Line (Pete Lancashire)
    Re: Cordless Always Transmitting? (Dave Ratcliffe)
    Re: Newspaper-Telco Alliance (Adam M. Gaffin)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (John Nagle)
    Re: Haiti Phone Network (Robert L. McMillin)
    Re: Haiti Phone Network (Brian T. Vita)
    Need Information on SONET (DQDB) Protocol Urgently (Mohammed A. Sami)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Joe Pace)
Subject: Re: Alpha Pager Questions
Organization: US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
Date: Sun, 9 May 93 12:28:45 GMT


> accidentally left the pager in vibe mode.  When I woke up, the
> batteries were dead.  Apparently I had gotten a page sometime
> overnight, and the pager had completely run down the batteries by
> vibrating every two minutes all night long.  Of course, I lost the
> page.  It would be awfully nice if the pager would go into "low-power"
> mode when it displays LO CELL; perhaps turning off the constant clock
> display, going to a faster backlight timeout, and just flashing the
> light when in "silent alert" mode instead of vibrating.

Having experienced the same problem I installed a small switch on the
side which disconnects the vibrator. The light still flashes though,
so it works well as a silent paging mode.


Joe Pace                    UNIX/Networking Analyst
US Army Corps of Engineers           [e-mail]
Sacramento District           [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: SCAN (Shared Check Authorization Network)
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Sun, 09 May 93 12:01:59 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Fidler, Justin) writes:

> Recently, in the Washington, D.C. area, I've noticed that a lot of
> retail stores now have a device that will read the numbers from the
> bottom of a check.

> My question to Telecom readers is this: How exactly does this work?

Since our firm designs, manufactures, and markets these and related
check-processing equipment, I'll take a stab at it.

In the systems I'm aware of, there is usually a private database
containing account number and some statistics.  In low-end systems,
there's just a "negative" database which includes the account numbers
of known bad check writers (e.g. many NSF, closed accounts with
outstanding checks, forged account numbers, etc.).

In the better systems, there is also records for "known good"
customers and, usually also statistics.  Depending on the application,
the teller can be instructed by the equipment to refuse your check,
accept it with ID (e.g. an unknown account number or not lots of good
check history), or accept it without any ID (known regular customer
with good history.)

The databases are built from the data collected by the system itself,
by retailer's lists of bad checks, and/or by the clearinghouse
company.  The database may be local to a multi-site corporation, local
to a site with nightly updating, or via a central clearinghouse
company (e.g.  on-line real-time.)  As far as I know, the existing
systems are all third-party or owned by the retailers and don't yet
actually connect to the bank's computer, but I'm sure that won't last
long if it's still even true.

Like credit cards, these systems can collect interesting data about
how much you spend where, how often, etc.

We just happen to have all the equipment from an aborted clearinghouse-
type operation sitting about 10' away as I type this -- we ran out of
money to continue its operation much past a sucessful beta test.  Lots
of good nearly-new Codex equipment -- if anyone has cash send e-mail!

> I'm not asking about OCR ...

Interestingly, the MICR characters at the bottom of your checks are
printed with magnetic ink (MI = Magnetic Ink.)  Many readers do read
them optically, but at on site where we had magnetic character
recognition, we caught someone who did a very good (optically
speaking) job of modifying his account number with a pen.  I think
most of the banking equipment is magnetic, but the cheap little
point-of-sale scanners may or may not be.

IMHO, the problem with all this is it just uses your account number.
What is really needed is a tie to a person, such as a cross reference
to an SSN or driver's licence.  Tie-ins to banks would make that a
possibility, in which case this system would be as secure as credit
cards an would thwart simply opening a new virgin checking account.

And of course, all the data is carried over either dialup or leased
telco lines.  :-)

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 10:52:56 -0400
From: Gregory M. Paris <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Motorola Alpha Cell Phone
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Don Updyke <[e-mail]> writes:

> However if you lock it with a function 5 it has a really interesting
> FEATURE ??, its lock makes it not allow out or incoming calls.  It is
> disabled just as if you had powered it off.

> Does anyone know a way to make lock work like the rest of the industry
> and only lock others from using the device and not disable it from any
> and all uses?

The Alpha has several levels of security, or rather, restricted access
modes, available.  For instance, one can disable the ability to make
outgoing calls, non-local outgoing calls, any calls except those made
to phone numbers recalled from certain memory locations, etc.  Though
this may not match the "industry standard" you desire, it may help.
Please consult your users manual...

I wonder what it is you wish to accomplish by using the lock on a
personal phone.  If somebody steals your phone, all bets are off; you
should suspend your service immediately.  The lock really only stops
casual non-authorized use of your phone (say by a co-worker picking it
up when you've left it unguarded but locked).  In my opinion, one is
better off just keeping an eye on it.


Greg Paris <[e-mail]>
Motorola Codex, 20 Cabot Blvd C1-30, Mansfield, MA  02048-1193

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

From: [e-mail] (Raymond Conmey)
Subject: Re: CCITT Standards on Line
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 15:52:02 GMT


 When I sent e-mail for the "HELP" file from [e-mail] I
received the following about a new address.

   ------------------------------ Start of body part 1

WELCOME TO A TIES AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM)

TIES (Telecom Information Exchange Services) is a set of electronic
info services of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in
Geneva, Switzerland.  ITUDOC is the TIES electronic document
distribution service.

For help on commands used with the ITUDOC electronic mail interface or
for info on other interfaces, send a message with the line HELP in the
message body to this email address ([e-mail]).  Include the line
LIST for a list of index files to ITU electronic documents.

NEWS FLASH: Please note new name (ITUDOC) for the ITU's electronic
document distribution service and a new address for the electronic
mail interface ([e-mail]).  Mail to the old address
([e-mail]) will be auto-forwarded for a few months.

TAM REPLY TO => HELP

TAM replied on March 26, 1993 at 8:05 PM local time in Geneva.

TAM help document is attached in next message body part.

END COVER MESSAGE


Ray Conmey                      Cellular Infrastructure Group
Internet: [e-mail]   Motorola, Inc., General Systems Sector
Voice:    [phone]       1501 West Shure Drive  (IL27 1248)
FAX:      [phone]       Arlington Heights, IL  60004 USA

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 10:49:24 +1000
From: Liron Lightwood <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Overcharging the Battery


In comp.dcom.telecom [e-mail] write:

> There is no memory effect,

(stuff deleted)

> Its too bad that nicads don't have a different charging curve, like
> lead acid cells.  Then it would be easy to build a smart charger that
> would only charge the cells for exactly the right amount of time.

Hold on.  I've seen devices that claim to do something like this.  I
think they check the voltage or resistance or something like that.

Also, I have seen devices with nicad batteries whose instructions say
that you can leave them plugged into their charger and they won't
overcharge.  I have always assumed that they had some way of detecting
when the device is overcharged.

I have also seen devices where they specifically say to not leave them
for longer than a specified time.

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

Date: Sun, 09 May 93 00:16:26 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Funding for Telecentres in Rural Communities


Tom Worthington's post on the Australian telecentres proposal sounds
much like the development of FreeNets in North America. The FreeNet
concept is the one which started in Cleveland, and has since expanded
to many cities such as Buffalo, Ottawa, etc.

As for rural FreeNets, the northern Ontario town of Elliot Lake isn't
rural per se, but has a FreeNet committee proposing a service in a
part of Ontario far from major centres.

Other FreeNet regions in the works include Toronto and Halton Region
(west of Toronto).


[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: 09 May 93 05:32:43 EDT
From: Marko Ruokonen <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features


>> There was no information if there would be any setup charges, but
>> I bet TELEKOM always collects bucks for something.

[e-mail] (Tony Piper) replied:

> It's good to see that hard American dollars are still in circulation
> in post-merger Germany!

Well, not quite. We'd rather not use those green, all-same-size,
look-alikes ...:-).

Seriously: Germany is one of the G7 nations and as such, has a quite
good currency on its own.

Furthermore, the German PTT (Telekom) is still ownded by the
government (or should I say state?). Imagine the exchange rate going
down to 1.40 DM/$ again (that is, just before I have to pay the phone
bill, of course). This would make a nice >10% discount from the
current 1.55+ DM/$. Wouldn't that be nice? :-))

Note: My earnings are in "DeutchMarks" after all.

I do not recall that dollars were used in Germany after 1949 when the
'Deutche Mark' was introduced. However, the US military bases in
Germany may STILL use dollars for their own people.

> [Moderator's Note: Isn't 'bucks' a slang term for the money of any
> country, or does it apply only to US currency?  If the former, then
> there is nothing in the message to indicate *USA* money is being
> paid.  Or does 'bucks' refer to our money in the United States?  PAT]

Pat was right about how I *meant* it. I'm not a linguist. My apologies
to those who thought Germany's currency were 'hard' American dollars. ;)

BTW, we do have cars, VCRs, fax machines and more of such gadgets.
(Had to say THAT. Who knows? I heard of people who thought that we do
not.) :-)))


Marko Ruokonen  e-mail: 100031.31.compuserve.com  phone/fax: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Barry Margolin)
Subject: Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers?
Date: 9 May 1993 15:55:17 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA


In article <[e-mail]> Monty Solomon <monty@proponent.
com> writes:

> New England Telephone (NET) has provided this service for a while and
> has just reached a settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General
> where they will alert callers to the cost ($0.35) of using the
> feature.

I just hope that the price is put at the *beginning* of the message,
e.g.  something like, "For a 35 cent surcharge, please press
<something> to be transferred automatically to the number."  More
likely, the message will be something like, "Please press <something>
to be transferred automatically to the number; there is a 35 cent
surcharge for this service."  The problem with the latter message is
that many customers are likely to press the button as soon as they
hear the semicolon, thinking it's a period :-) before they hear about
the charge.


Barry Margolin   System Manager, Thinking Machines Corp.
[e-mail]          {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar

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

From: [e-mail] (Pete Lancashire)
Subject: Re: US West Says I Can't Use 301+ on Voice Line
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.
Date: Sun, 9 May 93 16:54:38 GMT


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

> He: If we find them running 14.4's on voice lines, we'll disconnect
>     them. They are lucky to be getting good transfers at that rate anyhow.

> Me: Really?  Why?

> He: They interfere with voice communication.  The only baud that will work
>     over voice lines effectively is 300 and below lines.  2400 is WAY too
>     fast to be transmitting.  If we get calls about problems and they are
>     traced to your modem, we'll disconnect you too.

I wish it was me they disconnected :)

I'd love this one.


 Pete Lancashire [e-mail]    Sr. Systems Engineer
Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.

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

From: frackit![e-mail] (Dave Ratcliffe)
Subject: Re: Cordless Always Transmitting?
Date: 9 May 93 20:34:09 GMT
Organization: Data Factory Services, Harrisburg, Pa.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (steve l
edwards) writes:

> I have a Cobra cordless telephone. I noticed there is no switch hook.
> Does this imply that the base unit is always transmitting even if the
> cordless unit is sitting unused in the cradle?

Unless it's quite unlike my old faithful Freedom Phone 700 it doesn't
transmit unless it:

A) detects carrier from the handheld unit (ie.  OFF-HOOK condition) or

B) has an incoming call (when it sends the ringing signal to the
handheld).


 vogon1!compnect!frackit![e-mail]         Dave Ratcliffe
 - or - ..uunet!wa3wbu!frackit!dave                   Sys. <*> Admin.
 - or - [e-mail]  Harrisburg,  Pa.

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

From: [e-mail] (Adam M Gaffin)
Subject: Re: Newspaper-Telco Alliance
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 02:29:27 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave
Niebuhr) writes:

> Today's {Newsday} announced that it had merged with NYNEX to provide a
> News Phone.  Note that NYNEX is not mentioned again but New York
> Telephone is which shows that {Newsday} is not as smart as it should
> be.

Well, some newspapers have done very well with audiotex.  You'd think,
though, that {Newsday} would be particularly wary of Nynex.  A few
years ago, they dumped a ton of money into Nynex's Info-Look computer
gateway system.  Then Nynex pulled the plug on that, and poof, there
went {Newsday's} online experiment (along with the once promising
Citinet).  Today, {Newsday} runs this little freeware BBS ...


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

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 08:21:49 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones


In TELECOM Digest V13 #308 [e-mail] (Scott Hazen Mueller)
writes:

> "When Dwight Eisenhower returned to Kansas on January 20th, 1961, he
> had not placed a phone call in his 20 years as general and President.
> Unaware that a dialing system had replaced local operators, he had no
> idea what to do when he heard the humming of the dial tone."

This would include the time Ike spent as President of Columbia
University in the late 1940s when he accepted the "keys to the city"
on behalf of Associated Universities, Inc. to provide the personnel
for the soon to be opened Brookhaven National Laboratory owned by the
Atomic Energy Commission -> Energy Research and Development Agency ->
Department of Energy.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility


[Moderator's Note: Remember, Ike was a nice man, but he never was
appointed or elected to anything because he *actually knew anything*
about the position, whether it was president of Columbia or the United
States. He obtained those positions because he was a popular war hero.
General Eisenhower was given credit for winning the Second World War;
as such, doors were open to him anywhere, despite his general ignorance
 of the technology of his time. Several years ago I interviewed his
son David and daughter-in-law Julie (Nixon) on my weekly radio program
'Traces of Chicago'. David said as much that his father sort of stumbled
into the presidency of the USA. Ah, but the 1940-50 era: those were
the golden days at Columbia University! What a place it was then!  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 03:51:46 GMT


[e-mail] (Scott Hazen Mueller) writes:

> "When Dwight Eisenhower returned to Kansas on January 20th, 1961, he
> had not placed a phone call in his 20 years as general and President.
> Unaware that a dialing system had replaced local operators, he had no
> idea what to do when he heard the humming of the dial tone."

       Sounds like Bush and the checkout scanner.  Those guys don't
get out much.

       Lyndon Johnson has been credited with demanding the invention
of "executive override", so he could break in on calls in progress.
Johnson had two giant Call Directors on his desk, with individual
buttons for everyone in government he called frequently.  (His phones
can be seen at the Johnson Library at Austin).  And he didn't want to
get busy signals.


John Nagle

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

Date: Sat, 8 May 93 21:31 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Re: Haiti Phone Network


On Sat, 8 May 1993 20:40:22 GMT, the Moderator noted:

> And why is Mexico considered 'international' to the USA when Canada is
> part of the North American numbering plan? Mexico is also part of
> North America ...

I'm sure someone else will make this point, but we used to have a hack
in the numbering plan that allowed ten-digit dialing into parts of
Mexico, but nothing that was every really official.  Hopefully, if the
North American Free Trade Agreement ever gets signed, and Castro
falls, we'll get ten-digit dialing everywhere in North America and its
surrounding islands.


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: But that's the catch: it was only a hack designed
to make-do ... Canada has always had 'real' area codes.   PAT]

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

Date: 09 May 93 11:20:25 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Haiti Phone Network


As long as we're on the subject of those two countries I'd like to add
my two cents worth.

The city that my office is located in (Lynn MA) has a large Haitian
and Dominican population.  Almost every Saturday, an occassionally on
weekdays I'd get a call from a LD opertor from one of the
aforementioned countries attempting to place a third party billing.
The calls show up randomly on any line in my hunt group.  Of course,
English was not the primary language of the operator so one had to kind
of guess what was being asked.

I learned very quickly that any sound on the line, a grunt, a cough, a
fax machine or dead silence would be interpeted as a yes at which
point they would put through a $50.00+ call.  I finally had to have
NET put block on each line preventing collect and third party calls.

What frosts my cookies is that I am the victim of fraud.  To proctect
myself I have to pay $1.00/line for the block.


Brian Vita   CIS$70702,2233   CSS, Inc.

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

From: [e-mail] (MOHAMMED A. SAMI)
Subject: Need Information on SONET (DQDB) Protocol Urgently
Organization: Michigan Technological University
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 16:04:24 GMT


I need any and all info on SONET (DQDB) protocol basically on the
physical and data link layers. Please email your replies to:

   [e-mail]


Thanks in advance.

Sami

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #312
******************************










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          10 May 93 6:51 EDT
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Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 04:16:27 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #313

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 10 May 93 04:16:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 313

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority? (Charles Mattair)
    Re: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority? (Alan Boritz)
    Re: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority? (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (David G. Cantor)
    Re: Protocol Analyzer Wanted (Gordon Croft)
    Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service (Arthur Kodama)
    Re: SCAN (Shared Check Authorization Network) (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Re: Encryoted Cordless Phone (Jeff Freeman)
    Caller-ID Information Transmission Standard Query (Michael J. Purtell)
    Re: Internet Talk Radio (Daniel Drucker)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 13:51:50 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Charles Mattair)
Subject: Re: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority?
Organization: Synercom Technology, Inc., Houston, TX


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Douglas Lloyd Stevens) and PAT writes:

> So can someone deposit $1 in my account, and then make a "correction"
> of their choosing?

Ordinary deposit across the counter, no way.  The teller is begging to
get fired due to the resultant court suit.  Wire transfer, I don't
know.  EFT, yes up to the limit of the original transaction.  That is,
they can't deposit $1 and correct that back to a $1000 withdrawal (see
below).

> [Moderator's Note: It is not your place to 'authorize' anyone to make
> corrections to your account. The bank can use its right of offset
> against future deposits made in your account to adjust the earlier
> error. Part of your contract with your bank is that all deposits are
> 'subject to verification and correction'. Because -- I presume -- you
> have been a good customer of the bank -- not a snotty, demanding and
> beligerant customer like so many people -- the bank lets you have the
> funds right away from a wire transfer. The chances of error are slim,
> and you need the money. But they could hold it a day or two, count it,
> check everything out, etc, and let you stew in your juices waiting for
> them to make sure everything checked out okay.

PAT:

   The E & O clause in the deposit agreement refers to the errors and
omissions in the banking system, not on the part of customers.

   EFT is not wire transfer is not EFT, at least according to my
understanding.  With a wire, an advice flows thru the system and the
offsetting debit flows by reverse channel.

I wire you $x.  Then:

 . If the two banks (mine and yours) are direct correspondents, mine wires
   yours to advise, yours credits your account and debits my banks
   correspondent account.

 . If they aren't direct correspondents but are both Fed members in the same
   district, my bank wires the Fed to advise, the Fed debits my banks
   account and wires your bank to advise.  Yours credits your account and
   debits its account with the Fed.

 . If in different Fed districts, same as above except FED1 notifies FED2
   who notifies your bank.

As you can see, the money takes a while to flow (my last wire took six
hours to get from Berkley to Houston) and there are minimal safeguards
in the system.  If you can get the right passwords, it is easy enough
to spoof or to generate unauthorized wires.

EFT is a different creature.  Here you are literally moving money or,
more accurately, cash equivalents.  ADP deposits $x in an account,
presents the bank with a transmittal and a mag tape.  After
validation, the bank dumps the tape on the EFT system and poof,
immediate credit items.  Or at least they should be -- the bank damned
sure has the money as soon as it gets the advice.  Typically, these
items are handled thru the local clearing house.

Government checks are handled analogously: SS or whoever sends a tape
to the Fed who routes the various credits to the appropriate Fed who
routes to the destination bank (or correspondent, for non-Fed member)
who ... again, cash equivalents, not advice of intent, so these are
also immediate credit items.  Some banks try to hold items like this,
I'm not sure if it's illegal but the gov frowns strongly on such.

Anyway, ADP did the same thing to our payroll some months ago - forgot
to take out FICA or somesuch.  The rumor mill picked up the foulup
(several people verified last credit and it was way too much) and I
call First Interstate to see what was going to happen.  The best
description I got was ADP would cancel the transfer -- it would look
like a debit to my account but the real transaction code would be
something different -- and recredit.  According to FI, ADP cannot
actually debit my account as I haven't given them authority.  I was
tempted to withdraw the money before the debit hit just to see what
would happen but I didn't.

On the other hand, C$ debited my account for a number of months with
absolutely no authority -- I got the money back from them so I didn't
have to fight with the bank.

ADP has this thing wired -- it's not their money they're messing with.
They won't send the transmittal to the bank until they have funds in
hand as an immediate credit item (we send it to them by wire).

Your mileage may vary ...


Charles Mattair        (work)    [e-mail]
<standard.disclaimer>    (home)    [e-mail]

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

Date: 09 May 93 22:35:48 EDT
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Does Direct Deposit Authority = Withdrawal Authority?


[e-mail] (Cris Simpson) writes:

> [Moderator's Note: Not really a telecom question, but an interesting
> diversion for a minute or two ... PAT]

That's ok, I've got a telecom issue to add to it ...

> So can someone deposit $1 in my account, and then make a "correction"
> of their choosing?

> [Moderator's Note: It is not your place to 'authorize' anyone to make
> corrections to your account. The bank can use its right of offset
> against future deposits made in your account to adjust the earlier
> error.

The question wasn't about a bank correcting it's mistakes, it was
about ANOTHER DEPOSITOR correcting IT'S mistakes without bank
intervention.  They're very different.

> When you authorized your employer to make direct payments to your bank
> account, it was assumed that authorization included the right to
> correct errors made in good faith by clerks who were acting for your
> employer.

How do YOU know what was "assumed?"  Can we "assume" that a bank would
follow the law and not try to cheat it's customers?  One of the two
banks (ten years ago) in Athens, Ohio, were caught on a simple UCC
question regarding lost paychecks on a business law class field trip
(who bears the loss if an employee's check is stolen and then the bank
cashes it without knowing the endorser.  The law was very clear on the
issue (the bank pays), but the bank's policy (as explained by a VP)
was to make the employer pay (they were known as the nastier of the
two banks).  Can you "assume" that all of the people who have
authority to move money in and out of your accounts can be trusted to
act properly every time they initiate or process a transaction?

> Put another way, if you deposited your paycheck personally, and the
> teller applied it to my account instead, should I get an attitude when
> the bank sends me a notice several days later explaining why they are
> 'withdrawing' the money from my account they gave me in error?

Rephrasing your nonsensical example to match the original article, the
scenario would be the DEPOSITOR withdrawing the money from your
account, not the bank.

> Try spending a few months working in the back office of a big
> financial institution sometime, then write me again and let's see if
> your attitude has changed any. ... See folks, I *told* you it would be
> an interesting diversion for a minute or two.  PAT]

Well, I don't need to draw a paycheck to experience snotty beligerance
 -- I've been PAYING Citibank to treat me that way.  After more than 20
years as a customer, they've chosen to make it so inconvenient,
expensive, and distasteful for smaller depositors like me (especially
those who work in New York and live in other states) I've finally
pulled the plug on them.

Some time ago I wrote an article here about the idiotic ACD Citibank
operates (they call it Citiphone).  I used to have a good impression
of Citibank's, and Citicorp's, telecommunications group, after seeing
first-hand how they've worked trunk-testing into such an art that NY
Telephone used THEIR noise tests to monitor trunk and CO performance.
But after experiencing Citiphone, I don't think much of the entire
organization.  The bank knows that most calls to them from New Jersey
customers are a premium toll call, and the best advice a supervisor
could give was to call collect (pointless, since a recording answers
the phone and makes no mention of accepting charges).  It's a shame
that Citibank chooses to use telecommunications as one of the tools to
get RID of customers, rather than keep them.  Oh well, there's no
sense being stupid unless if you can show the world ...


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 08:45:01 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Does Direct Depoist Authority - Withdrawal Authority?


In TELECOM Digest V13 #309 [e-mail] (Cris Simpson) writes:

> [Moderator's Note: Not really a telecom question, but an interesting
> diversion for a minute or two ... PAT]

Actually it is since the telephone system is used for direct deposits
and automatic withdrawls.

> A note along with my last paystub noted that ADP (the payroll giants)
> had miscalculated some deduction for insurance.  The note said that
> for people with Direct Deposit, ADP would just withdraw the first
> deposit, and immediately deposit the correct amount.  (Since the
> insurance isn't that good a deal, I don't get it, so I'm not in that
> group.)

In my agreement with my employer to direct deposit my paycheck, I had
to specifically sign an agreement that incorrect amounts can be
withdrawn if they should occur; and then only to the amount in error.

> This raises the question: Who can withdraw money from my account by
> wire?  When asked this question, Bank of America 1) Refused to answer.
> 2) When asked for a supervisor, hung up.  Another call to Customer
> Service provided a guy that said that anyone authorized to DD is
> authorized to withdraw for "corrections".  I never authorized anybody
> to make "corrections" to my account!

The Customer Service person was correct.  Check your agreement with
your employer and I'll bet that you'll find that corrections can be
made to your account.

Put it this way, if you were overpaid one payday and were paid by
check and the employer found out about it during an audit, the
employer would deduct that amount from your next check.

The last statement about $1 being deposited then the depositor (in
this case, not the holder of the account) brings up interesting
questions and would be a natural for the alt.privacy newsgroup and the
comp.privacy.digest also.  Dennis are you there?


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 09 May 93 17:37:19 -0700
From: David G. Cantor <[e-mail]>


In TELECOM Digest, Volume 13, Issue 309, Robert Burgoyne makes various
comments about individual responsibility and states, among many other
things:

> "Let's get some things straight.  I'm a 900 number IP, and I
> work with other people doing the same thing.  We're not sleazes.
> I'd appreciate it if the Moderator would abstain from such
> comments."

> "Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
> piece of paper.  It may have been long ago and forgotten, but
> that doesn't absolve responsibility."

Mr. Burgoyne should be aware that telphone service is normally given
without any document, signature, seal, hand-shake, or other customary
method of making a binding agreement.  Most persons who "sign-up" for
telephone service know none of the details of the contract.  The
contract is defined by the local telephone company and approved by the
State Communications Regulatory Agency (e.g., in California, the PUC)
or, sometimes, the FCC.  The contract is binding because laws passed
by the States and Federal Government give these agencies authority to
regulate telphone service.  As might be expected, these contacts are
normally quite one-sided in favor of the telephone company.

The sleazy 900 provider in my opinion (most 900 service is, like a
porno-book store, sleazy) is trying to use these laws to be paid for
something which is NOT telephone service.

In today's world, a telephone in the home is absolutely essential.  It
is virtually impossible to "lock-up" a phone so that another
inhabitant of the household, room-mate, child, etc. can't use the
telephone.  It is easy to strip the phone wire and connect a $10.00
phone to it, or to defeat most of the devices sold to limit dialing.

If Mr. Burgoyne didn't want to be ripped off, he could arrange for
security codes for his users, like those used by long-distance
services.  Or he could, as many legitimite information providers do,
arrange to bill the customer (or his credit card) directly for this
service.


David G. Cantor   Department of Mathematics  University of California
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1555   Internet:  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Gordon Croft)
Subject: Re: Protocol Analyzer Wanted
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 20:14:12 GMT


Navtel makes some very nice little units ... if you are interested I
can send you some more details.


Gordon

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

From: [e-mail] (Arthur Kodama)
Subject: Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service
Organization: University of Hawaii
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 06:43:09 GMT


William H. Glass ([e-mail]) wrote:

> back up?  BTW, the phone number is [phone] (according to my
> credit card billing).  Give 'em a call and ask for the wise guy who
> ordered the Domino's pizza.

I tried calling this number, as I'm very interested in talking to
someone down in the canyon.  Would be informative since I am planning
to make that hike to the bottom someday soon.

Unfortunately, when I called the number I got a "the number you have
dialed has been disconnected" recording.  Do you think the phone has
been disconnected for incoming service?  I think it's possible since
you mentioned that the phone does not accept change.  Is it one of
those blue AT&T phones?  Those don't allow incoming calls.


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: SCAN (Shared Check Authorization Network)
Date: 9 May 1993 21:56:01 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
writes:

> In the systems I'm aware of, there is usually a private database
> containing account number and some statistics.  In low-end systems,
> there's just a "negative" database which includes the account numbers
> of known bad check writers (e.g. many NSF, closed accounts with
> outstanding checks, forged account numbers, etc.).

> Tie-ins to banks would make that a possibility, in which case this
> system would be as secure as credit cards an would thwart simply
> opening a new virgin checking account.

This last vulnerability has by and large gone away as well -- most
banks now check your Driver's License number with SCAN or a similar
network and won't open an account for you if you have a history of bad
check problems at any bank.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 03:06:49 GMT


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

> into the presidency of the USA. Ah, but the 1940-50 era: those were
> the golden days at Columbia University! What a place it was then!  PAT]

Hm?  What sort of place was it then?

      Gabe Wiener -- [e-mail] -- N2GPZ
Sound engineering, recording, and digital mastering for classical music


[Moderator's Note: I'm not sure if it was Columbia so much as it was
the entire neighborhood. All of that end of town was extremely nice
forty years ago. Of course Manhattan in general, like Chicago was a
very wonderful place; not a jungle as it is now. Since your .signa-
ture indicates you are involved in 'recording and digital mastering
for classical music' you might be interested to know among the first
dozen or so 33 rpm long playing records made by Columbia Records back
in 1947-48 (remember when they were big, heavy platters?) were three
recordings made at the university by the late E. Power Biggs, an
organist of some fame. Two were recordings of J. S. Bach, the third
was a collection of things entitled 'French Organ Music'. 33 rpm style
recordings were quite revolutionary and very well received because it
meant for the first time, people listening to classical music could
listen to an entire work on one record instead having a box set of 15
records (front and back side, 30 records in total) just to hear a
single symphony. No more jumping up to change the record every three
minutes or so. :)

Columbia University was also the place where one might run into
William Burroughs, Tennessee Williams and other very creative and
interesting people. My first two years in high school during summer
vacation our drama/debate teacher Arthur Erickson took me with him to
Columbia. Arthur was involved with some theatre thing for three weeks
in July. We stayed with a friend of his a short distance away; what
sticks in my mind was 115th and Riverside Drive; it was a couple
blocks from that large church. Maybe Columbia will stand until hell
freezes over; the rest of Manhattan, like Chicago, is long gone.  PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jeff Freeman)
Date: Sun, 09 May 1993 20:00:00
Subject: Re: Encrypted Cordless Phone
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Freeman)


> With all the recent talk about Clipper chips, I was remembering the
> court decision that cordless phone users had no expectation of
> privacy. Are there any cordless phones that use some sort of
> encryption device? I'm not thinking of hiding my conversations from
> the NSA so much as hiding them from nosy neighbors.

There are cordless phones which use digital transmission between the
base and handset. VTECH makes the 900DX which has that feature. Their
new 900DL also adds voice encryption. Cobra has their Intenna 900
cordless phone which uses a digital spread spectrum transmission
between base and handset. We use a couple of the 900DX's and they are
nice units.


Jeff Freeman                    1-800-GO-PORCH Toll-Free
Front Porch Computers           1-706-695-1888 <voice>
Rt 2 Box 2178                   1-706-695-1990 <fax>
Chatsworth, GA 30705            75260,21  Compuserve ID #
Internet: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael J Purtell)
Subject: Caller-ID Information Transmission Standard Query
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 02:21:45 GMT


I want to know what the format of the Caller-ID information is that's
sent to a phone that subscribes to such information.  Since boxes are
made by third parties to interpret this information, it must be
published or available somewhere.  I'd really appreciate any pointers
to this information.


Thanks in advance.

 -- Michael  Purtell --  [e-mail]   Iowa State University

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

From: [e-mail] (Daniel Drucker)
Subject: Re: Internet Talk Radio
Date: 9 May 1993 16:14:00 -0400
Organization: A poorly-installed InterNetNews site


I'm looking for someone who'd be willing to record internet talk radio
onto standard audio tape.

I'd pay for the tape, and the postage/handling.


Daniel Drucker   N2SXX          | [e-mail]
Forever, forever, my Coda.      | [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #313
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #314

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 10 May 93 06:36:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 314

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom History (Syd Weinstein)
    Re: Telecom History (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Telecom History (Gabe M. Wiener)
    Re: Telecom History (TELECOM Moderator)
    Warrant?  We Don' Need No Steenking Warrant! We're the FBI! (R. McMillin)
    PacBell Call Return: Can It Be Blocked? (Eric Thompson)
    SSNs For Telephone Service (Dave Niebuhr)
    ANAC Wanted For Los Vegas (Frank T. Lofaro)
    CAOES Electronic Forum on Networking Emergency Management (Peter M. Weiss)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: 9 May 1993 19:03:27 -0400
Organization: Datacomp Systems, Inc., Huntingdon Valley, PA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (Stephen Friedl) writes:

> The telecom angle is that the phone numbers are listed:

>    Phones / Bell 1393
>           \ Keystone 23693

> My guess is that this was from the day when there were competing
> telephone services in town, and you had to have several phones if you
> wanted to get calls from more customers.

> [Moderator's Note: Camden readers can correct if if I am wrong, but I
> believe 'Keystone 2-3693' would be now 532-3693.

He's right and you are wrong. In the Philadelphia area, and Camdem
qualifies, there were two phone companies up until the 30's.  One is
what is now Bell Atlantic, and the other was Keystone Telephone, and
their slogan was, "When it rings, Its business" as they only sold to
businesses. Today, a PBX/Key service company bought the Keystone name
and uses it and its trademark.  Around here you can still find
Keystone manhole covers if you look hard enough.  They were a very
big service.

And yes, Keystone did use five digit numbers; they didn't use LD as
such and had the same number base in their entire marketing area
down here.

It was quite common to try and get common numbers in both Keystone and
Bell areas if you had both phones.


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.4PL21
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 3.0 Release: ??? ?,1994
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Thank you Syd, and I stand corrected. Fred Goldstein
tells it much the same way in his message, following next.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp.
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 03:42:31 GMT


Mr. Moderator usually guesses right, but I strongly doubt that the
date is from the "ready to go dial" period.  Remember, Camden, NJ is
right across the river from Philadelphia, noting the old joke,
"Philadelphia really isn't boring; it just looks that way next to
Camden."

Philadelphia was the last bit-city bastion of competing telephone
companies.  Keystone was Bell's competitor, offering dial service long
before Bell (no Bell had dial before 1926 or so).  I suppose they came
across the river to Camden, too.  Keystone's glory days were around
the fin de siecle.  I don't know exactly when they folded but it might
have been shortly after the Kingsbury agreement, in 1912, allowed AT&T
to acquire all of the independent competitors in their own service
areas.  But I think Keystone stayed around a while longer.  Anybody
remember?


Fred R. Goldstein  mail to : [e-mail]
Opinions are mine alone, sharing requires permission


[Moderator's Note: And thank you, Fred. But didn't Kansas City have
two local telcos up to in the 1940's sometime?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 03:07:38 GMT


Several years ago I was browsing through old issues of the Columbia
Spectator (campus newspaper) from the late 19th century.  In 1895, a
local cleaners had the phone number:

    673 Morningside

Yet in 1925, numbers for the area were written as:

    Morningside 3154


I had presumed that by 1925, NYC had gone direct dial.  But even so,
Morningside 3154 isn't a direct-dialable number, so I'm curious if
anyone knows why the early listing has the exchange _after_ the
number, and the later one has it first.

When would the prefix have changed from MORningside to MOrningside?
Just so you know, the 66X- prefix still covers many numbers on
Morningside Heights, though 667 (MOR) isn't among them.  662 and 666
are still used there though.

Explain something to me if you would.  When operating a cordboard in a
Bell exchange, how did the operator control what she heard?  Obviously
if she were connecting two numbers in the same town, it would be a
matter of simply patching one to the other.  But if I went off-hook,
what is she plugging into the board?  Is it the cord from her headset?
or is it the actual cord that will carry my conversation?  If the
latter, then how does her headset figure into the picture?


Thanks.

Gabe

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

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 04:30:00 AM


Gabe Weiner asks too much to be answered in a Note, even as long as I
make them sometimes.  Let's see if I can do a better job on this one
than I did on the coat hanger inquiry, okay Fred and Syd?  :)

Originally -- like around 1880 -- there was one central exchange, and
variously they were operated by subscriber name or number, depending
on who ran it and how many subscribers there were, etc. Within a few
years there were so many subscribers other exchanges had to be started
in each city. They still used the same number, and the exchange name
was pronounced by the subscriber to the operator almost as an after-
thought "I want six seven five ... uh, ... Morningside exchange." I do
not know when, but sometime around the turn of the century, Mother
decided multiple exchanges were going to be the way things went, and
standardized the exchange name first and the local number last.

In a private letter to me, Gabe said 'I assume NYC had automatic
dialing by 1925, yet Morningside is not dialable ...'  I answered back
(leading up to his message above) saying maybe Morningside XXXX was
dialed as 3L-4D, as in MORningside. I do not know, I was only making a
guess at that. I believe NYC got automated dialing in 1925 or so; NYC
was the first place in the world to have it, and the only place for a
few years. Maybe a long-time resident in the area can explain the
evolution from Morningside to the present 66x numbers in the area.

Gabe asks about cord switchboards:  The operator's headset remained
plugged in at all times. It was on a common talking path to any of
the cords on the switchboard which were opened or closed (that is,
taken in on the common talk path or excluded from it) by keys on the
front of the switchboard. A subscriber going off hook caused a lamp
to illuminate above the hole. The operator would take a free pair of
wires and plug one wire into the subscriber's jack (or the hole on
the back panel which was illuminated) and at the same time throw open
the key associated with it, connecting the subscriber's line to her
headset via the common talking path. She'd ask him what number he
wanted, and use the other end of the wire to make the connection. She
would then close the key, excluding herself from the conversation. If
she were to open the key, she would hear the subscribers talking and
they would hear her. If she were to open several keys at once, then
all the subscribers talking would hear each other via the common talk
line the operator used. When it was necessary for whatever reason for
management to monitor the work or conversations of an operator, they
simply put a tap across that common talking path. That way, they could
observe the operator's conduct and speech as she responded to the
subscribers, yet not violate the subscriber's privacy in the process
since the operator's key was closed once she had made the connection.

When the subscribers were finished talking, they would hang up their
phone and this also caused a 'supervision lamp' associated with that
cord pair to illuminate on the front panel of the switchboard. Seeing
this, the operator would open the key, listen for conversation, and
hearing nothing, pull the cords out of the holes. The cords were on
spring-loaded wheels under the board, operating on the same principle
as roller shades on windows. Pull it down, it stays down; jerk it a
little in the other way, the cords would quickly slide back into the
little slots where they rested when not in use. Typically, each switch-
board (or 'position' as they were called) had fifteen such cord pairs
for the operator to use and monitor. If there were only a couple
hundred subscribers, then there would usually be only one position,
with the subscriber holes on the lower half of the backboard, and
lines to long distance etc on the top.  If there were a couple
thousand subscribers, then one operator could not handle all that, and
the subscribers were divided in three parts, each operator getting
about 700 subscribers directly in front of her, and the remaining 1400
or so in two parts, some to her left and some to her right. If one of
my subscribers wanted to talk to one of your subscribers, I reached
over in front of your face with the corresponding cord and plugged in
on your switchboard or position with the other half of the cord pair
plugged in on my side. Five or six thousand subscribers required
sevral operators, and the customers were divided equally among the
switchboard positions (divided by three) ... that is, every third
position as you went down the line repeated what the third one before
it had as far as subscribers were concerned. This made it possible for
any one of three or four operators to handle any of the subscribers. A
customer going off hook illuminated the lamps at several -- but not
all -- positions and the first free operator plugged in and took the
call.

If there were more subscribers than it was possible to accomodate by
dividing them in thirds (for example, 8000 subscribers divided by
three positions meant 2700 per position, a *very hefty* load for an
operator to handle), then there would be other similar banks of
swithboards in the room. Perhaps there would be eight groups of
switchboards, three in each group, each group of three splitting a
thousand customers among them. There were not 'banks' or 'clusters' as
such; all the switchboards were lined up along the wall one after
another, marked position one through position twelve, etc ... the first
three handling customers 1 through 1000, the next three handling 1001
to 2000, .... to finally 7001 through 8000. There might be several
other exchanges in town, each set up the same way for their 8000 or so
subscribers.

In addition to the holes on the back of the board where the operator
plugged one of her cord-pairs, there were numerous other holes, or
jacks which were tie-lines *to the other clusters or groups* as well
as to other exchanges in town.

A call between two subscribers on the same exchange and whose numbers
were close to each other merely required the operator to plug one end
of the cord one place, and the other end someplace else in front of
her. If the call went from one exchange to another, then the operator
responded with one half the cord to the subscriber calling, and the
other half of the cord went into the tie-line going to the other
exchange. An operator at the other exchange would see the call arrive
in the same way, via the illuminated lamp over the jack hole, and she
answered it there, and extended it to a plug in front of her.

The operator who picked up the call in the other exchange had to be
advised what number to connect to, so the original operator would
repeat just the digits. The operator accepting the call said nothing;
the operator placing the call did all the talking.

Example:  Morningside subscriber wants to call Riverside customer 3125.

   MO customer goes off hook ... within two to five seconds at
   most, his central exchange operator is on the line.

   MO Operator:   Number please?

   MO Sub:  Riverside 3125

   As soon as the phrase 'Riverside' passed from his lips, she
   was already reaching up to the top part of her board, inserting a
   cord in the tie line going to Riverside central exchange.

   As he is saying '3125' the MO operator is waiting for a response
   from Riverside.

   Riverside operator comes on:    ..... click ....

   The operators did not ask 'number please?' of each other, or
   thank each other. MO knew that RI had connected when the click was
   heard.

   MO operator:   Three one two five ....

   MO operator:   Thank you  (this was being said to you the subsriber,
                              not to the other operator.


Had it been a call intra to her position -- staying there within her
grasp entirely, she would have repeated the number to acknowledge it
to you. When calling the other exchange, her pronouncement of it
served to tell the other operator where to extend the call and to
acknowledge it to you at the same time.

So in the 'manual days', calls were handled almost as fast as they are
now with electronic swicthing ... seriously ... it was seldom more
than five or ten seconds from going off hook to hearing the other end
ringing. An operator who was not handling a call was trained to have a
cord in her hand at all times, and when a lamp came on to instantly
reach up and almost throw the cord into the jack. They rarely had to
even look closely, they were that good at selecting one little hole
out of several hundred, and of course all holes were labeled with the
subscriber's number underneath them on strips of paper. Your phone
going off hook lit the lamp; the operator was generally plugged into
your jack by the time you got your phone to your ear, or within a
second or two. A 'backlog' of calls meant several lamps burning at one
time waiting, and several operators taking all of five or ten seconds
to get around to them all.

There were tie-lines on the switchboard going to 'Long Distance' oper-
ators elsewhere, and tie-lines which hooked together all the
switchboards in the room for passing calls among them, etc.

If subscriber lines were multipled around the room in groups of three
at a time, how did an operator know if a line was in use when she
could not see a cord in the hole?   ... Before actually plugging in,
she touched the 'tip' of the cord (like today, the switchboard cords
had a 'tip', a 'ring' and a 'sleeve' or ground) to the edge of the
desired jack. If another operator somewhere who also had that
subscriber on her board in fact had a cord plugged in there, any other
operator 'testing for busy' before plugging in would hear a click on
the line. If there was no click as a result of the 'tip to jack' test,
then the line was available for the call she was handling.  If she
forgot to 'test for busy' before plugging in all the way, the end
result would be an intruder on the line between two other subscribers.

That, in a nutshell, was the way it was done, Gabe.


PAT

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 20:32 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Warrant?  We Don' Need no Steenking Warrant!  We're the FBI!


Buried on page A14 of Saturday's {Los Angeles Times}:

"The House sent the Senate a bill (HR 175) expanding [you mean they
don't have to get a warrant as it is??  -- RLM] the FBI's power to
obtain, without court warrants, telephone records and conversations in
probes of international terrorism and espionage.

"The bill grants the FBI access in such investigations to information
on unlisted numbers that phone companies cannot presently divulge.  It
also enables FBI counterintelligence agents to obtain a broader range
of telephone conversations involving suspected terrorists and spies.

"Supporter Ronald D. Coleman (D-Tex.) said the bill strikes 'a
delicate balance between [giving] the FBI the means to fight terrorism
and espionage and our responsibility to protect individuals from
unreasonable intrusion by the government.

"NO OPPONENT SPOKE AGAINST THE BILL [emphasis mine -- RLM].

"The vote was 367 for and six against.  A yes vote was to pass the
bill."
                          ---

I've had enough of the arguments that the government can be trusted
not to snoop on individuals.  We've seen it before when it was
*illegal*.  Now, the FBI wants -- and looks like it will get, if this
isn't killed in the Senate -- the ability to listen in on the private
conversations of Americans, without having to go before a judge or any
of those other unfortunate inconveniences.  'Delicate balance' my ass
 -- this is plain unconstitutional.  Not only do the schmucks in
Washington want ever more of your money, they want your civil rights,
too.

Operator, get me the EFF ...


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 00:52:40 -0700
From: [e-mail]
Subject: PacBell Call Return: Can It Be Blocked?


Sorry if this was covered when PacBell started offering Call Return,
but I noticed something interesting just today.  Last week I found out
my brother had Call Return so I called his line with a *67 prefix
(which supposedly blocks Caller-ID?).  When he did *69 for Call
Return, it *did not* work.  We tried it a few times, so I am sure it
wasn't a fluke.

Now, a week later, *69 does nothing and Call Return works *always*.
He called PacBell and they said that there is no code to block your
number so that someone can't Call Return your call.  Are they lying?
Are you supposed to be able to stop people from being able to Call
Return your call?  (I'm sure PacBell doesn't want any blocking...)


Thanks,

Eric ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: *67 to block ID and *69 to return calls are two
separate matters. Neither feature will work if the calling party is
'out of area'. If his ID was showing 'out of area' when you called,
then his *69 would have had nothing to work with either. Your use of
*67 may have been meaningless if your two central offices were not
talking to each other -- SS7 style -- when you first began your tests.
If during that week or so of testing, either or both of your offices
started correctly talking to the other one, his ID box would suddenly
start showing 'private' but his call return would work. To answer your
question, no, there is no way to prevent someone with Call Return from
calling you back. As 'they' say, if you don't like it, then don't make
the kinds of calls which require it ... :)   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 93 08:27:38 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: SSNs For Telephone Service


In TELECOM Digest V13 #308 [e-mail] (Frank Keeney)
writes:

> I just found a company that offers a zero surcharge calling card and
> it costs nothing to get it.

[ ... text deleted ... ]

> If you would like to sign up for the service please send me your name,
> Social Security number, address, and telephone number to be converted.
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Why is a social security number needed?  Is it to do a credit check or
what and why isn't that spelled out in advance?

The issue of SSNs does not belong here and should be taken to the
alt.privacy newsgroup where that is discussed in more detail.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 09:29:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Frank T Lofaro <[e-mail]>
Subject: ANAC Code Wanted For Los Vegas


    Does anyone out there know the ANAC code for Las Vegas? Any
other "test" codes? I've found one can get a ringback just by dialing
one's own number.

Here are the codes I found for Pittsburgh:

ANAC: 711-6633 (the last digits may differ, I've heard of 4411 being used
in some areas. I know the 711-6633 code works here)
Ringback 988-xxxx (where xxxx is the last 4 digits of your phone number.
The 988 might be any exchange in the range 985-989 in some areas).

New York City:
ANAC: 958

Ringback: Not standard at all, but 660 plus possibly your phone number
works in some areas. 660 does strange things in some neighboorhoods, like
give dial tones which one could not dial numbers with).

    I couldn't find any Vegas numbers when I last checked the test
numbers file on the telecom ftp site.

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

Organization: Penn State University
Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 10:11:26 EDT
From: Peter M. Weiss <[e-mail]>
Subject: CAOES Electronic Forum on Networking Emergency Management


Since the use of networks for emergency management has been discussed
here before, I thought that you would find this x-posting (from the
HSPNET-L listserv) interesting >>>

Comments:     Resent-From: "Donald F. Parsons MD" <DFP10@ALBNYVM1>
Comments:     Originally-From: david tilson - admin DVI
              <[e-mail]>

            --------Original message------
Hi All,

The following was sent by Art Botterell, from the California Office of
Emergency Services.  Art's Internet address, for further information
is [e-mail]

Regards, davidt


ELECTRONIC FORUM ON NETWORKING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

The California Office of Emergency Services invites practitioners and
students of emergency management to take part in a new electronic-
mail forum (which we hope will be a worthy complement to "ADMIN".)

"Networks In Emergency Management" is a moderated forum on the uses
of networks and networked computers in the practice of emergency
management.

The "nets" forum is facilitated by staff of the Telecommunications
Division, California Office of Emergency Services.  However, opinions
and representations are the writers' own, and their inclusion in this
forum does not imply endorsement by the State of California or
California OES.

Comments for this forum may be mailed to "[e-mail]".  We'll
include the most appropriate ones, as space permits, in the next
issue.

To be added to the "nets" mailing list, please send e-mail to
"[e-mail]" with the word "subscribe" in the message
text.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #314
******************************










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Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 03:05:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #315

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 11 May 93 03:05:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 315

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Individual Responsibility (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Allen Barrett Ethridge)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Jim Rees)
    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! (Jim Rees)
    Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab! (Frank Keeney)
    Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem (Bruce Sullivan)
    Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem (Robert Smith)
    Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers? (Paul S. Sawyer)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 03:06:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


J. Robert Burgoyne <[e-mail]>, writes:

JB> Let's get some things straight. I'm a 900 number IP, and I work
JB> with other people doing the same thing. We're not sleazes. I'd
JB> appreciate it if the Moderator would abstain from such comments.

I have read the prior articles and I don't think that the Moderator
necessarily referred to 900 providers as "sleaze".

JB> In this world, we have responsibility. Many people don't fully
JB> realize their responsibilities, and whine when things like the
JB> roommate situation happens. The case of one person making
JB> excessive long distance calls on another person's phone has
JB> been a problem for a long time. Pay per call services just offer
JB> another occassion for this to happen.

JB> If you want the responsibility of owning a telephone and having
JB> service, it's necessary to take precautions. That responsibility
JB> falls on the shoulders of the person who signed for the phone.

To hold people responsible for what they have no control over is blind
lunancy; the sort of situation that occurs in the telephone industry
where the subscriber is held 100% responsible for all charges on a
phone whether they are authorized or not, has only continued because
people haven't seen huge charges they did not authorize on their
bills.  In most cases there is no means for a subscriber to
selectively allow calls to go through; he either has to block all
long-distance service or accept responsibility for everything whether
or not (s)he authorized it.

If the telephone companies don't clean up their act and give
subscribers more control over the costs involved (such as the ability
to passcode lock a telephone line) they will almost certainly be
forced to do so.  Credit card companies got forced to eat all fraud
over $50 on credit cards because they refused to do something about
it.  (More on this later.)

RB> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges
RB> appear on your next bill. Who's responsible?

If I *permit* someone to use my card, that's fine; I take the
responsibility, however your analogy fails:

If I go on vacation and leave some of my credit cards at home and a
thief breaks in, (or sneaks into my hotel room while I'm taking a
shower), steals one card (so I don't notice it missing for several
hours) and runs up $2,000 in plane tickets, the maximum liability the
issuer of that Master Card can impose on me is $50.  If that same
thief, on the weekend I was out of town, ran up $2,000 in calls to 900
numbers, the telephone company would declare me responsible for the
charges even though I had no way of knowing about them and no way of
preventing them.  (Even if I remove my phone, someone could plug one
in.)

If a thief stole my ATM card, unless I keep my number on or near the
card, he can't get money out of it.  If he forces me, at gunpoint, to
give him the number and while I'm tied up, he withdraws the maximum of
say $500, the maximum liability for that unauthorized transaction is
still $50.  And some issuers of plastic don't even require the person
to pay the charge.

Also, when a person has a credit card, they have a limit.  Go over it
and you have to ask the issuer for permission to continue to charge.
Or start running ten charges a day and the issuer will try to contact
you to verify that they are valid.  Credit card issuers have to do
this to prevent chargebacks and fraud.  Telephone companies don't
because they've gotten away with making the customer eat every charge
as well as not giving him options for protecting himself against
fraud.

RB>> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
RB>> their name.

RB> No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed
RB> a piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but
RB> that doesn't absolve responsibility.

Mr. Burgoyne uses digex.com as his Internet provider, so I'll assume
he's in the Washington, DC area since I also use the same service.  If
this is the case, that he lives in DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia,
that he has telephone service with C&P Telephone company.  When I
moved from DC to Maryland (where a different relative had phone
service and I had never had service before in my name) the only thing
C&P Telephone wanted was a social security number and 150 green
pictures of George Washington.

They never once asked for anything to be signed.  All they wanted was
advance payment of installation and first month's service.  (Unless
C&P Telephone started requiring signatures for new service recently.)
And in case people here have forgotten, I had two additional phone
lines installed and service changes issued (See my two Digest Articles
"Touch Tone is No Extra Charge," Feb 1993) and all the phone company
wanted was for someone to be here when they installed the new lines; I
was billed for everything.  I have never signed any piece of paper or
application with the telephone company.  Not because I refused, but
*because C&P Telephone never asked me to sign anything*.

RB>> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep
RB>> your phone under lock and key!

RB> People do this! And there's nothing wrong with doing it!

As long as there are no other open jacks and that phone can't be
unplugged and replaced by a $15 "throwaway", or the person has a block
at the network interface block so that it prevents all expensive calls
AND that the block can't be avoided or shunted around.

RB>> A poor roommate choice (including circumstances like college where
RB>> you don't even have a choice) can cost you thousands of dollars and
RB>> the use of your phone forever, and unlike other credit outfits, you
RB>> have no recourse in the case of fraud.

RB> Boo hoo.

It is *exactly* this type of attitude, that where the customer has
unlimited responsibility for all unauthorized charges and has no means
to prevent them, that is going to encourage the imposition of controls
and limits on charges.  If telephone companies and IPs do not give
customers more control over unauthorized charges, a few more horror
stories of multi-thousand-dollar bills will cause government agencies
to use government force to compel this feature.

Local telcos are always whining about they aren't making the kind of
money they used to.  Here's a perfect opportunity; passcoding of phone
lines exactly the way a cellular phone has a lock code on it
prohibiting calls if the phone is locked.  This feature is important
enough that people will certainly pay extra for the privelege.  Or
using the intelligence in their switches to offer the same thing
that's available in refusing incoming calls from some numbers:
permitting some long distance calls to some numbers or exchanges and
not others.  Phone companies can provide this for centrex customers;
they should consider it for residential ones.  Before this is a
mandated free feature.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail] / [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Allen Barrett Ethridge)
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility
Organization: The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 04:05:55 GMT


J. Robert Burgoyne ([e-mail]) wrote:

>> Justin Leavens ([e-mail]) wrote in response to TELECOM
>> Moderator who had earlier noted:

>>> [Moderator's Note: Well, I used to think the tariff requirements
>>> making 'the subscriber responsible for the use of the instruments'
>>> also applied to premium services such as 900/976, but a few writers
>>> here have said the tariff only pertains to services actually sold by
>>> telco (that is, phone calls) and not the premium stuff they simply
>>> bill for.

> Let's get some things straight. I'm a 900 number IP, and I work with
> other people doing the same thing. We're not sleazes. I'd appreciate
> it if the Moderator would abstain from such comments.

As they say, if the shoe fits ...

> The IP and the IP alone is stuck with the bill for uncollectibles.

That's 'cause "The IP and the IP alone" is responsible.

> In this world, we have responsibility. Many people don't fully realize
> their responsibilities, and whine when things like the roommate
> situation happens. The case of one person making excessive long
> distance calls on another person's phone has been a problem for a long
> time. Pay per call services just offer another occassion for this to
> happen.

> If you want the responsibility of owning a telephone and having
> service, it's necessary to take precautions. That responsibility falls
> on the shoulders of the person who signed for the phone.

> The IP spent money setting up and advertising their service. They took
> a risk with the intention of making a profit. The more people whine
> about protection from all responsibility, the more freedom is taken
> away.  Personally I like freedom. That's why I live here.

I live here 'cause I like freedom, too.  Freedom requires responsibility.
That's why i can't stand it when people try to push off their
responsiblity onto others and then have the hypocrisy to call these
other people irresponsible.

It's like this -- it is the responsibility of the service provider to
verify the ability and willingness of the user to pay for the service.
I have an agreement with both my local and long distance service
providers to pay for the use of their services.  I also have accounts
on bulletin boards such as America On Line and the Well.  None of
these service providers agreed to provide service without getting my
agreement to pay and, to some extent at least, verifying my ability to
pay.  900 services, on the other hand, make no effort to verify the
validity of the caller, and then they have the gall to whine when they
don't get paid.

If I allow someone to use my phone, or to access my bulletin board
accounts then I will pay any long distance or BBS (on my account)
charges incurred by that person, even if that person abused my trust,
because I have an agreement with those organizations.  I have no such
agreement with any 900 service provider -- and allowing someone else
to use my phone does not create such an agreement (any more than my
allowing someone to use my phone to access their own BBS account
creates an agreement to pay for their BBS account charges).

>> This is one of the prime reasons I hate the IP billing situation:
>> You can only put one name on a residential phone account, and that
>> person becomes responsible for whatever massive charges are
>> accumulated on that account, no matter who makes the calls.

> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

As I said -- I'm responsible for the telephone charges and I'll pay
them.  Lending my phone does not constitute commitment to pay for any
services that may be reachable through that phone.

>> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
>> their name.

> No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
> piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but that
> doesn't absolve responsibility.

One more time -- the owner of the phone is responsible for the phone
charges -- the user is responsible for the services he may call.  And
the service provider is responsible verifying the user.

>> And IP's are really only a problem because of the massive charges
>> that can be accumulated without warning (it's obvious when your
>> roommate spends five or six hours on the phone to another country, but
>> those same charges can be accumulated in about 30 minutes with an IP).

> $2,100 in 30 minutes? That's $70 per minute. The maximum limit is
> about $5 per minute. Most IPs won't let a caller make a phone call
> that exceeds $100. The caller is cut off or warned.

Let's consider these numbers. I can call Hawaii from Texas for less
than $10 an hour. $2100 would be 210 hours, or seven hours a day for
30 days (just about a month).  It's going to be very obvious to me
that someone is abusing my trust if they're using my phone seven hours
a day every day for a month. $2100 at $5 per minute comes to 420
minutes or seven hours.  That's less than fifteen minutes a day!  I'm
supposed to realize my trust is being abused with that little
telephone time?!?  Seven hours to Hawaii is less than $70 dollars, and
there's a big difference between $70 and $2100.

>> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your phone
>> under lock and key!

> People do this! And there's nothing wrong with doing it!

This is what really makes me mad.  People have had telephones since
long before 900 services were available.  We used to be able to trust
each other with our phones, because we knew that even if abused the
charges would not be entirely out of line.  And then the 900 sleazes
came in and took advantage this trust, and the poor security of the
existing telephone system in general, and here Mr. Burgoyne has the
insolence to attribute the breakdown of trust, the loss of freedom to
the "irresponsibility" of the owners of telephones.  The real blame
clearly lies with the 900 service providers and there cynical abuse of
the trust we used to be able to extend to each other.

I live in an apartment, and I cannot verify the honesty of all the
employees of the apartment management.  I am compelled by circumstances
to trust the management.  Or does Mr. Burgoyne believe that, in
addition to locking my phone I should also call the phone company
whenever I leave my apartment and have them suspend service just so my
line can't be used by some disgruntled short-time apartment employee
to make 900 calls?  Am I also somehow responsible if this same
employee decides to steal my computer or stereo?  After all, I could
take them to the bank and put them in a (rather large) safe deposit
box every time I leave.

>> A poor roommate choice (including circumstances like college where
>> you don't even have a choice) can cost you thousands of dollars and
>> the use of your phone forever, and unlike other credit outfits, you
>> have no recourse in the case of fraud.

> Boo hoo.

That's about how i feel about your losses.

> [Moderator's Note: I don't think I ever said *all* 900 services were
> sleaze. There are some that are total ripoffs. If I ever run one, I
> would hope to make it valuable to the people who used it, at an inex-
> pensive price.  PAT]

I hope Pat has the decency to verify and properly bill his users, rather
than just blaming the owner of the phone.


[Moderator's Note: I don't do anything with 900. I've thought about it
but never started anything. I would try to run it honestly, and if I
were involved with other partners or associates in such an operation I
would see to it they received a full accounting, etc. I would work
with customers who protested charges to straighten things out.  Of
course, I would probably go broke again, like I am now ... the volume
of calls required on 900 to make it worthwhile is also the reason that
providing good customer service becomes difficult.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility
Date: 10 May 1993 16:41:26 GMT
Organization: Center for Information and Technology Integration


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(J. Robert Burgoyne) writes:

> Let's get some things straight. I'm a 900 number IP, and I work with
> other people doing the same thing. We're not sleazes.

When I ordered my phone line, I contracted for phone service, not
psychics, sex, or software support.  Just because what you're doing is
legal doesn't make you any less sleazy in my view.

I would have more sympathy if there were some way to block these types
of calls, but my local phone company tells me that 900 blocking is
advisory, not absolute.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!
Date: 10 May 1993 17:28:32 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI


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

> [Moderator's Note: Winnemac is also a fine little village in north
> central Indiana. Very friendly place.  PAT]

Are you sure?  I've got the entire USGS place name data base, the US
postal service zip code data base, and the V&H tapes on line here, and
I show no entries for Winnemac.


[Moderator's Note: In that case, try 'Winamac' instead. Sorry.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Frank Keeney)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 14:08:30 -0800
Subject: Help!! Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!


On Apr 30 20:56, Jerry Stubbs wrote:

> A friend of mine's roommate ran up a big 900 bill over a
> three month period and has split. I guess the phone company
> will bump off one month of it but they want the rest.  What
> can this guy do? The scoundrel hid the phone bills until they
> shut off the service.

I'm in the collection business and I used to skip trace people that
did not pay their long distance phone bills. I would suggest that if
you don't know this person's present address that you call all the
numbers that are listed on the phone bills and just tell those people
that you are one of his friends trying to find him. I used to call
friends, relatives, and parents with great success. Once you find him
file suit against him in small claims court. If he does not appear a
default judgement will be issued against his roommate and it will
appear on the roommate's credit report for five to seven years. This
threat may help you get this deadbeat to pay up.


Frank Keeney                | E-mail  [e-mail]
115 California Blvd., #411  | Fidonet 1:102/645
Pasadena, CA 91105-1509 USA | UUCP    hatch!calcom!frank
                            | FAX     [phone]


[Moderator's Note: I caution you to remain within the parameters of
the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when doing skip tracing. You
are not his 'friend', you are a person who has a business matter to
discuss with him ... and you are not to identify yourself or your
employer unless specifically requested, and then only to the extent
required.  You'll not contact these people a second time unless they
invite you to call back later because they expect at that point to
have the information you are seeking.  I say this under the assumption
you work for an agency; if you *are* the creditor then the FDCPA does
not apply to you. It used to not apply to attornies either, but that
was changed a few years ago. You might respond that since you only
skip-trace and do not (at the same time) make demand for payment you
are therefore not collecting, therefore the FDCPA is inapplicable to
your circumstances. That is tenuous at best and many a debt collector
has had the tables turned and been sued because of an overzealous
employee who either made publication of a debt in a way that was not
legal or who made demand on the wrong party.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 00:22 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem


[e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard) writes:

> I called Illinois Bell once to report excessive noise on one of my
> lines.  Their first question was "Is it OK at the demarc?".  When I
                      (text of message deleted)

I had similar problems a year ago with US West. Because the house I'd
just bought had awful (telephone) wiring, I paid US West a premium to
rewire as part of the installation. As insurance, I also bought their
'Linebacker' insurance that says they own the problems *inside*, too.

Inspite of all that, I still had problems on my main line with noise
and static. US West gave me their best we-don't-care-we-don't-have-to
run around for two weeks or so telling me, among other things, that my
cordless phone was the problem ( "Really?  Gee, even when it's
unplugged?" ).  They didn't get serious about it until *I* started
dropping technical terms on them. Then, grudgingly acknowledging that,
since I'd purchased the Linebacker insurance, they sent the tech out.

Fortunately, he was sharp, had a good customer-service type attitude,
and wasn't interested in blaming the problem on me.  In very short
order, he'd isolated the problem to a *VERY OLD*, beat up line coming
into the house. With a modicum of extra effort, the original installer
would've found the same thing.

I dropped the Linebacker a month or so later. It's been great ever
since. That is, aside from five to ten calls a week for the previous
owner of my new number, but that's another story :-( ).

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

From: ROBERT SMITH <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem
Date: 10 May 93 19:18:30 GMT
Reply-To: ROBERT SMITH <[e-mail]>
Organization: Stakeholder Relations, NCR Corp in Dayton,OH


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

[e-mail] (Todd Inch) writes:

>> I thought it was the telco's responsibility to install a demarc JACK?
>> Around here (WA state) the new ones (residential) are all demarc/jack
>> combinations, and I've had the telco "fix up" the old ones by
>> replacing the protector/junction block with a demarc/jack at no charge
>> when I wanted to add wiring.  Anyone ever have a telco refuse to do
>> this, or has anybody else ever asked?

> I called Illinois Bell once to report excessive noise on one of my
> lines.  Their first question was "Is it OK at the demarc?".  When I
> explained that my house was wired many years before anybody ever heard
> of demarc jacks, they explained that I would be billed if the problem
> turned out to be inside the house.  I then asked that they install a
> demarc jack so I could determine where the problem was, but they
> insisted that they couldn't do that for free (although they could do

Here in Ohio Bell/Ameritech land, I faced a similar Catch-22 -- they
will charge me to fix noise if it's due to internal wiring, but I do
not have a modern demarc jack that will easily allow me to determine
if it's an internal or external problem.  I was fortunate in resolving
this -- I got a nice person in customer service who agreed to have a
modern demarc installed ("interface" is their term for it).
Previously, when I called the repair number rather than the customer
service number, they would not offer to install the demarc for free.
So the moral is, call back and see if you get lucky!


Bob Smith    E-mail => [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer)
Subject: Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers?
Date: 10 May 1993 13:34:38 GMT
Organization: UNH Telecommunications and Network Services


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Barry
Margolin) writes:

> The problem with the latter message is that many customers are
> likely to press the button as soon as they hear the semicolon,
> thinking it's a period :-) before they hear about the charge.

Maybe they should have Victor Borge record the message!     :-)


Paul S. Sawyer    - University of New Hampshire CIS -  [e-mail]
Telecommunications and Network Services                VOX: [phone]
50 College Road                                        FAX: [phone]
Durham, New Hampshire  03824-3523

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #315
******************************










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Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 05:13:00 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #316

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 11 May 93 05:13:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 316

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    CWA to Monitor TCI (CWA Press Release via Phillip Dampier)
    Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Reza Hussein)
    Brokers of Telephone Capacities (Christian Eggenberger)
    Calling Cards Without Phone Service (Javier Henderson)
    Audix Menu Customization? (Louis J. Judice)
    Busy Signal Received via Orange Card (Carl Moore)
    Position Available - 5ESS Central Office Tech (Walt Moody)
    VIVA 9642I Modem (Robert White)
    Wanted: A&A1 Relays (Alex Pournelle)
    Interesting (Free) Magazine (Jeff Wasilko)
    Why CO's Have No Windows (Steve Edwards)
    206 Being Split Soon (Darren Eslke)
    900Mhz Cordless Phones ([e-mail])
    Re: Telecom History (Harris Boldt Edelman)
    Re: Telecom History (Jeff Billin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Phillip Dampier)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 21:35:46 -0500
Subject: CWA to Monitor TCI


CWA LEADER SAYS UNION WILL MONITOR TCI PRACTICES IN PITTSBURGH, ELSEWHERE,
WITH HELP OF CABLE REFORM LAW

Communications Workers of America

PHILADELPHIA -- Following the ruling by a Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission administrative law judge allowing the acquisition by
Digital Direct (a TCI subsidiary) of Pittsburgh telephone provider
Penn Access Corporation., the regional Vice President of the
Communications Workers (CWA) said his union will continue to closely
monitor TCI operations in Pittsburgh and other cities for "abusive
practices."

CWA had lodged protests against the sale with the state PUC, charging
that TCI has a track record of inferior customer service, poor
treatment of its employees, and abusive business practices that make
it a "bad corporate citizen," according to CWA Vice President Vincent
Maisano.

Maisano reported that the CWA declined to file an exception to last
week's PUC ruling on the sale, noting that the recent Cable Act and
rulings by the Federal Communications Commission "give us and the
citizens of Pittsburgh a powerful tool to monitor this company and see
that TCI abuses against the public and company employees are stopped."

Maisano, head of CWA's District 13 headquartered in Philadelphia,
said: "We're unhappy that our position did not prevail" on the sale,
"but we're confident that we did the right thing.  We intervened
because we wanted to assure that the citizens of western Pennsylvania
would not be abused by TCI in their phone service as they have been in
their cable TV services."

"TCI has a long history of abusive sales practices, poor service, high
employee turnover, and unending litigation against the cities where
they hold a monopoly in cable TV," Maisano noted.

TCI's business record, he said, was a major reason for "overwhelming
public support for the Cable Act of 1992."

"This new law specifically prohibits negative subscription
advertising.  This provision was included because TCI attempted to
make subscribers pay for a service they did not order when they
launched their Encore network in 1991," Maisano said.

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

From: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)
Subject: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: 10 May 1993 18:08:03 -0500
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)


Hi,

Not too long ago, my housemate moved out and out of the country, and
didn't have time to notify a major charge card company of his change
of address.  Apparently, he had been negligent in paying up his way
overdue bill. Anyway, a representative from the same charge card
company and requested to speak to my housemate. I told him he had
moved out, and the representative demanded the phone number and
address of my housemate. Now, I know that you don't have to legally
provide such information over the phone to anyone at all, so I gave
him a fake phone number. The representative diligently hung up and
called back almost immediately complaining I had given him a fax
number, yelling "How do you expect me to communicate with a fax
machine?" He then demanded the correct number and address, and when I
refused, he claimed I was "witholding information." Anyway, the rest
of the phone call was very unpleasent and at one point the
representative threatened to keep on calling until I divulged correct
and helpful information.

In a seperate incident, another person called up for yet another
ex-housemate of mine. Once I told him my housemate had moved out, his
seemingly batless response was: "Do you have his phone number and this
will prevent us from calling your house again?"

The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
(before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?
And threatening to do it again?

Thanks to all advisors.


Reza Hussein -- [e-mail]; Computer Science; University of Houston


[Moderator's Note: The best way would be to give them the address and
phone number of your former housemate, unless for some reason you wish
to sheild that person from the calls. Have you also tried contacting
your former housemate and asking *them* to update their records with
the companies in question, letting them know you are tired of getting
the phone calls?  Creditors do have some rights, you know. If you do
not want to tell them, then just say so and hang up; no need to give
them false information; that might eventually come back on you.   PAT]

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

Date: 11 May 1993 01:08:58 +0100
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Brokers of Telephone Capacities


Hi Patrick,

I am searching for information about international brokers of phone
capacity like 'Via USA Ltd.', 'International Discount Telecommunications
Corp.'  (IDT) in New York or 'Telegroup, Inc.'  based in Fairfield,
IA. I was querying many libraries in U.S.  and Europe without success.
I am not sure whether the term broker is exceptionally used for
financial brokers or whether there is just no interest in this
subject.

Especially I am looking for:

a) The approxroximate number of brokers who are doing business
   with international phone capacities;
b) Name and address list of telephone brokers;
c) Rates and rate structures of these companies;
c1) In which time frame the rates are changed;
d) The dial and transmission process of establishing tele-
   phone calls;
e) The number of calls they can handle simultaneously;
f) The equipment these guys are using (investment cost?);
g) The accounting procedure (manual / automatic) between:
   g1) Broker and the U.S. based long-distance carrier;
   g2) Broker and the PTT the caller is living;
   g3) Broker and caller.
h) General advantages and drawbacks of setting up calls
   over brokers instead of using long-distance carriers;
h1) Service quality in terms of connection time, speech
    quality, billing reliability.
i) Are there any international telephone brokers who
   establish not only calls between countries on different
   continents but also calls between neighbour states?
k) How flexible can a broker change the long-distance
   carrier?
l) Do the brokers have something like a decision support
   system to figure out which carrier is offering the best
   connection for a certain call?
m) Who is asking for this service (market segment).
n) Is anybody out there who can tell a story about an
   experience they made with broker's services?
o) Are there any public accessible tariff rate databases
   in the U.S. or other countries?

I appreciate any hints whether small or big. I am positive you would
bring me a big step further in my dissertation.  I will collect the
information and put the final result back to the group, if anybody is
interested.


Regards,

Christian Eggenberger

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

From: Javier Henderson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Calling Cards Without Phone Service
Date: 10 May 93 12:34:11 PDT
Organization: Mayo Laboratory Network


Hello everyone,

Is it possible to have a calling card without having phone service in
one's name?

Obviously the local phone company won't go for it, but perhaps there
are vendors out there who do this sort of thing. Maybe the Orange
card?


Thanks,

Javier    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: AT&T issues a 'miscellaneous non-subscriber
account' calling card. Actually, I think it is handled by Cin. Bell
under contract to AT&T, but that is not important. Sprint may do the
same thing.  Orange will issue cards without 'associated phone
numbers' but they do a detailed credit check on the person.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Audix Menu Customization?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 13:17:34 GMT


Does Audix have menu-customization capability; ie. to make it behave
like ... Aspen?

Please no Audix vs. Aspen flames!


Louis J. Judice          | Email:      [e-mail]
Digital Equipment Corp.  | Office:     908-562-4103
20 Corporate Place South | FAX:        [phone]
Piscataway, NJ 08876

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

Date: Mon, 10 May 93 13:22:23 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Busy Signal Received via Orange Card


Today, I tried a call via Orange Card to 302-737 prefix from 410-272
prefix.

I followed the normal procedure:

1-800-xxx-xxxx (the Orange Card switch number)

(get steady tone)

The digits from Orange Card, then 302-737-xxxx, then the PIN.  Twice I
did this and got a busy signal which was of the same speed but of much
higher pitch than the normal busy signal I'd get from an ESS switch,
which is what I think 302-737 uses.  Any clue as to what is going on?
(I then used this procedure to call another number on 302-737 and got
thru to the normal ringing signal.)


[Moderator's Note: Has it happened before or since, with the same
number or other numbers?  I suspect the distant phone was busy is all.
Do you think something else might have been involved?   PAT]

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

Date: 10 May 1993 13:42:43 -0700 (MST)
From: Walt Moody <[e-mail]>
Subject: Position Available - 5ESS Central Office Tech


If you are 5ESS trained and qualified, you may be interested in
the following:

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
1717 EAST SPEEDWAY
TUCSON, ARIZONA 85719

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM TECHNICIAN, SENIOR.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the operation,
administration, and maintenance of the University 5ESS
Telecommunications switch, installation and testing of voice and data
equipment, and back up support to the frame technician.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Completion of appropriate technical training
programs, system certification courses and six years of
telecommunications experience which includes one year maintaining
digital software driven systems.

SALARY RANGE: $19,167 - $33,500 annually.

A UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA APPLICATION IS REQUIRED, and in addition, send
resume to: Paula Loendorf, Director, CCIT, Telecommunications,
Building 73, Tucson, AZ 85721.

CLOSING DATE: JUNE 1, 1993.

Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer

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

Subject: VIVA 9642I Modem
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Robert White)
Date: 10 May 93 14:16:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Robert White)


I have purchased a new internal modem, Viva 9642i 14.4 Fax/Data.

I have some problem figuring out how to set this one up, I tried to
call a customer support, but they put on me their voice mail and will
get back to me in three or four business days.

The communication I have is Telix 3.15 and us Modecfg 3.21, in the
configuration of modecfg has a ssetup for Viva 9642e..and its doesn't
work 100%.

    1. I am not getting a reliable connect, just the speed rate and
    just sitting there until I presse any key to logon...

    2. The flow control is not showing the screen during download,
    but it did show upload.

    3. During upload its stop and lock the system...

    4. Logoff the from BBS it's did do a hang up and did not show
    "NO CARRIER" on the screen, but I notice I pressed the space bar
     its advance the next line.

    I would appreciate any one who own the Viva Modem could help me on
    this, I did read the manual,     and still can't figure out yet...


Thanks

RWhite
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 400+ MB Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Wanted: A&A1 Relays
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Mon, 10 May 1993 20:48:43 GMT


While I realize that this isn't a wanna-buy group, I can't find anyone
who has 'em, and there's no comp.dcom.wanted, so here goes ...

I need a couple (three would be good) of those little boxes that make
the light come on and off when you pick up the line on an old key
system.  I have not found anyone who has 'em, and it's very annoying
when the modem is using the line and I forget.

Heck, even Hello Direct stopped support ancient equipment like this :-[.

E-mail is fine.  Thank you in advance.


Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
 ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Wasilko)
Subject: Interesting (Free) Magazine
Date: Mon, 10 May 93 21:26:26 EST
Organization: Air Age Publishing, Wilton CT USA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


WilTel publishes a free magazine called _In Perspective_ three times a
year.

The magazine is very nicely done, and the last couple of issues have
covered Telco-Cable wars, continuing education, Convex Computer's
network, installation of a large PBX network at a large deparment
store chain in Utah, ISDN, 800 portability, voice mail and a nice
article on the 'anatomy of a long-distance phone call'.

While it's a promo piece for WilTel, it's an interesting source of
information.

Subscription inquries go to 713-547-1015 or 713-547-1041 by fax.


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

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

Date: 10 May 93 21:53:26
From: sceard!newline![e-mail] (Steve Edwards)
Subject: Why CO's Have No Windows


My father is a general contractor who has built or added on to about
20 CO's. I asked him why they have no windows. He said:

1) Nobody is there so there is no need for windows.

2) Windows cost more than a blank wall in a tilt-up building.

3) Blank walls don't get broken and don't need to be cleaned.

4) Easier to maintain environmental (temperature and humidity) stability
within the building.

And then he commented that "THE BUILDINGS ARE SLIGHTLY PRESSURIZED TO
HELP CONTROL DUST!"


Steve Edwards      Internet: [e-mail]       Voice: 1-619-723-2727
Newline               CompuServe: 73677,3561            Fax: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Darren Eslke)
Subject: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 11 May 1993 05:58:19 GMT
Organization: University of Washington


US West has started the steps toward splitting Western Washington into
two area codes, 206 and something else.  I am guessing that Seattle
will remain 206.  What I am wondering is what will the new area code
be, and when will the changes take place?


Darren

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

Date: Mon, 10 May 93 10:17:13 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: 900Mhz Cordless Phones
Organization: AT&T


I'd like to put together a summary of 900Mhz cordless phones unless
someone already has one!  If people could email me everything they
know about any 900Mhz model, I'll put it together and post it back
here.  Lets stick to models which are digital base <-> handset, this
eliminates the Panasonic which seems to be failing anyway (It's
already at Damark.)  Here's what I know already (most comments are
based on previous c.d.t readings):

AT&T 9530:
    Supposed to be available late spring, local phone store says
    they should have it soon. Claims four times the range of regular
    cordless phones.  Also claims "virtually interference-free
    conversations with consistent sound quality up to one mile
    from the base"  are these statements consistent with each other??
    Spread spectrum and auto frequency-hopping for clarity and
    security.
    List price $449.

Cincinnati Microwave:
    Last August announced a 900Mhz phone, with "spread spectrum"
    technology. Said it would be available in October for about $300.
    A call to Cincinnati Microwave says it not out yet.. "later this
    month" (sound like it was canned to me!). Reported list ~$300

Cobra Intenna 900:
    Heard of it for the first time in Jeff Freemans post the other
    day, he reports it uses "spread spectrum" technology.

Vtech (Tropez) 900DX
    This is, I think, their first 900Mhz model.  Keypad on base as
    well as handset.  Comments I read were: "good range", "some holes
    in coverage", "handset audio volume on the low side".  Overall
    seemed pretty good. ~$269 mail order.

Vtech (Tropez) 900DL
    A newer model, I don't think this has the keypad/speakerphone on
    the base unit.  About $40 cheaper than the DX.  Jeff Freeman, the
    other day, claimed digital encryption between handset and base.


Thanks in advance!

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

Date: Mon, 10 May 93 19:38:59 UT
From: Harris Boldt Edelman <red-eft![e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom History


In TELECOM v13,i314,m3, Gabe M Wiener gives examples of NYC telephone
nubmers from 1895 and 1925, and asks:

> When would the prefix have changed from MORningside to MOrningside?
> Just so you know, the 66X- prefix still covers many numbers on
> Morningside Heights, though 667 (MOR) isn't among them.  662 and 666
> are still used there though.

The answer is, never.  It was Morningside, period.  There was a
practice, but not a NYT&T Company one, of abbreviating exchange names
to their first two letters.  In the case of Morningside, that would've
been ambiguous with a few other names; Morrisania, in The Bronx, is
one that comes to mind.

Unlike in Chicago as chronicled not long ago by PAT, no New York
telephone numbers were ever built from the first three letters of the
exchange name.  Exchanges were given suffix digits, so that
"Morningside" was split into "MOrningside 2", "MOrningside 6", etc.
Or, later, simply MO2, MO6.  Suffix digits were in the range 2-9 only.
Any numbers in New York that might appear to have been formed from the
first three letters of an old exchange name do so by coincidence
alone.

Sadly, I don't know the dates of the changes.  Late 1930's seems about
right for adding the suffix digit, late 1950's for truncating the name
portion to its first two letters instead of writing the full name with
the first two letters capitalized.

Also in the late 1950's-early 1960's, New York Telephone cut in a few
exchanges with completely arbitrary alpha portions.  The only one of
these that I can still remember was XX4, somewhere in the eastern
portion of The Bronx.  The public didn't much like these goonish
things, and the essence of New York Telephone's reply was,"You don't
like it?  Tough!"  Not a word about the impending arrival of "All
Number Dialing", though only a fool couldn't see it coming.

I left New York in 1977.  My recollection is that New York Telephone
directories then still carried individual listings in their
originally-published format.  One would see MOrningside 2-XXXX,
MO2-XXXX, and 662-XXXX intermixed; maybe even Morningside 2-XXXX, but
I'm no longer sure.  My family's number appeared as KIngsbridge 3-1136
from 1951 until 1966, and was then re-published as 543-1136 with our
new address after we moved a block away.  We still gave it out as
"KI3-1136", to the bitter end.


Harris

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

Date: Mon, 10 May 93 09:35:37 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Billin)
Subject: Re: Telecom History


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

> Gabe Weiner asks too much to be answered in a Note, even as long as I
> make them sometimes.  Let's see if I can do a better job on this one
> than I did on the coat hanger inquiry, okay Fred and Syd?  :)

Pat, that was very helpful to one who just remembers boards as a small
boy; thanks for taking the time to inform us.  It leads me to ask a
couple of follow-up questions.  When you find time, please consider
answering them ...

> to you. When calling the other exchange, her pronouncement of it
> served to tell the other operator where to extend the call and to
> acknowledge it to you at the same time.

What sort of pronouncement differences were used to notify the other
operator?  (I assume that the far-end operator already knew that the
call originated at another office because of the position on her
board.)

Is it memory failure, or do I remember that the incoming and outgoing
boards were separated for very large offices?  (Maybe I'm confusing
this with inter-office (trunk) answering and subscriber answering.)

Finally, my memory of the (only) PBX board I saw up-close was that it
had two key switches for each cord set, presumably the CO side and the
extension side.  I also remember that one of the switches (at least)
sent ringing current to the (presumably) extension.  No automatic
ringing on that board!  That prompts me to ask: how was ringing of the
called party accomplished?


[Moderator's Note: I do not know what you mean by 'pronouncement
differences'. The originating operator did not repeat the exchange
name to the answering operator; she already knew where she worked at!
Morningside 3154 got passed to the operator at the Morningside CO
simply as '3154'. Incoming and outgoing may have been separate
functions at some places; I don't remember. Each cord-pair had two
keys; one for the half in front, one for the half in back. The keys
had three positions: pull forward (spring loaded, would release on its
own back to center); center was off; flipped backward it would stay in
place until flipped forward with your finger to the center off
position. Either key (front or back) pulled forward sent ringing down
the subscriber line the associated (front or back) cord was plugged
into. Either key pushed back put the subscriber on the common talk
path with the operator. When there was no automatic ringing, as was
the case originally (and in many small, single position switchboards
for many years later), the operator had to pull the key forward with
her finger occassionally, usually for a second or two every five
seconds or so until there was an answer or the call abandoned. On this
type of system, the caller could NOT hear the ringing. In fact, the
ringing you hear today is only there so telco can show you the system
is working correctly; it has nothing to do with the ring heard on the
ther end.  After awhile, someone figured out how plugging into a line
could cause a relay to start the ringing automatically so the operator
no longer had to sit there and do it, although if a subscriber she
wanted to talk to hung up prematurely, she could still jingle the bell
herself with the key.  They had to do this if someone at a pay station
hung up without putting the overtime money in the box ... the operator
would lean on that ringing key until the customer answered so she
could demand more money.

Some operators were as nice as they could be; others were witches.
They all got abused by customers quite a lot. So much in fact, that
the Chicago Telephone Company (predecessor to IBT back in 1921) felt
it important to place an 'Admonition to Subscribers' on the inside
front cover of the 1921 directory: "Subscribers are requested to
address our operators using the same courteous language they expect to
hear in response when asking that a connection be established. You
would not want the operator to curse you; please do not curse the
operator." People then were just as vulgar in their speech as now; if
the called number was busy or did not answer, they would cuss out the
operators because of it. ("Goddammit operator, cut in on the line and
tell those bast--ds to can the sh-t so someone else can get through
 ...") ... and that was mild. Supervisors monitored the operators
secretly at random at all times; an operator who cussed back at a
customer was fired on the spot. But a subscriber who chronically
cussed at the operators would be reported to the Business Office; the
office manager would tell him to watch his mouth, but the operators
were not permitted to comment on it.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #316
******************************










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Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 21:50:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #317

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 11 May 93 21:50:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 317

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    National/International Calls (was Haiti Phone Network) (Liron Lightwood)
    Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: Caller-ID Information Transmission Standard Query (Al Varney)
    Re: Subsidized Cell Phone? (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: SCAN (Shared Check Auth. Network) (Justin Fidler)
    Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10 (Jim Rees)
    Re: Newspaper-Telco Alliance (Justin Leavens)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (William Eldridge)
    Re: Special Report: FBI Raid on Telco Manager's Home (Floyd Davidson)
    Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features (Richard Budd)
    Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service (Scott Colbath)
    Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service (Frank Keeney)
    Re: DTMF Universality (David Hough)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 11:32:52 +1000
From: Liron Lightwood <[e-mail]>
Subject: National/International Calls (was Haiti Phone Network)


I once had a look in the Honolulu phone book, and if I remember
correctly, it said that calls to Canada are considered international.
This is even though they share the same country code '1' as the US and
thus look like US LD calls.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  This has
some significance (e.g. local telcos are allowed to complete
international calls, but not inter-LATA calls to other parts of the
US).

I suppose this would also apply to 1 + 809 calls.


[Moderator's Note: It might depend on what part of 809. After all, 809
is both international and national (but inter-LATA). In addition to
several small countries in 809, there are also Puerto Rico and the US
Virgin Islands, considered inter-LATA rather than international.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Compatibility
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 14:28:33 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Russell E. Sorber) writes:

> [e-mail] (Jan Richert) writes:

>> The Motorola GSM cellular phones sold in the US do work fine with the
>> German GSM networks without modifications. There is just one
>> difference: The US version of the Motorola phones do not have a slot
>> for your SIM-card. Instead of this there is an ID burned into the
>> phone. So you have to find a service provider in Germany who accepts
>> this (we found one).

All Motorola GSM-spec. phones work fine on ALL GSM networks. A
requirement for the GSM spec is the smartcard to carry the IMSI (ID
number) of the subscriber (as well as quite a few other things). GSM
is a NOT a U.S. FCC recognized standard (Japan neither).  It is
primarily recognized by the EC, New Zealand, China, and a few others.

I think Europe has international roaming at this point. I don't think
this applies to NZ, China, etc. but you can get a new Smartcard from
the local cellular providers these areas, and just plug it in to your
phone (on the Motorola unit, it is located in the transceiver box).

BTW: I wrote some of the software in this unit.


Dan DeClerck      EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD    Phone: [phone]

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 10:43:05 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Caller-ID Information Transmission Standard Query
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Michael J Purtell) writes:

> I want to know what the format of the Caller-ID information is that's
> sent to a phone that subscribes to such information.  Since boxes are
> made by third parties to interpret this information, it must be
> published or available somewhere.  I'd really appreciate any pointers
> to this information.

   This information for the USA RBOCs is published by Bellcore:

  You want either:

TR-TSY-000030, Issue 2 or later, "SPCS Customer Premises Equipment Data
   Interface", about $53 - covers requirements for Caller-ID and similar
   data transmission from the Switch Vendor's perspective, or

SR-NWT-002024, Issue 1 or later, "Customer Premises Equipment Compatibility
   Considerations for the SPCS-to-CPE Transmission Interface", about $23 -
   covers requirements for the Caller-ID CPE vendor.

  These cover the physical/electrical interface.  The actual data
formats are covered in documents describing various features.  For
Caller-ID, it's:

TR-TSY-000031, Issue 3, "CLASS(sm) Feature:  Calling Number Delivery",
   about $30.

  For a broader picture of where this technology may be going, you might
want to look at:

TR-NWT-001273, Issue 1, 3/92, "Generic Requirements for an SPCS to Customer
   Premises Equipment Data Interface for Analog Display Services" and

SR-INS-002461, published(?), "Customer Premises Equipment Compatibility
   Considerations for the Analog Display Services Interface"

  These document a Switch or Host Computer-based interface to what
might be called a "screen telephone", where the caller/callee
interacts with special buttons located near a screen to control
features and calls.  The initial applications are a screen-based
interface to some CLASS features (such as updating a Screen List) and
interactions with Call Waiting (you see the calling number, and can
push buttons to 'Ignore', 'Forward to Voice Mail' or 'Answer Call',
etc.)


 TRs and other "standard" documents can be ordered from:
     Bellcore Customer Service
     60 New England Avenue
     Piscataway, NJ 08854-4196

  or by calling the document HOTLINE (menu-monster) at

      1-800-521-CORE  (1-800-521-2673).

    They take AMEX, VISA and MasterCharge, International Money Orders,
    and Checks on US Banks.  If you don't have a document number handy,
    they can send you a catalog of technical information (see below).

  International (non-USA) calls are on [phone].

   (If you want to order a document, press 2 at the automated greeting.
    If you want to talk to a person about availability, prices, etc,
    press 4 at the automated greeting.)

  FAX on [phone]     [NEW FAX NUMBER]


Al Varney - the above represents my opinion, and not AT&T's....
         (And I do wish Bellcore paid commissions for these referrals!)

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Subsidized Cell Phone?
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 19:28:41 GMT


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

> They may be sold that way in most places, but not in California.
> There, state law (or is it PUC regulation) prohibits such a bundling
> arrangement in cellular phone purchases.  A buyer is never required to
> sign up for service in order to get the advertised price on a cellular
> phone.  As a result, prices are often higher for cellular equipment in
> California than in other places.  Many retailers sell their equipment
> at cost in California; if the customer also signs up for service, then
> they make a profit, and if they don't, then at least they don't lose
> anything.

Typically, sleazy resellers in California will not admit to having
stock on the phone you want until you sign a credit application.  If
you won't sign a credit ap, then lo-and-behold, the phone is "on hold"
for another customer, or some such fantasy.  Thus the resellers in
California have the best of both worlds.  Phones at "real" prices, and
number commissions as well.


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | Ham Radio: KM6CG

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

From: Fidler, Justin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: SCAN (Shared Check Auth. Network)
Date: Tue, 11 May 93 15:46:00 EDT


In issue 312, Todd Inch replies to my message from a previous issue:

> The databases are built from the data collected by the system itself,
> by retailer's lists of bad checks, and/or by the clearinghouse
> company.  The database may be local to a multi-site corporation, local
> to a site with nightly updating, or via a central clearinghouse
> company (e.g.  on-line real-time.)  As far as I know, the existing
> systems are all third-party or owned by the retailers and don't yet
> actually connect to the bank's computer, but I'm sure that won't last
> long if it's still even true.

> Like credit cards, these systems can collect interesting data about
> how much you spend where, how often, etc.

I know this is really stretching the telecom end of this, and perhaps
it is more suitable in Computer Privacy Digest, but does this mean I
have a right to refuse the retailer the right to slide my check
through the SCAN/check-reading machine?  If it has the ability to
collect so much information about me, can I request that the retailer
manually certify my check, either by dialing the bank/clearinghouse,
or looking up in their list of bad check writers?


Justin Fidler    [e-mail]   Sole opinion of author.


[Moderator's Note: Sure you have the right to make those demands. In
all probability the merchant will hand you your check back, tell you
he cannot accept it, turn on his heel and walk away to wait on some
other customer. Remember, with anything other than legal tender -- and
that means cash money -- the merchant is NOT obliged to accept it,
provided he does not act in an illegally discriminatory way. Exceptions
are made where the merchant has a contract with a credit card company
to accept their card as to what he can or can't ask for. But where
pieces of paper other than money are concerned, words spoken, etc, the
merchant has the upper hand. Do it his way or go to another store.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Supra Modem Does Not Have MNP 10
Date: 11 May 1993 17:34:20 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
edu (Bob Snyder) writes:

> As I understand it, MNP10 is protocol designed for radio/cellular
> phones, and isn't that much use to people with them installed in their
> desktop machine or as a external modem.

You need it on both ends for it to do any good, so it is useful on the
desk if you're calling in from a cellphone.

According to Microcom's blurb in the Microporte manual, mnp10
provides:

- Multiple connection attempts during auto-reliable link negotiation
- Negotiated speed upshifts
- Aggressive adaptive packet assembly
- Dynamic speed upshifts and downshifts
- Dynamic tranmit level adjustment

In our experience, the dynamic transmit level adjustment doesn't work,
and we disable it.  The rest of it helps, but it's still not great.
We've seen as little as 450 bps out of one of these things in
conditions that were not all that bad.  Still, it's about the best
we've seen in a reasonably portable package.  Not as good as a Telebit
Cellblazer but much more portable.

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 17:14:02 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: Newspaper-Telco Alliance


   Pacific Bell did a test offering of their service, the Daily
Reporter or something like that, last August or so. It was about
$1/month for each of the categories they offerred (General News,
Entertainment, Business). I kept it for about one month with the
general news service.

   It wasn't a bad service, necessarily, and I guess if I was as
familiar with their voicemail then as I am now it would be more
bearable (the messages had huge headers that I couldn't figure out how
to skip past). The problem, I guess, is something that has been
mentioned here before: It's just not as simple to listen to a one
minute recording and retain the information as it is to read something
like a clari.news.brief.

   And then there is another problem with the general news: a 60
second morning radio news bit is going to pretty much cover most of
what you're going to hear in your message. You have to train yourself
to retrieve the news in the morning, since usually by the time you get
to work you're going to know the big topics if you see a newspaper
front page or listen to the radio.

   But hey, I guess it's only a dollar or so, right?


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
   [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

From: [e-mail] (William Eldridge)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones
Date: 11 May 1993 01:38:28 GMT
Organization: UCLA Cognitive Science Research Program


> [Moderator's Note: Remember, Ike was a nice man, but he never was
> appointed or elected to anything because he *actually knew anything*
> about the position, whether it was president of Columbia or the United
> States. He obtained those positions because he was a popular war hero.
> General Eisenhower was given credit for winning the Second World War;
> as such, doors were open to him anywhere, despite his general ignorance
> of the technology of his time. Several years ago I interviewed his

I believe it was in Carroll Quigley's "Tragedy and Hope" where I heard
the anecdote that someone recommended to Rockefeller or whoever was
deciding Columbia's business that "Eisenhower would make a perfect
President."  Turned out they were talking about Milton Eisenhower,
Ike's brother, but too late -- Ike already had the job.


Bill Eldridge     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Floyd Davidson)
Subject: Re: Special Report: FBI Raid on Telco Manager's Home
Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 04:48:50 GMT


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

> This news report from the May 9, 1993 {Omaha World Herald} arrived in
> my mail just a few minutes ago.

> From: [e-mail] (James R. Saker Jr.)
> Subject: FBI Raid on Curtis Nebr. Telco, Family
> Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
> Date: Sun, 9 May 1993 16:34:53 GMT

> The following article detailing a FBI raid on a small-town family and
> local exchange carrier was printed in this morning's Sunday {Omaha
> World Herald}:

> "FBI Probe, Raid Anger Curtis Man"
> Stephen Buttry, {Omaha World Herald}, Sunday May 9, 1993

[disgusting story deleted...]

Under federal law it is legal for a telco to use wiretaps in the
investigation of fraud and/or abuse.

In at least one case where a telco used a wiretap while investigating
its own employees (the wiretap was on company lines, not the
employee's home phones) the US Attorney General's office and the FBI
ruled that no federal crime had been committed and that they were not
interested in the case.  The telco maintained that the federal laws
supercede state laws which would otherwise make such an act a
misdemeaner.

It seems the FBI is having a problem co-ordinating it left and right
hands ...


[e-mail]  A guest on the Institute of Marine Science computer
Salcha, Alaska        system at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 19:57:58 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features
Organization: CSAV UTIA



Marko Ruokonen <[e-mail]> writes in TELECOM Digest V13
#312

> I do not recall that dollars were used in Germany after 1949 when the
> 'Deutche Mark' was introduced. However, the US military bases in
> Germany may STILL use dollars for their own people.

They do.  And the soldiers and their families also have their own
television channels with American programs, their own post office
(called APO for American Post Office) and telephone switchboard with
direct connection to AT&T (these observations were made in 1982).  In
contrast, the British soldiers around Koln were paid in deutsche marks
and used German facilities.

During my days in Munich, one of my friends whose father worked in the
mess hall used to take us on base for 55 cent mixed drinks at the bar.
(and you wondered where our defense "bucks" went).  I was to tell the
soldier at the door I was from the "2nd Intelligence Unit at Simbach"
and they always let me in as a military man even with the shoulder
length hair.  Fort McGraw and Perlacher Forst were closed in 1991,
victims of the end of the cold war.  There aren't as many soldiers in
Germany now as was the case ten years ago, so the situation regarding
money and telecommunications may have changed.

The MODERATOR appended "Presidents and Phones" with the following:

> son David and daughter-in-law Julie (Nixon) on my weekly radio program

FYI, David Eisenhower is Ike's GRANDSON.


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CR    [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |       Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |       18200 Praha 8


[Moderator's Note: That is correct. I meant to say 'his *grandson*'. PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Scott Colbath)
Subject: Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service
Date: 11 May 1993 14:48:43 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer Inc, Marlboro MA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Arthur
Kodama) writes:

> I tried calling this number, as I'm very interested in talking to
> someone down in the canyon.  Would be informative since I am planning
> to make that hike to the bottom someday soon.

> Unfortunately, when I called the number I got a "the number you have
> dialed has been disconnected" recording.  Do you think the phone has
> been disconnected for incoming service?  I think it's possible since
> you mentioned that the phone does not accept change.  Is it one of
> those blue AT&T phones?  Those don't allow incoming calls.

I also tried calling it from my office here in Phoenix but got the
message "You must first dial a 1". I then dialed a 1 with the number
and got the same message. Kinda weird ...


Scott Colbath   Stratus Computer   Phoenix, Az.
[phone]  Internet:[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Frank Keeney)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 16:25:51 -0800
Subject: Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service


On May 03 02:04, William H. Glass wrote:

 > Yep, there's one there.  You can only use a credit card -- no
 > coins. How would you like the job of collecting the coins and
 > carrying them back up?  BTW, the phone number is (602)
 > 638-0903 (according to my credit card billing).  Give 'em a
 > call and ask for the wise guy who ordered the Domino's pizza.

I just tried the number and got some "number has been disconnected"
message.


 Frank Keeney                | E-mail  [e-mail]
 115 California Blvd., #411  | Fidonet 1:102/645
 Pasadena, CA 91105-1509 USA | UUCP    hatch!calcom!frank
                             | FAX     [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Hough)
Subject: Re: DTMF Universality?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 18:06:42 +0000


 John Perkins ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Does anyone know if the rest of the world generally uses the same DTMF
> frequencies (and button assignments) as are used in the US?  (I'm
> particularly interested in the UK.)

It is an international standard.

Though one thing to note that often an NTSC colour burst crystal is
often used for a primary frequency to divide to get the tones.

Brent Capps ([e-mail]) wrote:

> [e-mail] writes:

>> Does anyone know if the rest of the world generally uses the same DTMF
>> frequencies (and button assignments) as are used in the US?  (I'm
>> particularly interested in the UK.)

> The DTMF *frequencies* are the same throughout the world, however
> watch out for the minimum digit duration, interdigit timeout, return
> loss, and twist which vary from country to country.  Also some don't
> implement *, #, ABCD.  Unlike North America and most of the rest of
> Europe, the UK has no required minimum digit duration or interdigit

> pause time for manual DTMF senders, but it is recommended that the
> digit duration be at least 40ms.  Automatic senders are required to
> have 68ms minimum digit duration and interdigit pause.  DTMF receivers
> homologated for use in North America will occasionally miss DTMF
> digits if used in the UK.

The above figures appear in the relevant British Standard (either
BS6301 or BS6305 I think) and are applicable to anything connected to
the BT/Mercury/Hull networks. Also in there is a requirement for
handling a 20ms hole in a tone burst.

The * and # are used for various purposes, but ABCD are not, to the
best of my knowledge. Probably because very few phones actually have
the buttons (although the chip inside may be capable of generating
them).


Dave
G4WRW @ GB7WRW.#41.GBR.EU AX25
[e-mail]  Internet
[e-mail]  Amprnet

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #317
******************************










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Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 22:36:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #318

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 11 May 93 22:36:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 318

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (Eli Mantel)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (J. Leavens)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Benjamin Lee)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (William Sohl)
    Re: The Net in China (Mark James)
    Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (Frank Keeney)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns (Ted Dodd)
    Re: Busy Signal Received via Orange Card (Carl Moore)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
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The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
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Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
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email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Eli Mantel)
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!)
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 09:57:53 GMT


[e-mail] (J. Robert Burgoyne) writes:

> Justin Leavens ([e-mail]) wrote in response to TELECOM
> Moderator who had earlier noted:

> Let's get some things straight. I'm a 900 number IP, and I work with
> other people doing the same thing. We're not sleazes. I'd appreciate
> it if the Moderator would abstain from such comments.

I =like= it when the Moderator calls such people sleazes, teleslime,
or whatever, whether he claims it applies to some, most, or all.

> The IP and the IP alone is stuck with the bill for uncollectibles.
> The telco simply bills us for calls where the customer refuses to pay.

True enough.  I guess it's part of the cost of doing business.  But
typically, the telephone charges are about 10% of the charge thhat is
billed for the call.  For example, a 10 minute call at $2.99/minute
would be billed at $29.90.  Your cost, as an IP for that call (if
there is no money collected from the customer), I would guess is about
$3.00.

> If you want the responsibility of owning a telephone and having
> service, it's necessary to take precautions. That responsibility falls
> on the shoulders of the person who signed for the phone.

IMO, this is flame bait, but I'll try hard to keep from flaming.

Not too many people really "sign" for phone service any more.  (Kind
of tough, since in most places I've been, the Baby Bells have
eliminated storefront business offices.

When we are dealing with long distance calls charged by the LEC, the
LEC would often make customers aware of excessively high charges
(mainly to make sure they would be able to collect, but nonetheless,
providing some check on the kind of situation described involving the
roommate).

Nonetheless, all legal obligation of the telephone subscriber to pay
for calls made from or charged to his telephone are based on the tariffs
for local telephone service.  These are =state= tariffs.

Most of the 900 calls are going to be interstate.  I don't have any
idea whether such services actually get tariffed or not, but I think
it's highly unlikely that they are tariffed in each state.

Given these facts (which would not have applied pre-divestiture),
there is no applicable tariff that makes the telephone subscriber
responsible for calls to such services.  (Whether or not all the LECs
understand this is a separate issue.)  That responsibility is on the
shoulders of the person who, seeing an ad for a 900 service, accepts
the offer in accordance with the terms of the ad, and thereby enters
into a contract.  If you have some other facts, shoot this down!

> The IP spent money setting up and advertising their service. They took
> a risk with the intention of making a profit. The more people whine
> about protection from all responsibility, the more freedom is taken
> away.  Personally I like freedom. That's why I live here.

Give me a break!  Next you'll be telling me that I should have the
freedom to get my car serviced at sleazy mechanics, or to buy
contaminated food.  After all, the mechanic sprayed oil on my shock
absorber with the intention of making a profit, and the company that
produced the contaminated food also intended to make a profit.

>> This is one of the prime reasons I hate the IP billing situation:
>> You can only put one name on a residential phone account, and that
>> person becomes responsible for whatever massive charges are
>> accumulated on that account, no matter who makes the calls.

> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

These situations aren't really similar.  The only reason to give
somone a credit card is to allow them to charge stuff.  Now I realize
that IPs such as yourself see that as the only reason for a phone, but
the general public thinks there are other possible uses for a phone.

>> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your phone
>> under lock and key!

> People do this! And there's nothing wrong with doing it!

I'll thank you to pay me for the cost of this equipment, since as the
IP, you are the primary beneficiary of such arrangements.  Of course,
this doesn't even work unless you both block 900 calls and collect
calls (a feature most phone companies don't promote too much).


Eli Mantel ([e-mail])

   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  laUNChpad.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 10:36:14 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 900 Tab!)


In Volume 13, Issue 309, Message 1 of 13 J. Robert Burgoyne writes:

> In this world, we have responsibility. Many people don't fully realize
> their responsibilities, and whine when things like the roommate
> situation happens. The case of one person making excessive long
> distance calls on another person's phone has been a problem for a long
> time. Pay per call services just offer another occassion for this to
> happen.

> If you want the responsibility of owning a telephone and having
> service, it's necessary to take precautions. That responsibility falls
> on the shoulders of the person who signed for the phone.
> The IP spent money setting up and advertising their service. They took
> a risk with the intention of making a profit. The more people whine
> about protection from all responsibility, the more freedom is taken
> away.  Personally I like freedom. That's why I live here.

Freedom to set up business and sell your services should not infringe
on my rights to not be unfairly billed for calls, nor my right to
dispute charges when the service I have been sold does not match what
I have been told I would get.

I don't believe that I ever attacked legitimate IPs, nor was my
comment directed at legitimate IPs. The only reason I don't have 900
blocking is because there are legitimate IPs that I do have to deal
with on a somewhat regular basis.

However, I have dealt with IPs that have billed me for calls I have
not made, and I have dealt with an IP who sold me one thing and
delivered another. I believe that in these cases I should be able to
legitimately dispute these charges in some fair manner, as any
legitimate business would let me do. I believe that this all falls
under that whole freedom blanket you speak of. I'm sure that your IP
service handles these in a fair and business-like manner. However,
those which I have dealt with have simply folded up their phone banks
and quietly gone out of business after sucking in as much cash as
possible.

>> This is one of the prime reasons I hate the IP billing situation:
>> You can only put one name on a residential phone account, and that
>> person becomes responsible for whatever massive charges are
>> accumulated on that account, no matter who makes the calls.

> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

Let's see: Your roommate steals your credit card. You tell the credit
card company that you did not make those charges. They compare
signatures, and see that it is not yours. They investigate, maybe
figure out who did it.  Prosecute your roommmate for credit card fraud
or maybe burglary. Who's responsible?

>> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
>> their name.

> No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
> piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but that
> doesn't absolve responsibility.

Hmmm, I don't believe that you actually have to sign anything to get
phone service, but I guess that's a side issue.

>> And IP's are really only a problem because of the massive charges
>> that can be accumulated without warning (it's obvious when your
>> roommate spends five or six hours on the phone to another country, but
>> those same charges can be accumulated in about 30 minutes with an IP).

> $2,100 in 30 minutes? That's $70 per minute. The maximum limit is
> about $5 per minute. Most IPs won't let a caller make a phone call
> that exceeds $100. The caller is cut off or warned.

I'm glad that there's a call limit, that's a good feature for all. But
is that only for yours or is that a regulation? My point about charges
was a five hour call to Japan before 2pm would cost you $245. That would
be one hour (62 minutes) of IP information at $3.95/minute.

>> Even having separate phone lines doesn't work, unless you keep your phone
>> under lock and key!

> People do this! And there's nothing wrong with doing it!

Nothing. I think it would be great to have to fumble for my keys every
time the phone rings.

>> A poor roommate choice (including circumstances like college where
>> you don't even have a choice) can cost you thousands of dollars and
>> the use of your phone forever, and unlike other credit outfits, you
>> have no recourse in the case of fraud.

> Boo hoo.

See, *that's* my point. Someone steals the phone service of someone
else (I'm not saying that's always the case, but let's just say),
makes $2100 in IP calls, and has to battle with their LEC, an IP
billing company, and then the IP themself (if they can ever actually
get the name and a working phone number for them), and your response
is "boo-hoo". If this were billed to, say, Visa, there would be a
legitimate way to fight the charges, or at least it would be a fair
process. Now, it's two options: you pay now, or you pay later.

Some time ago I wrote:

>>   Again, I make this point: Even if the telco *doesn't* disconnect
>> for outstanding IP charges, the telco will still carry those charges.
>> When the subscriber disconnects, it will go on the subscriber's
>> Equifax report that he still owes the telco $2100. Then the subscriber
>> will never get phone service again until the Equifax mark is cleared
>> up (read: coughs up $2100).

In Volume 13, Issue 311, Message 2 of 13, R. Kevin Oberman writes:

> I'm afraid this is untrue (unless Justin is in GTE land). Pacific Bell
> has stated on in billing inserts that they WILL NOT handle disputed IP
> bills in any way. If you dispute the charge, Pac Bell simply drops the
> charge from the bill and notifies the IP to collect the bill
> themselves.

I *was* in GTEland at the time. Should have known ...

> Of course, the IP may well send the bill to collections and that might
> show up on the Equifax. But I doubt that a disputed charges to a
> telesleaze will have near the impact of one to a utility.

Does anyone know if AT&T has a policy on disputing IP charges? I know
they tried to bill me for a charge even after they had stopped paying
off the IP because of too many complaints of fraud. And I did receive
an Equifax report saying that I owed AT&T money (which carries plenty
of weight), though it was later deleted along with the charge after
persistent phone calls.

(geeez, you'd think I spent all my time trying to clean off my credit
report.)


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

From: [e-mail] (Benjamin Lee)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 21:39:38 GMT
Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
Hussein) writes:

> Not too long ago, my housemate moved out and out of the country, and
> didn't have time to notify a major charge card company of his change
> of address.  Apparently, he had been negligent in paying up his way
> overdue bill...

> [Moderator's Note: The best way would be to give them the address and
> phone number of your former housemate, unless for some reason you wish
> to sheild that person from the calls. Have you also tried contacting
> your former housemate and asking *them* to update their records with
> the companies in question, letting them know you are tired of getting
> the phone calls?  Creditors do have some rights, you know. If you do
> not want to tell them, then just say so and hang up; no need to give
> them false information; that might eventually come back on you.   PAT]

A note here: while I was in grad-school, a friend of a friend of mine
did the same thing. She did it intentionally though. Not everyone
cheats, but some of us are really BAD ;->. No wonder credit card
debtors have to pay 19% interest a while back. She certainly gave them
a good execuse.

Which leads to a good question: who is responsible for looking after the
individual's interest? Oneself? Goverment? Agencies? The high interest
payment caused by these type of incidents gave the excuse to the bigger
bank to charge extraordinary rates. The individual has been ignorant
or powerless. The bank has been exploiting the situation, create money
in chaos! Oh well, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned all this from
begenning.

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

From: [e-mail] (sohl,william h)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 11 May 93 13:18:35 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
Hussein) writes:

> Not too long ago, my housemate moved out and out of the country, and
> didn't have time to notify a major charge card company of his change
> of address.  Apparently, he had been negligent in paying up his way
> overdue bill. Anyway, a representative from the same charge card
> company and requested to speak to my housemate. I told him he had
> moved out, and the representative demanded the phone number and
> address of my housemate.

> In a seperate incident, another person called up for yet another
> ex-housemate of mine. Once I told him my housemate had moved out, his
> seemingly batless response was: "Do you have his phone number and this
> will prevent us from calling your house again?"

> The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
> do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
> (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?
> And threatening to do it again?

> [Moderator's Note: The best way would be to give them the address and
> phone number of your former housemate, unless for some reason you wish
> to sheild that person from the calls.

Pat, I think this is really off the mark.  Why should this individual
provide any information to the caller?  I certainly would not (unless
I really had it in for the former room-mate).  If the "collection
agency" threatened to keep calling, I'd tell them I'll file
harrasement charges with the police and telephone company if
necessary.

> Have you also tried contacting your former housemate and asking
> *them* to update their records with the companies in question, letting
> them know you are tired of getting the phone calls?  Creditors do have
> some rights, you know. If you do not want to tell them, then just say
> so and hang up; no need to give them false information; that might
> eventually come back on you.  PAT]

I agree that giving false info is not a smart move, better to give no
info than incorrect information.  As to creditors rights, sure they
have rights, BUT none of those rights include (1) my being responsible
to the creditor to provide information about the debtor and (2) once
having told the creditor I don't wish to provide any info, the
creditor does not continue to harass me by repeat calling.


Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!cc!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark James)
Subject: Re: The Net in China
Organization: Dialogic Corporation
Date: Tue, 11 May 93 21:32:47 GMT


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

> While personal communications of a non-political nature are possible
> it is not an appropriate time to attempt to expand Pharmacy Mail
> Exchange or other distribution systems into China.  However, if
> anybody has information which suggests otherwise I would be interested
> to hear from them.

Before trying to send unsolicited E-mail to China, consider this: The
Chinese government (at least as of last year) charges the *recipient*
for every message received.  The charge is non-trivial -- I forget the
numbers, but it would be prohibitive on a Chinese budget for casual
use.  The government appears to recognize the value of an Internet
connection, but it clearly does not want to encourage any form of
free-wheeling communication.


Mark James  <[e-mail]>    *** Opinions, errors etc are mine. ***
Dialogic Corporation, 300 Littleton Road    Parsippany NJ 07054, U.S.A.
[phone] ext 438  Fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Frank Keeney)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 16:21:24 -0800
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone


On May 06 21:12, sohl,william h wrote:

> It took a technician maybe three minutes to reprogram the phone's
> codes so it could be used for eavesdropping. 'Every cellular phone is
> a scanner, and they are completely insecure', Sun Micro's Gage said.

My boss once worked for LA Cellular and he pressed a few keys on his
phone and showed me how he could monitor any cellular frequency with
the phone's speaker. All you need to know are some of the keypad codes
that allow you to setup and test the phone. Knowledge any cellular
phone installer would have.


 Frank Keeney                | E-mail  [e-mail]
 115 California Blvd., #411  | Fidonet 1:102/645
 Pasadena, CA 91105-1509 USA | UUCP    hatch!calcom!frank
                             | FAX     [phone]


[Moderator's Note: For that matter, Radio Shack sells the technical
specs for all their phones out of the corporate office in Dallas.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns!
From: [e-mail] (Ted Dodd)
Date: 11 May 93 18:47:00 GMT
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ted Dodd)


> On a side note, for those of us paranoid types out here, did you ever
> think that maybe some unnamed law enforcement agency is trying to scam
> us out and build a potential hacker database for future prosecution,
> i.e. Operation SunDevil???

It ain't paranoia if they are really after you!


Ted B
 Ed Hopper's BBS - ehbbs.com - Berkeley Lake (Atlanta), Georgia
|USR/HST:404-446-9462 V.32bis:404-446-9465-Home of uuPCB Usenet for PC Board

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 9:40:54 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Busy Signal Received via Orange Card


I had never received that high-pitched busy signal (until yesterday,
May 10).  I may or may not try calling that same number today.


[Moderator's Note: Well, if you call it again with some frequency and
are able to develop a pattern, let me know.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #318
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #319

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 12 May 93 00:16:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 319

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Subsidized Cell Phone? (Don Gross)
    Re: Subsidized Cell Phone? (Wm. Bryant Faust, IV)
    Re: Tormenting Telemarketers (Mike Van Pelt)
    Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service (Dale Farmer)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Carl Moore)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Darren Eslke)
    Re: Telecom History (Dialogue Between Moderator and Gabe M. Wiener)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (David Hough)
    Blocking Call Returns (It Should Work For Anonymous Calls) (Ralph Hyres)
    Re: Pac Bell Call Return: Can It Be Blocked? (Les Reeves)
    New Business Telephone Sets From Northern Telecom (PR, via Nigel Allen)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Don Gross)
Subject: Re: Subsidized Cell Phone?
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Don Gross)
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 13:47:48 GMT


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

> I just returned from a business trip to Portland and happened to be in
> a local department store where I spotted what seemed like remarkably
> deals on cell phones.  There was a Pioneer cell phone which looked
> very similar to a Motorola Flip phone for about $299 (might have been
> PCC_700 or PCC-900) and a slightly larger model for $99. I was about

Motorola manufactures the cellular phones for Pioneer under an OEM
agreement.


Don Gross    [e-mail]    Motorola, Inc.
Cellular Infrastructure Group   Arlington Heights, IL

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 16:29 CDT
From: Wm. Bryant Faust, IV <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Subsidized Cell Phone?


> Most other markets have at least some retailers that are willing to
> sell phones for less than what they pay for them, and count on the
> commission they get from the cellular carrier (often $250-$300) to
> make up for the loss and provide a profit.  These differences can work
> both ways -- if you need service anyway, then it is often cheaper for
> those who don't live in California, as they can take advantage of the
> subsidized deals.  But, for those who don't need new service (such as
> when you just want a better phone on existing service), you can save
> money by buying them in California.

The New Orleans market is very big on discounting prices on phones.
The Motorola Tote Phone sells for $19-$29 from most vendors here, and
Radio Shack had their mobile phones on sale for $0.01 installed.  You
are normally required to sign-up with the vendors preferred carrier
for a minimum of one year or pay a $300 surcharge to get these deals.
Is there a mail-order source for phones from California or any where
else that sells phone cheap without required service?

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

From: [e-mail] (Mike Van Pelt)
Subject: Re: Tormenting Telemarketers
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 23:54:00 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Douglas W. Martin) writes:

>  Tormenting Telmarketers - A Game You Can Play at Home!

There was another tactic in the "For Better or Worse" comic strip a
few Sundays ago.  Housewife gets a call from telemarketeer, who, as
usual, initiates the conversation with a glad-handing "Hi!  How are
you today!"  The housewife responds with an "organ recital" of body
parts that are causing pain or otherwise malfunctioning, and a litany
of all the week's misfortunes and disappointments.  After several
minutes of this tale of woe, the telemarketeer hangs up.  The
housewife walks away from the phone with a grin, saying "I'm almost
beginning to enjoy telemarketer calls."


Mike Van Pelt    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service
Date: 11 May 1993 12:37:19 -0400
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Javier Henderson ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Is it possible to have a calling card without having phone service in
> one's name?

> Obviously the local phone company won't go for it, but perhaps there
> are vendors out there who do this sort of thing. Maybe the Orange
 >card?

> [Moderator's Note: AT&T issues a 'miscellaneous non-subscriber
> account' calling card. Actually, I think it is handled by Cin. Bell
> under contract to AT&T, but that is not important. Sprint may do the
> same thing.  Orange will issue cards without 'associated phone
> numbers' but they do a detailed credit check on the person.  PAT]

    I've had one of those AT&T cards I got when I was in the navy
stationed aboard ship.  Cincinatti Bell handled the billing, and I
still use it today, albeit not very often now, and am fairly pleased
with the service.  My only quibble was that change of billing address
changes took 2-5 notifications before they would stick.


Dale Farmer

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 9:48:00 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon


What are the starting steps you are referring to?  If the new area
code is needed before 1995, it'll have to come from the N00 codes.

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 18:50:39 -0700
From: Darren Eslke <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon


I was refering to the forcing everyone in the area code to dial the
area code, to get us used to dialing the extra digits.  I heard
thatthe area code will s plit sometime this year.  Seattle metro area
is big, and expanding fast.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Gabe M Wiener)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 15:57:07 GMT


[Moderator's Note: In this article only, I'll respond to Gabe as we go
along rather than at the end to avoid some confusion.  PAT]

In article <[e-mail]> Harris Boldt Edelman
<red-eft![e-mail]> writes:

> Exchanges were given suffix digits, so that ""Morningside" was split
> into "MOrningside 2", "MOrningside 6", etc. Or, later, simply MO2,
> MO6.  Suffix digits were in the range 2-9 only. Any numbers in New
> York that might appear to have been formed from the first three
> letters of an old exchange name do so by coincidence alone.

> Sadly, I don't know the dates of the changes.  Late 1930's seems
> about right for adding the suffix digit, late 1950's for truncating
> the name portion to its first two letters instead of writing the full
> name with the first two letters capitalized.

But if this is so, how did one dial Morningside 3128 on a telephone
dial?  NY had automatic dial in the mid 1920's, yet even in 1928
literature you often see numbers like Grammercy 1239 or Morningside
3128.

   ===>  Moderator's Note: This is why I suggested they used three letters
   ===>  and four digits, at least in the very early days of dial in NYC.]

> Not a word about the impending arrival of "All Number Dialing",
> though only a fool couldn't see it coming.

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what was the reason for
moving away from exchange names?  Was it just the desire to treat
phone numbers as entirely numerical entities?

   ===>  Moderator's Note: The move from exchange names was because of
   ===>  the limitations in finding workable name combinations. Had
   ===>  they been willing to use arbitrary letters which did not mean
   ===>  anything, that would have been okay. But since the available
   ===>  words had been used up, they decided if there had to be mean-
   ===>  inless combinations for prefixes, they might as well use all
   ===>  numbers.

> I left New York in 1977.  My recollection is that New York Telephone
> directories then still carried individual listings in their
> originally-published format.  One would see MOrningside 2-XXXX,
> MO2-XXXX, and 662-XXXX intermixed; maybe even Morningside 2-XXXX, but
> I'm no longer sure.

NY telephone directories are entirely numerical now.  Once in a long
while, you pick up a business card with a phone number written out
with an exchange name ... usually an old, local business like a
cleaner or drugstore.

> My family's number appeared as KIngsbridge 3-1136 from 1951 until
> 1966, and was then re-published as 543-1136 with our new address
> after we moved a block away.  We still gave it out as "KI3-1136", to
> the bitter end.

When I was growing up in NYC in the 70's, we lived in the Sutton Place
district.  I was taught my phone number as "Plaza 3-6788" and was
taught to dial PL and not 75.  By about 1979 or so, we had all stopped
saying "Plaza 3" and had starting thinking of it as 753.  When my
family moved uptown in 1981, our phone number began with 410, so the
issue became moot.

      ===> Moderator's Note: The Chicago directories continued to
      ===> show the listings as they originally appeared until the
      ===> phone number was finally turned off or moved, etc.  We
      ===> had full prefix names mixed with all-number listings for
      ===> about ten years in the 1965-75 period. Then for a couple
      ===> more years there were 2L-5D listings mixed in with all-
      ===> numbers.  They obviously were not going to re-edit the
      ===> entire directory; they just let them go away. Some never
      ===> would go away: Some subscribers have had the same number
      ===> for *seventy-five years* i.e. Marshall Field's STAte-1000;
      ===> Yellow Cab's CALumet 7440; Edgewater Hospital's EDGewater-6000;
      ===> The Conrad Hilton (nee Stevens) Hotel's WABash 4400. Finally
      ===> sometime in the late seventies, telco cleaned out the whole
      ===> book and went from scratch with ANC-style listings.   PAT]


      Gabe Wiener -- [e-mail] -- N2GPZ
 Sound engineering, recording, and digital mastering for classical music


[Moderator's Final Note: Here in Chicago, that bunch of prima-donnas
at station WFMT -- the world's worst classical music station, bar none --
still continue whenever possible to recite their advertising (always
live copy at WFMT -- no recorded messages) with the full exchange name
even though some advertisers have asked them repeatedly not to do it
that way because of the confusion it causes among younger listeners.
Still, their announcers avoid 248 in favor of BITtersweet, and 348 in
favor of DIVersey. When an advertiser comes along with an ANC phone
number which does not map back to anything from fifty years ago, i.e.
508 the staff at WFMT must get *so* frustrated!  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Hough)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 18:00:27 +0000


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
Hussein) writes:

> The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
> do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
> (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?
> And threatening to do it again?

Sounds like an answering machine would be ideal. All you need to do is
listen to the incoming audio and decide whether you want to talk to
the caller -- most machines will let you take over a call once it has
started.  A few words to your friends will stop them hanging up in
disgust when they hear the machine (I rarely speak to an answering
machine ...) and wait for you to answer them after you know who they
are.

Plan B would be to employ something along the lines of the recent
'Tormenting Telemarketeers' post in this group.


Dave
* G4WRW @ GB7WRW.#41.GBR.EU AX25
* [e-mail]  Internet
* [e-mail]      Amprnet

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

From: bears![e-mail]
Date: 10 May 93 15:32:12 GMT
Subject: Blocking Call Returns (Call Block Should work For Anonymous Calls)


The telephone company can, for a fee (Call Block), provide the
features you require.

Caller: (telemarketing from home) #67 + Callee Number

Callee: Who is this bozo calling me during dinner? I'll call return him
    and give him an earful. (#69)

Caller: I don't want this Jerk to bother me, I'm just trying to sell
    aluminum siding. #68 (Call Block the last number that called me.)

For real (CO-enforced) privacy, you need Call Block as well as Caller
ID.  You also need more money.


[Moderator's Note: The flaw in your plan is that there has to be at
least one call back from the unhappy customer before the telemarketer
can add the 'last call recieved' to his denial list, unless he chooses
to add them as he goes along, which would be unproductive. So he has
to get hung up on, then called back by the sassy customer before he
can add it on the basis of 'last call received'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 11 May 93 17:36:10 GMT
Subject: Re: Pac Bell Call Return: Can it be Blocked?


Patrick, your statement that it is not possible to block call return
is not correct.  Any attempt to use call return to a number which is
currently forwarded will result in a failure.

With Automatic Callback (*69), a reorder will immediately result as
long as the last incoming call directory number is forwarded.

With Automatic Callback Two-Level Announcement (talking call return,
also *69) the last incoming call directory number and optionally the
date and time is announced.  If you press 1 (to activate call return)
and the number is forwarded, you drop abruptly to dialtone.  This
information is detailed in AT&T 1 & 1A ESS Feature Handbook, Iss 6,
Aug 1990.  (AT&T DOC 231-090-425)

Also, coin telephones and numbers which are not the lead number of a
multi-line-hunt can be set to be non call-returnable.  With talking
call return, these numbers give the announcement "we're sorry, the
number of your last incoming call cannot be called back, please
hangup" after pressing 1.


[Moderator's Note: On call-forwarded calls, the number of the original
caller -- not the pass-through -- is the one displayed by Caller-ID, so
why wouldn't that same number be the one in the buffer for 'return last
call' or 'block last number from further calls to me'? The originating
CO does not send two numbers, one for ID and anther one (or lack of
one) for return call and deny further call purposes. We do not 'press 1'
here to do anything. We punch *69 to return the last call and either
it starts ringing or a recording (usually) says 'the number you are
calling cannot be reached with this service'. This means it is 'out of
area'. Now and again I get a recording which says 'I'm sorry, the
record of this number is no longer available.' We do not 'drop to dial
tone when *69 cannot process something; we get an intercept message
saying something. Whenever a number shows up on Caller-ID (or the word
'private' shows up as opposed to 'out of area') we here in Chicago can
use *69 to call that number. Now, the Caller-ID itself may be the lead
number in a hunt group or the main directory number -- something like
that -- but whatever it says is whatever we get when we *69.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 20:05:54 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: New Business Telephone Sets From Northern Telecom
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Here is a press release from Northern Telecom. My copy of the press
release doesn't have a date, but I think it was issued late last
month.

Northern Telecom Introduces Two Series of Multi-Purpose Business
Telephones

RALEIGH, N.C. - Northern Telecom announced today it will begin
marketing two new families of business telephones that are
characterized by high feature content and ease of use, along with
superior quality and design details.

The Meridian 8000 and 9000 series phones support large or small
business environments using Centrex, PBX systems, or standard business
telephone service, even in work-at-home offices. While both phone
families offer one-touch access to a variety of time-saving,
convenient communications features, the M9000 series is designed to
take full advantage of CLASS (Custom Local Area Signaling Services)
and CLASS on Centrex offerings from local telephone companies.

"Both portfolios were designed based on extensive market research and
customer input as well as industry need," said Frank Cupido, Small
Business marketing director, Northern Telecom. "They're made even more
attractive for businesses of every size by a combination of easy
feature access, which should help telephone companies increase network
service usage, and price points and selection that give users a choice
to fit diverse communications needs."

Part of the anticipated success for the new terminals is attributable
to features not normally found on reasonably-priced analog business
sets. Many of the phones in both series offer adjustable displays,
instructional prompts to guide users through feature activation,
internal directories of key phone numbers, call timers, variable
ringing patterns, date and time display, and CLASS capabilities.

To make network services easy to use, the phones offer programmable
memory buttons to store activation codes for features such as Call
Forwarding and Call Return, or for one- button dialing of
frequently-used numbers.  A special LINK key helps prevent accidental
disconnects when transferring calls or accepting waiting calls; and an
indicator light signals when a phone is ringing or a message is
waiting.

The innovative CLASS phones, the M9216 featured set and M9316
handsfree, support business use of Calling Name and Number ID, Call
Logging, Call Return and Automatic Callback services.  Both phones
allow on-hook dialing and have an adjustable display window that shows
useful call information such as: incoming numbers; user prompts for
feature operation; and a call duration timer that is particularly
helpful for client billing purposes. Additionally, a message-waiting
indicator makes the terminals ideal for voice mail applications.

The M9216 set has ten programmable keys and a 25-number call log
capability to track the number, time and date of unanswered incoming
calls. List price is $179.

The M9316 offers a 50-number call log, and adds a 50-number personal
directory and a mute key for privacy when using the handsfree feature.
With eight programmable keys, the M9316 has a list price of $199.

In the M8000 series, three new sets are initially available.  All
offer a message-waiting indicator light for PBX, Centrex, or home
office applications. The M8009 business set shares the basic
productivity features and design advantages of all the company's new
phones. With six programmable keys, the terminal list price is only
$85.

Additional features offered on the M8314 Handsfree Business Set,
beyond the handsfree capability and associated Mute key, include an
integrated display for user prompts and call timing, eight
programmable keys, and a 50-number personal directory. List price is
$179.

The M8417 Two-line Handsfree Business Set increases the personal
directory to 100 numbers, and features a special conference button
that allows the two phone lines to join together for one call. With
eight programmable keys, the M8417 is list priced at $199.

All of the terminals are available in ash, grey, or black, feature a
parallel line jack for fax, modem, or extensions, and are desk or
wall-mountable. The display-equipped models support optional Spanish
or French language prompts, are hearing-aid compatible, and comply
with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The M8000 and M9000 series
phones will be available in July.

Northern Telecom is a leading supplier of telecommunications switching
equipment to telephone companies and offers software supporting a full
range of Centrex and Custom Local Area Signaling Services, including
Caller ID.  In 1990, the company introduced its Maestro terminal, the
first telephone with integrated Caller ID capability. The Maestro line
was enhanced the following year as the first phone capable of
displaying a caller's name. The company also offers other Caller ID
terminals, including the Rhapsody line, as well as a family of
full-featured Caller ID adjuncts under the Interlude name.

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

Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #319
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #321


TELECOM Digest     Wed, 12 May 93 17:06:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 321

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    ACS Statement on Pay TV (Tom Worthington)
    800-555-1212: I Need Information (Justin Fidler)
    Ultimate Russian Long-Distance Phone Directory (V. Menkov via Jon Welch)
    TeleTrect II CVS Headset (Fred Ennis)
    Difference Between Residence and Business For Consulting? (John W Irza)
    AT&T Future Ads (Brendan B. Boerner)
    Residential Listings on CD-ROM (James Van Houten)
    Info Infrastructure Task Force (Scipion Africanus)
    Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes (Douglas J. Coyle)
    UC, NCC, UNC+, MDS, DS Questions (W. Melody Moh)
    Re: Telecom History (Stan M. Krieger)
    Re: Telecom History (Roy Smith)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tom Worthington)
Subject: ACS Statement on Pay TV
Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 03:52:02 GMT


The Australian Computer Society, a 14,000 member professional body for
information technologists, today suggested the Government's Pay TV
policies be broadened, to include plans for a range of digital
subscriber services.

TOM WORTHINGTON MACS PCP, Director of the ACS Community Affairs Board,
suggested Australia would gain greater long term benefits from an
service which can be easily upgraded. The proposed MDS and satellite
Pay TV systems could be modified for other delivery methods and
services.

KARL REED, MSc, FACS (Hon. Life Member, ACS), Director of the ACS
Computer Systems and Software Engineering Technical Board, urged the
government adopt policies for development of an Australian Pay TV
industry.

MR. WORTHINGTON, who prepared the ACS's submission to the Senate Pay
TV inquiry last year said:

"The current Pay TV debate has concentrated on delivery methods and on
financial arrangements of potential suppliers."

"Focusing on arguments of satellite versus terrestrial microwave
distribution for Pay TV is not productive. It is unlikely that one
transmission technology will be best for all subscribers. Delivery
technologies are developing rapidly, as illustrated by recent
proposals for digital cable systems. There is no 'best' delivery
method. Planning for a diversity of delivery modes, would be better
for the Australian community."

"There has been little debate of the services which could be delivered
by 'Pay TV'. Most discussions have assumed a service similar to the
current free-to-air TV programs, but with a user access charge. Pay TV
will make high speed digital communications available to the
Australian community.  There are many more ways to use this technology
than watching re-runs of early 60's sit-coms."

"For many years Australia's information technology researchers have
been developing new applications for digital subscriber services.
These applications combine computers and telecommunications in
innovative ways.  They have the best features of TV, radio, telephone
and newspapers in the one product."

"This work cost millions of dollars from Government and industry
research funds. The results go far beyond Pay TV, as envisioned in the
government's current policy. It time our policy makers and corporate
executives looked at the innovative ideas, which the Australian
community has already paid for."

"Australians are now being asked to invest in digital Pay TV, at least
as subscribers to the service. When you buy or rent a digital Pay TV
decoder, you are investing in a powerful digital computer. This
computer will be pre-programmed to decode Pay TV signals. It could be
programmed to receive other digital subscriber services, for little
extra cost."

"Will consumers be able to use the same decoder for all Pay TV and
narrow-cast services? Will they be able to upgrade their decoder for
cable TV in the future? Will it work with satellite and terrestrial
microwave? Will they be able to plug their personal computer and
telephone into the decoder for interactive services? Alternatively
will the subscriber have to pay thousands of dollars extra, for
incompatible boxes to use each service?"

"The planned MDS narrow-casting and satellite Pay TV services will not
be delivering programs for some time. There is still time for policies
to be developed to use them as the basis for advanced digital
subscriber services for all Australians."

"Australia's information technology professionals are at the forefront
of the development of this technology. The ACS is ready to help our
policy makers follow this lead."

MR. REED, Director of the ACS Computer Systems and Software
Engineering Technical Board, said that a major aspect of these
services for both business and home needed to be universality of
access. Reed said that the hundreds of millions committed to Pay TV
would allow significant progress to be made in this direction.

The ACS's COMMUNITY AFFAIRS & SOFTWARE ENGINEERING TECHNICAL BOARDS
have jointly prepared a recommended action plan for Government:

1.   Consult Australia's information technology researchers on what
digital subscriber services will be possible in the next few years,

2.  Consult the information technology industries as to the
feasibility and cost of the possible services,

3.   Prepare a number of policy options with costs and benefits,

4.   Consult the community and industry over the desirability and
affordability of the different options,

5.  Prepare an integrated strategy for providing digital subscriber
services. This would include the mandatory minimum features and
standard upgrade options for subscriber equipment.

6.   Assist Australian industry to compete in designing, manufacturing and
delivering the equipment and services.

In keeping with the high technology message, the ACS statement not was
released at a meeting, but over a global computer network. MR.
WORTHINGTON said:

"To illustrate that the ACS does not just talk about technology, I
would like to outline how this statement was prepared and issued. The
draft was sent via the Australian segment of the Internet computer
network to the ACS President for comment. The final version was issued
through the global Usenet computer news service. This is received by
ten million people, using 1.5 million computers around the world."

"The Internet computer network now transmits digitised audio and
video, on an experimental basis, as well as computer data and text
messages. With the right policies, these services could be delivered
to future Australian Pay TV subscribers."

ABOUT THE ACS: The Australian Computer Society is the professional
association in Australia for those in the computing and information
technology fields. Established in 1966, the ACS has over 14,000
members and on a per capita basis is one of the largest computer
societies in the world. The ACS announces activities on the Usenet
News group "aus.acs", available via the Internet.


Tom Worthington                              Ph:  06 2856209
Director of the Community Affairs Board      Fax: [phone]
Australian Computer Society Inc.             Internet: [e-mail]
G.P.O. Box 446, Canberra A.C.T. 2601, Australia

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

From: Fidler, Justin <[e-mail]>
Subject: 800-555-1212: I Need Information
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 10:06:00 EDT


The other evening I needed a few 800 numbers so I did as I always do
and called 1-800-555-1212.  Since I needed quite a few numbers, I
started to wonder exactly how the service works.  I have a few
questions:

Are all operators in the same location?  Do they all access the same
identical database, or do some receive updates before others?  I've
had occassions where I will ask for a company name and the first
operator will find it, but when I call back two minutes later and get
another operator, that operator can't find it.  Is this just a matter
of operator-error?

Who pays for it?  The carrier providing the 800 service for the number
I request, or the company with the 800 number I'm requesting?

How extensive is their database?  For instance, I wanted the number
for a certain company, we'll say The J.R. Smith Company, and from
talking to the operator, it appears that I have to tell them about the
'The' in order for the search to work.  For those fluent in SQL, don't
they have a statement like: "SELECT * FROM <tablename> where <name>
LIKE '%SMITH%'" so that they would find that company regardless of
where the word "Smith" is situated in the company name?  This is what
irritates me most, as I was looking for one company, neglected to
provide the 'The' and the name would not show up in the search.  Once
the operator typed in the preceding 'The' it worked fine.

Lastly, is there either a telnettable online version, or a single
printed directory (the ones I've seen are carrier-specific)?


Justin Fidler     [e-mail]    My opinion only


[Moderator's Note: The actual mechanics of operating 800-555-1212
are handled by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, in the St. Louis,
Missouri area somewhere. When AT&T was the only supplier of 800
numbers many years ago, SWBT operated 800-555-1212 under contract to
AT&T. As other companies got into the 800 number service, they were
able to get their listings placed in the database if desired. I
think perhaps the whole thing now is administered by Bellcore, but
so far as I know, SWBT still manages it under a contract with them.

Anyone with an 800 number can be listed if desired, but the listings
are not free. When I had my Telecom*USA 800 number a few years ago,
they wanted an additional $10 per month if I wanted it listed with
800-555-1212. AT&T's printed directory only includes their customers.
None of the other carriers print an 800 directory that I know of.
It is possible there are updates throughout the day and an operator one
minute would not find a listing but one a couple minutes later would,
but I would be more inclined to think it was operator error. I doubt
the database has more than 20-30 percent of all 800 numbers listed;
very few residential listings are included; not that many people will
deliberatly invite strangers to call them collect unless they are in
business. Even then, as AT&T notes in their printed directory, many
800 numbers are for internal use only by companies, etc and non-pub
in the database. Listing fees pay for the cost of the service.   PAT]

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

Date: 12 May 1993 12:26:14 -0500
From: Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
Subject: Ultimate Russian Long-Distance Phone Directory


Pat, I thought this might be of interest to the group.

Jonathan Welch  VAX Systems Manager  Umass/Amherst  [e-mail]

 From: "Vladimir Menkov" <[e-mail]>
 Subject:[soc.culture.soviet] Ultimate Russian Long-Distance Phone Directory
 Date: 11 May 1993 04:34:07 GMT

 SU Long Distance Phone Directory (in Russian)
 City codes and directory assistance phone numbers

 Mezhdugorodnyi Telefonnyi Spravochnik byvshego Sovetskogo Soyuza
             Kody gorodov i spravochnye

Prompted by the requests of the readers of soc.culture.soviet, I place
electronic long-distance phone directory of former Soviet Union to an
FTP site.

The author of the directory program is apparently V.Burnyshev. No
claims is made by anybody regarding correctness of the database,
usability of the program, or possibility to direct-dial the cities
listed from anywhere; nor does anybody assume any responsibility for
possible consequences of the use of the program and the database.  The
database is known to contain errors both in city names and city codes.

The program can be used on an IBM-PC compatible computer with EGA or
VGA monitor.

Self-extracting archive "phonedir.exe", containing the database and
program, can be obtained by anonymous FTP from moose.cs.indiana.edu
(directory /pub/phonedir).

If you have any problems or have comments, please send me e-mail.  If
I have time, I'll convert the database to plain ASCII and will make it
publicly available at a later date.

If you don't know how to use FTP, here are DETAILED instructions.
If you are using a PC connected to Internet, and can run FTP from
your PC:

1) From your machine connect to the FTP site by typing
ftp moose.cs.indiana.edu

On `Login:' prompt, enter `anonymous'; on `Password:' prompt enter
your full Internet address. Don't enter quotation marks.

2) On `ftp>' prompt, type the following commands:

cd /pub/phonedir
binary
get phonedir.exe
quit

3) On your PC, run "phonedir.exe". It's a self-extracting archive;
after it has unpacked itself, you can erase it.

4) If you do NOT have a Cyrillic screen/keyboard driver on your PC,
run "cyrill.exe" to enable your computer to display cyrillic
characters; otherwise you can erase "cyrill.exe" and use your existing
cyrillic driver.

5) Use "tpr_new.exe" (the directory program).

If you can't use FTP from your PC, perform steps 1-2 on a mainframe
computer connected to Internet, and then download the file
"phonedir.exe" to your PC in the manner normally used at your site.


Vladimir

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

Subject: TeleTrect II CVS Headset
From: [e-mail] (Fred Ennis)
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 08:27:53 -0400
Organization: Page 6, Ottawa, Ontario [phone]


Hi!

I have two TeleTrect II CVS headsets; they also say <lambda> MOD.

Two questions: When I plug them into the handset jacks on either a
Vantage 12 set or a Toshiba 6025 EKT, they suffer from low level on
both the receiver and transmitter. Is there a way to make them work
properly with either set?

There's a row of ten dip switches on the back of each headset box,
along with a volume control, mic mute, and a on/off hook switch.
Anyone know what the dip switches are supposed to do?

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks!

Fred Ennis, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (John W Irza)
Subject: Difference Between Residence and Business For Consulting?
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 15:03:59 GMT


I'm setting up shop to do consulting at home and just got off the
phone with New England Telephone.  They quote a price of $93 to bring
a business line into my home from the telephone pole.  In addition
they want a $200 deposit and will charge a minimum monthly charge of
$17.  I pay for every call made; no unlimited calling to local areas
is offered.

On the other hand, NET only charges $37 to bring in a residence line
and charges about $30 a month for the local calling plan I'd like to
use.

Am I missing something here or would I have to be crazy to pay more to
have a "business" line.  From where I sit, the advantage of a business
line is that you get the "privelege" of shelling out more money!

Thanks in advance for help/wisdom.


John Irza ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: You also get a 'business listing' in the phone book.
If you operate under your own name, then all you need is the listing
you have now. If you do business under some business phrase, just try
to get it listed without paying for a business phone!  :) Even if you
do business under your own name, if your directory is broken in two
parts with one for business phones and one for residence phones, guess
which partition you will be in ... :)  The reason business phones cost
more is a historic one going back a century ago to the idea of univer-
sal service. It made sense for residences to have phones so that bus-
inesses could contact them. Because not everyone can/could afford a
phone, the prices will be kept artifically low and business users will
subsidize the cost with service that is priced artificially high. That
is the way it goes; get used to it.  :)      PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner)
Subject: AT&T Future Ads
Organization: Novell, Inc. --Austin
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 14:16:51 GMT


Hello,

Has anyone noticed the AT&T ads which keep asking "Have you ever done
<x>?"  and then say, "You will"?

The TV ad I've seen first asks "Have you ever read a book across the
country?" (or something similar, I'm paraphrasing from memory here)
and show someone reading a book on a mondo monitor, then asks "Have
you driven across the country?"  and show a couple using a map on a
monitor in their car, and one other scene which I don't recall.  The
print ad I've seen has a woman talking into a videophone with the
question "Have you ever tucked in your kids across the country?"

What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years
ago did AT&T demonstrate a videophone at a World's Fair, 30?  Also,
show me a library that can afford to keep buying subscriptions to
periodicals, much less state of the art computer equipment, and I'll
show you a library which is going to get it's budget cut.


Later,

Brendan B. Boerner    Phone: [phone]    MHS: bboerner@novell
Internet: [e-mail]     \  Please use either if replying
   or  [e-mail] /  by mail exterior to Novell.
Disclaimer: My views are my own, not Novell's.  They pay me to write
code, not speak for them.

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

From: [e-mail] (James Van Houten)
Subject: Residential Listings on CD-ROM
Date: 12 May 1993 02:02:41 -0400
Organization: Metropolitan Security Services, Inc, Ft. Washington, MD  USA


I am interested in a CD-ROM that covers all residential telephone
listings in the USA.  I know that DAK was offering one with a purchase
of their CD-ROM drive.  Anyone have any info on this.  Thanks.


James Van Houten, Metropolitan Security Services, Inc
Ft Washington, MD / 202-672-6926


[Moderator's Note: Compuserve also offers this as a premium service. I
think they get an extra 25 cents per minute.  GO PHONES.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Scipion Africanus)
Subject: Info Infrastructure Task Force
Date: 12 May 1993 04:04:40 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee


I would be most grateful if someone could provide me with information
in regard to Clinton's proposed Information Infrastructure Task Force.

* Who will take part in this scheme?

* How will attendees be chosen?

* What topics will be covered?

* What sort of committees have or will be created?

Please reply via e-mail: [e-mail]

Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.

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

From: [e-mail] (Douglas J. Coyle)
Subject: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Date: 12 May 1993 11:24:29 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Madison


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Frank Keeney) wrote:

> My boss once worked for LA Cellular and he pressed a few keys on his
> phone and showed me how he could monitor any cellular frequency with
> the phone's speaker. All you need to know are some of the keypad codes
> that allow you to setup and test the phone. Knowledge any cellular
> phone installer would have.

Does anybody know (or know how to get) this kind of programming
information for the Motorala flip phones?


Thanks in advance,

Douglas J. Coyle    [e-mail]    608.695.8288


[Moderator's Note: Doesn't Motorola Technical Support provide this
information to service techs?  I called them once about a Motorola
phone I had and they faxed me page after page of details on how to
get in to the phone, reset and change the registers, etc.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (W. Melody Moh)
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 18:25:08 GMT
Subject: UC, NCC, UNC+, MDS, DS questions
Organization: San Jose State University - Math/CS Dept.


I have been asked by a friend in Mexico about more information on the
following.  As ignorant as he is, could anybody shed some light on
these?  (General information, reference article/magazine/books, etc.)

UC   NCC   UNC+  MDS  DS

I think these are some network software or network applications, but
am not sure where to go for more information.  Any help will be
appreciated.  Please response directly to me, as I am not a regular
reader of the newsgroup (lack of time).  Thanks.


Melody Moh    Assist. Professor
Dept of Mathematics and Computer Science
San Jose State University    San Jose  CA 95192-0103
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Krieger S.M.)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: 12 May 1993 09:35:41 -0400
Organization: Summit NJ


>> Not a word about the impending arrival of "All Number Dialing",
>> though only a fool couldn't see it coming.

>> My family's number appeared as KIngsbridge 3-1136 from 1951 until
>> 1966, and was then re-published as 543-1136 with our new address
>> after we moved a block away.  We still gave it out as "KI3-1136", to
>> the bitter end.

> When I was growing up in NYC in the 70's, we lived in the Sutton Place
> district.  I was taught my phone number as "Plaza 3-6788" and was
> taught to dial PL and not 75.  By about 1979 or so, we had all stopped
> saying "Plaza 3" and had starting thinking of it as 753.  When my
> family moved uptown in 1981, our phone number began with 410, so the
> issue became moot.

When we moved to Brooklyn (from Atlantic City) in the summer of 1964,
NY Telephone had apparently just begun the conversion to ANC, and when
I started school a few weeks later, I was the only one in the class
whose phone number was "officially" seven digits.  My homeroom teacher
thought that I was some wiseass new kid for writing my number as
444-4098 instead of HI4-4098.

If I remember, the way NY Telephone handled the cutover was that any
service change brought a conversion to ANC.  So, besides a move within
the neighborhood getting the same phone number recast, adding or
removing extension phones (remember when the phone company did all
that) also got the number changed.


Stan Krieger                 All opinions, advice, or suggestions, even
UNIX System Laboratories     if related to my employment, are my own.
Summit, NJ   [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 11:21:40 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Roy Smith)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Organization: New York University, School of Medicine


> When an advertiser comes along with an ANC phone number which does not map
> back to anything from fifty years ago, i.e.  508 the staff at WFMT must
> get *so* frustrated!  :) PAT]

I don't see what the problem is.  508-xxxx is LOPERU-xxxx, isn't it? :-)


Roy Smith <[e-mail]>
Hippocrates Project, Department of Microbiology, Coles 202
NYU School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #321
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #320


TELECOM Digest     Wed, 12 May 93 16:30:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 320

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    NIST Advisory Board Seeks Comments on Crypto (Mark Boolootian)
    Big Day at WilTel (Jim Hickstein)
    CCITT Dissolved? (Ron Dippold)
    Europe: Telephone Competition by 1998? (Juergen Ziegler)
    Harmonic Modulation -- Anyone Hear of It? (Erik E. Rantapaa)
    Information Wanted on CableLabs (Bill Phelps)
    Sign o' The Times (Paul Barnett)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Boolootian)
Subject: NIST Advisory Board Seeks Comments on Crypto
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 13:28:34 -0700 (PDT)


  From: Clipper-Capstone Chip Info <[e-mail]>
  Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  Subject: NIST Advisory Board Seeks Comments on Crypto

This file will be made available for anonymous ftp from
csrc.ncsl.nist.gov, filename pub/nistgen/cryptmtg.txt and for download
from the NIST Computer Security BBS, 301-948-5717, filename
cryptmtg.txt.

Note: The following notice is scheduled to appear in the Federal
Register this week.  The notice announces a meeting of the Computer
System Security and Privacy Advisory Board (established by the
Computer Security Act of 1987) and solicits public and industry
comments on a wide range of cryptographic issues.  Please note that
submissions due by 4:00 p.m. May 27, 1993.


                            DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                National Institute of Standards and Technology

                          Announcing a Meeting of the
              COMPUTER SYSTEM SECURITY AND PRIVACY ADVISORY BOARD

AGENCY:   National Institute of Standards and Technology

ACTION:   Notice of Open Meeting

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C.
App., notice is hereby given that the Computer System Security and
Privacy Advisory Board will meet Wednesday, June 2, 1993, from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 1993, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., and Friday, June 4, 1993 from 9:00 a.m.  to 1:00 p.m.  The
Advisory Board was established by the Computer Security Act of 1987
(P.L. 100-235) to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of
NIST on security and privacy issues pertaining to Federal computer
systems and report its findings to the Secretary of Commerce, the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the
National Security Agency, and the appropriate committees of the
Congress.  All sessions will be open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on June 2-4 1993.  On June 2 and 3,
1993 the meeting will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on
June 4, 1993 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Public submissions (as described below) are due by 4:00 p.m.  (EDT)
May 27, 1993 to allow for sufficient time for distribution to and
review by Board members.

ADDRESS: The meeting will take place at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.  On June 2, 1993, the
meeting will be held in the Administration Building, "Red Auditorium,"
on June 3 the meeting will be held in the Administration Building,
"Green Auditorium," and on June 4, 1993 in the Administration
Building, Lecture Room "B."

Submissions (as described below), including copyright waiver if
required, should be addressed to: Cryptographic Issue Statements,
Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board, Technology
Building, Room B-154, National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD, 20899 or via FAX to 301/948-1784.  Submissions,
including copyright waiver if required, may also be sent
electronically to "[e-mail]".

AGENDA:

- Welcome and Review of Meeting Agenda
- Government-developed "Key Escrow" Chip Announcement Review
- Discussion of Escrowed Cryptographic Key Technologies
- Review of Submitted Issue Papers
- Position Presentations & Discussion
- Public Participation
- Annual Report and Pending Business
- Close

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

This Advisory Board meeting will be devoted to the issue of the
Administration's recently announced government-developed "key escrow"
chip cryptographic technology and, more broadly, to public use of
cryptography and government cryptographic policies and regulations.
The Board has been asked by NIST to obtain public comments on this
matter for submission to NIST for the national review that the
Administration's has announced it will conduct of cryptographic-related
issues.  Therefore, the Board is interested in:

1) obtaining public views and reactions to the government-developed
"key escrow" chip technology announcement, "key escrow" technology
generally, and government cryptographic policies and regulations;

2) hearing selected summaries of written views that have been submitted,
and

3) conducting a general discussion of these issues in public.

The Board solicits all interested parties to submit well-written,
concise issue papers, position statements, and background materials on
areas such as those listed below.  Industry input is particularly
encouraged in addressing the questions below.

Because of the volume of responses expected, submittors are asked to
identify the issues above to which their submission(s) are responsive.
Submittors should be aware that copyrighted documents cannot be
accepted unless a written waiver is included concurrently with the
submission to allow NIST to reproduce the material.  Also, company
proprietary information should not be included, since submissions will
be made publicly available.

This meeting specifically will not be a tutorial or briefing on
technical details of the government-developed "key escrow" chip or
escrowed cryptographic key technologies.  Those wishing to address the
Board and/or submit written position statements are requested to be
thoroughly familiar with the topic and to have concise,
well-formulated opinions on its societal ramifications.

Issues on which comments are sought include the following:

1.    CRYPTOGRAPHIC POLICIES AND SOCIAL/PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES

Public and Social policy aspects of the government-developed "key
escrow" chip and, more generally, escrowed key technology and
government cryptographic policies.

Issues involved in balancing various interests affected by government
cryptographic policies.

2.    LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

Consequences of the government-developed "key escrow" chip technology
and, more generally, key escrow technology and government
cryptographic policies.

3.    INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY

Issues and impacts of cryptographic-related statutes, regulations, and
standards, both national and international, upon individual privacy.

Issues related to the privacy impacts of the government-developed "key
escrow" chip and "key escrow" technology generally.

4.    QUESTIONS DIRECTED TO AMERICAN INDUSTRY

4.A  Industry Questions: U.S. Export Controls

4.A.1 Exports - General

What has been the impact on industry of past export controls on
products with password and data security features for voice or data?

Can such an impact, if any, be quantified in terms of lost export
sales or market share?  If yes, please provide that impact.

How many exports involving cryptographic products did you attempt over
the last five years?  How many were denied?  What reason was given for
denial?

Can you provide documentation of sales of cryptographic equipment
which were lost to a foreign competitor, due solely to U.S.  Export
Regulations.

What are the current market trends for the export sales of information
security devices implemented in hardware solutions?  For software
solutions?

4.A.2  Exports - Software

If the U.S. software producers of mass market or general purpose
software (word processing, spreadsheets, operating environments,
accounting, graphics, etc.) are prohibited from exporting such
packages with file encryption capabilities, what foreign competitors
in what countries are able and willing to take foreign market share
from U.S. producers by supplying file encryption capabilities?

What is the impact on the export market share and dollar sales of the
U.S.  software industry if a relatively inexpensive hardware solution
for voice or data encryption is available such as the
government-developed "key escrow" chip?

What has been the impact of U.S. export controls on COMPUTER UTILITIES
software packages such as Norton Utilities and PCTools?

What has been the impact of U.S. export controls on exporters of OTHER
SOFTWARE PACKAGES (e.g., word processing) containing file encryption
capabilities?

What information does industry have that Data Encryption Standard
(DES) based software programs are widely available abroad in software
applications programs?

4.A.3  Exports - Hardware

Measured in dollar sales, units, and transactions, what have been
the historic exports for:

            Standard telephone sets
            Cellular telephone sets
            Personal computers and work stations
            FAX machines
            Modems
            Telephone switches

What are the projected export sales of these products if there is no
change in export control policy and if the government-developed "key
escrow" chip is not made available to industry?

What are the projected export sales of these products if the
government-developed "key escrow" chip is installed in the above
products, the above products are freely available at an additional
price of no more than $25.00, and the above products are exported
WITHOUT ADDITIONAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS?

What are the projected export sales of these products if the
government-developed "key escrow" chip is installed in the above
products, the above products are freely available at an additional
price of no more than $25.00, and the above products are to be
exported WITH AN ITAR MUNITIONS LICENSING REQUIREMENT for all
destinations?

What are the projected export sales of these products if the
government-developed "key escrow" chip is installed in the above
products, the above products are freely available at an additional
price of no more than $25.00, and the above products are to be
exported WITH A DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LICENSING REQUIREMENT for all
destinations?

4.A.4  Exports - Advanced Telecommunications

What has been the impact on industry of past export controls on other
advanced telecommunications products?

Can such an impact on the export of other advanced telecommunications
products, if any, be quantified in terms of lost export sales or
market share?  If yes, provide that impact.

4.B  Industry Questions:  Foreign Import/Export Regulations

How do regulations of foreign countries affect the import and export
of products containing cryptographic functions?  Specific examples of
countries and regulations will prove useful.

4.C  Industry Questions: Customer Requirements for Cryptography

What are current and future customer requirements for information
security by function and industry?  For example, what are current and
future customer requirements for domestic banking, international
banking, funds transfer systems, automatic teller systems, payroll
records, financial information, business plans, competitive strategy
plans, cost analyses, research and development records, technology
trade secrets, personal privacy for voice communications, and so
forth?  What might be good sources of such data?

What impact do U.S. Government mandated information security standards
for defense contracts have upon demands by other commercial users for
information security systems in the U.S.?  In foreign markets?

What threats are your product designed to protect against?  What
threats do you consider unaddressed?

What demand do you foresee for a) cryptographic only products, and b)
products incorporating cryptography in: 1) the domestic market, 2) in
the foreign-only market, and 3) in the global market?

4.D  Industry Questions:  Standards

If the European Community were to announce a non-DES, non-public key
European Community Encryption Standard (ECES), how would your company
react?  Include the new standard in product line?  Withdraw from the
market?  Wait and see?

What are the impacts of government cryptographic standards on U.S.
industry (e.g., Federal Information Processing Standard 46-1 [the Data
Encryption Standard] and the proposed Digital Signature Standard)?

5.  QUESTIONS DIRECTED TO THE AMERICAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY

5.A  American Business:  Threats and Security Requirements

Describe, in detail, the threat(s), to which you are exposed and which
you believe cryptographic solutions can address.

Please provide actual incidents of U.S. business experiences with
economic espionage which could have been thwarted by applications of
cryptographic technologies.

What are the relevant standards of care that businesses must apply to
safeguard information and what are the sources of those standards
other than Federal standards for government contractors?

What are U.S. business experiences with the use of cryptography to
protect against economic espionage, (including current and projected
investment levels in cryptographic products)?

5.B  American Business:  Use of Cryptography

Describe the types of cryptographic products now in use by your
organization.  Describe the protection they provide (e.g., data
encryption or data integrity through digital signatures).  Please
indicate how these products are being used.

Describe any problems you have encountered in finding, installing,
operating, importing, or exporting cryptographic devices.

Describe current and future uses of cryptographic technology to
protect commercial information (including types of information being
protected and against what threats).

Which factors in the list below inhibit your use of cryptographic
products?

Please rank:

--    no need
--    no appropriate product on market
--    fear of interoperability problems
--    regulatory concerns
--       a) U.S. export laws
--       b) foreign country regulations
--       c) other
--    cost of equipment
--    cost of operation
--    other

Please comment on any of these factors.

In your opinion, what is the one most important unaddressed need
involving cryptographic technology?

Please provide your views on the adequacy of the government-developed
"key escrow" chip technological approach for the protection of all
your international voice and data communication requirements.
Comments on other U.S. Government cryptographic standards?

6.  OTHER

Please describe any other impacts arising from Federal government
cryptographic policies and regulations.

Please describe any other impacts upon the Federal government in the
protection of unclassified computer systems.

Are there any other comments you wish to share?

The Board agenda will include a period of time, not to exceed ten
hours, for oral presentations of summaries of selected written
statements submitted to the Board by May 27, 1993.  As appropriate and
to the extent possible, speakers addressing the same topic will be
grouped together.  Speakers, prescheduled by the Secretariat and
notified in advance, will be allotted fifteen to thirty minutes to
orally present their written statements.  Individuals and
organizations submitting written materials are requested to advise the
Secretariat if they would be interested in orally summarizing their
materials for the Board at the meeting.

Another period of time, not to exceed one hour, will be reserved for
oral comments and questions from the public.  Each speaker will be
allotted up to five minutes; it will be necessary to strictly control
the length of presentations to maximize public participation and the
number of presentations.

Except as provided for above, participation in the Board's discussions
during the meeting will be at the discretion of the Designated Federal
Official.

Approximately thirty seats will be available for the public, including
three seats reserved for the media.  Seats will be available on a
first-come, first-served basis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lynn McNulty, Executive Secretary
and Associate Director for Computer Security, Computer Systems
Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building
225, Room B154, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, telephone: (301)
975-3240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background information on the
government-developed "key escrow" chip proposal is available from the
Board Secretariat; see address in "for further information" section.
Also, information on the government-developed "key escrow" chip is
available electronically from the NIST computer security bulletin
board, phone [phone].

The Board intends to stress the public and social policy aspects, the
legal and Constitutional consequences of this technology, and the
impacts upon American business and industry during its meeting.

It is the Board's intention to create, as a product of this meeting, a
publicly available digest of the important points of discussion,
conclusions (if any) that might be reached, and an inventory of the
policy issues that need to be considered by the government.  Within
the procedures described above, public participation is encouraged and
solicited.

/signed/
Raymond G. Kammer, Acting Director

May 10, 1993

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

Date: Tue, 11 May 93 13:54:44 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Jim Hickstein)
Subject: Big Day at WilTel


There seem to be two major outages going on at WilTel just now.  Their
customer service line (answered by a machine, it goes without saying)
reports "between Cleveland and Toledo; and near Kansas City".  Does
anyone have better information about this?  How major?  How long will
I be down?  Weather?  Cable cut?  Act of God?

These are proper questions for WilTel itself, of course, but I want to
leave them to get on with fixing it.

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

From: [e-mail] (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold)
Subject: CCITT Dissolved?
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 21:10:14 GMT


According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
(ITU-TSS).

a) Is this true?
b) Why?
c) Who is this ITU-TSS?
d) What does this do to Recommendataions in progress (or new ones)?

I'm particularly interested in Group XVII and V.fast.

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 09:34
From: Juergen Ziegler
Subject: Europe: Telephone Competition by 1998?


According to articles in several major German newspapers the the EC
(European Communinity) secretaries of telecommunications have ruled
that by January 1st, 1998 all national telephone mono- polies will be
abandoned. By that day national and international telephone network
operators will be allowed to offer national and international
telephone service in all EC member countries.

By the end of 1994 the ONP (Open Network Provisions) for telephone
service (technical, billing, access charges, ... ) will be defined, so
that interested companies may begin their planning of their net-
works.

Another article states that access to the EC telephone market may be
blocked to non EC companies (AT&T, MCI, SPRINT, ... ). This would
definitely limit the competition quite significantly.

Major proponents of this liberalisation are the UK and the
Netherlands.  Both countries have privatised (or to be privatised)
national telephone companies. The UK is the only EC country to have
telephone competion for several years.

A major opponent of this plan was France. But France came to the con-
clusion, that their national telephone operator FRANCE TELECOM has one
of the best European networks, so that competition is no longer a
problem for them.

Germany has accepted this plan, since it gave TELEKOM the chance to
complete their effort in building an efficient telephone and datacom
infra-structure in Eastern Germany.

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

From: [e-mail] (Erik E. Rantapaa)
Subject: Harmonic Modulation -- Anyone Hear of it?
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 17:10:49 GMT


A friend of mine told me about a new method of data transmission
called "harmonic modulation" or something like that.  Unfortunately he
couldn't remember any of the details, although supposedly it was
reported on in _Byte_ a couple of years ago.  Does anyone know about
this?  Does anyone know what kind of increase in channel throughput it
brings?  Does anyone know if it is being used right now or will ever
be used?  Inquiring minds want to know.


Much obliged,

Erik Rantapaa    [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 13:23:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bill Phelps <[e-mail]>
Subject: Information Wanted on CableLabs


Bellcore (the research arm of the RBOCs) is an execllent source of
telecom reference material.

I understand that the cable industry has a similar research
organization, CableLabs, but I don't know anything about it.  Does it
sell any research documents or other information?  Where is it
located? How big is it?

Any information would be appreciated.


Bill Phelps  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Barnett)
Subject: Sign o' The Times
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 13:04:16 CDT


If you look carefully between the frames of "Dilbert", a daily
syndicated cartoon by Scott Adams about the life of an engineer in an
average corporation, you will find the following inscription:

    E-Mail:  [e-mail]


Paul Barnett
MPP OS Development     (214)-497-4846
Convex Computer Corp.  Richardson, TX

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #320
******************************










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To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #322

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 13 May 93 00:34:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 322

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area (Jonathan Welch)
    NET Pamphlet on Caller-ID For 508/617/413 Area (Jonathan Welch)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Steve Forrette)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Carl Moore)
    Re: Blocking Call Returns (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Modem Certification Process - Europe (Jan Ceuleers)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Michael Rosen)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Vance Shipley)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12 May 1993 08:23:35 -0500
From: Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
Subject: NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area


Because of the rapid growth of communications services such as fax
machines, computer lines, cellular telephones and regular telephonel
ines, the country is running out of area codes. As a result of a plan
to create additional area codes, New England Telephone, along with
phone companies throughout North America, is changing the way certain
calls are made.  The dialing changes will be introduced in two phases,
and the implementation will be done on a central-office-by-central-
office basis within each area code across the five-state New England
Telephone operating area.

Although the way you dial some calls may change, there will be no
change in either rates or your local calling area. A local call still
will be a local call -- a toll call still will be a toll call.

PHASE ONE - ALL DIRECTLY DIALED CALLS TO A DIFFERENT AREA CODE

For customers in the 413 Area Code, the first phase begins March 1,
1993. You should at that time dial "1," the area code and the
seven-digit telephone number to directly dial any number in a
different area code. While this is no change for most of our
customers, it will affect some. Those whose local calling area extends
across an area code boundary, and who previously could make local
calls to that differ- ent area code by dialing only seven digits will
new be required to dial the "1," the area code and the seven-digit
number to complete this local call.

If your local calling area includes customers in another area code,
you should now begin dialing your local calls to the other area code
by using the "1," the area code and the seven-digit number. Until
April 8, 1993 there will be a "permissive dialing period" during which
both the old and the new dialing procedures will work. This dialing
procedure for all calls to another area code will become mandatory on
April 8, 1993.

If you have any question about which exchanges are included within
your local calling area, please consult the introductory White Pages
of your NYNEX telephone directory.

PHASE TWO - ALL DIRECTLY DIALED CALLS WITHIN YOUR AREA CODE AND
CUSTOMER-DIALED, OPERATOR-ASSISTED CALLS

The second phase of the dialing changes involves calls made to numbers
within your own area code and all directly dialed calls requiring
operator assistance or the use of a calling card.

For directly dialed calls to any number within the same area code,
you'll only have to dial the seven-digit phone number that you're
calling.  It won't make any difference whether the call is inside or
outside your local calling area, or a local or toll call. As long as
it's within the area code that you're in, you'll only dial seven
digits. With this dialing change, a "1" is not necessarily a sign of a
toll call.

Since you will no longer be dialing "1" before toll calls within your
area code, you should know if the call is a local call or a toll call
before you dial it. If you are unsure of your local calling area,
please refer to the introductory White Pages of your NYNEX telephone
directory where you will find a list of exchanges included in your
local calling area. If a directory is not available, you can receive a
copy of any Massachusetts directory by calling your New England
Telephone business office. The telephone number is listed on page one
of your monthly telephone bill.

Again, we remind you that when calling any number within your area
code, your local calling area and the rates will not change as a
result of these changes in the dialing procedures. You just won't need
to dial a "1" before the number when you make a toll call.

CUSTOMER-DIALED, OPERATOR-ASSISTED CALLS

For operator-assisted calls (calling card, collect, or calls billed to
a third party) you must always dial "0" plus the area code and the
seven-digit telephone number. This is the case no matter where you're
calling, your own area code included.

We want to alert all of our residence and business customers well in
advance so that, at the appropriate time, you can make any changes to
your telephone services (Speed Calling, Call Forwarding, automatic
dialers, alarm or medical dialers) and business telephone systems (PBX
routing or blocking) that may be required.

Because each central office will be converted independently of the
others, we have included a schedule of office conversions for your
entire area code as a part of this notice. This should assist you in
any planning, or in scheduling any equipment reprogramming or
replacement that you may require.

The work within each central office will take approximately a week to
ten days to complete.  During that period it may be possible for some
customers to complete calls using the new dialing procedures, but we
recommend that you continue using the current procedures until the
date listed in the "Permissive Period Begins" column on the
accompanying schedule.

The office-by-office schedule includes the date that the work will be
completed, starting the permissive dialing period for that office.
Once the permissive period has started, we recommend that you
re-program any services or equipment that may require reprogramming.
You should then begin using the new procedures so that when the
permissive period ends on September 21, 1993, your calls will be
completed without interruption or the need to redial.

  If you have questions about your telecommunications equipment,
please contact an equipment sales and service company that serves your
area. If you have questions about the dialing pattern changes, please
call New England Telephone at 1 800-555-5000, ext. 208. We want to
make this transition as easy as possible for you.


        NUMBERS BEGIN      PERMISSIVE
EXCHANGE    WITH        PERIOD BEGINS

Adams        743        Apr. 16, 1993
Agawam        786, 789    Feb. 7, 1993
Amherst      253, 256, 259, 542,    May 2, 1993
      545, 546, 548, 549
Ashfield    628        May 9, 1993
Becket        623        Apr. 16, 1993
Belchertown    323        May 23, 1993
Bernardston    648        May 9, 1993
Blandford    848        May 23, 1993
Brimfield    245        May 23, 1993
Charlemont    339        May 9, 1993
Chester        354        May 23, 1993
Chesterfield    296        May 2, 1993
Chicopee  557, 592, 593, 594,    Jun. 7, 1993
        598
Colrain        624        May 9, 1993
Conway        369        May 2, 1993
Cummington    634        May 2, 1993
Dalton        684        Apr. 16, 1993
E. Longmeadow    525        Jun. 7, 1993
Easthampton    527, 529    May 9, 1993
Gilbertville    477        May 23, 1993
Granville    357        May 23, 1993
GreatBarrington    528        Apr. 25, 1993
Greenfield  772, 773, 774    May 9, 1993
Hampden        566        May 23, 1993
Hatfield    247        May 2, 1993
Heath        337        May 9, 1993
Hinsdale    655        Apr. 16, 1993
Holyoke    530, 531, 532, 533,    Feb. 7, 1993
    534, 535, 536, 538,
        539
Housatonic    274        Apr. 25, 1993
Huntington    667        May 23, 1993
Indian Orchard    543        Jun. 21, 1993
Lee        243        Apr. 16, 1993
Lenox        637        Apr. 16, 1993
Longmeadow    567        May 23, 1993
Ludlow       547, 583, 589    Jun. 21, 1993
Millers Falls    659        May 9, 1993
Monroe Bridge    424        May 9, 1993
Monson        267        Feb.6, 1993
Montague    367        May 9, 1993
North Adams    662, 663, 664    Apr. 25, 1993
Northampton  582, 584, 585, 586    May 2, 1993
Northfield    498        May 9, 1993
Otis        269        May 23, 1993
Palmer    283, 284, 289        May 23, 1993
Pittsfield  442, 443, 445, 446,    Apr. 16, 1993
        447, 448, 494, 499
Russell        862        Feb. 6, 1993
Sandisfield    258        May 23, 1993
Sheffield    229        Apr. 25, 1993
Shelburne Falls    625        May 9, 1993
South Deerfield    665        May 2, 1993
Southwick    569        May 23, 1993
Springfield 782, 783, 796    Jun. 7, 1993
Springfield 730, 731, 732, 733,    Jun. 21, 1993
        734, 735, 736, 737,
        739, 781, 784, 785,
        787, 788
Springfield 293, 744, 746, 747,    Jun. 21, 1993
        748
Stockbridge    298        Apr. 25, 1993
Turners Falls    863        May 9, 1993
Ware        967        May 23, 1993
Warren        436        May 23, 1993
West Stockbridge 232        Apr. 25, 1993
Westfield    562, 568, 572    Feb. 6, 1993
Wilbraham    596, 599    Jun. 21, 1993
Williamsburg    268        May 2, 1993
Williamstown    458,597        Apr. 25, 1993
Worthington    238        May 2, 1993

The Permissive Period for All Exchanges Ends September 21, 1993


New England Telephone
A NYNEX Company

MA 413 2/93

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

Date: 12 May 1993 08:24:08 -0500
From: Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
Subject: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area


Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
new call management service. This service, called PHONESMART, includes
the features explained below.

CallerID allows customers to see the telephone number of incoming
calls without lifting the receiver. Your number (published or
non-published) is only displayed to a person you call within the
PHONESMART-equipped service area who has subscribed to the Caller ID
feature. As has always been the case, non-published numbers will not
appear in the NYNEX telephone directory, nor will they be given out
through directory assistance or provided to the general public.  The
monthly charge forCaller ID is $4.95.

Special Display Equipment Required: A special unit (purchased
separately) displays the telephone number of each incoming call along
with the date and the time. New England Telephone does not sell the
Caller ID display device. Such equipment can be purchased through
retail stores that sell telephones.

CallerID Blocking: For various reasons you may not want your telephone
number to be seen by the person you are calling. In response to this
concern, New England Telephone is offering Per-Call Blocking, a free
method of "Blocking" the transmission of your telephone number to the
CallerID display device. Your line is already equipped for Per-Call
Blocking.  All you have to do is push *67 on a touch-tone phone or
diall 1167 on a rotary/pulse phone before dialing the call you want
blocked.

In addition, free Line Blocking is also available. Once added to your
line, Line Blocking automatically blocks your telephone number from
being passed to a CallerID subscriber on all calls. Line Blocking is
available by simply calling your service representative weekdays
between 8.30a.m. and 5:00p.m. at 1 800 555-5000 extension 205, and
asking to have Line Blocking added to your line.

Calls from a phone with Line Blocking can be unblocked on a call by
call basis. To unblock each call, the caller with Line Blocking must
push *67 on a touch-tone phone or dial 1167 on a rotary/pulse phone
beforemaking a call.

It's Time You Got PHONESMART --

CallerID is only one of the PHONESMART features available in your
area. We also offer Repeat Dialing and Call Return on a monthly
subscription basis. And Call Trace is already on your line, ready to
use now.

Repeat Dialing automatically checks a busy line without tying up your
phone.  When the line you called is no longer busy, Repeat Dialing
alerts you with a special ring and puts the call through when you pick
up the phone. The monthly charge is $2.25.

Call Return allows you to return your last incoming call, whether you
were able to get to the phone or not. This feature lets you dial a
special code to automatically return the last incoming call you
received.  The monthly charge is $2.25.

Repeat Dialing and Call Return are also available as a package for
just $3.95 a month.

Don't Let An Obscene Call Get Away Without A Trace.

Call Trace helps put an end to obscene and harassing phone calls. Best
of all, it's already on your phone line, ready to use now.

After receiving a harassing call, hang up, then pick up the phone.
When you hear the dial tone, you simply press *57 on a touchtone phone
(dial 1157 on a rotary/pulse telephone). Stay on the line and upon
completion of the trace, we'll record the caller's number, time and
date of the call, and direct you to contact our Annoyance Call Bureau
for further instructions. Unless it receives a call from you after
each Call Trace, the Annoyance Call Bureau will take no action.

Call Trace can only trace the last call you received; if you get
another call before you press *57, the system will trace the second
call and not the one you wished to trace.

What Happens Next?

Our Annoyance Call Bureau will keep a file of your traced calls for 30
days. If two harassing calls are traced back to the same number within
that period, you'll be notified by mail about how to follow up with
the local law enforcement authorities. You will not, however, receive
the number of the person who called you.

How Much Does It Cost?

You pay for Call Trace only when you use it. You will be billed $3.25
for each call that is successfully traced. In addition, should two
calls be traced to the same number within a thirty-day period, a $5
case preparation fee will be added to your bill. If you have any
questions, call your service representative at the telephone number
listed on the New England Telephone Itemization of Account page of
your bill.

PHONESMART features are available and only work on calls which
originate and terminate in PHONESMART equipped areas within Eastern
Massachusetts (508/617 area codes) as follows:

(508 Area Code) 281, 282, 283, 468, 524, 525,
526, 530, 531, 532, 535, 546, 740, 741, 744, 745,
750, 762, 768, 774, 777, 921, 922, 927, 977;

(617 Area Code) 224, 231, 233, 245, 246, 255,
279, 296, 298, 320, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329,
331, 333, 334, 335, 337, 340, 356, 361, 362, 364,
376, 380, 383, 438, 461, 462, 469, 471, 472, 479,
544, 545, 551, 575, 581, 586, 592, 593, 594, 595,
596, 598, 599, 631, 639, 696, 698, 740, 749, 762,
767, 769, 770, 773, 774, 786, 821, 828, 843, 847,
848, 849, 925, 961, 963, 984, 985, 986.

PHONESMART features are available and only work on calls which
originate and terminate in PHONESMART equipped areas within Western
Massachusetts (413 area code) as follows:

(413 Area Code) 238, 247, 253, 256, 259, 268,
296, 337, 339, 367, 369, 498, 542, 545, 546, 548,
549, 582, 584, 585, 586, 624, 625, 628, 634, 648,
659, 772, 773, 774, 863.

PHONESMART services are not available on PBX trunks, foreign exchanges
and foreign central office services.


New England Telephone
A NYNEX Company
New England Telephone recycles    MA 4/93

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 12 May 1993 07:24:03 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> Darren Eslke <elskedar@u.
washington.edu> writes:

> I was refering to the forcing everyone in the area code to dial the
> area code, to get us used to dialing the extra digits.  I heard
> thatthe area code will s plit sometime this year.  Seattle metro area
> is big, and expanding fast.

The 1 + ten digits requirement has been in effect in 206 for
intra-area code calls for about a year now.  That freed up all of the
NXX prefixes to be assigned, which should last us until after the
1/1/95 cutover to the improved numbering plan.  I doubt there will be
a split before then.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 10:08:29 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon


Yes, I had already noted that in 206, you have to dial 1 + NPA + 7D
for all long distance, even within 206.  That by itself does not
constitute a first step to an area code split, but it does stave off a
split (by letting prefixes generalize from NNX to NXX), and if
prefixes run short when they already are of NXX form, THEN a split is
necessary.  I also had received word that 509 will go to these same
instructions when it's time to prepare for NXX area codes.  The
concern is that area codes can't generalize from N0X/N1X to NXX until
Jan. 1, 1995, because switches in the NANP are supposed to be able to
handle them by then (you write of 206 splitting sometime THIS year,
and we still have to get through 1994 before the area code shortage
can be relieved).

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Blocking Call Returns (Call Block Should work For Anonymous Calls)
Date: 12 May 1993 07:35:19 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> Caller: (telemarketing from home) #67 + Callee Number

> Callee: Who is this bozo calling me during dinner? I'll call return him
>    and give him an earful. (#69)

> Caller: I don't want this Jerk to bother me, I'm just trying to sell
>    aluminum siding. #68 (Call Block the last number that called me.)

> [Moderator's Note: The flaw in your plan is that there has to be at
> least one call back from the unhappy customer before the telemarketer
> can add the 'last call recieved' to his denial list, unless he chooses
> to add them as he goes along, which would be unproductive. So he has
> to get hung up on, then called back by the sassy customer before he
> can add it on the basis of 'last call received'.   PAT]

A good way to accomplish this for the telemarketer is to get a
separate line to make the telemarketing calls.  Have no ringers on it,
so the callees can Call Return all they want.  If the telemarketer
doesn't want to even have his line busy for a moment, he can also get
Call Forwarding and deflect the Call Returns to a non-working number.
Of course, this will not prevent Call Trace from being able to track
him down, but that's the way it should be.  If the telemarketer is
doing something sufficiently nasty so as to be illegal, it's nice that
there's now a way for them to get caught.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jan Ceuleers 3145)
Subject: Re: Modem Certification Process - Europe
Date: 12 May 93 08:44:04 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jan Ceuleers 3145)
Organization: Alcatel Bell Telephone, Antwerpen, Belgium


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

> Does anybody know of companies or organizations which handle the PTT
> certification procedures for modems in Europe? Germany and France
> are of particular interest, as well as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and
> Italy. I don't think there's an EC-wide certification process, but if
> one does exist, then any contacts who deals with that would also be
> much appreciated.

I know of no such companies or organizations. Moreover, PTTs require
the coordinates of a representative of the manufacturer within the EC.
This effectively means that if you wish to sell modems in Europe, you
must do so through European representation.


Jan   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 04:34:37 GMT


[e-mail] (Justin Leavens) writes:

> I would believe the figure that 20% of all dialed calls are not
> completed (especially when I lived in GTEland, but that's another
> story), but I would guess that 20% customer error is a slightly
> inflated marketing number. What I don't understand is why the voice
> dialer is 90% accurate? Is it 90% accurate at recognizing the name
> spoken, or is it 90% accurate at dialing the number after it figures
> out who you want to dial? I mean, machines are only as perfect as
> those who program them ...

This reminds me of a scene in Steve Martin's "L.A. Story." He attempts
to tell the voice-activated phone to dial somewhere (I forget where)
and I think it continues to dial something like Dominos ... it's been
a while since I've seen the movie so I don't remember the specifics.


Mike

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

From: [e-mail] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: Xenitec Consulting, Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 12:30:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> sceard!newline!steve@
UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) asks:

> Why do COs have no windows?

The single PBX room I have worked in which had windows explained this
for me.  When I entered the room I thought "Wow, this is nice and
sunny, what a change".  A few minutes later I discovered that all the
markings on the MDF were faded away to illegible smears!


Vance Shipley, [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #322
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From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #322
Status: RO

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 13 May 93 00:34:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 322

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area (Jonathan Welch)
    NET Pamphlet on Caller-ID For 508/617/413 Area (Jonathan Welch)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Steve Forrette)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Carl Moore)
    Re: Blocking Call Returns (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Modem Certification Process - Europe (Jan Ceuleers)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Michael Rosen)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Vance Shipley)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12 May 1993 08:23:35 -0500
From: Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
Subject: NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area


Because of the rapid growth of communications services such as fax
machines, computer lines, cellular telephones and regular telephonel
ines, the country is running out of area codes. As a result of a plan
to create additional area codes, New England Telephone, along with
phone companies throughout North America, is changing the way certain
calls are made.  The dialing changes will be introduced in two phases,
and the implementation will be done on a central-office-by-central-
office basis within each area code across the five-state New England
Telephone operating area.

Although the way you dial some calls may change, there will be no
change in either rates or your local calling area. A local call still
will be a local call -- a toll call still will be a toll call.

PHASE ONE - ALL DIRECTLY DIALED CALLS TO A DIFFERENT AREA CODE

For customers in the 413 Area Code, the first phase begins March 1,
1993. You should at that time dial "1," the area code and the
seven-digit telephone number to directly dial any number in a
different area code. While this is no change for most of our
customers, it will affect some. Those whose local calling area extends
across an area code boundary, and who previously could make local
calls to that differ- ent area code by dialing only seven digits will
new be required to dial the "1," the area code and the seven-digit
number to complete this local call.

If your local calling area includes customers in another area code,
you should now begin dialing your local calls to the other area code
by using the "1," the area code and the seven-digit number. Until
April 8, 1993 there will be a "permissive dialing period" during which
both the old and the new dialing procedures will work. This dialing
procedure for all calls to another area code will become mandatory on
April 8, 1993.

If you have any question about which exchanges are included within
your local calling area, please consult the introductory White Pages
of your NYNEX telephone directory.

PHASE TWO - ALL DIRECTLY DIALED CALLS WITHIN YOUR AREA CODE AND
CUSTOMER-DIALED, OPERATOR-ASSISTED CALLS

The second phase of the dialing changes involves calls made to numbers
within your own area code and all directly dialed calls requiring
operator assistance or the use of a calling card.

For directly dialed calls to any number within the same area code,
you'll only have to dial the seven-digit phone number that you're
calling.  It won't make any difference whether the call is inside or
outside your local calling area, or a local or toll call. As long as
it's within the area code that you're in, you'll only dial seven
digits. With this dialing change, a "1" is not necessarily a sign of a
toll call.

Since you will no longer be dialing "1" before toll calls within your
area code, you should know if the call is a local call or a toll call
before you dial it. If you are unsure of your local calling area,
please refer to the introductory White Pages of your NYNEX telephone
directory where you will find a list of exchanges included in your
local calling area. If a directory is not available, you can receive a
copy of any Massachusetts directory by calling your New England
Telephone business office. The telephone number is listed on page one
of your monthly telephone bill.

Again, we remind you that when calling any number within your area
code, your local calling area and the rates will not change as a
result of these changes in the dialing procedures. You just won't need
to dial a "1" before the number when you make a toll call.

CUSTOMER-DIALED, OPERATOR-ASSISTED CALLS

For operator-assisted calls (calling card, collect, or calls billed to
a third party) you must always dial "0" plus the area code and the
seven-digit telephone number. This is the case no matter where you're
calling, your own area code included.

We want to alert all of our residence and business customers well in
advance so that, at the appropriate time, you can make any changes to
your telephone services (Speed Calling, Call Forwarding, automatic
dialers, alarm or medical dialers) and business telephone systems (PBX
routing or blocking) that may be required.

Because each central office will be converted independently of the
others, we have included a schedule of office conversions for your
entire area code as a part of this notice. This should assist you in
any planning, or in scheduling any equipment reprogramming or
replacement that you may require.

The work within each central office will take approximately a week to
ten days to complete.  During that period it may be possible for some
customers to complete calls using the new dialing procedures, but we
recommend that you continue using the current procedures until the
date listed in the "Permissive Period Begins" column on the
accompanying schedule.

The office-by-office schedule includes the date that the work will be
completed, starting the permissive dialing period for that office.
Once the permissive period has started, we recommend that you
re-program any services or equipment that may require reprogramming.
You should then begin using the new procedures so that when the
permissive period ends on September 21, 1993, your calls will be
completed without interruption or the need to redial.

  If you have questions about your telecommunications equipment,
please contact an equipment sales and service company that serves your
area. If you have questions about the dialing pattern changes, please
call New England Telephone at 1 800-555-5000, ext. 208. We want to
make this transition as easy as possible for you.


        NUMBERS BEGIN      PERMISSIVE
EXCHANGE    WITH        PERIOD BEGINS

Adams        743        Apr. 16, 1993
Agawam        786, 789    Feb. 7, 1993
Amherst      253, 256, 259, 542,    May 2, 1993
      545, 546, 548, 549
Ashfield    628        May 9, 1993
Becket        623        Apr. 16, 1993
Belchertown    323        May 23, 1993
Bernardston    648        May 9, 1993
Blandford    848        May 23, 1993
Brimfield    245        May 23, 1993
Charlemont    339        May 9, 1993
Chester        354        May 23, 1993
Chesterfield    296        May 2, 1993
Chicopee  557, 592, 593, 594,    Jun. 7, 1993
        598
Colrain        624        May 9, 1993
Conway        369        May 2, 1993
Cummington    634        May 2, 1993
Dalton        684        Apr. 16, 1993
E. Longmeadow    525        Jun. 7, 1993
Easthampton    527, 529    May 9, 1993
Gilbertville    477        May 23, 1993
Granville    357        May 23, 1993
GreatBarrington    528        Apr. 25, 1993
Greenfield  772, 773, 774    May 9, 1993
Hampden        566        May 23, 1993
Hatfield    247        May 2, 1993
Heath        337        May 9, 1993
Hinsdale    655        Apr. 16, 1993
Holyoke    530, 531, 532, 533,    Feb. 7, 1993
    534, 535, 536, 538,
        539
Housatonic    274        Apr. 25, 1993
Huntington    667        May 23, 1993
Indian Orchard    543        Jun. 21, 1993
Lee        243        Apr. 16, 1993
Lenox        637        Apr. 16, 1993
Longmeadow    567        May 23, 1993
Ludlow       547, 583, 589    Jun. 21, 1993
Millers Falls    659        May 9, 1993
Monroe Bridge    424        May 9, 1993
Monson        267        Feb.6, 1993
Montague    367        May 9, 1993
North Adams    662, 663, 664    Apr. 25, 1993
Northampton  582, 584, 585, 586    May 2, 1993
Northfield    498        May 9, 1993
Otis        269        May 23, 1993
Palmer    283, 284, 289        May 23, 1993
Pittsfield  442, 443, 445, 446,    Apr. 16, 1993
        447, 448, 494, 499
Russell        862        Feb. 6, 1993
Sandisfield    258        May 23, 1993
Sheffield    229        Apr. 25, 1993
Shelburne Falls    625        May 9, 1993
South Deerfield    665        May 2, 1993
Southwick    569        May 23, 1993
Springfield 782, 783, 796    Jun. 7, 1993
Springfield 730, 731, 732, 733,    Jun. 21, 1993
        734, 735, 736, 737,
        739, 781, 784, 785,
        787, 788
Springfield 293, 744, 746, 747,    Jun. 21, 1993
        748
Stockbridge    298        Apr. 25, 1993
Turners Falls    863        May 9, 1993
Ware        967        May 23, 1993
Warren        436        May 23, 1993
West Stockbridge 232        Apr. 25, 1993
Westfield    562, 568, 572    Feb. 6, 1993
Wilbraham    596, 599    Jun. 21, 1993
Williamsburg    268        May 2, 1993
Williamstown    458,597        Apr. 25, 1993
Worthington    238        May 2, 1993

The Permissive Period for All Exchanges Ends September 21, 1993


New England Telephone
A NYNEX Company

MA 413 2/93

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

Date: 12 May 1993 08:24:08 -0500
From: Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
Subject: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area


Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
new call management service. This service, called PHONESMART, includes
the features explained below.

CallerID allows customers to see the telephone number of incoming
calls without lifting the receiver. Your number (published or
non-published) is only displayed to a person you call within the
PHONESMART-equipped service area who has subscribed to the Caller ID
feature. As has always been the case, non-published numbers will not
appear in the NYNEX telephone directory, nor will they be given out
through directory assistance or provided to the general public.  The
monthly charge forCaller ID is $4.95.

Special Display Equipment Required: A special unit (purchased
separately) displays the telephone number of each incoming call along
with the date and the time. New England Telephone does not sell the
Caller ID display device. Such equipment can be purchased through
retail stores that sell telephones.

CallerID Blocking: For various reasons you may not want your telephone
number to be seen by the person you are calling. In response to this
concern, New England Telephone is offering Per-Call Blocking, a free
method of "Blocking" the transmission of your telephone number to the
CallerID display device. Your line is already equipped for Per-Call
Blocking.  All you have to do is push *67 on a touch-tone phone or
diall 1167 on a rotary/pulse phone before dialing the call you want
blocked.

In addition, free Line Blocking is also available. Once added to your
line, Line Blocking automatically blocks your telephone number from
being passed to a CallerID subscriber on all calls. Line Blocking is
available by simply calling your service representative weekdays
between 8.30a.m. and 5:00p.m. at 1 800 555-5000 extension 205, and
asking to have Line Blocking added to your line.

Calls from a phone with Line Blocking can be unblocked on a call by
call basis. To unblock each call, the caller with Line Blocking must
push *67 on a touch-tone phone or dial 1167 on a rotary/pulse phone
beforemaking a call.

It's Time You Got PHONESMART --

CallerID is only one of the PHONESMART features available in your
area. We also offer Repeat Dialing and Call Return on a monthly
subscription basis. And Call Trace is already on your line, ready to
use now.

Repeat Dialing automatically checks a busy line without tying up your
phone.  When the line you called is no longer busy, Repeat Dialing
alerts you with a special ring and puts the call through when you pick
up the phone. The monthly charge is $2.25.

Call Return allows you to return your last incoming call, whether you
were able to get to the phone or not. This feature lets you dial a
special code to automatically return the last incoming call you
received.  The monthly charge is $2.25.

Repeat Dialing and Call Return are also available as a package for
just $3.95 a month.

Don't Let An Obscene Call Get Away Without A Trace.

Call Trace helps put an end to obscene and harassing phone calls. Best
of all, it's already on your phone line, ready to use now.

After receiving a harassing call, hang up, then pick up the phone.
When you hear the dial tone, you simply press *57 on a touchtone phone
(dial 1157 on a rotary/pulse telephone). Stay on the line and upon
completion of the trace, we'll record the caller's number, time and
date of the call, and direct you to contact our Annoyance Call Bureau
for further instructions. Unless it receives a call from you after
each Call Trace, the Annoyance Call Bureau will take no action.

Call Trace can only trace the last call you received; if you get
another call before you press *57, the system will trace the second
call and not the one you wished to trace.

What Happens Next?

Our Annoyance Call Bureau will keep a file of your traced calls for 30
days. If two harassing calls are traced back to the same number within
that period, you'll be notified by mail about how to follow up with
the local law enforcement authorities. You will not, however, receive
the number of the person who called you.

How Much Does It Cost?

You pay for Call Trace only when you use it. You will be billed $3.25
for each call that is successfully traced. In addition, should two
calls be traced to the same number within a thirty-day period, a $5
case preparation fee will be added to your bill. If you have any
questions, call your service representative at the telephone number
listed on the New England Telephone Itemization of Account page of
your bill.

PHONESMART features are available and only work on calls which
originate and terminate in PHONESMART equipped areas within Eastern
Massachusetts (508/617 area codes) as follows:

(508 Area Code) 281, 282, 283, 468, 524, 525,
526, 530, 531, 532, 535, 546, 740, 741, 744, 745,
750, 762, 768, 774, 777, 921, 922, 927, 977;

(617 Area Code) 224, 231, 233, 245, 246, 255,
279, 296, 298, 320, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329,
331, 333, 334, 335, 337, 340, 356, 361, 362, 364,
376, 380, 383, 438, 461, 462, 469, 471, 472, 479,
544, 545, 551, 575, 581, 586, 592, 593, 594, 595,
596, 598, 599, 631, 639, 696, 698, 740, 749, 762,
767, 769, 770, 773, 774, 786, 821, 828, 843, 847,
848, 849, 925, 961, 963, 984, 985, 986.

PHONESMART features are available and only work on calls which
originate and terminate in PHONESMART equipped areas within Western
Massachusetts (413 area code) as follows:

(413 Area Code) 238, 247, 253, 256, 259, 268,
296, 337, 339, 367, 369, 498, 542, 545, 546, 548,
549, 582, 584, 585, 586, 624, 625, 628, 634, 648,
659, 772, 773, 774, 863.

PHONESMART services are not available on PBX trunks, foreign exchanges
and foreign central office services.


New England Telephone
A NYNEX Company
New England Telephone recycles    MA 4/93

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 12 May 1993 07:24:03 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> Darren Eslke <elskedar@u.
washington.edu> writes:

> I was refering to the forcing everyone in the area code to dial the
> area code, to get us used to dialing the extra digits.  I heard
> thatthe area code will s plit sometime this year.  Seattle metro area
> is big, and expanding fast.

The 1 + ten digits requirement has been in effect in 206 for
intra-area code calls for about a year now.  That freed up all of the
NXX prefixes to be assigned, which should last us until after the
1/1/95 cutover to the improved numbering plan.  I doubt there will be
a split before then.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 10:08:29 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon


Yes, I had already noted that in 206, you have to dial 1 + NPA + 7D
for all long distance, even within 206.  That by itself does not
constitute a first step to an area code split, but it does stave off a
split (by letting prefixes generalize from NNX to NXX), and if
prefixes run short when they already are of NXX form, THEN a split is
necessary.  I also had received word that 509 will go to these same
instructions when it's time to prepare for NXX area codes.  The
concern is that area codes can't generalize from N0X/N1X to NXX until
Jan. 1, 1995, because switches in the NANP are supposed to be able to
handle them by then (you write of 206 splitting sometime THIS year,
and we still have to get through 1994 before the area code shortage
can be relieved).

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Blocking Call Returns (Call Block Should work For Anonymous Calls)
Date: 12 May 1993 07:35:19 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> Caller: (telemarketing from home) #67 + Callee Number

> Callee: Who is this bozo calling me during dinner? I'll call return him
>    and give him an earful. (#69)

> Caller: I don't want this Jerk to bother me, I'm just trying to sell
>    aluminum siding. #68 (Call Block the last number that called me.)

> [Moderator's Note: The flaw in your plan is that there has to be at
> least one call back from the unhappy customer before the telemarketer
> can add the 'last call recieved' to his denial list, unless he chooses
> to add them as he goes along, which would be unproductive. So he has
> to get hung up on, then called back by the sassy customer before he
> can add it on the basis of 'last call received'.   PAT]

A good way to accomplish this for the telemarketer is to get a
separate line to make the telemarketing calls.  Have no ringers on it,
so the callees can Call Return all they want.  If the telemarketer
doesn't want to even have his line busy for a moment, he can also get
Call Forwarding and deflect the Call Returns to a non-working number.
Of course, this will not prevent Call Trace from being able to track
him down, but that's the way it should be.  If the telemarketer is
doing something sufficiently nasty so as to be illegal, it's nice that
there's now a way for them to get caught.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jan Ceuleers 3145)
Subject: Re: Modem Certification Process - Europe
Date: 12 May 93 08:44:04 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jan Ceuleers 3145)
Organization: Alcatel Bell Telephone, Antwerpen, Belgium


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

> Does anybody know of companies or organizations which handle the PTT
> certification procedures for modems in Europe? Germany and France
> are of particular interest, as well as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and
> Italy. I don't think there's an EC-wide certification process, but if
> one does exist, then any contacts who deals with that would also be
> much appreciated.

I know of no such companies or organizations. Moreover, PTTs require
the coordinates of a representative of the manufacturer within the EC.
This effectively means that if you wish to sell modems in Europe, you
must do so through European representation.


Jan   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 04:34:37 GMT


[e-mail] (Justin Leavens) writes:

> I would believe the figure that 20% of all dialed calls are not
> completed (especially when I lived in GTEland, but that's another
> story), but I would guess that 20% customer error is a slightly
> inflated marketing number. What I don't understand is why the voice
> dialer is 90% accurate? Is it 90% accurate at recognizing the name
> spoken, or is it 90% accurate at dialing the number after it figures
> out who you want to dial? I mean, machines are only as perfect as
> those who program them ...

This reminds me of a scene in Steve Martin's "L.A. Story." He attempts
to tell the voice-activated phone to dial somewhere (I forget where)
and I think it continues to dial something like Dominos ... it's been
a while since I've seen the movie so I don't remember the specifics.


Mike

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

From: [e-mail] (Vance Shipley)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: Xenitec Consulting, Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 12:30:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> sceard!newline!steve@
UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) asks:

> Why do COs have no windows?

The single PBX room I have worked in which had windows explained this
for me.  When I entered the room I thought "Wow, this is nice and
sunny, what a change".  A few minutes later I discovered that all the
markings on the MDF were faded away to illegible smears!


Vance Shipley, [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #322
******************************












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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #324

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 13 May 93 04:01:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 324

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Floyd Davidson)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Ron Bean)
    Re: Ignorance, Clipper and the FBI (Greg Andrews)
    Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Subsidized Cell Phone? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: The Perils of Caller-ID -- A Question (Elana Beach)
    Hunting on Residential Lines (Jeff Hibbard)
    Help Identifying the Origin of a FAX (Bill Fenner)
    BellSouth and Caller-ID (Ken Jongsma)
    TIE Communications TC-12 Phone Sets (Matt McConnell)
    Pulse on POTS Lines? (Shawn Herzinger)
    How Can I Dial an 800 Number in Another State? (Ben Alexander)
    The Case of the Trojan ATM (Patricia A. Dunkin)
    Manitoba Personal Telephone Number (Randy Gellens)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
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The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
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Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
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Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
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All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
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love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Floyd Davidson)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 07:57:07 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Vance
Shipley) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> sceard!newline!steve@
> UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) asks:

>> Why do COs have no windows?

> The single PBX room I have worked in which had windows explained this
> for me.  When I entered the room I thought "Wow, this is nice and
> sunny, what a change".  A few minutes later I discovered that all the
> markings on the MDF were faded away to illegible smears!

I worked many years in an equipment room that had small windows at
about the eight foot level.  Along one side of the building were all
of the battery plants.  And after about 20 years of warm summer days
when the sun shown through those windows for just a few hours directly
on the top tier (of three) of the +130 volt string, bingo, one
broke ... and after 21 years the battery next to that one broke ...
and that is when we got smart and blocked off the windows.

Perhaps there is no way to describe the feeling one gets doing station
checks and discovering several gallons of battery acid has splattered
the wall and two lower levels of batteries, and then pooled on the
floor over a roughly 15' semi-circle out from the wall.

Then after a little thought as to how lucky it was that the crack was
a ways up the side so that not all of the acid drained out ... which
might well have caused an explosion.

Now I work in a properly designed equipment room!  It has no windows.


Floyd
[e-mail]  A guest on the Institute of Marine Science computer
Salcha, Alaska        system at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

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

Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 20:49:29 -0500 (CDT)
From: Ron Bean <nicmad!madnix![e-mail]>


   OK, now we know why COs have no windows. What about the ones that
DO have them?

   A few blocks from here is a telco building built of brick (a bit
larger than a house), in a residential neighborhood. This area was
developed in the mid '50s, so that's probably when it was built. I
have always assumed that it is a CO (at least, it doesn't seem to be a
businesss office). It has no driveway or parking lot, although trucks
park in front of it from time to time. Part of the yard is fenced. And
it HAS WINDOWS. Even the front door is glass. What gives?


[e-mail] (Ron Bean)    uwvax!astroatc!nicmad!madnix!zaphod

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

From: [e-mail] (Greg Andrews)
Subject: Re: Ignorance, Clipper and the FBI
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 21:15:21 GMT


[e-mail] (Tom Gray) writes:

> [e-mail] (Greg Andrews) writes:

>> [e-mail] (Tom Gray) writes:

>>> The service provider will make the encrypted transmission avaiable to
>>> the FBI black box. In short the service provider must have the
>>> capability of isolating an individual's transmissions from all others.

>>> This is just the FBI Digital Network proposal in another form.  Aside
>>> from the fact that this proposal shows a complete ignorance of the
>>                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>> functioning of even today's network, it will severely hamper (even
>>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>> cripple) current efforts to create a broadband network. The
>>> possibility of the US functioning in the BISDN multimedia market will
>>> become exceedingly remote.

>> Perhaps I'm not understanding you correctly, but if the service
>> provider doesn't have the ability to isolate my transmissions from all
>> the others that pass through their equipment, how are my transmissions
>> able to reach their intended destination?

> One of the key parts of today's and tomorrow's network will be the
> private network.

  [explanation of how subscriber's data can be encrypted deleted]

As it turns out, I was just displaying my ignorance of how an
interface to a subscriber's analog phone line works.

I visualized the interface as consisting of an analog-to-digital
converter board with a unique identifier that is dedicated to the
subscriber's line 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  In that case, the
subscriber's traffic could be traced using the interface's unique ID.
Easy as cake.

However, in the real world it's wasteful to dedicate an expensive
interface circuit to a line that will sit idle for hours and days at a
time.  Instead, the analog interface boards are connected to the
subscribers' analog lines through a matrix of switches.  When a
subscriber picks up the phone, the equipment finds the next available
interface board and connects their line to that board through the
switch matrix.

As a result, the subscriber will usually be connected to a different
interface board for each call.  The only part of the network common to
all calls is the subscriber's wiring.  This makes my idea of a network
"sniffer" tapping all of a subscriber's calls extremely difficult, if
not impossible.

I was wrong, you were right.  It isn't feasable with the present network.

(Thanks to John Higdon for taking the time to educate me on the subject.)


Greg Andrews  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service
Date: 12 May 1993 07:29:58 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dale
Farmer) writes:

> Javier Henderson ([e-mail]) wrote:

>> Is it possible to have a calling card without having phone service in
>> one's name?

> I've had one of those AT&T cards I got when I was in the navy
> stationed aboard ship.

I had one for awhile last year, and always got a bill directly from
AT&T.  One of the nice changes they made about a year or two ago is
that you can now keep the same card number and switch it between
accounts.  So, the "nonsubscriber" calling card I had for awhile is
now attached to my home phone, such that I no longer get separate
bills but get billed on my regular LEC bill, all without changing the
calling card number.  You can switch the calling cards between
different billing lines, or between "attached" or "nonsubscriber"
status as much as you need to.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Subsidized Cell Phone?
Date: 12 May 1993 08:37:56 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> Wm. Bryant Faust, IV
<[e-mail]> writes:

> Is there a mail-order source for phones from California or any where
> else that sells phone cheap without required service?

This is very doubtful.  The deals in California whereby they sell the
equipment at cost are based on the assumption that most people will
sign up for service as well.  Since there's a 0% chance of an
out-of-state mail order purchaser signing up for service in the
California retailer's service area, I can't imagine any motivation for
the retailer to sell them by mail.  There's no law requiring anybody
to be in the mail order cellphone business.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Elana Beach)
Subject: Re: The Perils of Caller-ID -- A question
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 04:12:43 GMT


[e-mail] (Jim DePorter) writes:

> Portland OR started Caller-ID yesterday with Bell(?). My question is
> that I live under GTE lines. GTE doesn't start caller-ID until June.
> If I call Portland now will they see my number? Does *67 work even if
> caller-ID isn't invoked yet.

> I really see no problem with this, but a lot of people are going to
> think that because they're in GTE land they have no concerns until
> June. I don't think this is true.

Well I live in Portland and just got my Caller-ID box.  I have had a
few calls from some friends in GTE territory (Portland's western
suburbs) and they are all showing the note: "Out Of Area".  Go figure.


Elana

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard)
Subject: Hunting on Residential Lines
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 18:29:15 GMT


Here in Illinois Bell territory, I have hunting between the two lines
in my home.  I consider this to be more useful than call waiting.
Someone calling the main number wanting to talk to me can do so right
away, even while my wife continues with her (typically LONG) chat with
one of her relatives.  With call waiting, somebody has to hang up, or
wait a long time.  Hunting is also much more modem-friendly than call
waiting.

We will soon be moving to a new house in GTE territory, and I just
found out that GTE claims hunting is not tariffed for residential
service.  They, will, however, be quite happy to install two business
lines in my home (and charge me accordingly) if I insist on having
hunting.  No thanks.

I'm curious about how typical this is with other LECs in other parts
of the country.  Do most offer hunting on residential lines, or was
Illinois Bell being unusually accommodating?

Also, Illinois Bell will allow extra lines to be non-published at no
charge as long as the main line is published.  Alternatively, since
two lines entitles me to two listings, Illinois Bell will let me have
two listings with different names, both giving the main number (at no
additional charge).  GTE charges extra for either of the above.  Is
this normal for real LECs?

Any clever suggestions for fictitious names under which I can have my
second line published?


Jeff Hibbard    Peoria IL (soon to be Normal IL)

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Fenner)
Subject: Help Identifying the Origin of a FAX
Organization: Penn State Computer Science
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 15:54:16 -0400


I received a FAX recently with no country code on the return telephone
number, and with nothing that identified the originating country.  My
only clue to the origin is that my FAX number is written as 95 (814)
865-3176, and that the cover page is in Spanish (possibly Portugese).

The cover page "headers" include:
Fecha:
Para:
FAX No.:
At'n:
De:
No. de hojas incluida esta:
Nuestro No. De Fax: [phone]

Mensaje

The company name is "Tecnocibernetica", and at the bottom of the page
is "Tecnocibernetica, S.A. de C.V. Martires de la C..." and trails off
into unreadability.

If anyone knows what Spanish-speaking country uses 95 to indicate the
USA, or if any of the other information can identify the origin,
please contact me via email.

Thanks in advance for any help.


Bill Fenner

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 16:29:20 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: BellSouth & CallerID


According to the current {Communications Week}:

BellSouth Telecommunications Inc., Atlanta, has filed tariffs in
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee for Caller-ID
Deluxe, which delivers the calling party's listed name and number. It
is the first service BellSouth will offer using it's advanced
intelligent network platform. The service will cost $7.50 per month.
Availability is pending regulatory approvals.


Kenneth R Jongsma          [e-mail]
Smiths Industries     [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan          [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]  (Matt McConnell)
Subject: TIE Communications TC-12 Phone Sets
Date: 12 May 1993 16:03:52 -0600
Organization: Idaho State University, Pocatello


A local business that I consult for uses TIE Communications TC-12/25
phone sets and these sets have been going bad.  Most of them have a
manufacturing date of 8-83.  The maintainence man for the hospital has
about 13 sets that for one reason or another are "bad" and can not be
used.

Does anyone know of a dealer that might want to buy these sets and/or
refurbish these sets?  Is there a place where I can recommend purchase
of these sets as well?  Does anyone know of a place that sells line
cards for this system?

I really hate to see them throwing money at US West when there must be
a more reasonable place to purchase from.


Thank you,

Matt McConnell   <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Shawn Herzinger)
Subject: Pulse on POTS Lines?
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 23:09:14 GMT


Perhaps some of you TELECOM Gurus out there could enlighten me as to a
certain behavior that I have noted on POTS lines in the U.S.

In the development of a telephone accessory product we have noticed
that after the completion of dialing a telephone number, the CO sends
a "pulse" back on the line.  This pulse is heard as a click or a
"sproing" sound on the handset.  Measuring this pulse on an O'scope
reveals that this pulse is roughly shaped like a square wave and lasts
for between 50 and 200 milliseconds.  The pulse duration seems to be
random and does not seem to vary with what number is dialed (local or
long distance).  We are measuring this pulse in the 212-421- area.

Why is this pulse present?  Do all CO's emit this pulse?  Is it only
present in the U.S. (Some associates in foriegn countries claim that
they do not have this pulse).  Does it vary from a line that features
pulse-dialing only and touch-tone service lines?  Are there
specifications for this signal? (i.e. duration, shape.)

I appreciate any input.  Thanks.


Shawn M. Herzinger    [e-mail]

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

Date: 12 May 1993 17:54:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Ben Alexander <[e-mail]>
Subject: How Can I Dial an 800 Number in Another State?


I find myself stuck with the following problem:

I need to reach somebody who has an 800 number in California.  I know
nothing else about this person except their 800 number, and the fact
that this number is not valid nationwide.

I'm in Boston.

Now I'd be happy to pay for a long distance call, if only to reach a
number in California, from which I could then make the free call to
the known 800 number.  My question to those who understand these
issues is whether there is a service/operator/technique that will
allow me to place this call.


Thanks for any help,

Ben Alexander    [e-mail]

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


Date: Wed, 12 May 93 13:36 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Patricia A Dunkin)
Subject: The Case of the Trojan ATM


Heard on the radio (WCBS-AM, NYC) this morning: Thieves placed a bogus
ATM (automatic teller machine, for the TLA-confused) in a mall in
Connecticut.  It behaved like the real thing -- even dispensed money
for a while -- but also recorded the card numbers and PINs of those
who tried to use it.  Then, the perpetrators used the ill-gotten data
to create fake cards which they used to make ~$40K of fraudulent
withdrawals in various locations including Florida.  The report said
that the police have some hope of catching them, since at least one of
the withdrawals was made from an ATM that had a video camera.  (And I
hope they're careful about which photo they release.  Some months ago,
some innocent New Yorker was misidentified on the cover of one of the
tabloids as a robber who had stolen and then used someone's ATM card.
The poor guy had used the ATM just before or after the real crook, and
whoever matched pictures to transactions wasn't quite careful enough.)

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 12 MAY 93 19:34
Subject: Manitoba Personal Phone Number


The 5/10/93 edition of {Telephone Week} reports that the Manitoba
telephone system soon will offer a single phone number to serve an
individual's home, office, celullar, voice mail and fax lines.  Using
network processing on AT&T Canada equipment and BellSouth Systems
Integration (BSSI) software, the personal number service can route
calls differently depending on the caller's identity.

"Manitoba Telephone System will be one of the first providers in the
world to offer what is essentially the core functionality of personal
communications services; that is, giving the subscriber the power to
determine who they communicate with, when and in what format," said
Scott Schaefer, BSSI's vice president of business development.


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #324
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #323

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 13 May 93 03:12:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 323

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Reza Hussein)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Bryan J. Abshier)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries (Dave Ptasnik)
    Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries (Todd Inch)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Rob Boudrie)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Charles Keeys)
    Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers? (Richard McCombs)
    Re: Tormenting Telemarketers ([e-mail])
    Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally? (Dan Sahlin)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (John N. Dreystadt)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Malcolm Slaney)
    Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom (Todd Inch)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: 12 May 1993 13:30:58 -0500
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)


So, [e-mail] said:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
> Hussein) writes:

>> How do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a
>> week (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months
>> ago?  And threatening to do it again?

> Sounds like an answering machine would be ideal. All you need to do is
> listen to the incoming audio and decide whether you want to talk to
> the caller -- most machines will let you take over a call once it has
> started.  A few words to your friends will stop them hanging up in
> disgust when they hear the machine (I rarely speak to an answering
> machine ...) and wait for you to answer them after you know who they
> are.

I do have an answering machine. It turns out that I will receive at
least one message per day. Most of the time it is some collection
agency leaving a message for my ex-housemates. It got to the point
where some of these agencies were leaving very stern, bordering on
rude, messages. For the sake of amusement, I changed the OGM on my
machine to say "This is xxx-xxxx. We are screening your calls again.
Please leave a message." Some collection lady took this seriously and
thought that my ex-housemate was really screening calls.

On the point of providing false information. Well, the only reason I
did that was because that person from the charge card company was very
rude and pushy.  And tried many ways to trick me into confessing that
I knew where my housemate was. Oh well ...


Reza Hussein -- [e-mail]; Computer Science; University of Houston

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

From: [e-mail] (Bryan J Abshier)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: 12 May 1993 21:06:26 GMT
Organization: The Ohio State University


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
Hussein) writes:

> The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
> do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
> (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?
> And threatening to do it again?

     I think that the best way to handle this situation is to tell
them not to call anymore.  Say "Don't call me anymore."  If I recall
correctly, the Fair Debt Collection Act makes such telephone
harassment of a debtor unlawful, so long as he requests not to be
contacted by telephone.  I know that you are not the debtor, but it
should probabily work anyway.  (Just tell them not to call, don't tell
them that your not the debtor unless they ask.)

     Also, I think that they have already violated the FDCPA.  They
aren't supposed to reveal to third parties that the person they are
looking for owes them money.

     Anyway, it has been a long time since I have looked at this
stuff, so if I'm wrong, or the law has changed please correct me.


Bryan J. Abshier   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 19:16:26 GMT


[e-mail] (sohl,william h) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
> Hussein) writes:

>> Not too long ago, my housemate moved out and out of the country, and
>> didn't have time to notify a major charge card company of his change
>> of address.

> I agree that giving false info is not a smart move, better to give no
> info than incorrect information.

I think I'd give them the phone number of the local enforcer of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act.  This happened to me, where they were
harassing my fiancee over a bill I hadn't paid quite in time.  I no
longer patronize the May Company (now Robinsons May) over their heavy
handed treatment of this issue, which included threats and bad
language at 8AM on a Saturday.

Or "set modem on stun"...


Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
  ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3


[Moderator's Note: You no longer patronize the May Company? You know,
your case reminds me of the man who sent an order in to a company for
some merchandise asking them to please ship it as soon as possible.
The company contacted him in return saying, "We won't be able to
release this new order until you pay for the last order you bought."
To which the man replied, "Then you better cancel the order, I don't
intend to wait that long for it to arrive ..."  :)  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: 12 May 1993 08:29:41 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
> Hussein) writes:

>> The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
>> do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
>> (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?

> Sounds like an answering machine would be ideal. All you need to do is
> listen to the incoming audio and decide whether you want to talk to
> the caller -- most machines will let you take over a call once it has
> started.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a totally unacceptable solution.  Why
should all of this person's callers be inconvenienced with having to
deal with 'answering machine screening' just because some bill
collector can't get it through their head that the callee has no
information for them?  If the callee wanted to screen calls with their
answering machine, presumably they would already be doing so.  Since
they're not, why should they have to change?  Wouldn't it be a shame
if the callee were able to use Call Block or some other CLASS
technology to stop the telemarketer?  Certainly some among us would
consider this an invasion of the telemarketer's privacy.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Ptasnik)
Subject: Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries
Date: 12 May 1993 21:04:55 GMT
Organization: University of Washington


> James Gleick ([e-mail]) wrote:

>> 4) Why do marketers sometimes have one 800 number nationally and another
>> within their own area?

In a former life I sold Long Distance services (like MCI or Sprint)
just after divestiture.  At that time I was given a little tutorial
about 800 service.  My memory of that long ago event is that 800
numbers HAD to be divided into (can only be called from) within the
state, and (can only be called from) outside the state.  I believe
that this had a lot to do with federal interstate commerce laws.  I do
not know if the dial plan gurus had divided 800 prefixes into national
vs. state, with each state getting its own prefixes, or if some other
more arcane method was used.  During the early stages of divestiture
(and perhaps before) you could get a single in and out of state 800
number for a hefty extra fee.  In any case each number had different
per minute rates and was subject to different tax rates.

I really think that this is one of the good changes brought by the
breakup.


Dave P    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: At one time, the billing equipment was not as soph-
isticated as today and there were problems in getting it to record
different rates for different calls. 800 numbers originally were set
up for intrastate and interstate; with the interstate lines being
further divided up by 'bands' just like the outbound WATS. In fact the
original name for 800 service was 'InWATS'. When prices for calls were
higher several years ago, it made a real difference *where* you got
your calls from. If all your business was in one or two nearby states
then you got a 'Band 1 WATS' or a 'Band 1 In-WATS'. There were eight
'bands' in all, with Bands 1 through 6 beiog states which were grad-
ually further and further away from the state where you were. When
AT&T was the sole player in the In-WATS/800 business, each state had
prefixes used for intrastate and for the each of the different bands
elswhere in the USA.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 20:42:54 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> our Moderator notea:

> [Moderator's Note: Bell/AT&T switch buildings are very often left
> unattended at night and over the weekends ... just ask the idiots at
> Illinois Bell who let Hinsdale burn down back in 1988 rather than pay
> one person to sit there all night and/or weekends doing some kind of
> trivial paperwork to keep them busy and earning their pay.

Huh?  I can't imagine what a human could monitor in a CO that a
machine couldn't monitor just as well (and without salary and benefits
:-), especially if you have plenty of spare dedicated trunks which
could lead back to a central monitoring point, provide redundant
paths, etc.  Now maybe the Ill Bell CO DIDN'T have any automated
monitoring, or not enough, or it failed, or?

Did the CO itself burn down, or just the town of Hinsdale?


[Moderator's Note: Well, if you 'cannot imagine what a machine could
not monitor just as well' then you must have a poor imagination. The
Hinsdale CO burned down. The building was totally gutted. The fire
began on a Sunday afternoon in May, Mother's Day, 1988. The fire began
about 3 PM and burned unnoticed for *over an hour* before the person
monitoring the place from two hundred miles away decided to call up
to Chicago and tell someone ... and did he call the Fire Department?
Oh no ... he called a supervisor at home some miles away and asked
them to 'go over to Hinsdale and see what is going on, and shut the
alarm off if it is still malfunctioning.' So the supervisor finishes
lunch, gets in their car for a fifteen minute drive, finds the office
in flames, tries to call the Fire Department only to find the lines
all over town have already been dead for probably thirty minutes ...

An office which served as the long distance hub for all of northern
Illinois including Chicago; the center for cellular service in the
same area; several western suburbs of over a million people were
served from that office; three major 911 centers; all of the air
traffic controllers lines between Ohare Airport and the Federal
Aviation Administration went through there. You really can't imagine
how a five dollar an hour clerk sitting there watching television most
of the time and making rounds through the building every half hour or
so would have made a difference?  The fire was so bad they could not
even get emergency service to Ohare Airport, 911, or local hospitals
up and running for almost a week!  It was a full month getting local
service back to a dozen comunities. They had to completely replace a
multi-million dollar switch which was destroyed in the fire, and *you*
can't imagine what good a diligent watchperson would have done,
despite the fact that the total damage ran millions of dollars, left
several towns without service for a month, and said watchperson could
have been paid for the next forty years (!) from what was lost and IBT
would have still come out ahead. 'Industry practice' was how Jim Eibel
VP of Operations for IBT described the reasoning for leaving Hinsdale
abandoned all weekend. Eibel should have been given the choice of
resigning the day after the conflagration, or getting fired. There are
cases where electronic remote monitoring may be cost effective. A
telco CO as important as Hinsdale in NOT such a case.  "The worst
tragedy in this company's history and possibly the worst ever in the
telecom industry" was the way IBT described it.  I wonder if a bunch
of other telephone CO's have to burn down or get flooded out, or
otherwise put out of service before 'industry practice' will change?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 19:11:01 GMT


> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

Bad analogy ...

Let's see -- I rent a room in my house out and tell the housemate that
(s)he may not use my credit cards, spend cash from my wallet, sell the
household furnishings, etc.  One evening I leave the wallet on the
kitchen table and (s)he takes the credit cards against my authorization
and uses them.  The law on this matter is clear -- I am not responsible.

Now with the phone -- I tell the housemate (s)he does not have
permission to call overseas or to 900 numbers, but (s)he does anyhow.
Why is this different?

>> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
>> their name.

> No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
> piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but that

I never signed anything when I go either of my phones installed.

> [Moderator's Note: I don't think I ever said *all* 900 services were
> sleaze. There are some that are total ripoffs. If I ever run one, I
> would hope to make it valuable to the people who used it, at an inex-
> pensive price.  PAT]

Perhaps we need better "truth in advertising" for those people without
a feel for numbers -- perhaps expressing the charge as an hourly rate.
"ONLY $300 per hour to talk to our psychic!".

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 20:07:39
From: [e-mail] (Chas McKillop Keeys)
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility


The rantings and ravings or the 900 number IP, who is not a Sleaze,
inspired me to put IP blocker on all my five of my lines.  I guess
that takes care of my "Individual Responsibility."  I'll take it off
when IP's take responsibility for billing human beings rather than
telephone numbers.

Boo hoo, who?


Chas Keeys

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

Subject: Re: 411 - Automatically Transfers?
From: [e-mail] (Richard McCombs KB5SNF)
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 03:54:56 CST
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: The Red Headed League; Lawton, OK, USA


In comp.dcom.telecom, [e-mail] writes:

> Ok, how come there's no option to have the phone number be automatically
> dialed when I call 411?

> Operator: "here you go ..."
> Machine: "the number is xxx-xxxx ..."
> Machine: "press 1 to have this number dialed for you ..."
> Machine: "you will be charged xx cents for this."

Here it's more like ...

Machine: "Press 1 and for xx cents we will connect you to xxx-xxxx ..."

Which is annoying because I'm ready to write the number down but
instead I get a sales pitch that breaks my concentration.


Internet:  [e-mail]    BITNET: ah053%yfn.ysu.edu@ysub

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

Date: Wed, 12 May 93 08:31:16 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Tormenting Telemarketers
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


In article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Mike Van
Pelt) wrote:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
> (Douglas W. Martin) writes:

>>  Tormenting Telmarketers - A Game You Can Play at Home!

> The housewife walks away from the phone with a grin, saying "I'm almost
> beginning to enjoy telemarketer calls."

After reading the original article, I tried some of the tricks.  It's
a riot! You have to try it to beleive how funny it is!

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan Sahlin)
Subject: Re: Is Residential ISDN Pricing as Expensive Internationally?
Organization: SICS, Swedish Inst. of Computer Science
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 17:53:15 GMT


It seems the answer is 'no'; Sweden is the most expensive place to
have ISDN.

Here is a summary of all replies I got:

    Area                       Installation   Monthly fee
                       USD            USD
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Sweden                         849             67
    British Telecom                630             44
    Pacific Bell (Cal.)            150             28
    Illinois Bell                  100             35
    Nynex                          250             30
    Toronto, Canada                422            117
    the Netherlands                450             45
    Germany                         82             48
    Norway                         672             53


Dan Sahlin, Sweden    email: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (john n. dreystadt)
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 12 May 1993 20:13:39 GMT
Organization: Lynn-Arthur Associates, Ann Arbor, MI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, Darren Eslke <elskedar@u.
washington.edu> writes:

> I was refering to the forcing everyone in the area code to dial the
> area code, to get us used to dialing the extra digits.  I heard
> thatthe area code will s plit sometime this year.  Seattle metro area
> is big, and expanding fast.

There is an alternative possibility. You may be living in an area code
where the local exchange numbers must not have a 0 or a 1 in the
second digit. Once upon a time, no local exchanges had a 0 or a 1 as
this was reserved for area code numbers. The switches could tell if
you were dialing a number with an area code or without just by looking
at the second digit. This limited the set of valid local exchanges to
640 (8 * 8 * 10). One fix to increase the number of valid phone
numbers in an area code is to remove the restriction on the second
digit. This increases the number of legal exchanges to 800.  How does
the switch know if you are entering an area code or local exchange?
Simple, you must always enter an area code even when you are dialing a
number within your own area code. For example, if you get an exchange
of 313 in area code 206, the switch needs to see 1-206-313-xxxx. If it
saw 1-313-xxxx, it would think you were trying to call Southeastern
Michigan. This will give the phone company (companies) about 25% more
numbers to use.


John N. Dreystadt   Lynn-Arthur Associates   [e-mail]
Home:313-878-9719   Work:313-995-5590
        These are personal opinions not corporate opinions.

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

From: [e-mail] (Malcolm Slaney)
Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
Date: 12 May 1993 16:36:53 -0700
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, California


[e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner) writes:

> What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years
> ago did AT&T demonstrate a videophone at a World's Fair, 30?  Also,
> show me a library that can afford to keep buying subscriptions to
> periodicals, much less state of the art computer eq){uipment, and I'll
> show you a library which is going to get it's budget cut.

It's easy to justify TODAY!  Note:

1) I've got a subscriiption form for "Hearing Research" that says the
library subscription price is $1990 (!!!) a year.  A more mainstream
journal like the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America is
many hundreds of dollars a year.]

2) IEEE has a service where they will send you any article by fax or
electronically (Internet? perhaps) for $10.  (To be fair, I don't
know if they include Hearing Research in their database.)

3) For a few thousand dollars you can get a fairly substational
computer, a big monitor, and an Internet connection.

Yes, electronic journals aren't good for curling up with ... but why
should a library subscribe to a journal and store it, when they can
get any article they want, by paying somebody to make a copy and
handle the copyright fee?

Fast networks and telecommunications are changing the world ... for
the better I hope.


Cheers,

Malcolm Slaney   Apple Perception Group

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Wed, 12 May 93 22:06:52 GMT


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

> In article <[e-mail]> TELECOM Moderator <telecom@
> eecs.nwu.edu> writes:

>> Each ticket will have a unique serial number on it. All calls
>> will go to an 800 number where voice prompting will tell the person to
>> enter their ticket number and the number they wish to call.

> For example, will these tickets be generally available at newsstands,
> vending machines, post offices, etc?

And, most importantly, if they are sold in vending machines, etc, will
they be prominently displayed and easily visible for, uh, those of us
who know what we want when we see it but aren't willing to read?  And
is the serial number on the distinctive side which is, umm, the only
side I'll be able to recognize?  ;-)


[Moderator's Note: How dumb do you think the people are who have put
this program together?  On the final product -- being readied now --
the serial number will be underneath some of that stuff you have to
scratch off, like on lottery tickets. The numbers won't be turned on
in the computer until the individual distributor gets them, and he
won't see the serial numbers because they will be under the stuff to
be scratched off. For instance, I get a block of tickets known as
'block number 1094567' or similar. The computer is told to activate
all the serial numbers which go with that block. The tickets are
manufactured by a printing firm which is highly trusted. The people
running this program realize they could easily go bankrupt if tight
controls were not in place. The first batch of tickets I got were pure
prototype -- little thin carboard things with a serial number stamped
on them. Two days after I mentioned them here, they were all gone. I
guess all the prototypes went fast (there are some other people who
worked on it also as I have). The 'new' stock which is in transit to
me now is a better grade of paper, nicer printing, etc. They will
still have exposed serial numbers (they are only worth $2 anyway), but
the final products, the $5, $10, $20 and $50 cards will not. Once *I
personally* am convinced orders can be filled rapidly and that there
is no rip off going on, etc, I will begin distribution in earnest. I
expect to fill *lots* of the orders still waiting in my office this
weekend, and if anyone wants advance notice of their serial numbers,
etc, let me know. I'll match the email to the stamped envelopes
waiting in piles in my office. If you did not yet order, and want some
of the $2 calling cards, you can have 10 for $15 by sending a check
and a LONG self addressed envelope to the Digest, 2241 W. Howard #208,
Chicago, IL 60645. Or send $2 if you just want to try one.    PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #323
******************************










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Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 17:10:30 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #325

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 13 May 93 17:10:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 325

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (John M. Clark)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (David Ross)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (Vinton Cerf via Mark Boolootian)
    Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area (Carl Moore)
    Re: Help Identifying the Origin of a FAX (Tarl Neustaedter)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Mark Steiger)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Trif the Sorceress)
    Re: Telecom History (Nigel Allen)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (John K. Scoggin, Jr.)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (Phydeaux)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Gregory M. Paris)
    Re: Residential Listings on CD-ROM (Bob Frankston)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 07:06:00 +0000
From: John M. Clarke <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Ron
"Asbestos" Dippold) writes:

> According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
> the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
> International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
> (ITU-TSS).

> a) Is this true?
> b) Why?
> c) Who is this ITU-TSS?
> d) What does this do to Recommendataions in progress (or new ones)?

> I'm particularly interested in Group XVII and V.fast.

The CCITT has always been an agency of the ITU, and has been renamed
to the TSS.  The CCIR (radio) has been renamed to the Radiocommunications
Sector (RS).  Standards activity of the CCIR has been taken over by
the TSS.  The RS has also taken over the role of the International
Frequency Registration Board, which takes care of allocating radio
frequencies and satellite orbits.

All of this exciting activity (:-)) happened at the latest Plenary
Assembly, which has been renamed to the WTSC.

Sorry for all the acronyms, but thats what you get when you name things by
committee ...


John

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

From: [e-mail] (David Ross)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 08:52:20 GMT


In article [e-mail], [e-mail] (Ron "Asbestos"
Dippold) writes:

> According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
> the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
> International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
> (ITU-TSS).

  From the ITUDOC mail server:

ITUDOC is an electronic document distribution service of the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU is a United
Nations agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In early 1993,
the ITU was reorganized into three Sectors: Radiocommunication,
Telecommunication Standardization and Telecommunications
Development. Each sector of the ITU makes selected documents publicly
available for remote electronic retrieval with ITUDOC.  ITUDOC is a
component of the ITU's Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES); a
set of computer-based electronic information services.

I believe that CCITT changed its name to ITU, and then was reorganized.
I don't think this affects the work of any of the SIGs.

You might find out more from the ITUDOC mail server. Try sending email
to [e-mail] with HELP as the body of the message.


David Ross   ([e-mail])  On loan to:  Alcatel STR, Zurich, CH.
Phone:       [phone]    Fax:         [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Boolootian)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 08:09:58 -0700 (PDT)


Regarding the dissolution of the CCITT, Vint Cerf writes:

   Date: Thu, 13 May 93 10:45:25 -0400
   From: "Vinton G. Cerf" <[e-mail]>

CCITT was part of ITU. ITU re-organized its standards making structure
and renamed it Telecommunications Standards Sector, ITU-TSS. The same
people are still involved and the working groups mostly survived.

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 13:24:37 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area


In TELECOM Digest V13 #322 Jonathan_Welch <[e-mail]>
writes:

> Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
> new call management service. This service, called PHONESMART, includes
> the features explained below.

New England Telephone is about one year behind NYTel's introduction of
PHONESMART(sm) and I'm surprised it took them that long (oh well,
that's NYNEX for you).

I'm leaving out the text describing each feature to save bandwidth.

> The monthly charge for Caller ID is $4.95.

NYTel is $5.50 I believe, maybe $6.50.

> CallerID Blocking:

Both blocking options are free to the subscriber in NYTel land.

Repeat dialing and Call Return are $3.00 per month each as opposed to
$2.25 for NYTel.

> Repeat Dialing and Call Return are also available as a package for
> just $3.95 a month.

I'm not sure about the combination since I don't have it.

> Don't Let An Obscene Call Get Away Without A Trace.

> Call Trace can only trace the last call you received; if you get
> another call before you press *57, the system will trace the second
> call and not the one you wished to trace.

I've used Call Trace once or twice and I would like to have the ability
to go back to a previous call if necessary.  With Caller ID I could do
that by doing a back track on the display unit.

> You pay for Call Trace only when you use it. You will be billed $3.25
> for each call that is successfully traced. In addition, should two
> calls be traced to the same number within a thirty-day period, a $5
> case preparation fee will be added to your bill. If you have any
> questions, call your service representative at the telephone number
> listed on the New England Telephone Itemization of Account page of
> your bill.

NYTel's charge is $1.75 per trace.  According to the Annoyance Call
Bureau, four separate traces over a four-hour period have to be made
before they will open a file if and only if I initiate the tracing
mechanism.  No mention of an activation fee is made anywhere including
the business office.

 From what was written, it seems that the regulatory mechanisms for
those areas served by NET are either slower to act or NET is slowly
following the trends in other areas by waiting to see what has
happened in other areas prior to making their offerings.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 9:30:15 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NET Pamphlet on Dialing Changes For 413 Area


To summarize for area code 413:

1 + NPA + 7D for local calls to another area code from 413 area,
permissive March 1; mandatory April 8.

7D for all calls within 413: permissive various dates from Feb. to
June; mandatory Sept. 21 Some prefixes went to this permissive period
in February; did any of them have local service to another area code?

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

From: [e-mail] (Tarl Neustaedter)
Subject: Re: Help Identifying the Origin of a FAX
Date: 13 May 1993 17:15:23 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.


I responded via email, but in case the trivia is of interest to the
Digest:

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
edu (Bill Fenner) writes:

> I received a FAX recently with no country code on the return telephone

> Nuestro No. De Fax: [phone]

> If anyone knows what Spanish-speaking country uses 95 to indicate the
> USA, [...]

It's Mexico. The language is clearly Spanish; the long-distance
dialing conventions in Mexico start with 9x (I've forgotten the
pattern), and the phone number is Mexico City. When Mexico City
converted from six-digit (xx-xx-xx) to seven-digit phone numbers, they
prepended a "5" in front of the number leaving the pattern (xxx-xx-xx).
Newer numbers were added starting with "6", but most of the phone
numbers in the city still start with "5".

Return the fax by calling 011-52-5-515-43-77.


Tarl Neustaedter       Stratus Computer
[e-mail]    Marlboro, Mass.
Disclaimer: My employer is not responsible for my opinions.

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Steiger)
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 02:13:35 -0600
Subject: Individual Responsibility
Organization: The Dark Knight's Table BBS:  Minnetonka, MN (Free!)

> >> It's like an apartment charge card where no one has to ever sign
> >> their name.

> > No. Whoever had the phone line installed once upon a time signed a
> > piece of paper. It may have been long ago and forgotten, but that
> > doesn't absolve responsibility.

> Hmmm, I don't believe that you actually have to sign anything to get
> phone service, but I guess that's a side issue.

OK.  This one part here has popped up over and over again about
"Signing" for service.  You get service.  You don't sign anything
anymore, but by using the phone, you consent to their conditions.  I
got a credit card recently.  They said, if you use it, it's yours.  No
agreement was signed.  I applied over the phone.  If I didn't want the
card, I'd call and cancel it.  Same thing with phone service.

Now ... back to the argument at hand ... I am currently looking at
using a 900 service to collect for my BBS.  Other people who do this
have gotten frantic calls "I NEVER made this call" or "I didn't know
what I was doing when I called it."  They get hit $20 per call to the
number.  They dial it, and a voice gives them a validation number to
type in on their next call to the BBS (I Digress, sorry pat..)  Yet,
when they check the BBS records, the person called the BBS and USED
the validation code on the BBS system.  Some people blatently lie
because they think "Oh they're only going to lose $3" (as you had
stated later in the message).  Weather that's true or not, in the case
of the BBS caller, the caller leeched large quantities of files from
the system for free ripping off the Sysop of the money he deserved for
the system.  Some people either "Forget" or play dumb when the bill
comes in my own opinion.  Yes, some people may not know what they are
doing, but Ignorence is no excuse.


 * Origin: The Igloo BBS 612-574-2079 (1:282/4018)
Mark Steiger, Sysop, The Igloo BBS [phone]
Internet: [e-mail]
Fido: 1:282/4018  Simnet: 16:612/24

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

From: [e-mail] (Trif the Sorceress)
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 13 May 1993 09:31:17 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle


In article <[e-mail]> Carl Moore (VLD/VMB)
<[e-mail]> writes:

> What are the starting steps you are referring to?  If the new area
> code is needed before 1995, it'll have to come from the N00 codes.

Last year, US West began requiring 1+ area code for all long distance
calls within area code 206, and the letters sent out explaining the
change stated that it was to "expand the range of telephone numbers
available and delay a breakup of the 206 area code".  I haven't
actually seen any of the "new" possible exchanges yet, but the changes
should give them enough exchange numbers to last until 1995.  But they
definitely have the breakup of the area code heavy on their minds.

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 06:11:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Krieger S.M.) says:

> If I remember, the way NY Telephone handled the cutover was that any
> service change brought a conversion to ANC.  So, besides a move within
> the neighborhood getting the same phone number recast, adding or
> removing extension phones (remember when the phone company did all
> that) also got the number changed.

Now for a bit of typesetting history.  The reason listings weren't all
changed at once was that individual listings were individual lines of
metal type. A change in listing, or a new listing, required having a
typesetter set the new name and phone number by the standards then in
place. So, as other people have noted, even when new listings were
being set as EM8-6041, old listings in the style EMpire 8-6041 would
still be in the directory.

In those days, there were two types of directory: the regular one,
which people used at their home or business, and the "traffic"
directory, which was used by directory assistance operators. New
listings were indicated with a bullet (a round dot) before the number,
and non- published numbers with a solid black box and the code "N Pub"
instead of a number. A daily addendum was produced listing very new
numbers, but I think the traffic directory was updated several times a
year.  (This applies to Maritime Tel & Tel in Nova Scotia circa 1976,
but is probably true for telephone companies worldwide until the
advent of computerized typesetting and online directory assistance
databases.  I would guess that traffic directories are still produced
as a backup and for the use of telephone business office staff.)

Linotype machines were big and noisy. Because the noise was bad enough
to damage your hearing over the long term, and because you didn't need
to be able to hear to work one, the typesetting trade attracted
hearing-impaired people. I remember seeing a statistic saying that, in
the late 1940's, 25% of employed deaf men in the U.S. worked in the
printing trades. The International Typographical Union represented
many typesetters, but saw its membership decline steeply over the
years as newspapers and other printers replaced unionized typesetters
with lower-paid text entry clerks. The ITU eventually joined the
Communications Workers of America, becoming the CWA's Printing and
Publishing Sector.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

From: John K Scoggin Jr <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Date: 13 May 1993 11:09:20 GMT
Organization: Delmarva Power & Light Company
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I had a problem like this a few years ago -- someone had the
residential number that I have now, and left a bad debt with a local
store.  Credit collectors started calling and REFUSED to believe that
I was really me, not the debtor playing some game with them.

Solution -- a letter from an attorney (really not very expensive)
threatening legal action for causing me "mental anguish".

It worked.


John K. Scoggin, Jr.        Email: [e-mail]
Supervisor, Network Operations  Phone: [phone]
Delmarva Power & Light Company    Fax:   [phone]
500 N. Wakefield Drive            NOC:   [phone]
Newark, DE 19714-6066
The opinions expressed are not those of Delmarva Power, simply the
product of an over-active imagination...

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 05:37:19 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Phydeaux)
Subject: Re: Hunting On Residential Lines


[e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard) writes:

> Here in Illinois Bell territory, I have hunting between the two lines
> in my home.  I consider this to be more useful than call waiting.

> We will soon be moving to a new house in GTE territory, and I just
> found out that GTE claims hunting is not tariffed for residential
> service.  They, will, however, be quite happy to install two business
> lines in my home (and charge me accordingly) if I insist on having
> hunting.  No thanks.

> I'm curious about how typical this is with other LECs in other parts
> of the country.  Do most offer hunting on residential lines, or was
> Illinois Bell being unusually accommodating?

New Jersey Bell will happily give you hunting for free.  I recently
moved, and got three lines installed with hunting.  If you want a hunt
group it's no problem, all you have to do is ask for it.  Of course
less telecom literate folks would probably order the more obnoxious
call waiting "feature" instead, as the sales representatives suggest
that to you when you order new service.  Of course, you've got to
*pay* for call waiting.

> Also, Illinois Bell will allow extra lines to be non-published at no
> charge as long as the main line is published.  Alternatively, since
> two lines entitles me to two listings, Illinois Bell will let me have
> two listings with different names, both giving the main number (at no
> additional charge).  GTE charges extra for either of the above.  Is
> this normal for real LECs?

NJ Bell allows you one listing per phone line.  Extra listings are (I
believe) 50c/month.  They also offer a "teenage" line which is a
little less expensive than a regular line.  It turns out to be 50c
less, and guess what?  There's no "free" listing with it!

> clever suggestions for  fictitious  names under which  I can   have my
> second line published?

Sure, Patrick A. Townson ;-)


reb
-- *-=#= Phydeaux =#=-* [e-mail]  or  [e-mail]
h:861 Washington Avenue Westwood NJ 07675  908-688-5707  ICBM: 40.71N   73.73W
w: reb  Ingres   Park 80 West Plaza I    Saddle Brook, NJ 07662   201-587-1400

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 08:42:15 -0400
From: Gregory M. Paris <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
Reply-To: [e-mail]


>  What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years

In my opinion, AT&T has finally given up (at least temporarily) trying
to differentiate their long distance service that from their
competitors.  Instead, they're going the way of the computer industry
and will now try to differentiate their vaporware from that of their
competitors.

The future is here (almost)!  :-)


Greg Paris <[e-mail]>
Motorola Codex, 20 Cabot Blvd C1-30, Mansfield, MA  02048-1193

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Residential Listings on CD-ROM
Date: Thu 13 May 1993 10:06 -0400


I got the 1993 set from ERM Liquidators in Melrose Mass. It was a seven
diskette set including business listings. Of course, it has only
listed numbers.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #325
******************************










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Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 02:59:33 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #326

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 14 May 93 02:59:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 326

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Telephone Cards in Czech Republic (Richard Budd)
    Disaster Managers to Meet May 17-19 (EIS International via Nigel Allen)
    Sex Telemarketing (Paul S. Sawyer)
    Calling Card Scam (Dave Ptasnik)
    Internet Access in Japan (Aaron Dailey)
    Cable TV Technology to Access Library of Congress Collections (Nigel Allen)
    Why Do Cable Companies Charge per Outlet? (Matt McConnell)
    1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Reinhard Hamid)
    Busy Out an ISDN Line (David E. Martin)
    Category Five Transmission Systems (Mohan R. Ramanathan)
    Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! (Ray Kiddy)
    MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Mitchell Tasman)
    MN to Get Caller ID (Mark Steiger)
    Headsets, FAQ (Rick Watson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 17:29:32 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Telephone Cards in Czech Republic
Organization: CSAV UTIA


I've started "working the phones" (as NYTel says), which means
becoming accustomed to the telephone cards that have surfaced in the
Czech Republic.  After using them a couple of times, I don't believe
I'll ever go back to dropping coins into the phone again.

The cards have been around for about two years, but changing the
public phones in the Czech and Slovak Republics from the old boxes
with a dial that were either out-of-order or wired by some 13-year old
kid to give free international calls and then put out-of-order by
telco, has been a slow process.

Several competing companies manufacture their own cards in Kc100,
Kc150, and KC250 units which you can purchase in the post office or
newsstands throughout Prague.  Mine is a Kc150 card purchased from the
post office for Kc157.50 (they all charge commission on the card) and
is produced by TELECOM PRAHA.  There's a number to call if you want to
plug something on the card.  Mine advertises the Centrum Krizove
Intervence, which sounds like a crisis line.  On the back is a
photograph of two horses in a Western setting.  When you're done with
the card, it makes a nice souvenir for friends.

Using the card is easy.  Instructions on the telephone display,
including how many units you have left on the card, are in Czech,
German, English, and French at the choice of the user.  The telephone
also shows you the number as you dial it; useful for catching a wrong
number and hanging up quickly.  If you forget to take out the card
from the slot after making your call, the telephone emits a high whine
to alert you to remove it.  Calls for fire, police, and ambulance are
free.  Those numbers are prominently displayed on the front of the
telephone.

The card-activated telephones themselves have the brand name CZECH
TELECOM, which is the government-owned telephone company.  I saw a few
of them also in Slovakia, but the ones in the Kosice train station
have been replaced with generic coin-operated telephones, most of
which are out of order.  The new telephones are rare outside of the
large cities in both republics.

I found no trouble using the cards themselves, but the public
telephone in my neighborhood does not connect to international numbers
or to codes outside of Prague.  That I discovered while trying to dial
a friend in another city.  My landlord tells me the company did that
deliberately because the neighborhood kids "phreaked" the old phone so
they could call long-distance, including the United States(|), without
paying toll.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it.

There are public telephones at subway stations that do accept
international calls, either with the telephone card or AT&T USA Direct
and MCI World Reach (gotta great story connected with MCI's card).  If
you stay away from Namesti Republiky, where there are long lines of
tourists at the phones, you should have little trouble finding a
long-distance phone.

More details as I learn about them.


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CR    [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |       Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |       18200 Praha 8


[Moderator's Note: I think prepay cards may be the wave of the future
here in the USA soon. I know the number of inquiries I got regards the
sample Talk Tickets was rather astounding. I will be filling the
second round of orders this weekend, and there are plenty waiting!  PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 06:29:59 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Disaster Managers to Meet May 17-19
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I found the following press release on another system. The telecom
connection, of course, is that 9-1-1 and regular telephone systems
play an important role during and after a natural or human-made
disaster.

(Yes, I realize that the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the
U.S. has a reputation for being more interested in planning for life
after a nuclear war that in dealing with the results of hurricanes and
earthquakes, but the press release looked interesting anyway.)

Here is a press release from EIS International.

Federal, State, Local Government and Corporate Disaster Managers to
Meet May 17-19

Contact: Leslie Atkin of EIS International, 301-424-2803

   News Advisory:

   Who:   Disaster coordinators who run company, county and
          country-wide response to major tragedies...from 911
          systems to the Department of Defense's disaster chief.

   What:  Group meeting to discuss latest technology and to
          share information, preparing for inevitable crises
          caused by Mother Nature (hurricanes, tornadoes,
          earthquakes) and human nature (riots, fires, releases
          of deadly toxic substances.)

  Where: Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, 1750 Rockville Pike,
          Rockville, Md.

   When:  9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, May 17, to Wednesday, May 19.
          (Noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 is a tour of
          state-of-the-art Pennsylvania State Emergency
          headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa.)

   Why:   Government and corporate executives need faster, more
          efficient responses to major disasters, including
          coordination of information and use of technology in
          evaluating crises, dispatching assistance and keeping
          tabs on evolving events.

          Meeting sponsored by EIS International, the nation's
          leading emergency management consultant and software
          supplier to government and corporations.  This will be
          the sixth annual Emergency Information System Users
          Conference.

 Visuals: Large video screens will display maps and layouts of
          buildings containing toxic substances, possible toxic
          plumes, potential flood areas and homes, schools,
          businesses and hospitals in danger...thousands of maps
          available, many zoom down to city block and even
          individual buildings.  (See states listed below.)

 Interview possibilities:
          David Y. McManis, senior official of the National
          Security Agency, formerly with the National Security
          Council, designer of the White House Situation Room,
          (speaking at 9 a.m., Monday, May 17)

          Maxwell Alston, authority on role of military and
          civilian agencies in disasters, head of emergency
          planning for Department of Defense, (speaking 6:30 p.m.
          Tuesday, May 18)

          Also leading emergency managers from District of
          Columbia, Maryland, Arkansas, Georgia, New York
          Wisconsin, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Oklahoma,
          NASA, AT&T, TRW, etc.

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

Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

From: Paul S. Sawyer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Sex Telemarketing
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 08:54:22 -0400 (EDT)
Organization: UNH Telecommunications and Network Services


Well, it looks like the worst aspects of telemarketing and phone sex
have merged ... people in Nashua, New Hampshire have reported getting
unsolicited calls from some sort of "adult information provider".  The
calls begin with something like "press 1 to accept a call ..." and are
reportedly billed at $35.00.  There is nothing to prevent children
from accepting such calls.  The state Attorney General will be looking
into it.


Paul S. Sawyer    - University of New Hampshire CIS -  [e-mail]
Telecommunications and Network Services                VOX: [phone]
50 College Road                                        FAX: [phone]
Durham, New Hampshire  03824-3523


[Moderator's Note: In fairness to the 900 scumbags, they do *not*
originate calls without some basis for doing so. *Someone* (or more
persons) is playing a cruel joke both on the scumbag and the good
citizens of Nashua by calling some IP operating with an 800 inbound
line, saying they wish to use the service being provided, and then
giving bogus numbers (of people in Nashua) for billing purposes. They
may not even intentionally be sticking the callbacks on Nashua people.
They may just be giving the scumbag a wrong nmber thinking it will be
accepted as true. When the IP calls back collect, the joke is jointly
on the charlatan who figured he would get his jollies for free and
the unsuspecting person who gets called asking for an okay to continue
the call and the charges.  Unlike telemarketers for Publisher's
Clearing House and various home improvement/carpet companies, sex-phone
operators do NOT make cold calls. No need to, since their phone rooms
are busy all the time anyway on legitimate inbound stuff.   PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 08:15:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Ptasnik  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Calling Card Scam


Background info:

Young woman living in father's house.  Father has Alzheimers and is in
an extended care facility.  Phone service stays in father's name.

Problem:

Phone bill arives from US West with $1,000 in calling card charges.
Mostly from Italy, mostly to New Jersey (insert appropriate ethnic
humor).

Analysis:

Young woman calls phone company and complains about bill.  Phone
company suggests that her father must have been the one making the
calls, and the one who ordered the calling card.  Young woman
determines that no medical miracle has occured, and presses US West.

Trouble found:

Some Phine Phellow has called the Phone Company from Italy, told US
West that he desperately needed to use a calling card right away,
gives the name and address of the Alzheimer's victim.  The obliging US
West rep gives the calling card number (phone number plus four digit
pin) to the miscreant, who then goes on about his business.

Resolution:

Card gets cancelled, US West and AT&T eat the charges.

Followup:

Second month bill arrives, totaling more than $8,000 in phraudulent calls.

Moral:

Password protect all of your utility/financial accounts.

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

From: [e-mail] (Aaron Dailey)
Subject: Internet Access in Japan
Organization: StorageTek
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 19:51:26 GMT


I've posted this to alt.internet.access.wanted, but the few responses
I received produced more questions than answers.  Perhaps someone here
can help.

My brother is going on assignment in Hiroshima, Japan this summer for
about eighteen months.  He would like Internet email access to stay in
contact with everyone back home, and needs nothing else (e.g. Usenet,
ftp, telnet).  He'll have a portable PC with modem.  I've seen a lot
of public (for pay) sites in the US that are accessible via something
calling PDN (packet data network?), and someone presented this as a
possible solution.  Could anyone tell me how this works, and possible
contacts to get this set up?  He doesn't speak any Japanese yet, so it
would be best to get it set up here, before he goes over.

The other solution that people suggest was MCImail or ATTmail.  I
called MCI and they're sending me info.  Does anyone have a contact
for AT&T, or comments on either of the two services?

Does anyone have other suggestions?


Aaron Dailey   Internet: [e-mail]
StorageTek Corporation   Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]
Mail:  MS0242, 2270 South 88th Street, Louisville, C0 80028


[Moderator's Note: Compuserve also offers local dialup service in
Japan. It is not cheap, and lends much credence to the $ in CI$ ...
but it is available, with of course the gateway to Internet mail.  PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 21:18:03 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Cable TV Technology to Access Library of Congress Collections
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Here is a press release that I found on another system. Are there any
D.C.-area readers of the Digest who want to attend the press
conference?

Cable Television Technology will Access Library of Congress
Collections; Press Conference May 26

Contact: Rennie J. Truitt, 202-835-8839 or
         Craig D'Ooge, 202-707-7189

   WASHINGTON, May 12 -- Throughout the twentieth century Americans
have been told that they would be able to access vast amounts of
multi-media information on line and on demand from their homes.  The
Library of Congress and Jones Intercable Inc., working together, have
pioneered a technology that will allow Americans to access the
collections of the library from their homes via a coaxial cable
infrastructure that exists today.

   The technology provides two-way digital communications as well as
real-time analog audio and video over the coaxial cable that is used
in connecting homes to cable servers.  A pilot project provides access
to the Library of Congress' American Memory program which is a wealth
of searchable multi-media information from American history and
culture stored on laser discs.  The technology will be demonstrated
and discussed at a news conference to be held at the Library of
Congress.

   WHEN:     Wednesday, May 26, 1993 10:00 a.m.
   WHERE:    Library of Congress,  Mary Pickford Theater
             Third Floor - James Madison Building
             Independence Ave. and First Street, SE

   WHO:      Glenn R. Jones, CEO Jones Intercable
             James Billington, Librarian of Congress

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

Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]  (Matt McConnell)
Subject: Why Do Cable Companies Charge per Outlet?
Date: 13 May 1993 16:12:57 -0600
Organization: Idaho State University, Pocatello


What is the rational behind charging a cable customer based on
outlets?  I'm talking noncommercial use, at home.

One of the doctors I consult for has four cable boxes, some sort of
Jerrold box, they filter and unscramble six pay channels.  The boxes
and the six pay channels cost $33.95 each plus about $30 dollars for
the "outlet", basic and extended cable.  That's almost $70 bucks a box
or outlet!  He doesn't use them all at the same time but, this is what
the cable company "suggested".  Oh, he also has state of the art TVs
all cable compatible.  The service only offers about 40 channels and
it is from TCI.  I found this incredible when I was walking through
his home.

Is this the norm for most cable companies?  I use 3M system and not
cable so I have no idea.  I suggested to him getting rid of some of
the boxes and getting a push on RF connector so that if he wanted to
he could move the "box" around his house easily.


Thank you,

Matt McConnell   <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Reinhard  Hamid)
Subject: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know?
Organization: RRZN
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 21:12:15 GMT


In Germany we have many toll-free numbers (0130 8x xx xx) which belong
to companys in the US.  Just for fun I was dialing some of them, and
the operators of some companies told me that they didn't know they can
be reached from here by toll-free. They only knew about their 1-800
number, and they said that they have no German custumers.

Does AT&T connect 1-800 numbers worldwide to local toll-free-numbers,
without telling it to their owners?

How are the German tollfree numbers billed to the companies?

Do the 1-800 owners still have problems with hackers?


Reinhard


[Moderator's Note: 800 service in the USA is generally limited to
domestic use coming and going. That is, from a USA telephone to a USA
telephone. Canada works the same way, but there are some 800 numbers
which work between the two countries. A small subset of the 800 number
range is set aside for companies in other countries (typically in
Europe) who want Americans to be able to call them. Likewise although
(I think) most European telco variations on 800 -- as in your case it
is '0130'; in the UK I think it is '0800' -- are intended to serve
their own countries domestically, some wind up ringing over here in
the States for businesses who want that service. I would not rely on
the company telephone operator to necessarily be the best person to
ask about a company's telecom configuration. She is paid to run the
PBX, not get involved with the service installation. Then too, it may
be possible in some cases the German telecom administration has left
a number hooked up to something over here which *used to be* in
service; now the present owner here is getting erroneous calls as a
result. Hackerphreaks are with us always. Like cockroaches, they will
never go away. Probably even after a nuclear war there would be some
weird mutation of hackerphreak still alive and well. :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David E. Martin)
Subject: Busy Out an ISDN Line
Date: 13 May 93 18:41:26 GMT
Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,  Batavia, IL,  USA
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I am setting up a rotary of ISDN bridge for remote access.  When I
have a remote bridge off-line, I would like to busy out that line much
as we do with our current analog modem pool.  With an analog line I
just short tip and ring.  Anyone know how to busy out an both B
channels on and ISDN line?


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: [e-mail] (Mohan R. Ramanathan)
Subject: Category Five Transmission Systems
Date: 13 May 1993 19:21:59 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park


I work at the University of Maryland as a PDS engineer. I have seen a
lot in trade journals and shows about the new developments in category
five wiring systems, and I was wondering whether anyone was using
these sytems currently. We are currently specifying cat 5 wire for the
data side of our voice/data outlets, but the campus standard
communication is still being done at 10baseT ethernet speeds, so I was
curious as to any cat 5 problems to watch out for when I specify
equipment for new installations from people who are actually pumping
100Mb/s speeds over twisted pair.


Thanks,

Mo

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

From: [e-mail] (Ray Kiddy)
Subject: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID!
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 06:09:04 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc.


I just saw an ad showing Pacific Bell advertising a service where, if
a phone is ringing and you cannot get to it on time, you dial a code
and the person who was calling you is called back.

What was interesting is that PacBell, in the testimony they gave
before the Public Utilities Commision (I was there), said that they
needed Caller ID to be approved in order to offer this service. Well,
California does not, thankfully, have forced Caller-ID, so Caller-ID
is not at all available.  Yet, they are now offering these services.
hmmmm.

Makes me wonder what else they are fibbing about. Like how about the
highest in-area calling prices in the country?  Hmmm.


ray

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

Subject: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 02:21:43 -0500
From: Mitchell Tasman <[e-mail]>


    Hi.

    Some relatives of mine are MCI "Friends & Family" subscribers.  As
a courtesy to those relatives [and thanks to a tip in TELECOM Digest],
I recently signed up my residential lines as "secondary" MCI accounts.
Despite initial misinformation that I received from MCI, calls to
"secondary" accounts are eligible for the 20% F&F discount.

    On to my question.  After activating the MCI accounts, I did some
voice quality comparisons on a series of short calls between Madison,
WI and Cambridge, MA.  I cycled among AT&T, Sprint, and MCI by using
the appropriate 10XXX codes [10288, 10333, 10222].  My subjective
ranking of voice quality was AT&T first, Sprint a close second, and
MCI a distant third.  The party in Cambridge concurred.  I mentioned
MCI's third place showing to an MCI customer service representative,
and received a rather interesting response.  He [the MCI CSR] said
that voice quality was so bad because I used the 10222 prefix, rather
than being a dial 1 subscriber.  When I pressed him on this point, he
said that when the call reached an MCI switch, the 10222 prefix would
cause the call to be routed via a "bypass network".

   While this explanation sounds like total B.S. to me, it certainly
seems to be within the realm of technical possibility.  I thought that
I'd solicit the opinions of the TELECOM Digest readership.


   Thanks,

   Mitchell Tasman


[Moderator's Note: You are correct, it is total B.S. The only thing
10xxx does is tells your local telco to hand the call to a different
carrier than they normally would. You should note that telco looks at
all the digits dialed before they hand the call anywhere, and if they
have the right to handle the call themselves, (such as local, or
intra-LATA) they will do so, ignoring your 10xxx instructions. All
long distance carriers serving your community have gateways to the
local telco (or points of presence) somewhere in town. They do not get
your call from one place if it is 1+ and somewhere else if it arrives
on 10xxx. Not all carriers will accept your call if it comes in on
10xxx, or more likely, not all carriers will accept your call if they
do not recognize you.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Steiger)
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 02:16:39 -0600
Subject: MN to Get Caller-ID
Organization: The Dark Knight's Table BBS:  Minnetonka, MN (Free!)


The Minnesota state PUC ruled that Caller-ID can be used in Minnesota.
US West announced that it will be available by the end of the year in
the Minneapolis/ST. Paul area by the end of the year for $6.95 per
month.

I saw this on the news last night.

Also, how does this rate compare with other areas?


Origin: The Igloo BBS 612-574-2079 (1:282/4018)
Mark Steiger, Sysop, The Igloo BBS [phone]
Internet: [e-mail]   Fido: 1:282/4018  Simnet: 16:612/24

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

From: [e-mail] (Rick Watson)
Subject: Headsets, FAQ
Date: 11 May 93 00:15:17 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas


I'm looking for a good quality telephone headset. I have a Hello
Direct headset which works fine on a standard desk set, but is
distorted when both sending and receiving when used with any of
several electronic phones I've tried. I've gotten the recommended
switch settings from Hello Direct for each phone I've tried. Has
anyone else had this problem with that headset? Does anyone have a
good recommendation for other headsets?

Is there a FAQ for this group?


Rick Watson
The University of Texas Computation Center, Networking Services, 512/471-3241
   internet: [e-mail]             bitnet: watson@utadnx
   uucp:     ...!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!rick   span:   utspan::utadnx::watson


[Moderator's Note: The FAQ, or 'frequently.asked.questions' file is
available by anonymous ftp from the Telecom Archives, lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #326
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #327

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 14 May 93 04:23:40 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 327

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Hinsdale Disaster (H.A. Kippenhan Jr.)
    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Todd Inch)
    Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries (Steven King)
    Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Rudolf Usselmann)
    Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns! ([e-mail])
    Legion of Doom - The Real One (Todd Inch)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 16:04:45 -0500 (CDT)
From: H.A. Kippenhan Jr. <[e-mail]>
Subject: Hinsdale Disaster


    Hi Todd, P.T.:

In article <[e-mail]> our Moderator notes:

>> [Moderator's Note: Bell/AT&T switch buildings are very often left
>> unattended at night and over the weekends ... just ask the idiots at
>> Illinois Bell who let Hinsdale burn down back in 1988 rather than pay
>> one person to sit there all night and/or weekends doing some kind of
>> trivial paperwork to keep them busy and earning their pay.

> Huh?  I can't imagine what a human could monitor in a CO that a
> machine couldn't monitor just as well (and without salary and benefits
> :-), especially if you have plenty of spare dedicated trunks which
> could lead back to a central monitoring point, provide redundant
> paths, etc.  Now maybe the Ill Bell CO DIDN'T have any automated
> monitoring, or not enough, or it failed, or?

>  Did the CO itself burn down, or just the town of Hinsdale?

I just can't let this pass without comment.  In fact, the alarm
sensors did indicate some problem in the Hinsdale office to the people
in Springfield, Illinois.  The initially attributed the alarm to
thunderstorms (we tend to get those in this part of the world).  They
finally decide it might be something more serious than a false alarm
and had a human go over to the office to investigate.

> [Moderator's Note: Well, if you 'cannot imagine what a machine could
> not monitor just as well' then you must have a poor imagination. The
> Hinsdale CO burned down. The building was totally gutted. The fire
> began on a Sunday afternoon in May, Mother's Day, 1988. The fire began
> about 3 PM and burned unnoticed for *over an hour* before the person
> monitoring the place from two hundred miles away decided to call up
> to Chicago and tell someone ... and did he call the Fire Department?
> Oh no ... he called a supervisor at home some miles away and asked
> them to 'go over to Hinsdale and see what is going on, and shut the
> alarm off if it is still malfunctioning.' So the supervisor finishes
> lunch, gets in their car for a fifteen minute drive, finds the office
> in flames, tries to call the Fire Department only to find the lines
> all over town have already been dead for probably thirty minutes ...

> 'Industry practice' was how Jim Eibel VP of Operations for IBT
> described the reasoning for leaving Hinsdale abandoned all weekend.
> Eibel should have been given the choice of resigning the day after the
> conflagration, or getting fired.

> There are cases where electronic remote monitoring may be cost
> effective. A telco CO as important as Hinsdale in NOT such a case.
> "The worst tragedy in this company's history and possibly the worst
> ever in the telecom industry" was the way IBT described it.  I wonder
> if a bunch of other telephone CO's have to burn down or get flooded
> out, or otherwise put out of service before 'industry practice' will
> change?  PAT]

The 'industry practice' statement should have indeed cooked Mr.
Eibel's goose.  It is not 'industry practice' to have such an
important communications facility totally unprotected.  I used to work
for GTE (stop snickering).  One of the ways (and there are damn few)
where GTE is ahead of the Bell Operating companies is in protecting
their switching equipment.  I spent some time at various GTE central
offices in the Tampa Bay area, and all that I visited were protected
by Halon.  Note that I was an engineer on assignment, not a dignitary
on a guided tour.

I also wondered (and I live in the the western suburbs of Chicago) if
the Hinsdale disaster didn't exhibit some of the symptoms of what's
contributing to the decline of American business.  I've strong doubts
that the folks concerned with keeping central offices operational were
all that happy to have an office like Hinsdale unmanned on weekends.
I suspect that some financial wizard (read M.B.A.) who never learned
much of anything about the telephone business (other than to look at
it's balance sheet) pushed the decision to not have Hinsdale manned on
weekends; Illinois Bell could thus save a few bucks. That person
should have joined Mr. Eibel on the involuntary stroll out the door.

I expect that we'll get to revisit this disaster again in a few years
in a couple of ways.  I doubt that IBT has mended it's ways and it
will happen again.  Second is the risk to those who put the fire out.
One of the things about fires in switching offices is all the nasty
fumes that are given off as PVC plastic burns.  There was a fire in a
cable vault in New York City (prior to divestiture), and the incidence
of lung cancer in the firemen who fought that blaze is staggering.

Just a few random thoughts.


H.A. Kippenhan Jr.               |   Internet:   [e-mail]
Fermi National Accelerator Lab.  |   HEPnet/NSI DECnet:  FNDCD::KIPPENHAN
P.O. Box 500   MS: FCC-3E/368    |   BITnet:       [e-mail]
Batavia, Illinois 60510          |   Telephone:            [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Well, IBT now claims everything is redundant; they
say everything is set so traffic can go at least two different ways at
the flip of a switch, i.e. one office goes out of service for some
reason, the traffic can instantly be sent another direction. That's
all very nice, but I have seen tiny, one position PBX cord boards in
little hotels where an operator sat there all night long reading a
book or watching television after the 'bookkeeping' was done for the
day which maybe took all of an hour. Between two and six in the
morning they might have one call, or might have none. Ask the prop-
rietor, "Why do you pay an operator to sit there all night with no
calls? Why not close the board down until in the morning?" They will
answer "Because there may be an emergency. A tenant may need to call
out, or there may be an urgent call for a tenant coming in." In other
words, they take the provision of telecom services to their guests and
tenants seriously. And I feel the same way: telecom is not to be
trifled with. If you are responsible for a network, large or small,
run it correctly. Leave little or nothing to chance. It is not your
fault your users have come to rely on the telephone as a lifesaver in
cases of emergency -- they didn't 150 years ago -- but that is the way
it is now, so live with it. Automate things as much as you can, but
bear in mind there are some thing in the business that will *not* be
profit centers, no matter how you arrange things. But even though they
look bad on your books, you have to have them; one thing being fully
trained personnel around your equipment *all the time*.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 16:46:44 -0800 (PDT)


H.A. Kippenhan Jr. said:

> I just can't let this pass without comment.  In fact, the
> alarm sensors did indicate some problem in the Hinsdale
> office to the people in Springfield, Illinois.

Of course, alarms aren't any good if they aren't reliable, are ignored,
people take the batteries out, etc.

>> [Moderator's Note: Well, if you 'cannot imagine what a machine could
>> not monitor just as well' then you must have a poor imagination.

Well, I was only considering mechanical & electrical systems. ;-)

>> An office which served as the long distance hub for all of northern
>> Illinois including Chicago; the center for cellular service in the
>> same area; several western suburbs of over a million people were
>> served from that office; three major 911 centers; all of the air
>> traffic controllers lines between O'hare Airport and the Federal
>> Aviation Administration went through there.

I assumed that by "CO" you meant a switch for an exchange or two, you
didn't say "major regional switching center", which, of course, SHOULD
be manned 24 hours.  I was thinking more along the lines of a
neighborhood cinderblock building.

Still, APPROPRIATE automated monitoring should have done the job, but,
in this case, appropriate automated monitors may not be more cost
effective than a human.  Sounds like there should also have been
automatic halon extinguishers, etc, as well.

And then there was the story of the air traffic controller who fell
asleep on the job in the news the other day, and a jet had to land
unassisted.

I hope there is now more redundancy built into those systems you
mention, it sounds like their mistakes include putting too many eggs
in one basket.  I would hope the critical systems (air traffic
control, 911) would have some limited microwave or radio backup?
Probably not.

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven King, Software Archaeologist)
Subject: Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 21:27:42 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Well, if you 'cannot imagine what a machine could
> not monitor just as well' then you must have a poor imagination. The
> Hinsdale CO burned down. The building was totally gutted. The fire
> began on a Sunday afternoon in May, Mother's Day, 1988. The fire began
> about 3 PM and burned unnoticed for *over an hour* before the person
> monitoring the place from two hundred miles away decided to call up
> to Chicago and tell someone ... and did he call the Fire Department?
> Oh no ... he called a supervisor at home some miles away and asked
> them to 'go over to Hinsdale and see what is going on, and shut the
> alarm off if it is still malfunctioning.' So the supervisor finishes
> lunch, gets in their car for a fifteen minute drive, finds the office
> in flames, tries to call the Fire Department only to find the lines
> all over town have already been dead for probably thirty minutes ...

Let's be fair, Pat.  This doesn't show that automated warning devices
are inherently inferior to humans on-site 24 hours a day.  It looks to
me like the faults lie in ...

    A poorly designed alarm system that didn't differentiate
    between something simple like "a trunk is down" and
    something major like "the building is in flames"; and,

    A human who ignored an alarm for an hour.

Both of these factors contributed to the untimely demise of Hinsdale.
Although I know nothing about the Hinsdale facility, from your
description I'd bet that I can buy warning devices for my house that
are far superior to what they had installed.  I know for a fact that
you can buy telemetry equipment that will tell you the temperature is
too high, too low, intruder alert, power failure alert, and dozens of
other things.  A properly designed automated system with an *ATTENTIVE*
human on the other end of a pager/phone/modem is just as useful as
(and less costly than) a human on-site 24 hours.


Steven King, Motorola Cellular  ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 19:26:29 GMT


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

> On May 06 21:12, sohl,william h wrote:

>> It took a technician maybe three minutes to reprogram the phone's
>> codes so it could be used for eavesdropping. 'Every cellular phone is
>> a scanner, and they are completely insecure', Sun Micro's Gage said.

> My boss once worked for LA Cellular and he pressed a few keys on his
> phone and showed me how he could monitor any cellular frequency with
> the phone's speaker. All you need to know are some of the keypad codes
> that allow you to setup and test the phone. Knowledge any cellular
> phone installer would have.

> [Moderator's Note: For that matter, Radio Shack sells the technical
> specs for all their phones out of the corporate office in Dallas.  PAT]

No offense (and please no flames), but this is now a crime (might even
be a felony).  It requires using manual test modes of the phones.
Motorola units do not do this unless certain pins are connected on the
hardware cable kit connector. (Don't ask me which ones, I will not
give it out.)


Dan DeClerck       EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD   Phone: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: It is a crime to abuse the radio transmissions of
others by spying on them, etc. It is not a crime to repair or test
your cellular phone when it is needed. My Motorola cell phone uses a
25-pin connector (just like from a modem to the com port in a
computer) between the battery and the phone. (This is one of the large
older units). Either pin 20 is 'local' and pin 21 is 'ground' or the
other way around; I forget which off hand. You have to send local to
ground.  Get one of those little 'mini-tester' things from Radio Shack
and open the cover on it. Drop a tiny bit of solder between 20/21.
Sandwich it between the jack on the back of the phone and the
battery so the battery flows through it to the phone. When the
connection is made, the phone will power up in 'local test mode'.
There are lots of tests you can conduct, and of course all the
registers can be zeroed out including that nuisance one which locks
the phone up after three times of changing the phone number and the
carrier-ID code, etc. Motorola sent me a dozen pages of documentation
once when I called and asked them nicely. Your mileage may vary,
depending on the model you have, but the idea seems to always be the
same: send local to ground ... even my Radio Shack CT-301 works that
way to get into 'local test mode'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rudolf Usselmann)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 18:22:21 GMT


Douglas J. Coyle ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Does anybody know (or know how to get) this kind of programming
> information for the Motorala flip phones?

Isn't that illegal ?

Call Motorola Tech Support, ask for the "Blue book" ($40.-). It tells
you everything (well almost). The most interesting stuff is of course
missing: their internal C&D bus documentation.  Anybody has a spec for
it? Or knows where to get it?  Motorola will not give out any documen-
tation on it :*( This would enable us techies to build our own
interface boards for modems and fax, and would not have to fork out
the $300+ !


rudi

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

From: TDC <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 14:23:23 -0400
Subject: Re: They're Back! The Legion of Doom Returns!
Organization: The Zoo of Ids


One might (although you would have to be exceedingly paranoid) take
the view that this is all some scam to compile information on the
hacking community ...

In fact its a fairly valid fear (think back to those bogus boards a
while ago).  A "group" would seem to be the next logical step. However
this is NOT the case.  This is taking place outside of the US (an
unlikely choice for any American law enforcement agencies to make).
But don't take my word for it, just wait until next month when you can
see with your own eyes the TJ and then rest assured that its "cool".

There was also a reply saying the account had been closed for non-
payment of fees ...

What can I say ... just try again now, the account is fine. You are at
the whims of the system admin with a legitimate account such as as
this one. For obvious reasons a legitimate account was required ...
I'm not going to give anyone an excuse to sieze any account(s).

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

From: [e-mail] (The Marauder)
Subject: Legion of Doom! - The Real One
Date: 13 May 1993 21:55:46 -0400


Let me set the record straight:

This "NEW" Legion of Doom, coming from "[e-mail]" has
_NOTHING_ whatsoever to do with the Legion of Doom! group that was
formed approximatly mid-1984, of which I was a member. The "real" LoD
continued as a group until somewhere around 1990. Those of you really
interested in the whole thing can read all about it in the electronic
publication called "Phrack", which is available at the anon ftp site
"ftp.eff.org", in the "/pub/cud/phrack" directory.

I believe "Phrack" issue #31 contains "The History of The Legion of
Doom!" which was written by Lex Luthor (founder of the whole thing),
and edited by Erik Bloodaxe. The article contains a brief history of
us, and ALL them members of the real group, and is the final word as
to who was/was not in LoD. I think you will find no mention of this
(ahem) Lord Havoc character.  I believe "ftp.eff.org" also contains
all the LOD Technical Journals in "pub/cud/lod". The Legion of Doom!
as a hack/phreak group DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE. These clowns running
around the internet calling themselves the "NEW" LoD are simply some
kids having fun with you all, so relax, take a deep breath, and forget
the whole thing. I am quite convinced you'll not hear much more from
them ;).

Most of the horror stories, and tales of terror you have read and
heard about us (real LOD), are way off base. Very few of you were
around, or involved with the "BBS" underground world back when we
existed as a group so any "data" you have about us is heresay at best.
(Although I'm sure you guys at AT&T could probably find some fairly
accurate information in "Ralph's" files, heh ;) ). Anyway, speaking
for me, I simply became obsessed with the telephone system; it is
after all the largest interconnected entity I know of. The last thing
I or any of the members of the LOD wanted to do is wreck or destroy
the very thing that caused us to come into existence in the first
place. Sure we looked at a few things we damn well had no business
seeing, and yes we occasionally impersonated the Arlington RNOC for
WATS translations and what have you. But as to being the wandering
band of "Digital Henchmen" who left smoking, crumpled 1AESS's in our
wake -- you could not be further from the truth!  I often laugh out
loud at the media's portrayal of us and our activities, as they are by
far the most clueless of the lot.

Most of the original members of the LOD have remained friends, and
stay in fairly current contact with each other, sometimes swapping
stories of our old memories over a beer or two, when we have time.
That's about the extent of it.

Forget about this "Return of the Legion of Doom!". Like a bad smell,
it's sure to blow away.


The Marauder   Legion of Doom!   [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #327
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #328

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 15 May 93 00:47:15 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 328

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (Toby Nixon)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved?  (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Tony Harminc)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Jim Rees)
    Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (Mark Evans)
    Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies (Reza Hussein)
    Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies (Chas Keeys)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Greg Trotter)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (William Eldridge)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Harry Skelton)
    Re: Information Wanted on CableLabs (David Willming)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (John J. Butz)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (Steve Forrette)
    Re: 800-555-1212: I Need Information (Khee Chan)
    Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service (Rob Boudrie)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Toby Nixon)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?
Date: 14 May 93 16:47:32 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond WA, USA


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

> According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
> the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
> International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
> (ITU-TSS).

> a) Is this true?

Yes, this is true.

> b) Why?

The CCITT has always been a part of the International
Telecommunications Union.  The ITU is the part of the United Nations
charged with setting international communications standards and
helping developing countries to install and improve communications
services.  The CCITT (telegraph and telephone) and CCIR (radio,
television, and satellites) are the committees under the ITU that do
standardization.  The ITU decided to reorganize the CCITT and CCIR to
promote efficiency, reduce costs, and better coordinate work by
eliminating duplication, merging study groups with similar
repsonsiblities, etc.

> c) Who is this ITU-TSS?

As far as most of us are concerned, it is simply the new name of the
CCITT.  It continues to work basically the same way, although instead
of the "normal" standard approval procedure being one a four-year
cycle and the "exception" being "accelerated approval", the ITU-TS
"normal" procedure will be to adopt standards by ballot as they are
ready.  This has been the normal operating procedure for ISO and most
other standards-making organizations for some time, and it makes sense
for CCITT (ITU-TS) to adopt the same procedures in order to bring
standards to the industry as expeditiously as possible.

> d) What does this do to Recommendataions in progress (or new ones)?

> I'm particularly interested in Group XVII and V.fast.

Work in progress continues.  Some of the higher-numbered CCITT study
groups have been renumbered, due both to the incorporation of CCIR
study groups and to a desire to eliminate gaps in the committee
numbering (some groups had been dropped years ago, but renumbering
wasn't done then).  Also, the groups now have Arabic rather than Roman
numbers.  What was CCITT Study Group XVII is now ITU-TS Study Group
14, but other than that it continues as it was.  V.fast continues to
progress at a steady, if glacial, pace.

I must say I'm a bit disappointed that one or more modem companies
would go around stirring up fear, uncertainty, and doubt, giving half
the story and leading people to believe that somehow work on modem
standards has been disrupted by this purely-administrative
reorganization.  I can't help but attribute it to some perverse
motivation on their part to get people to buy non-standard proprietary
high-speed modulations, throwing the industry once again into a
confusion of incompatibility, rather than waiting for the process to
work and settle on the best solution (V.fast).  I hope nobody is
misled; the same experts continue to do the same high-quality work,
and nobody should be concerned that any modem standards work will be
delayed simply because of these administrative details.


Toby

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 15:22:09 GMT


The CCITT did indeed get renamed "ITU TSS".  Its study groups have
survived, but they too were renamed.  CCITT fans will of course fondly
remember their use of Roman numerals (SG XVIII).  This is history.
The new Study Group identifiers are Arabic numbers!  So SG VII is no
more, but SG 7 replaces it.

Since there are only 15 SGs (one was merged away as too inactive)
left, the high numbers were changed.  XVIII is now 13, XVII is now 14.

Now all of the worlds' standards (including TSS's) that refer to
"CCITT standard" for their codepoints are in a way obsolete.

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

Date: Thu, 13 May 93 22:57:44 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?


[e-mail] (Douglas J. Coyle) wrote:

>> My boss once worked for LA Cellular and he pressed a few keys on his
>> phone and showed me how he could monitor any cellular frequency with
>> the phone's speaker. All you need to know are some of the keypad codes
>> that allow you to setup and test the phone. Knowledge any cellular
>> phone installer would have.

> Does anybody know (or know how to get) this kind of programming
> information for the Motorala flip phones?

> [Moderator's Note: Doesn't Motorola Technical Support provide this
> information to service techs?  I called them once about a Motorola
> phone I had and they faxed me page after page of details on how to
> get in to the phone, reset and change the registers, etc.   PAT]

I imagine that this information is quickly becoming much harder to
get, since the publication of the _Wired_ article and the demo to the
Washington politicos.


Tony Harminc

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Date: 14 May 1993 15:15:19 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Rudolf
Usselmann) writes:

> Does anybody know (or know how to get) this kind of programming
> information for the Motorala flip phones?

Isn't that illegal ?

As far as I know, it's not illegal to reprogram your cellphone.  It is
illegal to obtain service fraudulently, and it is illegal to listen in
on someone else's conversation.

Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
it now illegal to own a cellphone?

Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
would be illegal for me to sell it now?

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone
Organization: Aston University
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 16:15:50 GMT


Frank Keeney ([e-mail]) wrote:

> On May 06 21:12, sohl,william h wrote:

>> It took a technician maybe three minutes to reprogram the phone's
>> codes so it could be used for eavesdropping. 'Every cellular phone is
>> a scanner, and they are completely insecure', Sun Micro's Gage said.

> My boss once worked for LA Cellular and he pressed a few keys on his
> phone and showed me how he could monitor any cellular frequency with
> the phone's speaker. All you need to know are some of the keypad codes
> that allow you to setup and test the phone. Knowledge any cellular
> phone installer would have.

I know of someone hooking up a car phone to a PC, reprogramming it a
bit; such that they could use it to track phones. Detect paging
requests, a few seconds before the phone is rung a request is sent out
to all base stations near where the phone was last know to be to
attempt to find where it is now.  Also he could intercept calls, go
three way on them, or cut them off (including before the phone
actually started ringing).

His comment was that cellular phones were slightly more secure than CB
radios.


Mark Evans                       [e-mail]
+(44) 21 429 9199  (Home)        [e-mail]
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)

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

From: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)
Subject: Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies
Date: 14 May 1993 22:41:33 -0500
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Reza Hussein)


So, [e-mail] (Bryan J Abshier) said:

> Also, I think that they have already violated the FDCPA.  They
> aren't supposed to reveal to third parties that the person they are
> looking for owes them money.

Ahh ... but they the person who called didn't really reveal my
roommate owed them money. I asked him repeatedly, why he needed to
contact my roommate. Initially he said he needed to talk to my
roommate urgently concerning some matter. Eventually, he got quite
rude and said it was "None of my business!" When I told him my
roommate was going to contact me concerning some bills to settle, he
eventually admitted that they were seeking him "for the same reason."


Reza Hussein -- [e-mail]; Computer Science; University of Houston


[Moderator's Note: Remember, the FDPCA *only* applies to collection
agencies and attornies working for collection agencies. It does *not*
apply to the creditor. The creditor can legally get quite rude.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 14 May 93 11:35:39
Subject: Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies



[e-mail] (Chas [not charles] Keeys) wrote:

> Alex Pournelle writes:

>> This happened to me, where they were harassing my fiancee
>> over a bill I hadn't paid quite in time.  I no longer
>> patronize the May Company (now Robinsons May) over their
>> heavy handed treatment of this issue, which included threats
>> and bad language at 8AM on a Saturday.

I also had a problem with the local May Company.  It was several years
ago, and I had gone to Consumer Credit Counseling Service (where my I
paid CCCS and they paid my creditors an on extended time basis), and
the May Co. kept calling and getting very rude, demanding that I had
incurred the debt and not CCCS.

Well, in Colorado it is against the law for them to make harassing
calls to you if you are "making an effort to pay," and paying their
bill through CCCS was definitely "making an effort to pay," so I wrote
a letter of complaint to the Attorney General's Office, and guess
what.  the VP of the May Co. in Colorado called me and apologized.

That aside, I still do not shop the May Co.  I figure it they are
doing it to me, they are doing it to people who don't know their
rights.


Chas


[Moderator's Note: Exactly what constitutes 'making an effort to pay'?
Exactly what constitutes 'harassment'?  It seems to me both these
things are subjective decisions by the people involved. When there is
a bonafide debt involved, it is sometimes a rather dangerous tactic
for the debtor to accuse the collection agency and/or creditor of
'harassment'. Most collection agencies will mark their file
accordingly and go back to the creditor with a request for suit
requirements, noting that the debtor is uncooperative and has made
allegations or threats. It is sometimes prudent to take a little guff
and try to outwit the creditor or his agency with a payment plan you
(and they) mutually agree on, even if it is a bit stiffer than you
would have proposed on your own.  Learn how their routine works and
send them enough money from time to time to insure the file stays in
bookkeeping and out of the collector's 'cases to call today' file.

If the creditor sues, you *will* lose if the debt is bonafide. When
you lose the suit, then you become what is known legally as a
'judgment debtor' and although the creditor may decide to continue
working along with you at that point he need not do so.  With judgment
in hand he can garnish your wages, take money from your bank account,
or in many instances, repossess his merchandise leaving you owing the
defeciency still due. I am not saying harassment is right, or that it
does not occur, only that to challenge your creditor(s) on that basis
is not a good tactical move in all cases.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
From: [e-mail] (Greg Trotter)
Date: 14 May 93 13:04:59 CDT
Organization: Gallifrey - Home of the Timelords


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brendan
B. Boerner) writes:

> Has anyone noticed the AT&T ads which keep asking "Have you ever done
> <x>?"  and then say, "You will"?

> What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years
> ago did AT&T demonstrate a videophone at a World's Fair, 30?  Also,
> show me a library that can afford to keep buying subscriptions to
> periodicals, much less state of the art computer equipment, and I'll
> show you a library which is going to get it's budget cut.

I think they are funny. The part I like is "Have you ever paid a toll
without slowing down?" We've had equipment to scan an ID number from a
car on a turnpike for years here in backwater Oklahoma. ;-)


Greg Trotter  Norman, Oklahoma
Internet: [e-mail]
Fidonet: 1:147/63 Treknet: 87:6012/8009

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

From: [e-mail] (William Eldridge)
Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
Date: 14 May 1993 17:41:10 GMT
Organization: UCLA Cognitive Science Research Program


> Remote Reader
> Medical Records on a credit card device
> Navigator
> Toll Collection on highways
> Portable Tablets with FAX capablity (Something we're already doing!)

> And of course, in every single on, they show the mother calling home to
> say goodnight to her baby ... on a public videophone. I wonder if this
> means something?

Inspired by the thought of:

    Compost Reader,
    Portable Toilets with FAX capability,
    Medical Remains on a credit card device.

Of course "mother" is a thinly-veiled symbol for Ma Bell, alias Big
Brother, making sure all her "babies"' bedroom activities are put on
public display.

Just kidding.


Bill Eldridge     [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
From: [e-mail] (Harry Skelton)
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 13:30:29 GMT
Organization: Harry's Farmers Market


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Malcolm
Slaney) writes:

> [e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner) writes:

>> What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years
>> ago did AT&T demonstrate a videophone at a World's Fair, 30?  Also,
>> show me a library that can afford to keep buying subscriptions to
>> periodicals, much less state of the art computer eq){uipment, and I'll
>> show you a library which is going to get it's budget cut.

> It's easy to justify TODAY!  Note:
  ...
> Yes, electronic journals aren't good for curling up with ... but why
> should a library subscribe to a journal and store it, when they can
> get any article they want, by paying somebody to make a copy and
> handle the copyright fee?

SHEESH ... haven't you folks been reading the newspapers? (remember
those parchment items with scribbles on them? :) ).

The TV and TV/Phone idea is based in ISDN. I assume the car
navigational unit is based on a broadband ISDN or Celular concept but
just in there to flare the ISDN promo (like this is all one big
package ... right).

Much like the installation of fiber in major cities, the ISDN route
will be just as limited. Since I assume that they will be taking
advantage of the fiber offerings. Of course the leaves us "boonies"
out of the loop unless we want a T1/T3 connection or dark fiber links.
:) :)

The commercials look nifty but the technology has been here a while. I
just think that AT&T is making the first move and getting everyone's
attention so they can play hardball with the FCC and cable companies.

As for me, I like the concept of remote live video and navs in the
cars ... but I'd just be as happy with text and a road map. Hell of a
lot cheeper too.

[ I'll just wait untill it comes out on holo's ... ]

> Fast networks and telecommunications are changing the world ... for
> the better I hope.

As do I ...

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 10:48:24 CDT
From: [e-mail] (david willming)
Subject: Re: Information Wanted on CableLabs


CableLabs is a research group funded by the cable television industry.

 From one of their press releases:

"CableLabs [or more formally Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.] is a
research and development consortium of cable television system
operators representing more than 85% of the cable subscribers in the
United States and 60% of the subscribers in Canada.  CableLabs plans
and funds research and development projects that will help cable
companies take advantage of future opportunities and meet future
challenges in the television industry.  It also transfers relevant
technologies to member companies and to the industry.  In addition,
CableLabs acts as a clearing house to provide information on current
and prospective technological developments that are of interest to the
cable industry."

They are presently active in the HDTV selection process and have
performed tests on advanced TV delivery via cable.

Their address: 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 500
               Boulder, CO  80302
        Phone: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 14 May 93 12:36:37 EDT
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows


Up the road from Bell Labs, Holmdel, is an American Water Company
pumping station that was built to meet the Holmdel zoning codes.

It looks like a residential home!

There are shades in the windows, the grounds are landscaped, and the
street-side mailbox says; "Roger Waters."


J "Testing in Naperville" Butz        AT&T - CCS
[e-mail]            ER700 Sys Eng

PS.  Roger, on break from his current concert tour, was recently
     spotted shooting hoops at the home in the spirit of the NBA
     playoffs.

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Date: 14 May 1993 20:52:49 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> Here in Illinois Bell territory, I have hunting between the two lines
> in my home.

> We will soon be moving to a new house in GTE territory, and I just
> found out that GTE claims hunting is not tariffed for residential
> service.  They, will, however, be quite happy to install two business
> lines in my home (and charge me accordingly) if I insist on having
> hunting.  No thanks.

> I'm curious about how typical this is with other LECs in other parts
> of the country.  Do most offer hunting on residential lines, or was
> Illinois Bell being unusually accommodating?

I've had service from both US West and Pacific Bell, and both offer
residential hunting.  I think it is a quite normal thing to have
offered by a real telephone company.  Then again, perhaps Gloria C.
Valle doesn't understand why any residence would want hunting.  You
might look into seeing if you can order busy-transfer, which would do
the same thing as a two-line hunt group.  If busy-transfer is
available in your area, it will be much more likely tariffed for
residential service.  If this is the case, isn't it too bad that the
rep didn't suggest this to you?

> Also, Illinois Bell will allow extra lines to be non-published at no
> charge as long as the main line is published.  Alternatively, since
> two lines entitles me to two listings, Illinois Bell will let me have
> two listings with different names, both giving the main number (at no
> additional charge).  GTE charges extra for either of the above.  Is
> this normal for real LECs?

GTE charges extra for a lot of things that real telcos give away.  For
example, Cancel Call Waiting is usually a separate feature, which you
have to pay for in addition to Call Waiting if you are served by GTE.
Every RBOC that I know of includes Cancel Call Waiting as part of Call
Waiting.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Organization: ESOC European Space Operations Centre
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 22:54:54 CET
From: Khee Chan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 800-555-1212: I Need Information


In article <[e-mail]>, Fidler, Justin <jrf@b31.
nei.nih.gov> says:

> Lastly, is there either a telnettable online version, or a single

The AT&T 800 listings are available on Compuserve without on-line charges.


Khee Chan
BITNET/EARN: kchan@esoc, kchan@caltech     SPAN: jplsp::kchan
INTERNET: [e-mail], [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Grand Canyon Phone Service
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 21:12:17 GMT


> All I remember is our one armed guide that took us to the bottom of
> the canyon on those mules, my behind hurting, and damn good food. Heh.

Did you have a guide who was missing an arm, or do you mean that you
had only one guide and that he was carrying a sidearm?

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #328
******************************










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Date: Sat, 15 May 1993 02:12:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #329

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 15 May 93 02:12:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 329

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Individual Responsibility (Brad S. Hicks)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (Alan Boritz)
    Re: Blocking Call Returns (Anthony E. Siegman)
    Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area (Garrett Wollman)
    Re: Residential Listings on CD-ROM (Tompkins)
    Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service (Nigel Allen)
    Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features (Carl Moore)
    Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features (Richard Budd)
    Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem (Jack Decker)
    Re: France Direct vs Home Direct (Clive Feather)
    Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Clive Feather)
    Re: Sex Telemarketing (Alan Boritz)
    Re: National/International Calls (was Haiti Phone Network) (Carl Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=[e-mail]
Date: 14 May 93 14:58:59 GMT
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!)


> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

Hey, I just spotted this in somebody's reply.  Not only is it a rotten
analogy, it's not true, either!  Anybody in the credit card industry,
and most people in the banking industry, and (in theory) just about
any clerk in the retail business could tell you the answer to your
question: as described, THE MERCHANT is responsible.

That's because merchant (technically, the term is "acquirer") credit
card agreements explicitly state that in order to collect the money,
the merchant MUST confirm that the card isn't on the lost/stolen list,
that the transaction is within the card's remaining credit limit, and,
most importantly to this discussion, that the signature matches the
one on the signature panel (other than mail order/telephone order,
what we call MO/TO, but that wasn't the example you used).

So if you loan your credit card to someone, ANY use they make of it is
fraudulent as they forge your signature or falsely claim to be you.
If you think that that's OK, well, no wonder you're in the 900
business.

For the sake of completeness, I will note that there are two
exceptions to the the credit-check authorization: "floor limits" where
certain types of retail establishments are granted an exemption for
purchases under some VERY low dollar limit, and QuickPay, where some
merchants who ONLY process very cheap transactions, like movie
theaters and fast food restaurants, are exempted from getting
authorizations.

But that example works against you, too.  The reason that the credit
card system works AT ALL is that any transaction over a couple of
dollars is checked against a preset credit limit, pegged to the
individual's (not the household's, the individal's!) ability to pay.
In general, phone service has no such credit limit, which is how IP's
end up in the position of trying to bill $2100 in cumulative charges
against somebody with no ability to pay.

So if you want to make money over the phone AND have a reasonable
expectation of collecting it, convert to a toll-free number and then
contact your bank and set up an account as a credit card acquirer.
That way, both you and your customers are protected.  Because as long
as you abuse the telephone billing process, you're going to be lumped
in with the (rest of the) sleaze.

[Yes, I work for MasterCard International; to a very minor extent, we
depend on increased credit card usage to stay in business, so I have
some minor financial interest in this posting.  No, I am NOT an
official spokesman for MasterCard; the above message is just the
personal opinion of an informed insider.]


J. Brad Hicks     Internet: mc![e-mail]
X.400: c=US admd=ATTMail prmd=MasterCard sn=Hicks gn=Brad

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

Date: 14 May 93 07:39:57 EDT
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility


[e-mail] (Mark Steiger) writes:

> OK.  This one part here has popped up over and over again about
> "Signing" for service.  You get service.  You don't sign anything
> anymore, but by using the phone, you consent to their conditions.  I
> got a credit card recently.  They said, if you use it, it's yours.  No
> agreement was signed.  I applied over the phone.  If I didn't want the
> card, I'd call and cancel it.  Same thing with phone service.

> Now ... back to the argument at hand ... I am currently looking at
> using a 900 service to collect for my BBS...

Can we assume that you're using commercial tariff lines for your
commercial BBS?  Too often we hear BBS operators whining and
complaining that either telco is trying to "rip them off" or that they
can't get their users to pay, while hiding behind the facade of an
amateur (non-commercial) email network.  Sooner or later (probably
sooner) greedy, selfish, people who set up cottage industry BBS's for
extra income are going to spoil it for the rest of the honest, amateur
email and BBS sysops by giving the telco's the justification they need
to show public utilities commissions that BBS's deserve commercial
tariff treatment.


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I'll tell you, Alan, you touched on a sore spot, a
raw nerve with this one. We had a l--o--n--g  thread on this very
topic a couple years ago when Southwestern Sister discussed the impos-
ition of business rates on BBSes.  I'm sure many readers remember it!  PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 14:50:53 PDT
From: Anthony E. Siegman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Blocking Call Returns


> A good way to accomplish this for the telemarketer is to get a
> separate line to make the telemarketing calls.  Have no ringers on it,
> so the callees can Call Return all they want.  If the telemarketer
> doesn't want to even have his line busy for a moment, he can also get
> Call Forwarding and deflect the Call Returns to a non-working number.

   Exactly right.  C'mon, guys, let's work for legislation (State or
Fed) which simply requires that all telemarketing calls must be
identified as coming from some designated area code (like 700, 800,
900, whatever).  Potential callees who wish to can then easily block
incoming telemarketing.  Technically feasible, cheap (for callers and
callees), no First Amendment implications, no nonsensical maintaining
of "do not call" databases.  It's the way to do the job.

Can anyone identify any Fed legislators who are particularly
interested in this issue?


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area
Organization: University of Vermont, EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 22:40:05 GMT



In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave
Niebuhr) writes:

> New England Telephone is about one year behind NYTel's introduction of
> PHONESMART(sm) and I'm surprised it took them that long (oh well,
> that's NYNEX for you).

Actually, it depends on the particular values of "New England Tel" and
"New York Tel".  Here in Vermont, we have had most of the CLASS(sm)
services for more than a year now, but I haven't heard anything about
those services being introduced across the Lake.  (Well, I did see an
NYTel ad for Distinctive Ringing around the holidays ...)  It seems
that the NET side seems to advertise more -- even on the New York
station!

Disclaimer: The hockey playoffs are on right now, so I've probably
seen more Unitel ads (that irritating announcer saying `1-800-949-4545'
is still ringing in my ears) than either NET or NYT.


Garrett A. Wollman    [e-mail]
uvm-gen!wollman       UVM disagrees.

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

From: [e-mail] (Tompkins)
Subject: Re: Residential Listings on CD-ROM
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Tompkins)
Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc.
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 23:23:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(James Van Houten) writes:

> I am interested in a CD-ROM that covers all residential telephone
> listings in the USA.  I know that DAK was offering one with a purchase
> of their CD-ROM drive.  Anyone have any info on this.  Thanks.

I have the DAK disks (two residential and one business).  The
residential ones (one east and one western US) are reasonably quick
looking for a name.  They are not cross indexed for streets, so, while
you can search for names on a particular street (as mentioned in DAK's
ad), you're best off starting it when you are on your way out to
lunch!

Of more interest to me is the source of their database.  It is NOT the
telephone white pages!  There are many listings in here for people
with unlisted numbers.  All of these listings show just the address
and area code (without the actual phone number).  The area code, of
course, can easily be added based on the address.  Similarly, there
are many listed number (my own, included) that are not in the
database.  The common thread here is all the ones I checked belonged
to people (like me) who have there phone listed without a street
address: eg: Peter Tompkins, Malibu, CA.

Also, no API is available: you are at the mercy of their software.
The format of the data is not obvious on the CD -- it is clearly
compressed -- but this was predictable: 35 million listings per CD
nets out to about 18 bytes per listing!  I had hoped to be able to get
information regarding the compression used and how to directly access
the database.  They would not provide this information (but that was
quite awhile ago).

Finally, originally, DAK only sold this to buyers of the CD drives.  I
believe they eliminated this requirement several months ago, so they
are now available to anyone.


Pete Tompkins    [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 21:01:55 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Re: Calling Cards Without Phone Service
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Some local exchange carriers are willing to issue calling cards to
non-subscribers.

The British Columbia Telephone Company, which is in the process of
changing its name to BC Tel, handled my application for a
non-subcriber calling card as a matter of routine.  The service rep
had a script to follow for non-subscriber calling card applications,
and everything went smoothly.  I had to give my address as my sister's
place in Vancouver (I was staying there for two weeks), because BC Tel
wouldn't issue a calling card to someone with a Toronto address.

Bell Canada is another story. It is willing to issue a "deferred
applicant" calling card to a non-subscriber, but most service reps
aren't familiar with how to do so.  The application, at the time I
checked, had to be approved by a second-level manager.  The remittance
address for payments on such an account is different, and the numbers
printed on the bill to call for orders or billing inquiries are wrong.

Since BC Tel is half-owned by GTE, and since Bell Canada's procedures
probably derive from old Bell System practices, I would guess that it
might be easier to get a non-subscriber calling card from a GTE
telephone company in the U.S. than from a Bell operating company.

Now that York University (in North York, a suburb of Toronto) has
announced plans to provide phone service directly to its students in
residence, bypassing Bell Canada, those students may be interested in
getting Bell calling cards.  It will be interesting to see how Bell
Canada approaches this market.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 10:22:40 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features


You mention APO.  I believe that is "Army Post Office" (includes the Air
Force, which is the successor to the Army Air Corps).  There is also FPO,
Fleet Post Office, for Naval installations overseas.

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 16:47:25 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Germany to Offer Custom Calling Features
Organization: CSAV UTIA


On Wed, 12 May 93 10:22:40 EDT Carl said:

> You mention APO.  I believe that is "Army Post Office" (includes the Air
> Force, which is the successor to the Army Air Corps).  There is also FPO,
> Fleet Post Office, for Naval installations overseas.

Carl,

You are correct, it's Army Post Office.  An error of the grey cells
trying to recall events of eleven years ago.  I believe NPO (Navy Post
Office) applies to ships and naval bases.


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CR    [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |       Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |       18200 Praha 8


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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 01:28:40 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Re: Minor But Puzzling Problem


In message <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Jeff Hibbard) wrote:

> I called Illinois Bell once to report excessive noise on one of my
> lines.  Their first question was "Is it OK at the demarc?".  When I
> explained that my house was wired many years before anybody ever heard
> of demarc jacks, they explained that I would be billed if the problem
> turned out to be inside the house.  I then asked that they install a
> demarc jack so I could determine where the problem was, but they
> insisted that they couldn't do that for free (although they could do
> it for some massive amount of money, the exact amount of which I
> forget).  Later, when I called back reporting that I could still hear
> the noise on their line even after disconnecting all my inside wiring
> from their protector/junction block in my basement, they chewed me out
> for messing with "their" wiring.

*Sigh* Lower level business office droids at play.  You need to call
up someone at the divisional manager level at least (personally, I
prefer to call the corporate offices and work my way down).  Explain
to them just what you've explained above.  I did exactly that when I
was served by Michigan Bell and one of their repair service clerks
threatened me with a similar charge.  After calling the corporate
offices, I had a demarc installed the very next day, for free (and the
guy came out even though it was late enough in the day that he was
probably on overtime)!  This in spite of the fact that I made it clear
that I was in no real hurry to have the demarc installed, that they
could do it whenever they had some spare time.

If by some odd chance the corporate office folks in Illinois aren't as
accommodating as the Michigan crew, you might just want to mention
that you were thinking about writing the Illinois Public Utilities
Commission (or whatever they call it there) to complain about the
threatened charge and the obnoxious treatment you received, but
thought you'd give the corporate offices a crack at handling the
problem first.  In my experience, just the mention of the PUC is
generally enough to get things moving.  If it isn't, then DO write to
the PUC, and be sure to mention that you contacted the corporate
offices first (and note who you spoke to) and that they did not
resolve the problem in a satisfactory manner.

By the way, one reason I was upset when this happened to me was that
Michigan Bell had already converted many of the old style protector
blocks to demarcs on residences in my area for free, but they just
hadn't got to me yet.  So when the business office folks suggested
that I should pay for what others were getting for free, just so I
might "legally" avoid a bogus repair charge, my response was something
along the lines of "we'll see about that!"

As for getting "chewed out" for messing with "their" wiring, I think
that alone should be the basis of a complaint.  Assuming you live in a
private residence (rather than an apartment building or some such
thing), I would (and did) tell them I would connect or disconnect the
wiring at the protector as I pleased.  Service reps get so flustered
when you actually talk back to them and don't just accept the stuff
they're slinging (much of which is just plain untrue) at face value! :-)


Jack Decker | Internet: [e-mail]
Fidonet: 1:154/8 or [e-mail]
Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-(

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

From: [e-mail] (Clive Feather)
Subject: Re: France Direct vs Home Direct
Organization: IXI Limited
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 09:14:32 GMT


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

> Call the following France Direct phone numbers from:
[...]
> Royaume-Uni 0800 33 00 or 800 33 11*

The first of these should be 0800 89 33 00. The second is invalid as
well, but I haven't been able to locate the correct number.


Clive D.W. Feather     | IXI Ltd (an SCO company)
[e-mail]          | Vision Park
Phone: [phone] | Cambridge   CB4 4ZR
Fax:   [phone] | United Kingdom

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

From: [e-mail] (Clive Feather)
Subject: Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know?
Organization: IXI Limited
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 11:40:12 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: 800 service in the USA is generally limited to
> domestic use coming and going. That is, from a USA telephone to a USA
> telephone. Canada works the same way, but there are some 800 numbers
> which work between the two countries. A small subset of the 800 number
> range is set aside for companies in other countries (typically in
> Europe) who want Americans to be able to call them.

Just a note -- it isn't a subset of the number range. When we set up
our 800 number (now defunct) via British Telecom, we were told we
could have an AT&T prefix (list of 100 or so appended) or an MCI
prefix (list of 60 or so appended). As I recall, we eventually picked
800 933 7557.


Clive D.W. Feather     | IXI Ltd (an SCO company)
[e-mail]          | Vision Park
Phone: [phone] | Cambridge   CB4 4ZR
Fax:   [phone] | United Kingdom


[Moderator's Note: Quite a few years ago, there were only one or maybe
two prefixes set aside for international 800 use. With the older billing
machinery, etc, they had to bill those calls differently, and I don't
think back then (1970's) AT&T had the ability to look beyond the first
three digits (or prefix) where billing/routing was concerned.  Times
have changed.  PAT]

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

Date: 14 May 93 07:40:01 EDT
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Sex Telemarketing


[e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer) writes:

> Well, it looks like the worst aspects of telemarketing and phone sex
> have merged ... people in Nashua, New Hampshire have reported getting
> unsolicited calls from some sort of "adult information provider".  The
> calls begin with something like "press 1 to accept a call ..." and are
> reportedly billed at $35.00.  There is nothing to prevent children
> from accepting such calls.  The state Attorney General will be looking
> into it.

> [Moderator's Note: In fairness to the 900 scumbags, they do *not*
> originate calls without some basis for doing so.

I beg your pardon, but the 900 scumbags DON'T deserve fairness.  They
*DO* originate calls to blocks of numbers without having any basis
other than that they haven't done it before (or recently).  A few
years ago a low-life IP called every ddco and private line in sequence
at the Empire State Building, with a message to press digits to play a
lottery, giving a 900 number to call to see if you've "won."  New York
Tel refused to get involved, and instead gave me the (regular) phone
number of the telesleaze making the cold-calls (apparently NY Tel's
annoyance call bureau was inundated with complaints).


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Certainly they deserve fairness. There are two
sides to every story, at least in this Digest. Do you think I operate
this forum the same way my competitor Kay Graham operates her two
publications, News Weak and {The Washington Post}? Don't expect to
disagree with her and ever have your opinions see the light of day in
her publications. We were talking about sex-phones -- you start
talking about the lottery. I still maintain people who run sex-phone
lines do NOT make cold calls. There is some basis for each call they
originate, even if the inbound call to them was fraudulent on its face
right from the beginning.  PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 10:16:44 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: National/International Calls (was Haiti Phone Network)


Well, in calls from the U.S., there are different rates in effect for
calls to Canada as opposed to calls within the U.S.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #329
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #330

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 15 May 93 03:48:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 330

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Dale Farmer)
    Re: Manitoba Personal Phone Number (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! (Darren Alex Griffiths)
    Re: Misdialed Numbers (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Jeff Freeman)
    Re: Internet Access in Japan (John N. Dreystadt)
    Re: Phone/Debit Cards and Rock Music? (Todd Inch)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Andy Jacobson)
    Information Needed on E-1 (Steve Scott)
    Phone Number Shortage: NO KIDDING!!! (Elana Beach)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster
Date: 14 May 1993 13:01:12 -0400
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Talking about the Hinsdale fire, I read a article shortly after it
happened in a firefighting trade rag.  The biggest problem they had
(once they actually got there) were as follows: poor access to the
building.  Only the front and back door/loading dock.  No windows,
causing tremendous buildup of smoke and heat, and no ability to vent
the building.

The extraordinarily thick smoke from the mix of pvc and pulp cable, and
the equipment burning up.  Only one stairwell for access up and
downstairs.

The emergency power systems!!!  They cut off the utility feeders and
did not realize that the emergency generator would kick in.  It did,
and kept reingniting the fire.  They emergency generator was located
in the back of the basement, and there was no emergency cutoff.  They
firefighters took over an hour to find the generator and cut it off.
But wait, theres more... The battery banks with inverters cut in and
continued to provide electric power to the burning racks.  The
inverters were someplace else, nobody on the scene knew where.  Plus
all the different flavors of high amperage DC in the racks fed from
their own converters and battery banks.

The local FD kept putting out the fire, and the arcs from shorted
power lines kept reigniting it.

Moral of the story: If you are ever in a position to do so, install
remote emergency cut offs for all of the power sources in the
facility.  Put them in a big heavy padlocked cabinet next to an
entrance to the building.  Don't worry about keeping the key nearby;
we have the technology to open most locks without the key(s) if we
need to. (Of course the lock and cabinet usually need a leeedle repair
work after we finish). Also keep near the entrance a binder with floor
plans showing locations of hazardous materials, critical equipment,
and anything else the Fire or Police Department might need to know at
3 AM on Sunday: emergency phone numbers, service contracts, points of
contact, whatever.  Because when you get called to the scene, you
can't get to the Rolodex on your desk, and the speed dialer has
melted.  You will use this "book of wisdom" for your immediate after
action things, before you are allowed back into the building to use
your regular resources.  And if it's a hazmat spill you may not be
allowed in for days or weeks after the fact.

Hopefully you will never need the book.  But if you do, and don't have
it, you are in a world of hurt.  If you do, and do have it, you get
your site back on line that much faster.  Would you rather call your
service contract and suppliers at 5 AM or noontime?  Which do you think
might get what you need to your site faster.

Disaster planning and preparedness is a large subject, and I have gone
on much longer than I really intended to, but it is one of my
buttons ...


Dale Farmer


[Moderator's Note: In the Hinsdale case, firefighters on location had
to be relieved every few minutes by others waiting outside. The fumes
were so bad from the melted fiber optic the firefighters were getting
overcome by it. When they came outside, they had to be hosed down to
get the chemicals off of their bodies. The fire was finally put out
about 9 PM -- six hours after it started and four hours after they
started fighting it -- yes four hours (!) in that little dinky place.
It is not that large of a building, but they had a devil of a time
with it, just as you describe it. Even after the fire was struck, the
employees of IBT were not allowed to enter the building for several
hours, until about 5 AM Monday when the noxious and toxic fumes had
been exhausted.

First thing they did when they got in Monday morning was re-establish
the Ohare <==> FAA lines so that the busiest airport in the world
could resume normal operations without special intervention. Second
thing they did was start cleaning, bailing out water and restoring
building services like air conditioning, electricity, etc. They could
not even put in emergency cellular service for the police and
hospitals, etc because the cellular facilties for our area were in the
fire zone!  By Wednesday they had gotten the building totally bailed
out, dried out, painted, re-wired for electricity, furniture for the
staff, etc. Tons of melted fiber optic and wire were carried out. By
Wednesday, four days into total loss of phone service in the area they
were able to turn on *emergency* service in the form of a couple dozen
phones set up outside the building with the wiring from same running
off down into a manhole in the street.

They tried to save the switch but it was so corroded from the water
they had to dump it out, and build the office totally from scratch.
Cellular and long distance service in and out of the area was back
within about a four days, wired through alternate CO's. It was a couple
days short of a month that local service in Hinsdale and surrounding
communities came back.  Oh yeah ... directory assistance for almost
the entire state was funneled through there. Operators all over the
state of Illinois had to work from paper backup directories for two
weeks.  In Bollingbrook and Lemont (two communities just south of the
Chicago suburban area) they had *local, seven digit service only* for
two weeks. Talk about weird ... they got dial tone, could dial their
choice of two or three prefixes in town and get through. They are
served out of some remote thing down in that area. But calls to 411,
611, 0, 00, 1+, 0+ or other prefixes all were met with dead silence
after dialing. There were so many urgent 'this should come first'
situations as a result of the fire that IBT hardly knew where to
begin. Should 911 get restored before 411, 611 and cellular service,
etc.  But whoever it was said IBT did not learn their lesson was
probably correct. They'll have to do it again sometime before it sinks
in.  :(   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 14:13:19 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: Re: Manitoba Personal Phone Number


In reply to Randy Gellens' posting:

> The 5/10/93 edition of {Telephone Week} reports that the Manitoba
> telephone system soon will offer a single phone number to serve an
> individual's home, office, celullar, voice mail and fax lines.  Using
> network processing on AT&T Canada equipment and BellSouth Systems
> Integration (BSSI) software, the personal number service can route
> calls differently depending on the caller's identity.

I don't see any value added over using on-premises equipment and
directing the call based on the Caller-ID (just as call directors
currently direct calls based on the ringing pattern for the service
where you have several numbers on the same line but they all ring
differently).

In particular, what if we both have this service and I call you with a
FAX?  How can you switch the call until my FAX machine identifies
itself?  I see no way to differentiate the CONTENT of the call, only
the origin.  What if I pick up the receiver and try to place a voice
call from the FAX machine?  Just because the call is from the fax
machine's line does not imply that the content of the call is a fax.
It could be a voice or data call.

In fact, with all the modem/fax cards, you don't need separate lines.

Let's say I have a fax/modem.  My friend has a separate Fax machine
and a modem.  When my fax modem calls him, the call should go to his
dedicated fax machine IF the call is a FAX.  It should go to his modem
if it's a DATA call.  And it should go to his voice phone if I'm
merely using the PC as an autodialer.

> "Manitoba Telephone System will be one of the first providers in the
> world to offer what is essentially the core functionality of personal
> communications services; that is, giving the subscriber the power to
> determine who they communicate with, when and in what format," said
> Scott Schaefer, BSSI's vice president of business development.

It sounds more like an extension of call block, where you route the
call based on Caller-ID.  Will it allow you to route based on
"previous call", thus allowing "private" numbers on the routing lists?
Perhaps the value added is that it's ANI based (and thus cannot be
blocked)?

Perhaps I'm being too cynical, but I just don't see the big deal.


Jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 14 May 1993 20:56:10 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Trif the Sorceress) writes:

> Last year, US West began requiring 1+ area code for all long distance
> calls within area code 206, and the letters sent out explaining the
> change stated that it was to "expand the range of telephone numbers
> available and delay a breakup of the 206 area code".  I haven't
> actually seen any of the "new" possible exchanges yet.

My pager is on 206-609.  When I was issued the number, I commented to
the paging company rep about the number, and he offered to change it
to a "regular" number if I needed it done.  He said that since the
move to NXX prefixs in 206 was so recent, many PBXs and COCOTs would
not complete calls to the "new" numbers, and that some customers have
had to have their pager numbers changed to one of the older prefixes.
I haven't run into any problems so far, so I kept the number.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: Darren Alex Griffiths <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 14 May 93 14:18:50 PDT
Subject: Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID!


In comp.dcom.telecom [e-mail] writes:

> What was interesting is that PacBell, in the testimony they gave
> before the Public Utilities Commision (I was there), said that they
> needed Caller ID to be approved in order to offer this service. Well,

I don't know any reason why Caller ID would have to be approved to
provide this service, but it was approved, Pacific*Bell simply decided
not to offer the complete service.

> Makes me wonder what else they are fibbing about. Like how about the
> highest in-area calling prices in the country?  Hmmm.

I'm not one to defend phone companies out of hand, but it doesn't
appear that they are lying from your message.  You said that they
required Caller ID approval before they could offer auto call back,
they got approval and offered the service.  I suspect you may have
misunderstood the testimony and they actually said that they could not
offer inter-LATA call back without offering the Caller ID service
since they would be required to print the phone number called on
bills.  Currently I cannot make inter-LATA call returns on my service
(I wish I could, even without the ability to know the number) so again
they didn't lie.


Cheers,

Darren Alex Griffiths                [e-mail]
Senior Software Engineer            [phone] x139
Fujitsu Open Systems Solutions Inc. Fax: [phone]
6121 Hollis Street            Emeryville, CA 94608-2092

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access System: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Sat, 15 May 1993 01:41:08 GMT


In a article to comp.dcom.telecom, [e-mail] had the
following to say about Re: Misdialed Numbers:

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

[ stuff deleted here]

> This reminds me of a scene in Steve Martin's "L.A. Story." He attempts
> to tell the voice-activated phone to dial somewhere (I forget where)
> and I think it continues to dial something like Dominos ... it's been
> a while since I've seen the movie so I don't remember the specifics.

I remember that movie. What I recall was the phone he was using. A
friend of mine has that same phone and while it is certainly voice
dialing capable, you must talk into the handset. That actually made it
less useful than we had originally thought. You cannot voice dial
using the speaker. I guess Hollywood once again took some artistic
license with this one.


Laurence Chiu

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

Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jeff Freeman)
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 23:52:21
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Freeman)
Subject: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know?


[e-mail] (Reinhard Hamid) wrote:

> In Germany we have many toll-free numbers (0130 8x xx xx) which belong
> to companies in the US.  Just for fun I was dialing some of them, and
> the operators of some companies told me that they didn't know they can
> be reached from here by toll-free. They only knew about their 1-800
> number, and they said that they have no German custumers.

> Does AT&T connect 1-800 numbers worldwide to local toll-free-numbers,
> without telling it to their owners?

> How are the German toll free numbers billed to the companies?

> Do the 1-800 owners still have problems with hackers?

Reinhard,

To get international toll free numbers you must request it
specifically. We have toll free lines established in 22 other
countries. Billing is handled just as any other 800 line. AT&T isn't
the only carrier offering international toll free numbers.

We've not had any problem with hackers ... mainly folks calling for
fun who run up our phone bill.

We did have one strange call ... from Germany. Lady called one
afternoon asking for the Public Relations Dept. While IBM has folks
for that we don't.  I told the lady that I was about as close as she
was going to get to public relations. She insisted on speaking to
someone in P.R. She informed me that she was editor of some German
magazine and wanting an interview with David Hasselhoff <Knight Rider
TV show star>. Stunned silence was the best I could come up with for a
moment. It took another five minutes to convince her that just because
we were in the USA we had no access to TV actors. I have no idea if
she was who she claimed to be but she was very sincere. Dumb ... but
sincere.


Jeff Freeman            1-800-GO-PORCH Toll-Free
Front Porch Computers   1-706-695-1888 <voice>
Rt 2 Box 2178           1-706-695-1990 <fax>
Chatsworth, GA 30705    75260,21  Compuserve ID #
Internet: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Is it possible she misdialed, thinking she had the
number for the public relations firm or agent for that actor?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (john n. dreystadt)
Subject: Re: Internet Access in Japan
Date: 14 May 1993 13:15:38 GMT
Organization: Lynn-Arthur Associates, Ann Arbor, MI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Aaron Dailey) writes:

> My brother is going on assignment in Hiroshima, Japan this summer for
> about eighteen months.  He would like Internet email access to stay in
> contact with everyone back home, and needs nothing else (e.g. Usenet,
> ftp, telnet).  He'll have a portable PC with modem.  I've seen a lot

> Does anyone have other suggestions?

You also might drop a mail message to PSI (Performance Systems
International, Inc.) to see if they have service in Japan. PSI is a
commercial Internet provider. They can be reached at [e-mail].
Disclaimer, I have no personal interest in PSI, but my commercial
Internet provider (a very small company) does use PSI to reach most of
the rest of the country/world.


John N. Dreystadt   Lynn-Arthur Associates    [e-mail]
Home:313-878-9719   Work:313-995-5590
        These are personal opinions not corporate opinions.

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Phone/Debit Cards and Rock Music?
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Fri, 14 May 93 20:15:39 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Daniel Omundsen) writes:

> In New Zealand, most pay phones use plastic, credit-card sized debit
> cards which are purchased in fixed denominations ($5.00, $10.00,
> $20.00, etc).  These have a graphic design on the front and a series
> of magnetic stripes on the back, into which is encoded an encrypted
> pattern representing the amount on money left on the card.

Unless these stripes are mechanically difficult to duplicate, this
sounds like fraud waiting to happen.

I've heard that a standard single-stripe (credit) card can be easily
reproduced by gluing an encoded stripe of magnetic tape onto any
plastic or even cardboard card.

Unless there is a serial number or somesuch, couldn't you buy one and
make duplicates and never even bother decrypting them?  Yes, you'd
have to magnetically reproduce the stripes, but that's fairly trivial.


[Moderator's Note: That is one reason the Talk Tickets do not have
stripes. If you feel like memorizing the serial number on the card,
you won't even need to carry it around with you; and the computer
which places the calls will keep track of how much time is left,
thanks anyway!  :)   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 22:44:13 -0700
From: Andy Jacobson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows


One of the grand old CO's in SF has windows.

Otis & McCoppin

I believe there are Venetian blinds in the switch room, but the
battery room in the basement even has the windows open so you can
smell them as you walk by.


Andy Jacobson <[e-mail]>   <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Scott)
Subject: Information Needed on E-1
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 13:32:03 -0600 (CDT)


My group within the company has had in the field for several months a
product which uses T1 interfaces for communication between a cellular
switch and a voice mail system.  In the beginning, I knew precious
little about T1s and asked (via the digest) for recommendations on
reading materials concerning T1.  The best document (other than the
ANSI documents :-) I got was to purchase a book entitled:

    "The Guide to T-1 Networking" by William A. Flanagan.

I bought this book and was very pleased with it.  Now, our marketing
department has asked us to incorporate E1 interfaces into the product.
I am, again, in a position of not knowing enough about E1s as I need
to.  So, I am asking for reading recommendations from the group.

Is there a consensus on what the "best" (okay, I don't want to start
any religious wars here :-) book on E1s is?  I can get the appropriate
CCITT documents but I prefer a text (similar to the Flanagan book) if
one exists.


Thanks,

Steve Scott                                Internet: [e-mail]
Fort Worth Research and Development Center UUCP:     uunet!motcid!sscott
Cellular Infrastructure Group              Internal: TX14/1D
Radio Telephone Systems Group              Voice:    [phone]
Motorola, Inc.                             Fax:      [phone]
             The opinions contained herein are STRICTLY my own

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

From: [e-mail] (Elana Beach)
Subject: Phone Number Shortage: NO KIDDING!!!
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 15 May 1993 04:38:07 GMT


I was just on the phone with a friend in Sante Fe, New Mexico when I
heard hin complain that he could not get a second line for his fax
machine.  I asked why, and he stated that the phone company told him
that the phone number shortage was so severe that they could not get
him a second line.  This guy considers himself lucky, though.  He said
the problem was so bad that his neighbor accross the street could not
get his own phone line.  The neighbor is on a PARTY LINE!!!

Yeez, I didn't know the phone number shortage is THAT bad!  Is there
anyone in Sante Fe who can confirm this???

Could this really be true or is my friend BS-ing me?  He sounded perfectly
serious and concerned ... I have no real reason to disbelieve him.

Reply via this newsgroup ... I'm getting overloaded on email lately.


Elana


[Moderator's Note: I do not think it is a shortage of 'numbers'; I
think it is probably a shortage of wire pairs in his vicinity.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #330
******************************










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Date: Sat, 15 May 1993 04:12:10 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #331

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 15 May 93 04:12:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 331

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Caller ID Info to PCs: Summary (Wilf Rosenbaum)
    More Caller-ID (A. Padgett Peterson)
    ZyXEL U-1496E Plus Endorsed by Network World (Carl Oppedahl)
    Looking For Digital Software For Zyxel U1496E Fax/Modem (Robert Arrabito)
    Telecom Gear From Damark (Ken Jongsma)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Wilf Rosenbaum)
Subject: Caller ID Info to PCs: Summary
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 06:40:24 GMT


A short while ago I posted a request to this group looking for
information on transferring caller ID information from a telephone to
a PC. Several people responded with information; several people wanted
to know what I'd found out. Here it is.

I would like take this opportunity to thank the following people who
provided information.

        Eric Canale         [e-mail]
        Denis McKeon        [e-mail]
        Jeffrey Jonas       [e-mail]
        Paul Robinson       [e-mail]
        Clint Danbury       [e-mail]
        Andreas Meyer       [e-mail]
        Micheal Cross       [e-mail]
        Dennis R. Conley    [e-mail]
        Ben Cox             [e-mail]
        John Ellis          [e-mail]
        Andreas Meyer       [e-mail]
        Padget Peterson     [e-mail]
        The guys who wrote the comp.dcom.telecom FAQ

Eric Canale suggested getting in touch with EDE Electronics in
Buffalo.  I did, but the fellow I spoke with said they didn't make
anything that would transfer caller ID to a PC.

Jeffrey Jones uses a small board from International Micropower, which
translates Caller ID info into serial form. Cost was about $50 two
years ago.

Padgett Petterson pointed me in the direction of Zeus Phonestuff in
Atlanta [phone], makers of the 'Whozz Calling' box. Again, this
device sits in between the phone and the PC, translating caller ID to
serial form. For the $99 price tag, you get the box itself, some
pop-up database software to run the thing, and a programmer's
interface library which you can use to develop your own applications
that use 'Whozz Calling'.

Clint Danbury suggests Rochelle Communications in Austin,TX which "has
a small device which reads caller-ID info off the phone line and
delivers it to the PC via an RS-232 port". See also:

  -- PC Magazine  v11 p29(2) Sept 29, 1992 --

A Canadian supplier of these devices was also suggested.  VIVE
Synergies 416-882-6107 in Ontario Canada.

Micheal Cross and his company are developing a Windows based system
which will permit on screen information management for incoming AND
outbound calls. Since their product is currently under development, it
might be best to contact Mike directly for more information.
([e-mail] or [e-mail])

Paul Robinson suggested a device sold by Bell Atlantic.  Dennis Conley
investigated this lead, but unfortunatley it turned up blank.
Apparently none of Bell Atlantic devices have a serial port.  Bex Cox
independently verified this.

Related Information:

The following portion (among other portions as well) of the
comp.dcom.telecom Frequently Asked Questions list by David Liebold and
Carl Moore should also prove useful.

Q: How can I get specifications on how Caller ID service works?

A: The official documentation on how the Caller ID or calling line ID
   works is available for purchase from Bellcore. A description of
   what those documents are and how to get them is available in the
   TELECOM Digest Archives file caller-id-specs.bellcore, or see the
   question "How can I contact Bellcore?" elsewhere in the FAQ. Local
   telephone companies may be able to provide technical information for
   the purpose of providing equipment vendors with specifications. Check
   the Archives for any other relevant files that may appear such as
   descriptions of the standards and issues surrounding services such as
   Caller ID.

   In Canada, for information about the service (known there as Call
   Display) contact: Stentor Resource Centre Inc, Director - Switched
   Network Services, 160 Elgin Street, Room 790, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2C4.
   (This address is changed from the one listed in FAQ #3 of 1992; note
   that the title may be subject to change as well). Tel: [phone].

   The document is "Call Management Service (CMS) Terminal-to-Network
   Interface", Interface Disclosure ID - 0001, November 1989. The document
   at last report was free, at least within Canada. This document deals with
   Bell Canada's Call Display standards, and may not be applicable outside
   their service area (provinces of Ontario and Quebec, parts of the
   Northwest Territories).

   In general, the North American Caller ID information is passed to the
   telephone set in ASCII using a 1200 baud modem signal (FSK) sent between
   the first and second rings.

   In other nations where a Caller ID service exists, or is being
   established, contact the appropriate telephone company for information.

Other Publications:

A number of recent magazine articles have dealt with Caller ID issues.
I have turned up the following:

API to wed PCs and phones: Microsoft, Intel champion telephony interface
     for Windows. (application programming interface)
 Sherer, Paul M.
 PC Week  v10 p6(1) April 19, 1993
 ABSTRACT:  A new Microsoft Windows application programming interface (API)
    reportedly  being  developed  by Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and several
    telephone  systems  manufacturers  will  integrate  microcomputers  and
    telephones.  Products  supporting  the  new API, known as the Telephony
    API,  will  allow  users  to  perform tasks such as adding callers to a
    conference  call by dragging names out of directories and dropping them
    on  phone icons. A personal information manager (PIM) package featuring
    Telephony API technology may allow users to access a telephone system's
    Caller   ID   component  to  learn  the  name  of  a  caller  and  then
    automatically  call  up  a  log  of  caller-related information such as
    previous  conversations.  Microsoft is reportedly scheduling a mid-1993
    release  of the Telephony API. The first hardware and software products
    supporting the new technology are expected by the end of 1993.

Part-68 interface. (Part 68 of FCC rules; MPC-2 protective voice coupler)
 Hagans, Mike; Magrill, Kyle
 Electronics Now  v64 p56(4) May, 1993
 ABSTRACT:  The  MPC-2  protective  voice  coupler is a simple and flexible
    phone-line  interface  that  offers  ring  detection  and  line-current
    detection   functions.   It  fully  complies  with  the  specifications
    stipulated by Part 68 of FCC rules and is caller ID-compatible.
 DESCRIPTORS:  United  States.  Federal  Communications  Commission-- Laws,
     regulations,  etc.;  Acoustic  couplers--Standards;  Telephone lines--
    Equipment and supplies

Don't  call  me,  I won't call you. (technology empowers the caller not the
     person being called) (The Last Word) (Column)
 Lindberg, Tod
 Insight  v9 p40(1) Jan 11, 1993
 ABSTRACT: Telephone technology has altered the relationship between caller
    and  receiver.  The  answering  machine  and Caller ID have enabled the
    receiver  to  cope  with  unwanted  calls, especially from strangers or
    telemarketers. The battle to control computer-dialed services, however,
    still lingers.

Window Phone. (circuit board and communications software) (Hardware Review)
     (Evaluation)
 Minasi, Mark
 Compute  v14 p128(2) Dec, 1992
 ABSTRACT:  Window  Phone enhances caller ID by using a PC to tell the user
    who called, which calls were unanswered and how long the user talked on
    the phone. The cost is $495.
 PRODUCT NAME(S): AG Communications Systems WindowPhone (Telecommunications
    equipment)--evaluation

Business utility. (Axxis Software's Zagat-Axxis CityGuide, AG Communication
     Systems'  WindowPhone  and  Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus Organizer)
     (Software  Review)  (PC/Computing MVP 1992)(three of 85 evaluations in
     27 product categories) (Evaluation)
 PC-Computing  v5 p178(1) Dec, 1992
 ABSTRACT:  Editors at PC/Computing evaluate the top three business utility
    packages  of  1992.  The winner is Axxis Software's $249.95 Zagat-Axxis
    CityGuide,  a  graphical database that runs on Windows that gives users
    data  on hotels, restaurants and sights in major cities. Users can also
    discover  the distance between two addresses and can print out maps and
    customize  them  as  well.  Databases  are  available  for Los Angeles,
    Chicago  and New York. AG Communications Systems' $295 WindowPhone is a
    combination  add-in  board  and  software that works with phone service
    Caller  ID and allows users to view on the screen incoming calls before
    they  are  answered.  Information  on  callers is also displayed on the
    screen.  Lotus  Development  Corp's  $149 Lotus Organizer is a personal
    information  management  system  that  is designed like a notebook that
    provides  a  Planner,  Calendar,  To-Do  section,  Notepad  and Address
    sections. Hard copy pages are designed to fit into Filofax or Day-Timer
    binders.

Caller I.D.; the good and the bad.
 Brown, Christiane N.
 Good Housekeeping  v215 p258(1) Sept, 1992
 ABSTRACT:  Caller  ID  has become controversial because of privacy issues,
    and is legal in only 22 states. Supporters say the device provides call
    screening,   child  safety  and  message  service.  Some  groups  think
    telemarketing companies will take undue advantage of the service.

Managing   calls.  (AG  Communications  Systems  Corp.'s  WindowPhone  call
     management  tool  and  Rochelle  Communications  Inc.'s Caller ID+Plus
     telephone management software) (Brief Article)
 Grimes, Brad
 PC Magazine  v11 p29(2) Sept 29, 1992

Caller ID come to your PC. (AG Communication Systems' WindowPhone interface
     card and software) (Brief Article)(New!) (Product Announcement)
 Ferrill, Paul
 PC-Computing  v5 p99(1) Sept, 1992

Restricting 'Caller ID.'
 Pattison, Scott
 Consumers' Research Magazine  v75 p40(1) May, 1992
 ABSTRACT:  The  use of Caller ID has been ruled a violation of wiretapping
    laws  by  the  Pennsylvania  Supreme Court. Bell Atlantic Corp plans to
    allow  callers  to  block  transmission of their numbers to satisfy the
    court's requirements.

Hayes  will  add  Caller  ID to ISDN multimedia board. (ISDN System Adapter
     1.1) (Brief Article)
 Loudermilk, Stephen
 PC Week  v9 p45(2) April 27, 1992

Turning  a technological innovation into an empty promise. (caller ID phone
     service) (Column)
 Richter, M.J.
 Governing  v5 p65(1) Jan, 1992
 ABSTRACT:  Nine  state  public  utility  commissions  (PUCs)  have blocked
    telephone  companies  from  marketing  caller  ID  services. This is an
    unnecessary  extension of the PUCs power to regulate technology, rooted
    not in privacy rights but in government paternalism.

Hello, hello, anyone there? (telephone caller identification)
 U.S. News & World Report  v111 p14(1) Oct 7, 1991
 ABSTRACT:  The  pros  and  cons  of  caller  ID  are  presented along with
    information on government regulations.

The  end  of  mother-in-law  calls?  (automatic  number  identification  in
     telecommunications)
 Stix, David
 Forbes  v148 p173(1) Sept 30, 1991
 ABSTRACT:  Automatic number identification (telecommunications), or caller
    id,  identifies  the  telephone  number  and  sometimes the name of any
    person calling. An overview of the service and its costs is included.

Sierra  modem  chip set enables call screening. (Sierra Semiconductor Corp.
     announces SQ6196 Caller ID Modem) (product announcement)
 Loudermilk, Stephen
 PC Week  v8 p40(1) Sept 9, 1991
 SOURCE FILE: CD File 275

CallerID+Plus   fills  the  bill  as  an  electronic  secretary.  (Rochelle
     Communications  Inc.'s telephone contact management package) (Software
     Review) (PC Week Labs First Look) (evaluation)
 Methvin, David
 PC Week  v8 p29(2) August 26, 1991
 ABSTRACT:  Rochelle Communications Inc's $295 CallerID+Plus is a telephone
    management  software  package  with a small hardware adapter that takes
    advantage  of  the  approximately  36 million telephone lines in the US
    with  the  ability  to  provide  automatic number identification (ANI).
    CallerID+Plus handles the usual contact management functions while also
    providing  information  on  incoming  telephone  calls.  It  acts as an
    'electronic secretary,' taking messages even on unanswered calls. It is
    a  memory-resident  package  that  uses 52Kbytes of memory and provides
    accurate  telephone  number, and sometimes name, information on callers
    in local telephone areas. For non-local calls, only the message 'out of
    area'  is  provided,  because the ANI technology is only available from
    telephone  companies  for  local  calling  areas.  CallerID+Plus  is an
    easy-to-use  software  that does a good job of logging calls but has no
    automatic dialing or other functions to handle outgoing calls.

Driving   inductive   loads,  more  on  phone  caller  ID,  Bakerizing  and
     laminating,  alternators  as  stepper  motors,  and programmable logic
     resources. (Hardware Hacker) (column)
 Lancaster, Don
 Radio-Electronics  v62 p67(6) Sept, 1991

Bits  &  Bytes.  (Information  Processing  - Industrial Technology Edition)
     (product announcement)
 Eng, Paul M.
 Business Week p64D(1) August 12, 1991
 ABSTRACT:  Legal-Eze's  $100  Legal-Eze  educational  software teaches law
    students  how  to  write briefs and provides a data base structure with
    specified  fields to help organize case notes, easing the 'paper chase'
    at  exam  time.  Pixar's $995 Showplace image processing software makes
    graphics production simple. Three-dimensional color images with shading
    and  texture can be produced with a few mouse clicks. In communications
    news,   complaints   mount   against   the  US  Federal  Communications
    Commission's   lottery   for  allocating  cellular  radio  wave  bands.
    'Application  mills'  prepare  entries for well-to-to professionals who
    then  sell the licenses they win to businesses for millions of dollars.
    The  American  Automobile  Assn (AAA) uses communications software from
    BellSouth  Corp  and  ISDN-based  equipment  to  enhance  its  roadside
    services by linking data, voice and video information on three channels
    with   a   Caller   ID  system  and  data  base  of  service  stations.
    Microcomputer  marketing  channels  shift  from dealers and value-added
    resellers to mail-order houses and superstores, but polls indicate that
    small businesses still prefer to pay for full service.

The downside of caller I.D. (disadavantages of using the new phone service)
 NEA Today  v9 p24(1) May-June, 1991

Caller ID for PCs. (evaluation)
 Henricks, Mark
 Popular Science  v238 p38(3) June, 1991

Caller I.D. vs. privacy: now there's a middle road.
 Dunn, Don
 Business Week p87(1) April 1, 1991

A peace plan for the caller I.D. war. (Information Processing)
 Eng, Paul M.
 Business Week p76D(1) March 4, 1991

10378972  DIALOG File 47: MAGAZINE INDEX
Bit & Bytes. (Information Processing) (product announcement)
 Eng, Paul M.
 Business Week p76D(1) March 4, 1991
 ABSTRACT:  Recent trends in information processing includes a touch-screen
    computer  system for amusement parks, paperless resumes, new home video
    game systems and negotiating efforts in automatic number identification
    or caller ID. IBM is developing a 300-terminal network for Expo 1992 in
    Seville,  Spain  that  will  allow lost party members to relocate their
    groups by accessing electronic mail accounts and on-lin maps. Paperless
    resumes  are  offered through the Human Resources Information Network's
    Resumes-On-Computer  on-line  data  base so human resources departments
    can  more  easily  search  for  potential  job  candidates.  Caller  ID
    advocates wrestle with opponents over its use and some analysts believe
    a  compromise,  which entails allowing callers to block their identity,
    is  on  the horizon. SNK Home Entertainment Inc introduces its $650 SNK
    Neo  Geo  System, a 24-bit video game system with color graphics, voice
    digitizing and other features that appeal to adults.

Caller  ID+  Plus  to  tap  ID phone service. (Rochelle Communications Inc.
     announces Caller ID+ Plus contact management system that lets computer
     users tap new phone service) (product announcement)
 PC Week  v7 p73(1) Nov 5, 1990

The door on desktop. (right of privacy and the telephone) (editorial)
 Schmidt, Stanley
 Analog Science Fiction-Science Fact  v110 p4(5) Nov, 1990

Caller ID is already learning new tricks. (Developments to Watch) (column)
 Port, Otis
 Business Week p79(1) August 6, 1990

No  need  to  tolerate  telephone strangers. (Caller ID) (Fact and Comment)
     (column)
 Forbes, Malcolm S., Jr.
 Forbes  v146 p20(1) July 9, 1990

Look who's calling. (caller-identification service)
 Stover, Dawn
 Popular Science  v237 p76(4) July, 1990

Why all the heavy breathing over caller I.D.? (commentary) (column)
 Coy, Peter
 Business Week p34(1) June 18, 1990

Sorry, wrong number. (Maestro telephone screening system with Caller ID)
 Miller, Russell
 Connoisseur  v220 p44(2) May, 1990

Caller ID update.
 Vizard, Frank
 Popular Mechanics  v167 p48(2) August, 1990

Is  Caller  ID  the wrong number? (telephone technology identifies caller's
     number) (Currents)
 U.S. News & World Report  v107 p10(1) Dec 18, 1989

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 93 08:16:21 -0400
From: [e-mail] (A. PADGETT PETERSON)
Subject: More Caller-ID


> Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
> new call management service. This service, called PHONESMART, includes
> the features explained below.

> The monthly charge for Caller ID is $4.95.

This announcement is one of the best I have seen. Unlike my local area
it spells out exactly which exchanges the Caller-ID will cover (after
nearly a year at $7.50/month Southern Bell has not yet supplied a list
of exactly which exchanges are covered -- seems like most in my LATA
are *not*)


Warmly,

Padgett

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: ZyXEL U-1496E Plus Endorsed by Network World
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 17:37:57 GMT


The May 10, 1993 {Network World} has a story (page 40) describing a
comparison of a number of modems as to their ability to transmit large
amounts of high-speed data over a variety of telephone lines.  The
article says "Although Zypcom, Inc.'s Z32t-SX won the race for maximum
throughput across clear lines, ZyXELs's U-1496E Plus fared the best
across the broad spectrum of lines."


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza   New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578     fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (G.Robert Arrabito)
Subject: Looking For Digital Play/Record Software For Zyxel U1496E Fax/Modem
Date: 14 May 93 20:47:35 GMT
Organization: Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine


A few days ago, someone posted source code for a digital play/record
answering machine to work with the Zyxel U1496E fax/modem.
Unfortunately, I missed it. Could someone please e-mail it to me or
tell me whether it can be retrieved via anonymous ftp.  Many thanks.


Rob Arrabito   e-mail: [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 09:27:04 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Telecom Gear From Damark


I (like millions of others) get the Damark closeout merchandise
catalog on a regular basis. On occasion, they seem to have pretty good
prices. The May 1993 catalog has a number of items that may be of
interest to the Digest:

1.   1950 Style, three slot working replica, black coin phone. Push
     buttons where the finger holes should be.  $59.99

2.   Tie Communications, S5610 two line feature phone.  $39.99

3.   Panasonic KX-T9000, 900 MHz, 30 Channel, cordless phone.  $349.99

4.   Northwestern Bell Phones, 4 phone, 2 line, speakerphone,
     key system (includes all 4 phones). Model 76002. No shipping
     charge.  $299.99

5.   TT Systems Fax/Modem/Phone auto switch. Fax line can be
     password protected. Remote enabling/disabling of each port
     supported.  $79.99

There are quite a few other telephone items listed as well. Most items
also incur a shipping charge, generally around $6. I have no
connection to Damark, but I've been pleased with the things I have
ordered from them. Their numbers:

   Voice:  [phone]
   Fax:    [phone]
   Intl:   [phone]


Kenneth R Jongsma            [e-mail]
Smiths Industries       [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan            [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #331
******************************










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Date: Mon, 17 May 1993 03:49:50 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #332

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 17 May 93 03:49:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 332

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Fiber in the "Boonies" (was AT&T Future Ads) ([e-mail])
    917 Not Working From a Toronto CO (David Leibold)
    Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs? (Andrew J. Eichstaedt)
    Choosing Among Carriers (Garrett Wollman)
    University Has Vacant Telecom Chair in Tampere, Finland (Lindell Markku)
    TIE S5610 Telephones (Ken Jongsma)
    Need Voicemail / Pager Help at Oxford University (Ed Hopper)
    Wall-Sized US NPA Map Wanted (Paul Robinson)
    Singapore Airlines Installs In-Flight Fax Service (Peng Hwa Ang)
    Line Status Indicator (John C. Fowler)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Clive Feather)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (David K. Bryant)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Marc Unangst)
    Re: AT&T Future Ads (Ed Hopper)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Marc Unangst)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Ron Asbestos Dippold)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Shag)
Subject: Fiber in the "Boonies" (was AT&T Future Ads)
Date: 16 May 93 23:58:16 GMT
Organization: Screaming in Digital, the Queensryche Digest


[e-mail] (Harry Skelton) writes:

> Much like the installation of fiber in major cities, the ISDN route
> will be just as limited. Since I assume that they will be taking
> advantage of the fiber offerings. Of course the leaves us "boonies"
> out of the loop unless we want a T1/T3 connection or dark fiber links.
> :) :)

Actually, a lot of the fiber installation -- at least here in the
mid-east -- is being done by the RBOCs, and they seem pretty
determined to _completely_ replace their existing copper lines as soon
as possible.  Bell Atlantic has had a media blitz going in
Pennsylvania for some time now about wiring that state for ISDN (the
ads go on about some sort of state-wide advanced network that'll help
education and all that, which -- if it's more reliable than their
PrepNet leased lines to some of the schools I've visited -- it
certainly will), with the promise of tight rate regulation for a few
years in exchange for being "allowed" to stick fiber everywhere ... and
the folks over here in New Jersey have been hanging aerial fiber like
there's no tomorrow.  It's been almost a year since they ran fiber to
a couple commercial customers in my "boonies" town, and they've got
several dozen strands sitting right in front of my house, just waiting
for a residential tariff.

They've got a fleet of about two dozen fiber splicing vans ($80,000
worth of fiber-fusing equipment in a box the size of a guitar amp,
very cool toys) which can be seen motoring around the state -- they're
being kept quite busy, as the "SONET" service seems to be popular with
large companies (like the one across from my house, which got a T1).
The actual aerial work is being done by pretty standard
cable-stringing trucks, but the optical cables (SieCor SR-3512LT
48-strand on my street) are easy to spot, since there are orange
"sleeves" that are placed over them at each pole to take the fastener
stresses off the cables themselves.  If you're anywhere in NJ Bell
turf, look at a telephone pole -- if you see cables with orange sleeves
on them, odds are you're looking at fiber.


[e-mail]  [e-mail]  [e-mail]
ShagNet - Rutgers/NJIN / Editor of "Screaming in Digital" | PPI 14.4 FaxModem
Dialup access serving / The Queensryche Net-Digest.  Mail | PC/GEOS GeoSadist
Burlington County NJ / [e-mail] | Cannondale SR-500

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

Date: Sun, 16 May 93 17:01:48 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: 917 Not Working From a Toronto CO


Months and months after the New York City area code 917 was activated,
there is a CO in Toronto which isn't set up for calls to 917. Attempts
to dial even the 1 917 555.1212 directory assistance are intercepted
with a "cannot be completed as dialed" recording, even before all
digits are dialed (I believe at the seventh digit following the
initial 1+). This occurs on the 240 Acton CO which handles prefixes
like 398 or 633, whereas many of the other COs in Toronto will handle
917 fine.

I recall phoning the Bell Canada repair months ago on this, but to no
effect.  Does anyone know of any working 917 prefixes for which
NYNEX's legendary -9901 numbers will give a recording for CO
identification? That might allow me to test the matter further,
including a test via the alternate Unitel long distance service which
is on an FG A method and thus immune to CO programming quirks.


[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew J. Eichstaedt)
Subject: Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs?
Date: 17 May 1993 07:40:39 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology


I'm looking for information on call processing systems (voice mail,
fax-on-demand, etc.) that run on Macs.  I'm particularly interested in
multi-line solutions.

I'm seeking to set up a four (or more) line system that callers can
use to retrieve information in recorded messages and faxes.  The data
is on a network of Macs, which is why I'd strongly prefer a Mac-based
solution.

If a Mac-based system is unavailable, does anyone have experience
integrating PC-based systems into a Macintosh environment?

The only company that I know of so far that makes such things for Macs
is Cyprus Research Corporation, but their products seem to be oriented
toward single-line systems, which is less powerful than I need.

Thanks very much for your help!


Andrew Eichstaedt    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Choosing Among Carriers
Organization: University of Vermont, EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 15:18:37 GMT


Recently a TCD poster mentioned some interesting results in comparing
the quality of the "big three" LD carriers.  This got me wondering
whether other people operate like I do.

My phone line is PIC'ed to AT&T, and will probably stay that way until
I either move, or AT&T does something to irritate me enough to make it
worth switching.  As a result, almost all of my LD calls are carried
by them.

When I have problems with AT&T, however (such as I reported here
around the time of the blizzard, or all-circuits-busy on Mothers'
Day), I usually manually select Sprint (10333).  From previous
discussions here, it seems like this generalizes quite well: AT&T and
MCI are people's preferred carriers, and Sprint is where everybody
goes when they can't get acceptable quality from their PIC.

I wonder why this is?


Garrett A. Wollman   [e-mail]
uvm-gen!wollman      UVM disagrees.

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

From: [e-mail] (Lindell Markku)
Subject: University Has Vacant Telecom Chair in Finland
Date: 16 May 1993 15:51:13 GMT
Organization: Tampere University of Technology


Open position at:
TAMPERE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, TAMPERE, FINLAND.

Telecommunications Laboratory in the Department of Information
Technology has a vacant temporary chair in:

Telecommunications, especially Wireless Communications.

This full professorship of salary category S28 (FIM 214 213 - 273 584
per annum) is initially appointed for up to five years.

The main emphasis in research and teaching activities of
Telecommunications Laboratory is on broadband network technology and
applications, especially ATM, and on digital transmissions techniques.
The duties of the new professorship include creating and pursuing
research projects in the area of wireless communications technology
and strengthening R&D links with industry. Teaching language is
English or Finnish.

If interested please send your Curriculum Vitae and list of
publications to "Telecommunications Professorship", Tampere University
of Technology, P. O. Box 527, SF-33101 Tampere, Finland. Applications
received by June 24, 1993 will be considered.

For further information, please contact Prof. Markku Renfors,
Tel. [phone], Fax [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].

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

Date: Mon, 17 May 1993 08:29:04 GMT
From: Ken Jongsma x7702 <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: TIE S5610 Telephones


The latest Damark catalog has TIE S5610 telephones listed for $39.99
plus 6.95 shipping. Is this a good phone? It looks very nice and has
several features I need, including two lines, conferencing, call
forwarding, intercom and room monitor.


Thanks,

Kenneth R Jongsma         [e-mail]
Smiths Industries    [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan         [phone]

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

Subject: Need Voicemail / Pager Help at Oxford University
From: [e-mail] (Ed Hopper)
Date: 17 May 93 11:01:00 GMT
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ed Hopper)


A friend of mine is participating in a writer's workshop for six weeks
at Oxford University in England.  The dorm where she is staying offers
only a single pay phone with all the usual problems of receiving calls
at a pay phone.

I am looking for advice on her behalf as to what sort of options might
be available in England for her.  Among the things that might be an
option:

1. A local voicemail service, preferably with pager alerting of
waiting messages.

2. An old style answering service.

3. Cellular service (with short term rental of phone and service).

4. International pager services accessible from the US.

Please email to me at: [e-mail]


Thanks,

Ed Hopper   Ed Hopper's BBS - ehbbs.com - Berkeley Lake (Atlanta), Georgia
USR/HST:404-446-9462 V.32bis:404-446-9465-Home of uuPCB Usenet for PC Board

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

Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 17:12:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Wall-Sized US NPA Map Wanted
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


I am looking for a wall-sized map of the U.S.A. which has area code
boundaries printed on it.  Someone in my office has asked about
finding one big enough to put on the wall in our telecom room.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 17 May 93 10:20:25 SST
From: Peng Hwa Ang <[e-mail]>
Subject: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service


Singapore Airlines, the national carrier of Singapore, announced what
it described as the first global in-flight fax service Thursday. It
was introduced on a flight between Zurich and London.

Each page of fax costs US$15. All Singapore Airlines 747s will be
equipped with the service by the end of the year at a cost of US$12
million. The airline said it will need passengers to fax 120 pages per
day in the first year to break even on its investment.

The fax service is part of the Celestel in-flight telecommunications
system introduced in September 1991. An in-flight call costs US$5.50 a
minute.

The technology for the Skyphone consortium requires satellite links to
ground stations in Singapore, England and Norway.


Regards,

Peng Hwa

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

Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 11:59:11 -0600
From: John C. Fowler <[e-mail]>
Subject: Line Status Indicator


I would have thought this would be in the TELECOM Archives or the FAQ,
but I can't seem to find it there.  How does one build a telephone
line status indicator?  That is, a device which lights up when an
extension goes off hook.  Thanks very much!


John C. Fowler, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: There *is* a file in the archives on this, but I
forget off hand the name of it. Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Clive Feather)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: IXI Limited
Date: Mon, 17 May 1993 06:18:26 GMT


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

> Up the road from Bell Labs, Holmdel, is an American Water Company
> pumping station that was built to meet the Holmdel zoning codes.
> It looks like a residential home!
> There are shades in the windows, the grounds are landscaped, and the
> street-side mailbox says; "Roger Waters."

The oldest such building I know of is two houses in central London (I
think in Craven Road). They are actually just fronts -- behind them is
the mouth of a tunnel on the Metropolitan Railway (now the Hammersmith
and City Line of the London Underground), and the housefronts hide the
railway from the road.


Clive D.W. Feather     | IXI Ltd (an SCO company)
[e-mail]          | Vision Park
Phone: [phone] | Cambridge   CB4 4ZR
Fax:   [phone] | United Kingdom

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

From: [e-mail] (David K. Bryant)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 04:50:58 GMT


Ron Bean <nicmad!madnix![e-mail]> writes:

>   A few blocks from here is a telco building built of brick (a bit
> larger than a house), in a residential neighborhood. This area was
                             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> developed in the mid '50s, so that's probably when it was built. I
> have always assumed that it is a CO (at least, it doesn't seem to be a
> businesss office). It has no driveway or parking lot, although trucks
> park in front of it from time to time. Part of the yard is fenced. And
> it HAS WINDOWS. Even the front door is glass. What gives?

It was designed to fit in with the neighborhood.

Out here in the Wild West many fire stations are built to look just
like a house with a two-car gargage.

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
Date: 17 May 1993 00:27:09 -0400
Organization: The Programmers' Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI

[e-mail] (Harry Skelton) writes:

> I assume the car navigational unit is based on a broadband ISDN or
> Celular concept but

You don't need broadband ISDN or cellular to implement the type of
navigational stuff AT&T is hyping.  All you need is a GPS receiver and
a good digitized map, with accurate latitude/longitude points down to
half a second of an arc or so.  Plus a computer with some software to
tie the two together, provide automatic map-tracking, etc.  The map
data could probably be stored on a CD-ROM, possibly in compressed
format if necessary.  You couldn't do cool 3D flybys of overpasses
like they do in the AT&T commercial, but I'm not very convinced that
features of that sort are really necessary or even useful.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH      [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: AT&T Future Ads
From: [e-mail] (Ed Hopper)
Date: 16 May 93 11:22:00 GMT
Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ed Hopper)


In <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Brendan B.
Boerner) writes:

> What's AT&T up to?  I must admit to being skeptical -- how many years ago
> did AT&T demonstrate a videophone at a World's Fair, 30?  Also, show me a
> library that can afford to keep buying subscriptions to periodicals, much
> less state of the art computer equipment, and I'll show you a library which
> is going to get it's budget cut.

Most of the demonstrated technologies are fairly well along in
development.  There is a "Smart Card" business unit at AT&T, for
example, that is working on devices to allow charges to your bank ATM
cards by toll booths (note the NCR connection to ATM's -- they're one
of the leading ATM vendors).  Medical records in the smart cards are
another application.

Video phones, obviously, are a marketplace product now, but without
the frames per second of the commercial.  However, I have seen ISDN
video phone calls that look about as good as the ones in the
commercials.  We did one from Atlanta to Austin, Texas.

Anyway, none of this stuff is that far off technologically.  There are
pricing, marketing and policy issues that are, in many ways, more
difficult.  The library issue mentioned above is one point.

I personally have conflicted opinions on the issue.  I believe in easy
access to information, but at the same time, I feel that an
institution should be able to recover reasonable costs and a profit
from users.  It's the $100/hour search fees that upset me.


Ed Hopper's BBS - ehbbs.com - Berkeley Lake (Atlanta), Georgia
USR/HST:404-446-9462 V.32bis:404-446-9465-Home of uuPCB Usenet for PC Board

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Date: 17 May 1993 00:58:43 -0400
Organization: The Programmers' Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


[e-mail] writes:

> Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
> it now illegal to own a cellphone?

It's not illegal to own a scanner that can receive cellphone
transmissions.  It never has been, and it isn't now, even after the
new "scanner bill" has been passed.

The new "scanner bill" only affects MANUFACTURERS and IMPORTERS of
scanners.  Its main effect is to deny FCC approval for scanning
receivers that can receive and demodulate transmissions in the
frequency band allocated for the domestic cellular telephone service.
Scanners which have already been manufactured or imported are not
covered by the bill, and a scanner which already has Part 15
acceptance does not have that acceptance revoked ex post facto.

> Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
> would be illegal for me to sell it now?

No, because it's not illegal to sell that scanner.  (Well, actually,
it might be -- but not because of the scanner bill.  It's illegal to
sell a non-Part 15 accepted device, except for certain pieces of ham
radio equipment.  If you've modified the scanner to receive cellphone
transmissions -- by clipping a diode, or removing a resistor, or
something similar -- then you have voided the scanner's Part 15
acceptance, and you can no longer legally sell it or operate it.)  In
fact, your scanner's resale value may have increased, since you can't
manufacture or import cellphone scanners anymore.

What remains to be seen is whether or not the FCC will consider
entering a test mode to be "easily modifying" the phone, which was the
language used in the FCC NPRM.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 05:58:09 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
> it now illegal to own a cellphone?

Actually, the law doesn't seem to make any distinction that would
exempt cellphones from such a classification ... anybody have text
from it that says differently?

> Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
> would be illegal for me to sell it now?

Only if you care.  The more laws they pass, the larger the underground
economy.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #332
******************************










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Date: Mon, 17 May 1993 04:40:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #333

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 17 May 93 04:40:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 333

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Steve Summit)
    Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Todd Inch)
    Re: Pulse on POTS Lines? (Dan Danz)
    Re: Pulse on POTS Lines? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Telecom History (Jack Winslade)
    Re: Telecom History (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (David K. Bryant)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (David Hayes)
    Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: More Caller-ID (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Laurence Chiu)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 17:38:55 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Steve Summit)
Subject: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.


A few weeks (well, more like a month) ago, I asked about various
telephone parity conventions.  This table summarizes the information I
received:

    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    |                  || tip         | ring         |
    +==================++=============+==============+
    | polarity         || relatively  | relatively   |
    | [note 1]         || positive    | negative     |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    | line 1           || green       | red          |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    | line 2           || black       | yellow       |
    | [note 2]         ||             |              |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    | 25 pair          || white/blue  | blue/white   |
    | [note 3]         ||             |              |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    | punchblocks      || left, above | right, below |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
    | 1A2 ribbon conn. || pin 26      | pin 1        |
    +------------------++-------------+--------------+

Note 1.  Though tip is relatively positive, it is nominally at ground
potential (which ends up being consistent with its green color), which
means that ring sits at -48vdc on-hook (i.e. if you hook a voltmeter
up in the "obvious" way, red-to-red and green- to-black, you'll read
-48vdc).

Note 2.  It's easy to remember that yellow and red are both warm
colors and that yellow ought therefore to be ring to black's tip, but
these assignments have a disturbing implication for modular cable
pinning.  If the pins of a modular plug are numbered:

          123456
         _________
        /\ \\\\\\ \
        \ \        \
         \ \        \
          \ \________\
           \/___\ \__/
             \ \
                  \ \
                 (cable)

the standard color code (based on my observations, no one was able to
supply any hard data on modular cable or plugs) is:

    pin    color

    2    black
    3    red
    4    green
    5    yellow

which means that tip is to the right for line one (pin 4, with ring on
pin 3), but to the left for line two (pin 2, with ring on pin 5).
There is therefore no way to predict the appropriate polarity for line
three (pins 1 and 6), and no one was able to tell me.  (I have a
suspicion that pin 1 is white is ring, and pin 6 is blue is tip, but
I'm hardly sure of this; if true, it's backwards from the 25-pair
convention.  8-wire modular cable gets even weirder, with white
changing to orange, and slate outboard of orange and brown outboard of
blue, at least in samples I've seen, but I've also got a jack wired
blue/orange/black/red/green/ yellow/brown/slate, so this is probably
less standardized.)

Note 3. Wires whose predominant color is one of the "primary" colors,
white, red, black, yellow, and violet, are all tip, while the
"secondary" colors, blue, orange, green, brown, and slate, are all
ring.

I would like to be able to state that the table above is definitively
accurate, and to back it up with references, but no one was able to
cite any.  The table matches my experience, and is consistent with a
little Radio Shack DuoFone two-line tester (Cat. No. 43-103), and is
probably accurate; the only line I have any lingering doubts about is
the yellow/black assignments for line 2.  Respondents made mention of
the Bell System Practices, and various cabling standards (USOC, WECO,
AT&T 258A, EIA (TIA) 568 B, EIA (TIA) 568 A, and IEEE).

The Telecom Digest archives contain a copy, typed in by Dave Mitton
(Hi, Dave!) and posted on November 22, 1982, of "An Introduction to
Providing Your Own Telephone Wiring -- How to Do It Yourself,
Including Technical, Material and Workmanship Standards", by New
England Telephone, which talks about some of this.  (It also mentions
that the yellow wire in quad is ground, if not used for Princess power
or a second line.)

Thanks to Robert Brickman, Richard Corkran, Ron Erickson, Todd Inch,
David Neill, Jan Steinman, and Mark Walsh for their replies.


Steve Summit    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 20:52:59 -0800 (PDT)


Steve Summit said:

> There is therefore no way to predict the appropriate polarity for
> line three (pins 1 and 6), and no one was able to tell me.  (I have a
> suspicion that pin 1 is white is ring, and pin 6 is blue is tip, but
> I'm hardly sure of this; if true, it's backwards from the 25-pair
> convention.

At one point I had theorized that the polarity of the line 2 is
opposite (on flat modular cable) line 1 in order to reduce EMF
(magnetically induced) crosstalk.  However, I just spoke to our Sr
Electronic Engineer, who reminded me that the DC polarity is
irrelevant for magnetic feilds, only the AC component is important, so
unless the two lines carried the same exact audio, in phase with each
other, polarity is irrelevent.  And if they did have identical audio,
crosstalk would only slightly increase or decrease the volume.  So,
the polarity shouldn't, theoretically, affect crosstalk.

But, if the polarity of the 3rd is opposite the 2nd, (to continue the
theme) then your guess would be correct.

Also, whoever installed the cabling in my building installed the
6-color wire such that white would be tip, but also put the ring wires
above the tip wires on the punchblocks for 6-color, but wired 3-pair
cables "normally"! Of course, a data set of 1 is not statistically
significant.

Interestingly, my Omegaphone installation manual warns that some
6-conductor wall jacks have white and blue reversed, and I have seen a
few!

And to confuse the issue further, our Omegaphone uses three pairs, but
puts them side-by-side rather than "around" each other on flat cable,
such that pins 1 through 6 on the RJ12 are wired to clips 1 through 6
on a punchblock.

So, if I want to plug a single line phone into one of these oddly
wired jacks, I connect to the orange/white pair on the punchblock.
Yellow/Black is not a pair but is two halves of pairs 1 and 3.  Yuck.
But, the capacititive and magnetic coupling between pairs in the flat
cable is reduced as much as possible and the twisted pair house cable
is utilized as pairs so there IS a good reason.

This wouldn't work for two-line phones since standard flat modular
phone cables are cross-wired (pin 1 to pin 6) and it would be too easy
to get the 3rd pair instead of the first, or in the case of
4-conductor jacks, lines 1 and two could get reversed if they were
side-by-side.

> 8-wire modular cable gets even weirder, with white changing to
> orange, and slate outboard of orange and brown outboard of blue, at
> least in samples I've seen, but I've also got a jack wired
> blue/orange/black/red/green/ yellow/brown/slate, so this is probably
> less standardized.)

> and various cabling standards (USOC, WECO, AT&T 258A, EIA (TIA)
> 568 B, EIA (TIA) 568 A, and IEEE).

Agreed.  There are too many (okay, more than one) standards for the
RJ45's.  I acquired a surplus of these jacks and am using them as
RJ12's with the 3-pair oddly wired Omega system, so I get really
confused!

> Thanks to ...

Thank YOU for working on this.

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan Danz)
Subject: Re: Pulse on POTS Lines?
Date: 17 May 1993 01:18:44 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer Inc, Marlboro MA
Reply-To: [e-mail]

Shawn Herzinger writes:

> Perhaps some of you TELECOM Gurus out there could enlighten me as to a
> certain behavior that I have noted on POTS lines in the U.S.

> In the development of a telephone accessory product we have noticed
> that after the completion of dialing a telephone number, the CO sends
> a "pulse" back on the line.  This pulse is heard as a click or a
> "sproing" sound on the handset.  Measuring this pulse on an O'scope
> reveals that this pulse is roughly shaped like a square wave and lasts
> for between 50 and 200 milliseconds.  The pulse duration seems to be
> random and does not seem to vary with what number is dialed (local or
> long distance).  We are measuring this pulse in the 212-421- area.

> Why is this pulse present?  Do all CO's emit this pulse?  Is it only
> present in the U.S. (Some associates in foriegn countries claim that
> they do not have this pulse).  Does it vary from a line that features
> pulse-dialing only and touch-tone service lines?  Are there
> specifications for this signal? (i.e. duration, shape.)

For what its worth:

We had something like this happen six years ago when we switched our
outbound modem lines from AT&T to Sprint.  Our modems would dial out
to modems in other cities, the connection would be made and the far
modem would present answer tone.  About one second later (just about
the time our modem decided that it had received a valid answer from
the remote side) the tone would drop out (for about a half second, as
I remember, but I didn't measure the length).  Whatever length it was,
it was enough to convince our local modems that the call had been
disconnected almost before it ever got started.

It was explained to me that this had something to do with answer
supervision, and it only happened going to some NPA-s.  Sprint
eventually did away with it and I haven't seen or heard of the issue
in a long time.


L. W. "Dan" Danz         (WA5SKM) VOS Mail:  [e-mail]
Sr Consulting Software SE         NeXT Mail: [e-mail]
Customer Assistance Center        Voice Mail/Pager: [phone]
Telecommunications Division       Customer Service: [phone]
Stratus Computer, Inc. 4455 E. Camelback #115-A, Phoenix AZ 85018

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Pulse on POTS Lines?
Date: 17 May 1993 00:05:55 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Shawn
Herzinger) writes:

> In the development of a telephone accessory product we have noticed
> that after the completion of dialing a telephone number, the CO sends
> a "pulse" back on the line.

> Why is this pulse present?  Do all CO's emit this pulse?

Someone else can probably give a more detailed and accurate
description, but it basically means that your CO has "finished"
whatever work it needs to do to complete the call.  So, for a call
that terminates within the same CO, this happens right away.  For a
call that leaves the CO over an SS7 call path, this usually happens
right away as well.  If there is MF signalling involved, then it can
take a couple of seconds before this happens.  This only happens on an
analog switch, such as the AT&T 1AESS, which is probably what you are
being served by.  The 5ESS and DMS-100 do not do this.  As more and
more switches in the US are fully digital, this clicking during call
setup is increasingly less common.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 16 May 93 12:40:56 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 10-MAY-93, Fred R. Goldstein writes:

> before Bell (no Bell had dial before 1926 or so).  I suppose they came

It was December, 1921 when Ma Bell deployed their first full-scale
panel switch in downtown Omaha.  There's an article about it here on
DRBBS, and I posted it in TELECOM Digest when I stumbled on it.  It
may be in the archives?  (Pat ??)


Good day      JSW    (1:285/666.0)


[Moderatpr's Note: It is not an individual file in the archives, but
perhaps it should be. It is there, but buried among the thousands of
back issues.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 21:32:37 GMT


> I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what was the reason for
> moving away from exchange names?  Was it just the desire to treat
> phone numbers as entirely numerical entities?

>   ===>  Moderator's Note: The move from exchange names was because of
>   ===>  the limitations in finding workable name combinations. Had
>   ===>  they been willing to use arbitrary letters which did not mean
>   ===>  anything, that would have been okay. But since the available
>   ===>  words had been used up, they decided if there had to be mean-
>   ===>  inless combinations for prefixes, they might as well use all
>   ===>  numbers.

    Besides the reason stated above (running out of words), it
seems that all number dialing results in faster dialing, freeing up
common equipment.  When I get a phone number that is some cutesy
spelling of something, it takes me for ever to dial it.  Maybe I'm
just out of practice of dialing letters ...


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI


[Moderator's Note: It is not only that telco was at a loss for words,
but that people were confused by some of the more esoteric exchange
names, and even those which represented simple neighborhood areas were
frequently misdialed, i.e. HYde Park-3 would be dialed HP-3 by some
people.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David K. Bryant)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 17 May 1993 06:43:41 GMT


[e-mail] (Jeff Hibbard) writes:

> Any clever suggestions for fictitious names under which I can have my
> second line published?

> Jeff Hibbard    Peoria IL (soon to be Normal IL)

L. Ron Hibbard  <- How about that one???


[Moderator's Note: Don't poke fun at the Church of Scientology. They
might start harassing *me* for publishing it here. L. Ron Hubbard had
been a science fiction writer for many years, then he decided, in his
words, that if one wanted to get rich, it would not happen writing
science fiction books ... 'the way to get rich is to start a church'.
Borrowing a few things he liked both from Christian Science and its
close cousin Religious Science (both were considerably in vogue in the
1940-50 era here) with a sprinkling of Unity added in for good measure,
he started the Church of Scientology. And he got rich. In addition, he
kept on writing science fiction, or at least some people would
describe his book 'Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health'
that way. Mr. Hubbard was a smart man even though most of his
followers, disciples, or devotees -- whatever they call themselves --
are crackpots. They all need to visit the mental hygiene clinic and
get tested for something besides 'engrams' with an 'e-meter'.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Hayes)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 20:40:21 GMT


I have two lines in Dallas, served by SouthWestern Bell. I asked for
and got residential hunting between the two. SWBell charges 50 cents
per line in the hunt group per month, so I add $1 to my bill for this
feature.

One thing that I thought was a bit odd, though. They could hunt from
the lower-numbered line to the higher-number line, but not the other
way.


David Hayes    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: On old step-switch equipment, the hunting had to
upward, in strict numerical sequence. With x-bar, it had to be upward,
but telco could use what they called 'jump hunt' with the numbers
being anywhere (as long as they were higher-numbered than the starting
line.)  With ESS, none of that matters. They can hunt anywhere.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Phone Harassment From Credit Companies
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 16:58:29 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Exactly what constitutes 'making an effort to pay'?

Well, being on a Consumer Credit Counseling program certainly
qualifies as 'making an effort to pay.'  I think that the original
poster was on solid ground with his claim of harrassment.  The
creditors were (if the plan matches California CCC) receiving 3% of
the outstanding balance monthly.

When we went on CCC, 90% of our creditors stopped calling us within
two months of the plan.  The other 10% just couldn't handle it.  The
interesting part was that these same creditors that were continuing to
dun were part of the sponsorship group of CCC.  Talk about right hand
and left hand not having a clue.


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | Ham Radio: KM6CG

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 21:05:35 GMT


> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Reza
> Hussein) writes:

>> The question is: What is the best way to handle these situations? How
>> do you prevent the same companies from calling you seven days a week
>> (before 9 am) to talk to a person who has moved out four months ago?
>> And threatening to do it again?

    There have recently been some clever television ads by GTE for
call blocking (since they are not offering caller ID here in CA, due
to PUC restrictions).  The ads show the person receiving the call
keying in a few digits, then the caller "disappears" (on screen, we
see the caller holding the handset, then the caller disappears and the
handset drops to the table).  I wonder how bill collectors would take
to having their calls blocked.


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI


[Moderator's Note: Many would simply go back to their creditor client
to advise that the debtor was uncooperative and ask for suit
requirements. Then the call-blocker would also have the opportunity to
hide from the sheriff when the sheriff came to make legal service. See,
a simple solution to a simple problem.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 16 May 93 07:23:24 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: More Caller-ID


> In TELECOM Digest V13 #331 [e-mail] (A. PADGETT
PETERSON) writes:

>> Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
>> new call management service. This service, called PHONESMART, includes
>> the features explained below.

>> The monthly charge for Caller ID is $4.95.

> This announcement is one of the best I have seen. Unlike my local area
> it spells out exactly which exchanges the Caller-ID will cover (after
> nearly a year at $7.50/month Southern Bell has not yet supplied a list
> of exactly which exchanges are covered -- seems like most in my LATA
> are *not*)

When NYTel deployed Caller ID in the 516/718/914 area codes last year,
all of the ads in the 516 issues of the papers and fliers gave all of
the exchanges that would get it first.  The balance of them are slowly
being enabled and I think that the full deployment will be by the end
of the year if not sooner.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: 1-800 Owners, What Do The Owners Know?
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access System: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Sun, 16 May 1993 17:09:07 GMT


In a message to comp.dcom.telecom [e-mail] said:

> How are the German tollfree numbers billed to the companies?

> Do the 1-800 owners still have problems with hackers?

> [Moderator's Note: 800 service in the USA is generally limited to
> domestic use coming and going. That is, from a USA telephone to a USA
> telephone. Canada works the same way, but there are some 800 numbers
> which work between the two countries. A small subset of the 800 number
> range is set aside for companies in other countries (typically in
> Europe) who want Americans to be able to call them. Likewise although
> (I think) most European telco variations on 800 -- as in your case it
> is '0130'; in the UK I think it is '0800' --...

I can speak with a little bit of personal experience here. The company
I work for writes and sells IBM mainframe software and we have clients
all over the world. In order to provide the appropriate support, in
almost every country we have clients, we provide toll-free numbers
which ring back in our corporate HQ. It is interesting to see how the
various countries have decided what prefix to use to initiate a
toll-free call. I don't have our list in front of me but I know that
NZ is 0800 and Australia in 008. We are reminded at all times that
when travelling abroad to call back using their toll-free numbers
rather than using a calling card. BTW the service is provided by MCI,
no AT&T.

As an aside, I have often wondered what the billing structure is for
these numbers. A flat rate for the line and a charge per call or time.


Laurence Chiu   Walnut Creek, CA
Internet:       [e-mail]
CIS             71750,1527

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #333
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #334

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 18 May 93 16:10:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 334

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom History ([e-mail])
    Re: Telecom History (Bob Frankston)
    Re: Telecom History (Carl Moore)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? ([e-mail])
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (William H. Sohl)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Rudolf Usselmann)
    Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (Rudolf Usselmann)
    Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (Mark Evans)
    Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (Yuan Jiang)
    Re: Harmonic Modulation -- Anyone Hear of it? (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (Robert L. McMillin)
    Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones? (Dave Ratcliffe)
    Re: Legion of Doom! - The Real One (Frank Carey)
    Re: Difference Between Residence and Business For Consulting? (D. Bryant)
    Re: Sex Telemarketing (Mark Oberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: Mon, 17 May 93 17:10:08 -0400
From: [e-mail]


> [Moderator's Note: It is not only that telco was at a loss for words,
> but that people were confused by some of the more esoteric exchange
> names, and even those which represented simple neighborhood areas were
> frequently misdialed, i.e. HYde Park-3 would be dialed HP-3 by some
> people.   PAT]

One of the worst cases of that I saw was in Far Rockaway, New York,
where the same CO served FAr Rockaway-4 and FAr Rockaway-7 (now
718-324 and 718-327) and FRanklin-1 and FRanklin-4 (now 516-371 and
516-374).  Yes, the area codes are different, too.  Lots of people got
FRanlkin-4 when they wanted FAr Rockaway-4, and the exchanges were in
the same CO.

Interestingly enough, there was seven-digit dialing among the FAr
Rockaway, CEdarhurst, FRanklin, GRanite, GEneral, and LOng Beach
exchanges, which were distributed between 212 (later 718) and 516,
until well after the 212/718 split.  From 516-239, dialing 327 got
718-327, and one had to dial 516-327 with the area code.  (I could be
misremembering which of the Rockaway exchanges it was that had this
interesting feature ...)


73 de ke9tv/2,

Kevin

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: Tue 18 May 1993 10:51 -0400


Another problem with exchange names was that you needed to correctly
pronounce names in order to complete calls either via the operator or
to figure out the spelling. Another interesting human-factors aspect
is that 494 is 494 anyway, but might be Hyacinth (as it was in my
childhood) or Ixnard (as it probably is nowhere).  Thus all digit
dialing might have improved the ability to recognize familiar
exchanges numbers.

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 11:30:36 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Telecom History


> HYde Park-3 would be dialed HP-3 by some people.

You could also generalize this remark by saying that people dial the
leading letters of each word (of two) when they should be dialing the
first two letters, period.  (Exchanges names of two words included
MOunt Vernon in Westchester County, New York and CHestnut Hill in
Philadelphia, but the latter came out as CH in both the correct and
"wrong" ways.)

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 12:46:35 GMT
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: AT&T


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

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Rudolf
> Usselmann) writes:

>> Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
>> it now illegal to own a cellphone?

> Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
> would be illegal for me to sell it now?

It is not and will not be illegal for you to buy and sell a scanner
that can cover cellular frequencies. It is illegal to manufacture new
scanners that cover the cellular freqencies and still is illegal to
listen to cellular calls. As for price drop, just the opposite.  Your
scanner now has more value since it can receive "those frequencies"
and new ones can't.

Hmmm, ever wonder why most people purchasing scanners want cellular
coverage even though they know its illegal to listen to it?


Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR)  [e-mail]
AT&T Bell Labs   614-860-5965


[Moderator's Note: No, I've never wondered why, have you? I know why. PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (sohl,william h)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 12:59:42 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Marc Unangst) writes:

> It's not illegal to own a scanner that can receive cellphone
> transmissions.  It never has been, and it isn't now, even after the
> new "scanner bill" has been passed.

> The new "scanner bill" only affects MANUFACTURERS and IMPORTERS of
> scanners.  Its main effect is to deny FCC approval for scanning
> receivers that can receive and demodulate transmissions in the
> frequency band allocated for the domestic cellular telephone service.
> Scanners which have already been manufactured or imported are not
> covered by the bill, and a scanner which already has Part 15
> acceptance does not have that acceptance revoked ex post facto.

>> Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
>> would be illegal for me to sell it now?

> No, because it's not illegal to sell that scanner.  (Well, actually,
> it might be -- but not because of the scanner bill.  It's illegal to
> sell a non-Part 15 accepted device, except for certain pieces of ham
> radio equipment.  If you've modified the scanner to receive cellphone
> transmissions -- by clipping a diode, or removing a resistor, or
> something similar -- then you have voided the scanner's Part 15
> acceptance, and you can no longer legally sell it or operate it.)  In
> fact, your scanner's resale value may have increased, since you can't
> manufacture or import cellphone scanners anymore.

Type acceptance is essentially a commercial equipment approval process
AND as far as I know it has no relevance to sales of used equipment.
There is no law against modifying scanners, radios, etc.  Likewise, if
you build your own radio receiver from a kit, or from scratch, there
is no law which prohibits you from selling that unit.  Popular
electronic magazines have published modifications for years and, I'm
sure, will continue to do so in the future.  As far as I know, there
is no law against selling any type of used equipment, modified or not
(the sole exception being laws on CB band linear amplifiers).

Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.


Bill Sohl (K2UNK) BELLCORE (Bell Communications Research, Inc.)
Morristown, NJ             email via UUCP      bcr!cc!whs70
201-829-2879 Weekdays      email via Internet  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Linear amplifiers for Citizen's Band radios can be
sold in this country provided you are only buying it for export
outside the USA. The dealer requires you to sign a form saying where
the unit is being shipped. Most purchasers of those units say they are
being resold to Mr. Curlie in Fredonia. Or they may say they are going
to be exported for resale in Outer Slobbovia. The form they sign gives
their solemn word the unit(s) will not be powered up prior to being
put on the boat for the trip to Outer Slobbovia.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rudolf Usselmann)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 00:10:23 GMT


[e-mail] wrote:

> Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
> it now illegal to own a cellphone?

> Has the resale value of my scanner suddenly dropped to zero, since it
> would be illegal for me to sell it now?

Hmm, I was under the impression, that it was OK to use a scanner to
listen to cell phones, however it was illegal to use a cell phone as a
scanner to listen to other peoples phone conversations. See the
difference?  This would be using it [the cell phone] to do something
it was not designed to do: listen to other people's conversations.
Anyway, I may be wrong, maybe it is different from state to state.
Does anybody have some *facts*?

> [Moderator's Note: It is a crime to abuse the radio transmissions of
> others by spying on them, etc. It is not a crime to repair or test
> your cellular phone when it is needed. My Motorola cell phone uses a

> same: send local to ground ... even my Radio Shack CT-301 works that
> way to get into 'local test mode'.   PAT]

On a flip phone (MicroTek light), on the back where the battery goes,
connect the middle pin to '-' (ground). Then power the phone up. Using
a car adapter when doing this helps a bit. The phone comes up in test
mode. To *TEST* the reciever press '#' then '08#' to unmute the
receiver, then use '11nnn#' to enter a chanel where nnn is a 3 digit
channel number. When done enter '07#' to use standard receiver muting
again. Enter '01#' to restart the Phone (non-damaging).  Use the test
mode carefully, if you raelly want to play around, get the blue tech
book from Motorola; it costs ($40). It is very complete.

*** std disclaimer - use of the above may be illegal and/or will blow
up your *** phone.


rudi


[Moderator's Note: There are no 'state by state' regulations that I
know of. The federal laws prevail:  It is illegal to listen to the
cell phone conversations of other people. The type of receiver
(scanner which may or may not have been modified or cell phone) is not
relevant. Don't listen, period.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner? Just Use a Cellular Phone
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 16:14:42 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Mark Evans) writes:

> I know of someone hooking up a car phone to a PC, reprogramming it a
> bit; such that they could use it to track phones. Detect paging
> requests, a few seconds before the phone is rung a request is sent out
> to all base stations near where the phone was last know to be to
> attempt to find where it is now.  Also he could intercept calls, go
> three way on them, or cut them off (including before the phone
> actually started ringing).

> His comment was that cellular phones were slightly more secure than CB
> radios.

True, The AMPS specification for authentication is pretty weak. U.S.
analog cellular is a 13+ year old spec.

One of the incentives to move to digital cellular will be fraud
reduction (possibly elmination, like GSM), and privacy (no more
scanners, even sophisticated setups will be difficult). Another will
be cost reduction.


Dan DeClerck             EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD    Phone: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Organization: Aston University
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 10:40:42 GMT


David Hayes ([e-mail]) wrote:

> [Moderator's Note: On old step-switch equipment, the hunting had to
> upward, in strict numerical sequence. With x-bar, it had to be upward,

The 359 6531 group here still has the labeling from when it was set up
this way.

> but telco could use what they called 'jump hunt' with the numbers
> being anywhere (as long as they were higher-numbered than the starting
> line.)  With ESS, none of that matters. They can hunt anywhere.   PAT]

The lines is the group need not have individual numbers.  You can just
attach several lines to the same number and the first free one will
ring when the number is dialed.


Mark Evans                 [e-mail]
+(44) 21 429 9199  (Home)  [e-mail]
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)

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

From: [e-mail] (Yuan Jiang)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Organization: Columbia University Center for Telecom Research
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 18:39:59 GMT


What is "hunting"?


[Moderator's Note: 'Hunting' is the name for the process in the
telephone central office which, when the number dialed is busy, the
call is automatically forwarded to the next available line in the
subscriber's group of numbers. Traditionally, it meant placing the
call on the very next line in the number series. If you dialed xxx-6800
and that line was in use, the call would be placed on xxx-6801, 6802,
or whatever number was next available in an upward sequence. 'Jump
hunting' means the call can be forward -- usually upward in sequence --
but it need not be to the very next number.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Yuan Jiang)
Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines
Organization: Columbia University Center for Telecom Research
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 18:41:31 GMT


It seems that "hunting" let you have two lines at a low rate.  But
what is hunting?  Can I order this service from my RBOC?


[Moderator's Note: See the comment just before yours. Usually, hunting
requires two or more lines at the regular rate for each. Perhaps you
are thinking of 'call waiting', which is priced higher than 'hunting'
(which is usually free with you paying for the extra lines) but is
less expensive than the cost of an extra line. If your telco has
upgraded any of its equipment in the past fifty or sixty years, they
are probably able to offer hunting between lines. If they have
upgraded at any time in the last decade, they can probably offer call-
waiting. It is an applications thing which you should select.
Remember, with call-waiting, only one person can talk at a time, even
though a second call can be parked waiting to converse. With hunting,
as many calls can talk at one time as there are mouths and ears on
your end to do the talking and listening. :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Harmonic Modulation -- Anyone Hear of it?
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 21:44:17 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Erik E. Rantapaa) writes:

 >A friend of mine told me about a new method of data transmission
 >called "harmonic modulation" or something like that.  Unfortunately he
 >couldn't remember any of the details, although supposedly it was
 >reported on in _Byte_ a couple of years ago.  Does anyone know about
 >this?  Does anyone know what kind of increase in channel throughput it
 >brings?  Does anyone know if it is being used right now or will ever
 >be used?  Inquiring minds want to know.

    I'm not sure, but I seem to remember something about it being
used in carrier current (communications over AC power lines) systems.
I think it involved loading the AC line during a certain portion of
the AC cycle, putting a "hole" (or at least reduced level) at that
time.  This could be compared to an undistorted sine to figure out how
it had been modified.  Of course, there are already LOTS of nonlinear
loads on the AC line, including switching power supplies and triac
based light dimmers.  These would tend to interfere with this scheme.

    I think they called it harmonic modulation because it resulted
in a distored 60 Hz sine wave, generating harmonics.  It could also
just be considered amplitude modulation of the 60 Hz signal where the
modulating signal (the load switching square wave) is a 60 Hz pulse
stream, resulting in sidebands every 60 Hz, just where the harmonics
land.
    I have heard nothing recently about this modulation scheme.


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 16:25 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?


On 14 May 93 16:47:32 GMT, [e-mail] (Toby Nixon) said:

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

>> According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
>> the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
>> International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
>> (ITU-TSS).

> I must say I'm a bit disappointed that one or more modem companies
> would go around stirring up fear, uncertainty, and doubt, giving half
> the story and leading people to believe that somehow work on modem
> standards has been disrupted by this purely-administrative
> reorganization.

I'm certain this is or may be a motivating factor, but one rule I've
tried to live by is to never attribute to mean-spiritedness that which
can be explained by ignorance.  This probably got pushed around
several rumor mills and came out thus.


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail] | Dude!

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

From: frackit![e-mail] (Dave Ratcliffe)
Subject: Re: Encrypted Cordless Phones?
Date: 18 May 93 22:18:23 GMT
Organization: Data Factory Services, Harrisburg, Pa.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
edu (Steve Buyske) writes:

> With all the recent talk about Clipper chips, I was remembering the
> court decision that cordless phone users had no expectation of
> privacy. Are there any cordless phones that use some sort of
> encryption device?

Motorola makes one with a really crude "scrambling" circuit. It would
only protect you from casual eavsdropping though. I bought one a few
months back and was decoding conversations on it with a receiver in a
couple of hours (but then, I'm not a "casual" user :) ). It looks like
a Motorola handheld cell phone and the "security key" gets changed
automagically every time you plug it into the base charging unit. It's
not a bad phone and is a definate improvement over my older AT&T
FF-750 Freedom Phone.

> I'm not thinking of hiding my conversations from the NSA so much as
> hiding them from nosy neighbors.

Provided your neighbors are only "casually" nosey then this one will
do it.

It's a _Motorola America Series 100 Cordless_


vogon1!compnect!frackit![e-mail]        Dave Ratcliffe
 or - ..uunet!wa3wbu!frackit!dave                   Sys. <*> Admin.
 or - [e-mail]  Harrisburg,  Pa.

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 12:21:55 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: RE: Legion of Doom! - The Real One
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


[e-mail] (The Marauder) writes:

> Let me set the record straight:

> This "NEW" Legion of Doom, coming from "[e-mail]" has
> _NOTHING_ whatsoever to do with the Legion of Doom! group that was
> formed approximatly mid-1984, of which I was a member. The "real" LoD
> continued as a group until somewhere around 1990.

The LOD name is being used in connection with the selling of old BBS
messages from Mindvox/Phantom.  Is this the original LOD, the fake
interloper, or a lone LOD ranger trying to make a buck, or none of the
above?

> Most of the horror stories, and tales of terror you have read and
> heard about us (real LOD), are way off base. Very few of you were
> around, or involved with the "BBS" underground world back when we
> existed as a group so any "data" you have about us is heresay at best.
> (Although I'm sure you guys at AT&T could probably find some fairly
> accurate information in "Ralph's" files, heh ;) ).

I suppose the key word here is "Most".  The above mentioned old BBS
messages offer a mention of Marauder's telephone proclivities.  But
then I suppose these messages are just "data".


Frank Carey at Bell Labs   [Ralph's friend  :-) ]    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David K. Bryant)
Subject: Re: Difference Between Residence and Business For Consulting?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 05:06:30 GMT


[e-mail] (John W Irza) writes:

> Am I missing something here or would I have to be crazy to pay more
> to have a "business" line.  From where I sit, the advantage of a
> business line is that you get the "privelege" of shelling out more
> money!

TELECOM Moderater noted, in part:

> the prices will be kept artifically low and business users will
> subsidize the cost with service that is priced artificially high.
> That is the way it goes; get used to it.  :) PAT]

Welcome to the world of business.  But remember there is the other
side of the coin.  This is found in the "Two Rules of Business":

   1. Everything costs.
   2. The customer always pays.

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Oberg)
Subject: Re: Sex Telemarketing
Date: 18 May 1993 09:10:12 -0400
Organization: Clark Internet Services, Inc.


Alan Boritz ([e-mail]) wrote:

>> [Moderator's Note: In fairness to the 900 scumbags, they do *not*
>> originate calls without some basis for doing so.

> I beg your pardon, but the 900 scumbags DON'T deserve fairness. They
> DO* originate calls to blocks of numbers without having any basis
> other than that they haven't done it before (or recently).

> [Moderator's Note: Certainly they deserve fairness.
> [....] We were talking about sex-phones -- you start
> talking about the lottery. I still maintain people who run sex-phone
> lines do NOT make cold calls. There is some basis for each call they
> originate, even if the inbound call to them was fraudulent on its face
> right from the beginning.  PAT]

Wrongo, oh usually all-knowing Moderator man!  Here in Maryland the
local news has been full of stories about phone sex operators calling
at random (or I suppose in blocks) to homes and businesses.  When one
receives such a call, one is greeted by a sultry female who asks you
to touch a number on your touchtone phone to connect to the "real
thing".

A lot of children, not knowing or maybe knowing what they are getting
into, have been pushing the digit to talk to the nice lady and running
up a big bill for mommy and daddy as well as getting a pretty good
education in the process.

Face it, 900/976/850/etc tele-sleaze operators are a bunch of bottom
feeders and don't deserve a break, in my opinion.


 Mark Oberg - Sysop          | Internet: [e-mail]
 No Place Like Home BBS      |     Fido: Mark Oberg 1:109/506
 410-995-5423 / 301-596-6450 | "One of the most unusual bbs' in America"


[Moderator's Note: Are you POSITIVE those calls were not originated by
someone playing pranks on the people? I cannot think of a bigger waste
of a sex-IP's time than to dial at random as you suggest. Without
standing up for them at all -- even as was suggested, to show them no
fairness at all -- such a method of operating would be a very poor
business decision on the part of any sex-IP. A small percentage of the
American population uses 900 (I am using that as a generic term for
all premium billed information services) at all ... an even smaller
percentage uses the sex services. I can't imagine an IP paying for
lots of outbound calls to people telling them to 'press 1' to continue
when there is no indication the person receiving the call would have
any interest whatsoever. Lottery/horoscope, a qualified, questionable
'maybe' -- other contests/games, 'maybe'. Sex, I think not. There are
just too many problems with outbound cold calls.

If a prankster gives the numbers of three or four people to the sex-IP
who in turn places collect callbacks not knowing it is a 'joke', and
those three or four people all say to the newspaper that they received
such calls, we all know the newspaper will report there is an epidemic
of such unsolicited calls going on. No sex-IP is going to willingly
talk to a minor. The $5,$10,$20,$50 to be gained is not worth a
potential trip to the penitentiary on child-sex charges. I'd be
interested in running an article here from some one or more persons
who have *actually received* unsolicited calls from a sex-IP that
could not be traced back to a prank caller ... or is this all just one
of those 'urban legends'?  How about the IP who first wrote to
start this thread going? Are you reading this? Please respond!   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #334
******************************










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Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 17:57:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #335

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 18 May 93 17:57:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 335

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Hinsdale Disaster ([e-mail])
    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Robert Eden)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (David G. Lewis)
    Re: Fiber in the "Boonies" (Yuan Jiang)
    Re: Fiber in the "Boonies" (Theodore M.P. Lee)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies ([e-mail])
    Re: Choosing Among Carriers (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Wall Size US NPA Map Wanted (Robert Doornbos)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (John Levine)
    Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do The Owners Know? (Povl H. Pedersen)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (Jack Winslade)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Mon, 17 May 93 08:07 CDT
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster


Pat,

In some comments about the Hinsdale fire you said:

>They tried to save the switch but it was so corroded from the water
>they had to dump it out, and build the office totally from scratch.
>It was a couple days short of a month that local service in Hinsdale
>and surrounding communities came back.

You are correct that it was a month before local service was restored
to normal, however by Friday they actually had the 1A ESS switching
calls again (even as corroded as its networks were.)  Service was very
poor.  Most trunks in and out of the 1A were either on facilities that
had not yet been replaced or on Trunk Networks that were so badly
corroded that they were replaced even prior to the 5ESS switch being
cut into service.  Some Line Networks were also replaced.  But several
hundred AT&T and IBT folks worked twelve hour shifts, seven days a
week to keep the 1A ESS running as well as possible until they cut in
the 5ESS switch.


Mark Baker - AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


[Moderator's Note: Right you are about the dedication of the telco
people on location there during the first couple weeks after the fire.
They were sleeping and eating in a chartered Greyhound bus parked out
in front of the premises ... grabbing a few hours sleep and going back
inside to work again, etc. It was nothing short of a miracle that the
office was back on line as soon as it was .... that still does not
relieve the negligence of management in looking for the bottom line
and expecting to pinch pennies everywhere. Actually, it was not that
much of a miracle: it is, or used to be anyway, pretty commonplace for
people in the old "Bell System" -- the one that had to be smashed
apart -- to respond to emergencies and other problems with a tremendous
dedication to duty.

My former neighbor here in Rogers Park, Charles Brown (when he was the
president of Illinois Bell) led AT&T during the years leading up to
the divestiture. He once responded to a question about MCI's service
by asking a question of his own, "How many MCI employees have lost
their lives climbing on foot in the Rocky Mountains in January to
restore service to an entire town which had been cut off due to a bad
storm which knocked down their wires? ... we had two." No lives were
lost at Hinsdale, nor at Second Avenue in Manhattan back in the
morning hours of February 27, 1975. My point is, no one can approach
 AT&T/Bell people when it comes to getting a difficult job done fast.
But *why* did it have to happen?  And you are correct: At Hinsdale
they got that flooded out, burned out switch running as best they
could about a week after the fire, then sat with it continually for
the next three weeks nursing it along getting what they could out of
it. Why weren't they sitting with it all along?  Five years have
passed since Hinsdale ... how time flies!   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 19:17:44 GMT


[e-mail] (Todd Inch) writes:

>H.A. Kippenhan Jr. said:

> [FAA bozo] asleep on the job in the news the other day, and a jet
> had to land unassisted.

> I hope there is now more redundancy built into those systems you
> mention, it sounds like their mistakes include putting too many eggs
> in one basket.  I would hope the critical systems (air traffic
> control, 911) would have some limited microwave or radio backup?
> Probably not.

 From the (as the WSJ termed it) "Five-thumbed mitts of the
FAA" -- don't expect miracles, or more than business-as-usual.


    Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
    Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
    ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
    fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

From: Robert Eden <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Date: 18 May 93 15:58:55 CST
Organization: Texas Utilities, Glen Rose TX


> [Moderator's Note: You are correct, it is total B.S. The only thing
> 10xxx does is tells your local telco to hand the call to a different
> carrier than they normally would. You should note that telco looks at
> all the digits dialed before they hand the call anywhere, and if they
> have the right to handle the call themselves, (such as local, or
> intra-LATA) they will do so, ignoring your 10xxx instructions.

They better not!  When I call Dallas from Fort Worth, I dial 10222 and
it's covered under my MCI Primetime Texas Plan (.16 a minute).  If I
just did a 1+, SWB would keep the call at .20+ a minute.  They have
never over-ridden my 10xxx code for a LD call.  The entire area
(except for a few islands) is served by SWB.


Robert Eden    817-897-0491                                 Glen Rose, TX
Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station            [e-mail]
               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ politicese for a nuke plant


[Moderator's Note: Well I know IBT keeps whatever they can if it is
within their LATA, at least where 10xxx is concerned. They also
examine the tables before handing off stuff out of LATA. If *their*
copy of the tables is screwed up, they intercept and reject the call
without handing it to the carrier to see what the carrier would do
with it. I had to sic AT&T on them one time to get their tables fixed
for a place in Wisconsin which had a perfectly valid NPA-NXX. All the
carriers would handle it if you went via their 800 numbers ... but do
a 10xxx or 1+ to get there and IBT bounced it every time!   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 15:01:49 GMT


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

> On to my question.  After activating the MCI accounts, I did some
> voice quality comparisons on a series of short calls between Madison,
> WI and Cambridge, MA.  I cycled among AT&T, Sprint, and MCI by using
> the appropriate 10XXX codes [10288, 10333, 10222].  My subjective
> ranking of voice quality was AT&T first, Sprint a close second, and
> MCI a distant third.  The party in Cambridge concurred.  I mentioned
> MCI's third place showing to an MCI customer service representative,
> and received a rather interesting response.  He [the MCI CSR] said
> that voice quality was so bad because I used the 10222 prefix, rather
> than being a dial 1 subscriber.  When I pressed him on this point, he
> said that when the call reached an MCI switch, the 10222 prefix would
> cause the call to be routed via a "bypass network".

> While this explanation sounds like total B.S. to me, it certainly
> seems to be within the realm of technical possibility.  I thought that
> I'd solicit the opinions of the TELECOM Digest readership.

While it pains me to appear to come to the defense of MCI, it is
"within the realm of technical possibility"; however, I would judge it
to be extremely unlikely.  The LEC handling the call is aware whether
the carrier selection is made via presubscription or via per-call
selection (10XXX); it is therefore *technically* possible for it to
route calls differently based on whether the call is routed via presub
or per-call selection.  It may even be a legitimate tariffed service
offering to provide different routing based on carrier selection
method (I'm not very familiar with the arcane world of LEC access
tariffs).

However, I would claim it is extremely unlikely that any carriers
would avail themselves of this option, due to the simple fact that
splitting traffic between several facilities is more costly than
placing it over a single facility because of economy of scale
considerations.  In other words, a given amount of traffic and a given
blocking probability that would require maybe 100 trunks in a single
facility group might require, say, 60 trunks in each of two facility
groups.  More facilities cost more money, and are therefore avoided
whenever possible.  Routing diversity for disaster avoidance would
justify it, but I have my doubts that a marketing ploy to get people
to presub would...

> [Moderator's Note: You are correct, it is total B.S. The only thing
> 10xxx does is tells your local telco to hand the call to a different
> carrier than they normally would. You should note that telco looks at
> all the digits dialed before they hand the call anywhere,

Minor quibble; the local telco always looks at the NPA; looks at the
CO code for a subset of NPAs; and looks at the line number for a
subset of NPA-NXX combinations.  For example (gross generalization
follows) for a call from NY to LA, NYTel will look only at the NPA;
for a call to NJ, they'll look at the NPA-NXX; and for a call from
Manhattan to Queens they'll look at the NPA-NXX-XXXX (with only the
terminating switch looking at the XXXX).


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


[Moderator's Note: That may be the reason why on my call to a place in
Wisconsin IBT kept intercepting and rejecting it. They have a couple
dinky little things in AC 414 including North Antioch, WI (Antioch is
in Illinois 708). They probably checked out my 414-NXX to see if I
wanted something in their territory rather than risk giving away 20
cents to AT&T, or worse yet, Sprint!  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Yuan Jiang)
Subject: Re: Fiber in the "Boonies"
Organization: Columbia University Center for Telecom Research
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 18:35:05 GMT


What kind of connecter does SONET specify?  Is it compatible with any
of the old ones, FC, ST?

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 09:21:23 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Theodore M.P. Lee)
Subject: Re: Fiber in the "Boonies"


As a second-tier suburb of Minneapolis we probably don't count as the
boonies, but I just noticed while taking the dog for a walk last week
a big (2' x 3' x 6'?) box with the prominent warning: "Fiber Optic
Cable Buried Here."  It didn't say who's box it was, but since it was
only a couple of feet from a regular US West buried metal cable box I
suspect it was theirs too.  This was on the edge of a two-lane
suburban highway about 3/4 mile from our house; I haven't seen any
signs in the residential area yet.


Ted Lee    Trusted Information System, Inc.   [e-mail]
PO Box 1718   Minnetonka, MN  55345     612-934-5424

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 19:04:13 GMT


[e-mail] (Alex Pournelle) writes:

> I no longer patronize the May Company (now Robinsons May) over their
> heavy handed treatment of this issue, which included threats and bad
> language at 8AM on a Saturday.

> Or "set modem on stun"...

> [Moderator's Note: You no longer patronize the May Company? You know,
> your case reminds me of the man who sent an order in to a company for
> some merchandise asking them to please ship it as soon as possible.
> The company contacted him in return saying, "We won't be able to
> release this new order until you pay for the last order you bought."
> To which the man replied, "Then you better cancel the order, I don't
> intend to wait that long for it to arrive ..."  :)  PAT]

Hoo-hah!  There was no doubt that I was at fault in not paying exactly
on time ('tis a small mind that figures a due date to be an exact day).
But creebing and snibing at Jennifer wasn't going to do them any good,
as they should have known from the first call ...

 ...and I did pay them, after all.  It wasn't very much money, either.

    Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
    Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
    ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
    fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies
Organization: CompuData Inc., DeLand
Date: Mon, 18 May 93 19:43:22 GMT


Certainly you have no obligation to any of your former roommate's
creditors, unless you contracted with them to have some obligation.
Therefore, if they call repeatedly, making demands upon you, they
would appear to be threatening and harrassing you in an effort to
collect money.

We used to call that "extortion" and it was illegal in many areas.
Our sheriff's department doesn't care about much other than collecting
money at gun-point along route 95, and of course getting his picture
in the paper or on TV.  If extortion is illegal in your area, and law
enforcement cares and is not actively involved in such a racket
itself, then you may wish to contact them.

There are also federal and state rules regulating collection practices.
 These may apply.

Now that we've determined that you have no legal obligation to these
folks, and further that their nuisance calling may be regulated by
law, let us consider the moral issue.  Most likely your room-mate has
skipped town owing them money.  They surely have a reasonable
expectation that they will be paid by that room-mate, and it is wrong
for that room-mate to run away from his debts without filing for
bankruptcy and properly notifying these creditors.  Thus, shielding
the roommate from the telephone collection creatures is aiding and
abetting a wrong.

My advice: if any of the collectors are polite, tell them where the
room-mate is (if you find out).  For others, tell them to go pay
taxes.

> ... which included threats and bad language at 8AM on a Saturday.

TELECOM Moderator noted in part:

> your case reminds me of the man who sent an order in to a company
> for some merchandise asking them to please ship ...

If I didn't know better, I'd almost take this Moderator note as
suggesting that the Moderator condones creditors making threats and
Using rude language and calling at inappropriate times of the day.
Surely the Moderator doesn't condone such things, but he surely failed
to make this clear in his note.

Sir, I would give the Devil the benefit of the law, for my own safety.


[Moderator's Note: No, I don't condone rudeness by bill collectors. It
is, in fact, usually a waste of the collector's time since many debtors
are quite sophisticated -- or fancy themselves to be -- where the law
is concerned. The collector does not want the debtor to hang the phone
up; s/he wants to maintain contact with the debtor and work out a pay
plan short of suit. Debtors made to feel uncomfortable hang the phone
up and won't respond to it in the future. One can politely inform the
debtor that the creditor intends to sue if necessary, but will listen
to a variety of *reasonable* arrangments to avoid it. The catch is,
the bottom line has to be more profitable for the collector by working
along with you than it would be by suing. Collectors make their money
by collecting; not by suing, since at that point all profit in the
account is lost entirely. But a collector has to service the creditor,
and that sometimes means suit, like it or not. Smart collectors know
they can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Choosing Among Carriers
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 14:16:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Garrett Wollman) writes:

> ................, it seems like this generalizes quite well: AT&T and
> MCI are people's preferred carriers, and Sprint is where everybody
> goes when they can't get acceptable quality from their PIC.

> I wonder why this is?

This is easy:

ATT:    Mostly good quality but occasional breakdowns.  Highest volume.

MCI:    Mostly good quality but can't handle anything out of the
ordinary.  Poor customer service. Operator service much more limited
in scope.  No vestigial services such as time/charges.

Sprint: Mostly good quality.  Fine for use as 10333 carrier. Heaven
help you if you get into a billing dispute with them.


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | Ham Radio: KM6CG

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

From: [e-mail] (ROBERT DOORNBOS)
Subject: Re: Wall size US NPA Map Wanted
Organization: Calvin College
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 17:07:43 GMT


CCMI 11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 1100, Rockville, MD 20852-3030 has
two maps available.  18" X 26" Full-Color Area Code Map w/ Int Country
Codes $29.00 11" X 17" Full-Color Area Code Map $19.00.

Phone # [phone], Ext 835    FAX [phone].


ROBERT J. DOORNBOS, CPP                       616-957-6451  office
DIRECTOR OF SECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATION    616-957-7022  voice mail
CALVIN COLLEGE 3201 BURTON SE                 616-957-8563  fax
GRAND RAPIDS MI 49546                         [e-mail]  internet

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

Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!)
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 18 May 93 12:15:55 EDT (Tue)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


Brad "great hat" Hicks writes:

> So if you want to make money over the phone AND have a reasonable
> expectation of collecting it, convert to a toll-free number and then
> contact your bank and set up an account as a credit card acquirer.

Another important point is that credit cards, even expensive ones like
American Express, charge a lot less for their billing services than do
900 providers.  I pay under 2.5% for MC and V, and the worst I've ever
heard of Amex charging is about 7%.  Compare that to the 30% or more
that telcos collect for 900 billing.  I don't blame the telcos for
doing so, they probably have more billing complaints about 900 than
about everything else put together.

Another possiblity for low-cost access is direct termination with
rebates from the LD carrier as Speedway is doing.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Povl H. Pedersen)
Subject: Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do The Owners Know?
Organization: UNI-C, Danish Computing Centre for Research and Education
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 21:29:23 GMT


Here in Denmark we have numbers starting with:

901: cheap pay-for calls. Limit 1DKK/min.  (1USD=6.1DKK)
902: more expensive, up to 9.99 DKK/min, and optional fixed cost <30DKK.
903: Most expensive, 10+ DKK/min. Often (Always ?) start costs of 30+DKK.
     Users need to call the telecom to get their phone opened for access to
     the 903 numbers.

80x: Not sure if the x means anything. Many numbers start with 8030,
as we had 0430 before we got longer phone numbers.

Users of 900 numbers must be using a digital central. Denmark will be
100% covered within year 2010 according to most pessimistic plans,
that covers every small cottage.


Povl H. Pedersen   -   Macintosh specialist. Knows some DOS and UNIX too.
[e-mail]    -   [e-mail]
 --- Finger me at [e-mail] for PGP Public Key ---

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 19:12:18 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> Up the road from Bell Labs, Holmdel, is an American Water Company
> pumping station that was built to meet the Holmdel zoning codes.

> It looks like a residential home!

> There are shades in the windows, the grounds are landscaped, and the
> street-side mailbox says; "Roger Waters."

 >PS.  Roger, on break from his current concert tour, was recently
> spotted shooting hoops at the home in the spirit of the NBA
> playoffs.

Don't tell me, let me guess -- the "house" is completely constructed of
brick, with just a tiny bit of window showing on the front ...

    Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
    Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
    ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
    fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 12:31:22 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 09-MAY-93, John Nagle writes:

> Lyndon Johnson has been credited with demanding the invention
> of "executive override", so he could break in on calls in progress.

I wonder if the history books will credit LBJ with the invention of
Call Waiting.  <big snotty grin>


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #335
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #336

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 18 May 93 19:44:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 336

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom History (Ross Richardson)
    Re: Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs? (Steve Elias)
    Re: Digital Cellular Service (Myron D'souza)
    Re: Caller ID Information to a PC (Todd Inch)
    Re: Calling Card w/o Phone Service (Dr. Tanner Andrews)
    Re: Internet on the Nevada Plan (Andrew Klossner)
    Correction: CompuServe and GO PHONES (Steve Edwards and many other readers)
    ATM and Sonet (OC1) (Rick Battle)
    Calling Card Merchant Status (Charles Lemons)
    Buying a Piece of a 900 Number? (Russell R. Lear)
    What is Residential Line Hunting? (Samir Agarwal)
    Want a Good Phone (Hans Lachman)
    Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Justin Leavens)
    Last Laugh! Re: Presidents and Telephones (Patricia A. Dunkin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ross Richardson)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Date: 18 May 93 06:10:50 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Stephen Friedl) writes:

> Last weekend, a couple of members of my family were cleaning out my
> grandmother's house after her living there for years and years (ugh).
> Part of the junk that I am sure you can imagine me finding was a coat
> hanger.  It is wooden and rather nicely made, and it is from the
> "Jos. R. Hendricks, Cleaner and Dyer" shop in Camden, New Jersey.

> The telecom angle is that the phone numbers are listed:

>     Phones / Bell 1393
>            \ Keystone 23693

> My guess is that this was from the day when there were competing
> telephone services in town, and you had to have several phones if you
> wanted to get calls from more customers.

> Anyway, can anybody make any reasonable guesses as to the possible age
> of this thing?  I really have no idea when the U.S. went to direct
> dial long distance, but this has got to be a long time before that.

Then PAT tacks on:

> [Moderator's Note: Camden readers can correct if if I am wrong, but I
> believe 'Keystone 2-3693' would be now 532-3693. In the era when 'there
>  were competing services in town' (if that was ever the case in Camden)
> neither service would have needed five digit numbers, and certainly
> not the competitor if Bell needed only four digits. [etc., etc.]

PAT's reply to this query, although well-intentioned and a pretty good
guess, was nevertheless an excellent example of how myths are perpetuated.

PAT took a guess that Keystone 23693 must be shorthand for KEystone
23693, a well-formed modern Bell System seven digit address.  From
there he diverged to an interesting anecdote about the Bell System's
travails in cutting over to dial service in the 1950s.

I have never seen a better illustration of Kuhn's concept of
"paradigm" at work. :>) Even though the query was explicit in allowing
for an alternative explanation based on the existence of competitors
to the Bell System -- indeed, even asked for such an explanation --
the query was nevertheless read through Bell System eyes. An
explanation was formulated in Bell System terms, and the explanation
was in turn leveraged as an opportunity to further indoctrinate the
reader in the finer points of the dominant (Bell System) paradigm.

Here is an alternative explanation:

Camden is just across the Delaware river from Philadelphia, which was
indeed once served by a Keystone Telephone company.

At the turn of the century, a fellow named Theodore Gray was a leader
in the then competitive telephone industry.  Not only was there once
competing telephone service in most towns that had service, the Bell
service was typically of a poorer quality. Gray obtained control of a
large number of nonBell phone companies, including Keystone. Keystone
operated as a separate, competing telephone company in Philadelphia
and its environs until 1944. Over WWII telephone service was briefly
nationalized.  On the other end of that period Bell began another
Independent-buying campaign and Keystone went the way of the Edsel
(Gray got very rich).

Keystone had at least six central office buildings in Philadelphia.

Some parts of Keystone not served by Bell overlay were sold to what
eventually became United.

The difference in numbering plans should come as no surprise.
Although publicly committed to do otherwise, Bell did not allow
Independents to interconnect with the Bell System on a regular basis
until well into the 1950s. Anyone with numbering administration
experience for a LAN or WAN knows that networks cannot be
interconnected without a good deal of shared information.  This
information was not forthcoming from Bell until it had eliminated
Keystone and the few remaining operators competing with Bell in (then)
large cities such as Cleveland and St. Louis.

Moreover, until the 1960s, the numbering plan of a local telephone
network was largely determined by the manufacturer of the switchboards
and switches.  Bell was one of literally dozens of switch manufacturers,
but had bought (not invented) all the all the patents of interest, and
even a number of patents not of interest. In the mechanical switches
of the day, numbering was intimately tied to the way the switch
connected a call across its 'fabric'.  To be excluded access to the
Bell-owned technology was to be precluded access to Bell-compatable
numbering, and thereby to stations served by the Bell System.

You may or may not know that direct local dialing was not invented by
the Bell system, but by Strowger, a Kansas City undertaker who was
tired of the Bell operator sending all the "Sarah? Get me an
undertaker!" traffic to his competitor.  The first automatic (direct
dial) exchange went in to service in LaPorte, Indiana in 1892.  It was
not a Bell exchange.

Indeed, Bell fought direct dial for a number of reasons, mostly
corporate stodginess, as well as the fact that the technology could
not yet work with interexchange calls, the hub of Bell's monopoly
strategy.  There are several examples of Bell taking over
Strowger-based independents, ripping out the automatic exchanges, and
putting in operators.  Customers, who had had quite enough of
operators and their eaves-dropping and general uncooperativeness, were
furious.

Interestingly, long-distance (toll or interexchange) direct dialing
technology was available to the independents as early as 1925 (Bell
did not offer it for another 30 years).  The technology, which
extended the most common switch technology (Strowger) to handle DDD,
was installed in Europe in the 1930s.  Why wasn't it available in the
U.S.?  Bell had bought up all the competing long distance companies by
1921. Even if you could dial your own local calls, you had to go
through a Bell operator to get your toll call manually set up for you.

I suspect this sort of story is all too familiar to many readers, so I
will not continue In any event, that coat hanger could be worth quite
a bit to the right collecter. You might want to give the Independent
Telephone Pioneers of America a ring.


Ross Richardson   [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs?
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 10:46:42 PDT
From: Steve Elias <[e-mail]>


Hi Andrew,

I am not aware of fax on demand hosted by macs. If there is such a
system, it is likely in violation of Brooktrout's fax on demand
patent, in case that matters to anyone but Brooktrout!

If you want fax on demand legally you must go through someone licensed
by Brooktrout. If you don't care about the patent there are probably
other ways to proceed.

If you find fax on demand hosted by mac, please post info about it,
and whether it is licensed or not if you happen to find out.

Thanks,

eli

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

From: [e-mail] (Myron D'souza)
Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Service
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Communication Inc.
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 19:56:39 GMT


       Well the leading telecommunications firm is the area of mobile
communications is Ericsson Telecom which controls the market with
operations in 100 companies.  We provide the cellular subsystems for
such companies as Cantel in Canada and McCaw and Bell South in the US.
They provide top quality products to meet the increasing demand for
mobile telecommunication solutions.


M. D'Souza    Ericsson Comm.

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

From: [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
Subject: Re: Caller ID Information to a PC
Organization: Maverick International Inc.
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 21:02:07 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Wilf
Rosenbaum) writes:

 >I'm looking for a way to translate incoming caller ID information into
 >a form that can be read by a PC.

PAT -

Could we please POST (Usenet and/or Telecom Digest) an FAQ list
monthly or so?  We seem to keep getting these and other similar over
and over.  Yes, I know most of this stuff is in the archives, but you
have to know how to ftp (if you have ftp) or use a mail server, you
have to know the name of the directory and file, etc.  And, frankly
it's easier to ask the net than to dig through the archives.

Then, you could have a reply "form letter" for these questions asking
them to wait for/look for the FAQ list.

In the long run, I think we'd save bandwith and for those of us who
don't want to see them, we can put "FAQ part 1 of X" or whatever in
our kill files and don't have to read the entire message to discover
it's something we've beaten to death previously.

Oh, please.  In the long run, I think we'd SAVE bandwidth.  The FAQ
could include info about the archives and save you time adding notes
to the bottom of postings about the archives, telling them it's an
FAQ, asking readers to respond directly, telling them about Hello
Direct, etc.


[Moderator's Note: Actually, the FAQ goes out automatically to every
new person added to the mailing list (lately, that has been three or
four names daily), and it gets posted in comp.dcom.telecom once a
month (but not on the Digest side that often). Readers see maybe one
out of every ten queries I receive on FAQ topics, with the other nine
getting a copy of the FAQ in return, or sometimes just a direct answer
(by myself) to them in email. If you think a lot of those 'how do I
[insert FAQ topic]' style messages are actually in the (published)
group, you should see the number which do not get in print. So, there
is quite a bit of bandwidth being saved.  The reason I run one in
print now and then is in the hopes that others who are about to write
the same question will see it and *not* write me. If anyone out there
seeing this does NOT have a copy of the FAQ for this group and they
would like one, please write '[e-mail]' and ask
for a copy, putting 'FAQ' somewhere in the subject line. Please read
the FAQ before sending questions which are answered therein. Thanks.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: Calling Card w/o Phone Service
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 19:44:24 EDT
From: Dr. Tanner Andrews <[e-mail]>
Organization: CompuData Inc., DeLand


One of these AT&T "Universal" cards will do what you want, and serve
as a credit card to boot.  There is a surcharge on each call to
assure that the 10% "discount" doesn't interfere with the profits.


[Moderator's Note: As long as a person without phone service passes a
reasonable credit check otherwise, Orange will also issue a card; the
rate will remain the same: 25 cents per minute, no surcharge.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Klossner)
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 10:16:01 PDT
Subject: Re: Internet on the Nevada Plan
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon


>"To contact them ... dial in on 10288 1 503 520 2222."

503-520 is in Beaverton, Oregon, an exchange within my local calling
area.  GTE doesn't allow intra-LATA calls using an alternate carrier.
I wonder how a Portland-area resident would use this service?


Andrew Klossner  ([e-mail])

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

Date: 18 May 93 10:58:57
From: sceard!newline![e-mail] (Steve Edwards)
Subject: Correction: CompuServe and GO PHONES


By now you've probably been flooded with corrections, but...

On CompuServe, "GO PHONES" tells you the access numbers for
CompuServe.  "GO BIZ*FILE" lets you look up business names given the
phone number.  "GO PHONE*FILE" lets you look up residential names
given the phone number.

Both "BIZ*FILE" and "PHONE*FILE" are extra cost ($0.25/minute)
services.


Steve Edwards      Internet: [e-mail]      Voice: [phone]
Newline               CompuServe: 73677,3561           Fax: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Thanks also to the seventeen other readers who sent
in this correction.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 10:11:41 -0400
From: Rick <[e-mail]>
Subject: ATM and Sonet (OC1)


Does anyone know of a manufacurer who might make OC1 interfaces for
their equipment?  I have investigated Digital Link and they only
provide T3 rather than OC1.

I want to connect a router with a HSSI port to a cell-a-fier and run
ATM over single mode fiber between two building about 4 miles apart.

I thought the industry was embracing Sonet.  What I am seeing is a
repeat of old habits and T3 looks to be the plug, :-( , of choice.

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.


Rick Battle    202-484-9677

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

From: [e-mail] (Charles Lemons)
Subject: Calling Card Merchant Status
Date: 18 May 93 16:00:34 GMT
Organization: AudioFAX Inc., Atlanta


Does anyone out there know how to accept telephone calling cards as a
form of payment? Apparently pay phones do it. I believe that some
other telephone services such as public fax machines do as well. What
sort of services can calling cards be used to pay for? Who would I
contact to get signed up for this sort of calling card merchant
account? Would I need an agreement with each providor of calling
cards? Are there any specific standards and/or regulations on the
subject? It sounds like something Bellcore would be involved in. Am I
completely confused?

I will be grateful for any and all answers given here or by e-mail.


Thanks.

Charles Lemons        AudioFAX, Inc. / Suite 200    Audio: [phone]
[e-mail]    2000 Powers Ferry Center      Fax: [phone]
emory!audfax!lemons    Marietta, GA. 30067


[Moderator's Note: Charges placed on telecom calling cards have to
have at least some telecommunications aspect to them. A telephone call
has to have been placed. In other words, you can't sell meals in a
restaurant and charge them to a telecom calling card. What you do is
cut a deal with a firm like Integratel to handle billing as your
service bureau; they in turn have an egress into the billing system of
the various telcos. Or, you can try to cut a deal of your own with
some telco to handle your charges for some piece of the action. But
remember, the essence of the transaction has to be a telephone call.
If a sex-IP can call back at outgrageous rates and have it billed as a
collect call, my presumption is they could also call back and bill it
to a calling card. Overall, it smells back to me. I'd say forget it.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 10:57:05 PDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Buying a Piece of a 900 Number?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


A friend of mine got a brochure in the mail promising big bucks if she
buys a piece of a 900 number (your choice of sex or psychics).  The
minimum buy-in is $100.  She thinks it sounds like a great deal.

While I wouldn't feel comfortable doing business with some of these
folks, it's her money.  I've warned her that some of these businesses
have high non-payment rates and low ethics.  I suspect they're trying
to pad the balance sheet with outside money.  Has anyone heard of this
kind of partner arrangement?  Is it an outright scam?  Marginally
profitable?  Hugely profitable?  Should I be trying to get a piece of
the action rather than talking her out of it?


Thanks for any info,

Russell Lear     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: When you get into a partnership with people running
a premium phone service (astrology, sex, whatever) don't make the
mistake I did of not getting any records from your 'partner' as to
what is going on. Make sure there is a way *you* can see what the
other side is doing so they don't (worse case scenario) rip you off or
(more common scenario) mismanage things horribly.

There is a company in Florida which seems to be running an honest
leased 900 system.  They operate three services: psychic, sports, and
'Dateline'. In the case of 'Dateline', the database is already well-
developed with ads from men and women. They'll let you in for $99 per
year, and give you $1.28 out of each $2 per minute charge. You run
advertisements as you see fit and use an 'extension number' in your ad
which relates to your account on the computer in Florida. The database
is continually updated mutually by the customers of each dealer selling
the system.  There is a phone number you call to check the call count
as it pertains to your efforts. When your customers call, they append
the extension number when the computer answers and asks for it. They
make remittances monthly; *I think* the firm is honest and they give
you a 1099 form annually. If you can check the call count, at least
you have a rough idea what is going on. For $99, I think it would be
hard to lose very much. Some people make good money at this; I guess
it would all have to do with your advertising.  For more information
on the program I describe here, contact:

Avalon Communications, 1007 N. Federal Highway, Ft. Lauderdale FL 33304.
Phone [phone] and ask for Steve.         PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Samir Agarwal)
Subject: What is Residential Line Hunting?
Date: 18 May 1993 14:16:51 -0400
Organization: Mentor Graphics Corp. -- IC Group


Pat,

I am not very telecom-literate. I have seen discussions on Residential
line hunting but don't quite understand it. Can you shed some light
on:

1. what it is?
2. How is it better than call-waiting?
3. Does it require some equipment?
4. Where can I find more info on it?

Any info will be greatly appreciated.


Samir K. Agarwal                  Mentor Graphics
[e-mail]    IC Group
uunet!sdl!samir                   15 Independence Blvd.
MABELL   : [phone]         Warren, NJ 07059
Voicemail: [phone] #0812


[Moderator's Note: See a message in an earlier issue today for more
details. 'Hunting' requires no special equipment on your end. All you
need is two or more telephone lines. All the work is done in the telco
central office. If your listed number is busy, telco will automatically
put the next incoming call on your second line. If there is only one
of you to talk on the phone, then a second caller will have to wait to
talk anyway, so stick with call-waiting (where only one call at a time
can get through while the other call waits on hold at the CO). If
there are two or more persons using the phone at your place, then
hunting to a second physical line is better since much bitterness and
arguing can be avoided when one person talking on the phone gets call-
waited by someone wanting to talk to another person -- they have to
wait until you get done or you have to quit your call prematurely.
Call Waiting costs $2-3 per month and requires only one phone line
which you are already paying for. Hunting is frequently free, but
requires a second physical line which costs more, unless you already
have one. Call waiting and hunting are not compatible services.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Hans Lachman)
Subject: Want a Good Phone
Organization: Netcom
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 19:38:12 GMT


I need to buy a phone.  I'm not interested in fancy features.  An
ideal choice for me might be a pre-divestiture (pre-1984) Western
Electric Touch-Tone phone, but I don't think those are available
anymore.  I understand they were pretty solid, probably much more so
than any phones on the market today.  They also had a very good keypad
"feel", and I definitely want to know about any phones that have the
same feel.  Keypad feel is perhaps my top criteria, because I hate the
feel of most newer phones.

If you have any recommendations, please email me directly at the
address below.  If I find out anything interesting I will post it to
the net.


Thanks,

Hans Lachman    [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 12:41:14 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing


   An note on my latest phone bill from Pacific Bell announced that
Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible 3
1/2" computer disk (which can be read by Macintosh computers with the
proper software) for a $15 monthly fee. For a short time, they will be
waiving the $100 start-up fee.

   Not that I would ever want to dissuade Pacific Bell from new
service offerings, but I can't imagine this would be of much value to
the average residential customer, except for those who love to do
*everything* with their computer. And I especially can't imagine that
many residential customers would pay $100 to sign up for the service
when the waiver period ends. But I suppose that it doesn't cost
anything to add a blurb to residential bills to try to sell them a
service that mostly businesses are going to buy.


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 17:31 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Patricia A Dunkin [phone])
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones


In a slightly-stale thread (I'm behind on my news reading), bill@cognet.
ucla.edu follows up Our Esteemed Moderator:

>> [Moderator's Note: Remember, Ike was a nice man, but he never was
>> appointed or elected to anything because he *actually knew anything*
>> about the position, whether it was president of Columbia or the United
>> States. He obtained those positions because he was a popular war hero.

> I believe it was in Carroll Quigley's "Tragedy and Hope" where I heard
> the anecdote that someone recommended to Rockefeller or whoever was
> deciding Columbia's business that "Eisenhower would make a perfect
> President."  Turned out they were talking about Milton Eisenhower,
> Ike's brother, but too late -- Ike already had the job.

No relation to telecom, but the above comments remind me of a couple
of oldies I've heard from my father:

    One morning during the Eisenhower administration, two guys were
    chatting over their coffee.  One said, "I had a terrible nightmare
    last night.  I dreamed that Ike died, and Nixon was president!"  The
    other replied, "You think *that's* bad?  I dreamed that Sherman Adams
    died, and Ike was president!"

    Cartoon, shortly after Ike's heart attack: he and Nixon are standing
    at the foot of the Capitol steps.  Nixon is saying, "Race you to the
    top!"

I thought you might enjoy these.


[Moderator's Note: Thanks! I needed a laugh today.  :) For the benefit
of our international readers, or those too young to remember, prior to
Richard Nixon as president (1968-75) the same Richard Nixon was vice-
president under Eisenhower (1952-60). He also made a losing attempt at
the Presidency in 1960 against John Kennedy. Sherman Adams was a Bad
Man who was a confidante and advisor to Eisenhower. He wound up going
to the penitentiary for some improper attitudes about the Oval Office,
et al, such as that it might be for sale. :) Of course it is, but one
is not supposed to be blatant about it.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #336
******************************










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Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 01:05:22 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #337

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 19 May 93 01:05:20 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 337

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    NIST Answers to Jim Bidzos' Questions (Mark Boolootian)
    Octel Voice Mail System Ad (Norm Silver)
    Fixed Radio Access Technology in U.K. and Finland (Nigel Allen)
    Message Length on Display Pagers (Steve Forrette)
    Computer Blockers Blocking Phone Line (Rob Brennan)
    Northern Telecom SL1 ACD Stats (Judy Jankowski)
    (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number? (Brad Turner)
    VCRS Modem Problem (Kevin Gilmore)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Boolootian)
Subject: NIST Answers to Jim Bidzos' Questions
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 07:45:09 -0700 (PDT)


  Date: Mon, 17 May 93 14:05:18 PDT
  From: [e-mail] (Jim Bidzos)
  Subject: NIST Answers to Jim Bidzos' Questions

  Date:    Mon, 17 May 1993 16:44:28 -0400 (EDT)
  From: [e-mail]
  Subject: Answers to Your Questions
  To: [e-mail]

  To:  Mr. Jim Bidzos, RSA Data Security, Inc.

  From:  Ed Roback, NIST

Mr. Ray Kammer asked me to forward to you our answers to the questions
you raised in your e-mail of 4/27.

We've inserted our answers in your original message.

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

  From:       SMTP%"[e-mail]" 27-APR-1993 03:13:12.75
  To:   [e-mail]
  Subj:       Clipper questions

Date: Tue, 27 Apr 93 00:11:50 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Jim Bidzos)

Here are some questions about the Clipper program I would like to
submit.

Much has been said about Clipper and Capstone (the term Clipper will
be used to describe both) recently.  Essentially, Clipper is a
government-sponsored tamper-resistant chip that employs a classified
algorithm and a key escrow facility that allows law enforcement, with
the cooperation of two other parties, to decipher Clipper-encrypted
traffic.  The stated purpose of the program is to offer
telecommunications privacy to individuals, businesses, and government,
while protecting the ability of law enforcement to conduct
court-authorized wiretapping.

The announcement said, among other things, that there is currently no
plan to attempt to legislate Clipper as the only legal means to
protect telecommunications.  Many have speculated that Clipper, since
it is only effective in achieving its stated objectives if everyone
uses it, will be followed by legislative attempts to make it the only
legal telecommunications protection allowed. This remains to be seen.

>>>>  NIST: There are no current plans to legislate the use of Clipper.
            lipper will be a government standard, which can be - and
            likely will be - used voluntarily by the private sector. The
            option for legislation may be examined during the policy
            review ordered by the President.

The proposal, taken at face value, still raises a number of serious
questions.

What is the smallest number of people who are in a position to
compromise the security of the system? This would include people
employed at a number of places such as Mikotronyx, VSLI, NSA, FBI, and
at the trustee facilities.  Is there an available study on the cost
and security risks of the escrow process?

>>>>  NIST: It will not be possible for anyone from Mykotronx, VLSI,
            NIST, NSA, FBI (or any other non-escrow holder) to
            compromise the system.  Under current plans, it would be
            necessary for three persons, one from each of the escrow
            trustees and one who knows the serial number of the Clipper
            Chip which is the subject of the court authorized electronic
            intercept by the outside law enforcement agency, to conspire
            in order to compromise escrowed keys.  To prevent this, it
            is envisioned that every time a law enforcement agency is
            provided access to the escrowed keys there will be a record
            of same referencing the specific lawful intercept
            authorization (court order).  Audits will be performed to
            assure strict compliance.  This duplicates the protection
            afforded nuclear release codes.  If additional escrow agents
            are added, one additional person from each would be required
            to compromise the system.  NSA's analysis on the security
            risks of the escrow system is not available for public
            dissemination.

How were the vendors participating in the program chosen? Was the process
open?

>>>> NIST:  The services of the current chip vendors were obtained in
            accordance with U.S. Government rules for sole source
            procurement, based on unique capabilities they presented.
            Criteria for selecting additional sources will be
            forthcoming over the next few months.

            AT&T worked with the government on a voluntary basis to use
            the "Clipper Chip" in their Telephone Security Device.  Any
            vendors of equipment who would like to use the chips in
            their equipment may do so, provided they meet proper
            government security requirements.

A significant percentage of US companies are or have been the subject
of an investigation by the FBI, IRS, SEC, EPA, FTC, and other
government agencies.  Since records are routinely subpoenaed,
shouldn't these companies now assume that all their communications are
likely compromised if they find themselves the subject of an
investigation by a government agency?  If not, why not?

>>>> NIST:  No.  First of all, there is strict and limited use of
            subpoenaed material under the Federal Rules of Criminal
            Procedure and sanctions for violation.  There has been no
            evidence to date of Governmental abuse of subpoenaed
            material, be it encrypted or not.  Beyond this, other
            Federal criminal and civil statutes protect and restrict the
            disclosure of proprietary business information, trade
            secrets, etc.  Finally, of all the Federal agencies cited,
            only the FBI has statutory authority to conduct authorized
            electronic surveillance.  Electronic surveillance is
            conducted by the FBI only after a Federal judge agrees that
            there is probable cause indicating that a specific
            individual or individuals are using communications in
            furtherance of serious criminal activity and issues a court
            order to the FBI authorizing the interception of the
            communications.

What companies or individuals in industry were consulted (as stated in
the announcement) on this program prior to its announcement? (This
question seeks to identify those who may have been involved at the
policy level; certainly ATT, Mikotronyx and VLSI are part of industry,
and surely they were involved in some way.)

>>>> NIST:  To the best of our knowledge: AT&T, Mykotronx, VLSI, and
            Motorola.  Other firms were briefed on the project, but not
            "consulted," per se.

Is there a study available that estimates the cost to the US
government of the Clipper program?

>>>> NIST:  No studies have been conducted on a government-wide basis to
            estimate the costs of telecommunications security
            technologies.  The needs for such protection are changing
            all the time.

There are a number of companies that employ non-escrowed cryptography
in their products today.  These products range from secure voice,
data, and fax to secure email, electronic forms, and software
distribution, to name but a few.  With over a million such products in
use today, what does the Clipper program envision for the future of
these products and the many corporations and individuals that have
invested in and use them?  Will the investment made by the vendors in
encryption-enhanced products be protected? If so, how?  Is it
envisioned that they will add escrow features to their products or be
asked to employ Clipper?

>>>> NIST:  Again, the Clipper Chip is a government standard which can
            be used voluntarily by those in the private sector.  We also
            point out that the President's directive on "Public
            Encryption Management" stated: "In making this decision, I
            do not intend to prevent the private sector from developing,
            or the government from approving, other microcircuits or
            algorithms that are equally effective in assuring both
            privacy and a secure key-escrow system."  You will have to
            consult directly with private firms as to whether they will
            add escrow features to their products.

Since Clipper, as currently defined, cannot be implemented in
software, what options are available to those who can benefit from
cryptography in software?  Was a study of the impact on these vendors
or of the potential cost to the software industry conducted?  (Much of
the use of cryptography by software companies, particularly those in
the entertainment industry, is for the protection of their
intellectual property.)

>>>> NIST:  You are correct that, currently, Clipper Chip functionality
            can only be implemented in hardware.  We are not aware of a
            solution to allow lawfully authorized government access when
            the key escrow features and encryption algorithm are
            implemented in software.  We would welcome the participation
            of the software industry in a cooperative effort to meet
            this technical challenge.  Existing software encryption use
            can, of course, continue.

Banking and finance (as well as general commerce) are truly global
today. Most European financial institutions use technology described
in standards such as ISO 9796.  Many innovative new financial products
and services will employ the reversible cryptography described in
these standards.  Clipper does not comply with these standards. Will
US financial institutions be able to export Clipper?  If so, will
their overseas customers find Clipper acceptable?  Was a study of the
potential impact of Clipper on US competitiveness conducted? If so, is
it available? If not, why not?

>>>> NIST:  Consistent with current export regulations applied to the
            export of the DES, we expect U.S. financial institutions
            will be able to export the Clipper Chip on a case by case
            basis for their use.  It is probably too early to ascertain
            how desirable their overseas customers will find the Clipper
            Chip.  No formal study of the impact of the Clipper Chip has
            been conducted since it was, until recently, a classified
            technology; however, we are well aware of the threats from
            economic espionage from foreign firms and governments and we
            are making the Clipper Chip available to provide excellent
            protection against these threats.  As noted below, we would
            be interested in such input from potential users and others
            affected by the announcement.  Use of other encryption
            techniques and standards, including ISO 9796 and the ISO
            8730 series, by non-U.S. Government entities (such as
            European financial institutions) is expected to continue.

I realize they are probably still trying to assess the impact of
Clipper, but it would be interesting to hear from some major US
financial institutions on this issue.

>>>> NIST:  We too would be interested in hearing any reaction from
            these institutions, particularly if such input can be
            received by the end of May, to be used in the
            Presidentially-directed review of government cryptographic
            policy.

Did the administration ask these questions (and get acceptable
answers) before supporting this program? If so, can they share the
answers with us? If not, can we seek answers before the program is
launched?

>>>> NIST:  These and many, many others were discussed during the
            development of the Clipper Chip key escrow technology and
            the decisions-making process.  The decisions reflect those
            discussions and offer a balance among the various needs of
            corporations and citizens for improved security and privacy
            and of the law enforcement community for continued legal
            access to the communications of criminals.

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

Date: 18 May 1993 16:16:29 U
From: Norm Silver <[e-mail]>
Subject: Octel Voice Mail System Advice Needed


I am the telecom director at Berklee College of Music and I am seeking
info on the difficulty of administering a Octel Voice Mail System both
the current release and the prior release. I am planning on adding
voice mail to my Rolm 9751 switch to serve approximtely 600 users.
Future expansion plans include adding 2500 students to the system.
What are the difficulties encountered? Do you have any feedback or
warnings about the Octel system?  What is the ease of growth? We are
also considering the Rolm 5.3 release. Thank you for any info you may
wish to send me.


NORMAN SILVER   DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE
AUXILIARY SERVICES   [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 20:57:26 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Fixed Radio Access Technology in U.K. and Finland
Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Here is a press release from Northern Telecom, courtesy of Dan J.
Rudiak of the Gorre & Daphetid BBS in Calgary, Alberta. (BBS line:
403-280-9900; FidoNet: 1:134/14).

Ionica and Northern Telecom Europe to Co-Operate in the Development of
Fixed Radio Access Technology.

LONDON - Northern Telecom Europe and Ionica have signed an agreement
to develop and produce the residential and radio base station
equipment which will be the key elements of Ionica's national
telephone network.  The opportunity is estimated to be worth more than
$150 million over the next few years as Ionica expands into the UK
market.

Ionica was awarded a Public Telephone Operator's (PTO) license by the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in February 1993 to become the
third national PTO in the UK licensed to provide fixed telephone
services.  The Ionica system uses a wireless link to provide the final
drop for Ionica's exchange to the home or business, thus completely
avoiding the costs associated with installing cables. The system will
offer customers a quality service at significantly reduced prices.

There is also already considerable international interest in the
Ionica system and Telecom Finland was the next PTO to announce, on
14th April 1993, that it is to adopt the Ionica technology.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 18:40:46 -0700
From: Steve Forrette <[e-mail]>
Subject: Message Length on Display Pagers


Recently, I discovered that the Motorola Bravo Plus pager I have has a
maximum message length of 20 characters.  My paging company tells me
that this is the way the pager is built, and experiments with the same
type of pager on another carrier yields the same results.  This seems
especially odd since it has a 12 digit display -- why is the limit not
24?  I have an application where I need to send two phone numbers
along with a two digit code in a single page, for a total of 22
characters.  I'd hate to have to send these as two separate pages.
So, does anyone know if this 20 character limit really is with the
pager itself, and not just the paging company?  And, does anyone know
of or could recommend a pager that has a higher capacity (such as 32
characters per page)?


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Brennan)
Subject: Computer Blockers Blocking Phone Line
Organization: University at Buffalo
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 05:20:00 GMT


Does anyone know if there are laws against a computer caller blocking
a phone line even after the recipient hangs up? I have had companies
advertising for 900 numbers call. After I hang up, if I pick up the
phone they are still on the line. Should I get the phone number of the
company and report them, or isn't it worth the bother?


[Moderator's Note: It is probably not worth the bother. They are
supposed to disconnect as soon as they have detected you are gone, but
this might be a few seconds, depending on the switch serving them and
the one serving you. A common mistake people make is to disconnect
then pick the phone up just a few seconds later to 'make sure they are
gone' ... only to have not waited quite long enough and started the
time out process all over from the beginning. When you hang up, if you
feel you must check to be sure the caller is gone, wait at least 20-30
seconds. Almost assuredly you will have dial tone when you go off
hook.  If you wait only five seconds or so, the machine might be gone
or it might not be yet, and your on-hook/off-hook is treated more like
a switchhook flash, especially if you have call waiting, three-way,
etc. My suggestion is just hang up and go back to whatever you were
doing before the interupption. Your line will clear itself in very
short order.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Judy Jankowski)
Subject: Northern Telecom SL1 ACD Stats
Organization: Progress Software Corp.
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 15:03:07 GMT


Is anyone downloading their ACD stats to a PC and not to a continuous
feed printer?  Any suggestions welcome.


Judy Jankowski                     Progress Software Corporation
[e-mail]        14 Oak Park
[phone]               Bedford, Mass. 01730

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

From: [e-mail] (Brad Turner)
Subject: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number?
Date: 18 May 93 18:02:49 GMT


I'm trying to help my roommate sort out the wiring in an 80 year old
house that has two lines run in it. What is the phone number that I
can call from the (408) 971 exchange that will answer and
automatically reply with the number of the line from which I'm
calling? It would really make crawling around under the house a lot
easier if I could discern which line was which.  Please reply via
email to [e-mail] since I don't normally read the telecom groups.


Thanks ahead,

Brad Turner | 5400 Bayfront Plaza  | Marketing Engineer   | [phone]
3Com Corp.  | Santa Clara CA, 95052| [e-mail]     | [phone] fax

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

From: [e-mail] (Kevin Gilmore)
Subject: VCRS Modem Problem
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 11:30:46 GMT


[Moderator's Note: This appeared originally in rec.video.satellite. PAT]

Well over the last month I have been having weird phone problems where
people would call me and get one ring followed by a busy signal.
Called out the phone company ($53.00 for 15 minutes) and they
diagnosed the problem down to a current draw at 24 volts amounting to
about 75 ohms, and guess what: it was the VCRS modem. Now the thing
still calls out twice a month, but with it plugged into the phone line
it draws enough current to mess up the phone company. At low voltage
the impedance is quite high however, leading me to believe that the
mov is shorted. The phone company guy said that he knew of lots of
VCRS's with the same problem.

I made a few calls to the appropriate people and the suggestion has b
een to open up the VCRS and clip out the mov.  Evidently many VCRS's
were assembled with a mov that is of too low a voltage.  I do not
really want to send the thing into GI and wait three weeks. How long
is the warranty on the VCRS anyway? If I open it up and fix it myself
then something else goes wrong later will GI even touch it?

GI makes CRAP!!!!!

 ....kg....


[Moderator's Note: If you are only using it twice a month, why not
either buy or build a little toggle switch which will cut the phone
line from the modem when it is not in use? Also, why leave the modem
turned on for that little use? Power it down and turn it on when you
want to use it; that might end your problem, or am I missing something
here?    PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #337
******************************










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Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 02:21:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #338

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 19 May 93 02:21:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 338

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Digital Sampling of T1 Line (Mark Fanty)
    Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles (Juergen Ziegler)
    Wanted: CCITT Modem V22bis Fax G3 Document (Dmitri Rostislavovich Sysoeff)
    Carrier Indeterminable, Phone Insecurity (David A. Cantor)
    Strange Prefix (David A. Cantor)
    Question About 1-800 Costs (Steve Dillinger)
    Arista-Sun Life (Sylvie St-Georges)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Michael Covington)
    Re: Line Status Indicator (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Sex Telemarketing (Mark Oberg)
    Re: Telecom History (David Ohsie)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Peter Capek)
    Re: Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs? (Al Varney)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark Fanty)
Subject: Digital Sampling of T1 Line
Date: 18 May 93 17:19:03 GMT
Organization: Oregon Graduate Institute (formerly OGC), Beaverton, OR


I am part of a speech research group at the Oregon Graduate Institute.
In order to train our recognition and language identification
algorithms, we collect lots of telephone speech data.  In the past we
have used Gradient Desklabs, SCSI devices for UNIX workstations which
take one or two analog telephone lines.

We would like to switch to digital recording.  My understanding is
that, if we get a T1 line, the incoming signal will be digital.  If we
can capture that signal, we avoid all the D/A distortions and problems
on this end.

I was hoping we could get something off the shelf to do that, but I'm
not having much luck.

Ideally, I want a device for DEC or Sun workstations into which I plug
a T1 line.  It can handle several calls simultaneously.  It has a
flexible and powerful C library interface -- my C program will have
complete control over the call.  It can scan the signal as it comes
in, do it's own utterance detection or speech recognition, send
synthesized or recorded speech back out, record while playing (to
detect barge in).

I can compromise as necessary.  We have a fast 486 PC and could use
that.

Also, I need to learn more about telephony.  Any book recommendations?
I just ordered Newton's Telecom Dictionary by Harry Newton
(1-800-542-7279) for $25 on someone's recommendation.  I have not
personally seen it yet.


Mark Fanty          Center for Spoken Language Understanding
[e-mail]   regon Graduate Institute
[phone]      9600 NW Von Neumann Drive
fax [phone]  Beaverton, OR 97006-1999


[Moderator's Note: You might try brousing through the Telecom
Archives, available using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 20:37:43 +0200
Subject: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles


Several weeks ago I reported that German customers will get such
elementary custom calling features as call waiting or itemised
billing, if they are connected to a modern digital switch.

This is probably true for customers who are connected to SIEMENS
"EWSD" switches, but customers who are connected to ALCATEL SEL "S12"
switches will probably have to wait another year to get these
features.

According to preliminary and unofficial information from various
TELEKOM sources one of the system suppliers (SIEMENS or ALCATEL SEL)
will probably not meet the set schedules to modify their switches to
offer these features.  The sources also state that ALCATEL SEL is the
probable candidate for this mess. SIEMENS as a supplier of several US
telcos, who offer numerous custom calling features, will probably have
no problems to offer these features in Germany since they have
comprehensive experience from the US markets.  But as I said, all
information is NOT offical nor is it comfirmed so far.

Wouldn't this be a terrible mess for one of the system suppliers? I
think it definitely would. If we consider that AT&T switches (1 ESS,
1A ESS) offer these features now for around 20 years, it is hard to
understand, how modern and more sophisticated (??) switches, cannot
offer these features in 1993!

The German TELEKOM has installed digital switches since 1985, so the
troubled system supplier should have plenty of time to implement these
features in their switches. But as time passed by, they were either
not capable or they have just forgotten to implement these features.
Both reasons are highly embarrasing for the supplier in question and
will not show their sophistication in this fast changing market.

As I get more information on this topic I will report about it.


Juergen Ziegler.........  Internet: [e-mail]
Obervogt-Haefelinstr. 48
W7580 Buehl (Baden).....  Secondary Mail address:
Germany.[PLZ NEU:77815].  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dmitri Rostislavovich Sysoeff)
Subject: Wanted: CCITT Modem V22bis Fax G3 Document
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 08:04:25 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Information Technologies Center of The Moscow City


[Moderator's Note: This message from Moscow was somehow truncated in
transit, but I suspect he is asking about obtaining a copy of the
document in particular if anyone would care to help him out.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 01:05:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: David A. Cantor <[e-mail]>
Subject: Carrier Indeterminable, Phone Insecurity


Here's an anecdote for your amusement.

As I search for a new job, I am using the services of a placement
assistance firm.  They provide me with a temporary office, fax
service, message service, and other things, among which is the ability
for me to make long distance calls at my ex-employer's expense.  These
calls are supposed to be for the purpose of finding new employment, of
course, and I try to abide by the rule.  When I make personal long
distance calls which are unrelated to my job search, I use Sprint's
800 number and charge the call to my own Sprint account.

The dialing instructions are: dial 9-1 + ten digits, wait for tone,
and then enter the n-digit individual code given to each client (so
they can track which calls each of us makes, I suppose).

Of course, dialing 9-1-800 + seven digits results in connection
without having to enter an authorization code, and of course 900 calls
are blocked.

I was curious who the carrier was so I dialed 9-1-700-555-4141 and got
a reorder!  It appears that 700 calls are completely blocked, as if
they were 900.

So that made me even more curious.  I tried 9-10333-1-700-555-4141,
and got Sprint's ID message, and that led me to assume that I could
dial 9-10xxx + 1 + ten digits and bypass their accounting system
altogether. I can. There's no reason to, of course, because I'm not
charged for the calls I make anyway, but it IS insecure.

Yes, I tried to report it to someone, assuming they'd want to close
the loophole, but no one cares, nor do they seem to understand.


David A. Cantor          603-888-8133
131 D.W. Highway, #505   VMS techie, ex-DECcie, between jobs...
Nashua, NH  03060        Got one for me?

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 00:48:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: David A. Cantor <[e-mail]>
Subject: Strange Prefix


I stayed overnight in Mystic, Connecticut, and was perusing the local
telephone directory.  It is SNET territory.  There were several
references to prefixes (office codes?) 111 and 112.  111 was listed as
Ledyard, CT, and I don't remember where 112 was.  111 was identified
as a Ledyard prefix in the section on what exchanges you can dial from
where, and in the numerical list of prefixes for the state.  112 was
also in the numerical list.

Since Ledyard was local, I quickly scanned the Ledyard listings, but
didn't see any 111 listings.  (There is another "normal" NNX prefix
for Ledyard, too.)

Pity I couldn't find any 111 listings.  I would have tried to dial one
from home if I had found any.

Does anyone have a clue how such a prefix can exist?  Can anyone
confirm or deny the actual existence of 111-xxxx numbers?


David A. Cantor         603-888-8133
131 D.W. Highway, #505  VMS techie, ex-DECcie, between jobs...
Nashua, NH  03060       Got one for me?


[Moderator's Note: I rather suspect it was a misprint.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Dillinger)
Subject: Question About 1-800 Costs
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 16:38:34 GMT


    I would appreciate it if someone could post or email me some
general numbers on 1-800 rates ... (ie: owning one).

    I realize these numbers will vary between carrier, I am just
looking for some general guidelines.  I do not want to go through
sales hell with three different LD companies over an 800 number until
I have an idea what constitutes a decent deal.

     It would be for a small setup, say 10-30 inbound lines, nothing
out.

     Steve Dillinger     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: If you ordered the 800 service through my office,
under one plan I have, the cost would be 17 cents per minute, billed
in six second increments. No monthly fee, no set up charges. I also
offer 800 numbers through an aggregator/reseller of AT&T. Theirs are
distance and time of day sensitive, but at $300 per month or more of
inbound calls, the rates would be as little as six to nine cents per
minute during non-business hours, and max out at around twenty cents
per minute during business hours to the furthest points. Six second
billing increments applies here also. This plan of AT&T via the
reseller breaks down further into two components: one component has
slightly higher rates all around with discounts up to twenty percent
each month against the total and a low start up fee plus a twenty
dollar monthly fee. The flip side is the six cents per minute rates
noted above, but no further discounts and a large (thousand dollar)
start up fee. You decide your application.  I'll be happy to help you
review whatever information you get from various sources, as will many
readers here. Whatever you get, simply send it along for group
discussion.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Sylvie St-Georges)
Subject: Arista-Sun Life
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 13:54:33 EDT


FELICITATIONS A REJEAN BERNARD !!!

L'equipe du Service des telecommunications de l'UQAM est heureuse et
fiere d'annoncer que dans le cadre du concours Arista-Sun Life 1993,
Monsieur Rejean Bernard, directeur du Service des telecommunications
de l'UQAM, a recu le 13 mai dernier le prix Jeune Cadre dans la
categorie Organisme public ou parapublic.

CONGRATULATIONS TO REJEAN BERNARD !!!

Mister Rejean Bernard, director of Service des telecommunications de
l'UQAM (Universite du Quebec a Montreal), received May 13th the prize
Jeune Cadre for the Arista-Sun Life concourse.

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Covington)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: AI Programs, University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 01:09:49 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron
"Asbestos" Dippold) writes:

> [e-mail] writes:

>> Since every cellphone is a scanner, and cell scanners are illegal, is
>> it now illegal to own a cellphone?

> Actually, the law doesn't seem to make any distinction that would
> exempt cellphones from such a classification ... anybody have text
> from it that says differently?

The law refers to scanning receivers.  A cellphone is a scanning
_transceiver_.


Michael A. Covington, Associate Research Scientist
Artificial Intelligence Programs      [e-mail]
The University of Georgia              phone [phone]
Athens, Georgia 30602-7415 U.S.A.     amateur radio N4TMI

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Line Status Indicator
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 02:54:49 GMT


In <[e-mail]> John C. Fowler <fowlerc@magellan.
colorado.edu> writes:

> I would have thought this would be in the TELECOM Archives or the FAQ,
> but I can't seem to find it there.  How does one build a telephone
> line status indicator?  That is, a device which lights up when an
> extension goes off hook.  Thanks very much!

Many telephones, especially multiline phones with built-in hold button
capability (e.g. Panasonic) have such an indicator built in.

Many devices that purport to be "tap detectors" (but of course cannot
detect many taps) do just what you want.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza   New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578     fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 03:04:34 GMT


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

>    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
>    |                  || tip         | ring         |
>    +==================++=============+==============+
>    | line 1           || green       | red          |
>    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
>    | line 2           || black       | yellow       |
>    | [note 2]         ||             |              |
>    +------------------++-------------+--------------+
>    | 25 pair          || white/blue  | blue/white   |
>    | [note 3]         ||             |              |
>    +------------------++-------------+--------------+

I somehow missed the initial inquiry on this -- sorry.  My book about
telephone service (ISBN 0-89043-364-X) has a table much like this on
page 275.  It goes on to tell you this:

          line 2    white/orange   orange/white

          line 3    white          blue

          line 3    white/green    green/white

The book also defines the numbered jack positions:

    Ring 1     3
    Tip  1     4
    Ring 2     5
    Tip  2     2
    Ring 3     6
    Tip  3     1

The book also defines RJ11, RJ12/13, RJ14, RJ15 (for boats), RJ25 ...

The solid color wire codes tend to mean that the pairs are not
twisted.  The ones with white bands generally are twisted pair, which
is much preferable as there is much less crosstalk between lines.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza  New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578    fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Oberg)
Subject: Re: Sex Telemarketing
Date: 18 May 1993 23:29:16 -0400
Organization: Clark Internet Services, Inc.


Mark Oberg ([e-mail]) had the audacity to write:

> Wrongo, oh usually all-knowing Moderator man!  Here in Maryland the
> local news has been full of stories about phone sex operators calling
> at random (or I suppose in blocks) to homes and businesses.  When one
> receives such a call, one is greeted by a sultry female who asks you
> to touch a number on your touchtone phone to connect to the "real
> thing".

 ... and our favorite telecom moderator responded:

> [Moderator's Note: Are you POSITIVE those calls were not originated by
> someone playing pranks on the people? I cannot think of a bigger waste
> of a sex-IP's time than to dial at random as you suggest.

    Well Pat, I haven't been so fortunate as to receive one of
these calls myself, but I have seen several news reports on the
various Baltimore Area television stations.  In each news report
several people were interviewed, each claiming to have received the
same type of call.  While it is possible that the calls are a prank,
it would not surprise me at all if they were indeed placed by the IP.
After all, who would have thought that calls to an 800 number could be
billed back as collect calls @ $35.00 per minute ...

    BTW, nice to have Net access again and be able to read this
group regularly again!  Good to be back!


Mark Oberg - Sysop          | Internet: [e-mail]
No Place Like Home BBS      |     Fido: Mark Oberg 1:109/506
410-995-5423 / 301-596-6450 | "One of the most unusual bbs' in America"


[Moderator's Note: And it is good to see you back, even if you do
contradict a lot of my messages ...:) Well, the evidence given here
thus far seems to be they are doing it. Wonders will never cease, I
guess, although I can't imagine the benefits would outweigh the
potential problems. I wish the fellow who started this thread -- the
sex-IP who said I called him sleaze (not true!) -- would write again
and clarify this point. Are there people in the sex-IP industry making
outcalls without some prior relationship with the recipients?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Ohsie)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Organization: Columbia University Department of Computer Science
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 03:46:22 GMT


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

> One of the worst cases of that I saw was in Far Rockaway, New York,
> where the same CO served FAr Rockaway-4 and FAr Rockaway-7 (now
> 718-324 and 718-327) and FRanklin-1 and FRanklin-4 (now 516-371 and
> 516-374).  Yes, the area codes are different, too.  Lots of people got
> FRanlkin-4 when they wanted FAr Rockaway-4, and the exchanges were in
> the same CO.

In the interest of accuracy :-), there is not currently a 324 exchange
in Far Rockaway (or in any part of Queens according to my phone book),
althought there is a 327.


david alan ohsie   internet: [e-mail]
usenet: ...!rutgers!columbia!ohsie   bitnet: ohsie%cs.columbia.edu@cuvmb

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 23:51:40 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows


In New York City and Westchester, I can think of only four CO's that
don't have windows ... and two of them are not RBOCs ... they're AT&T
4ESS sites.  Offhand, I can think of perhaps 15 or 20 which do have
windows, although most of them appear to be at least 20 years old or
more.  The two NYNEX sites without windows are both quite recent.
Perhaps the explanation for the current mode is given by a friend's
observation: The answer to all questions that start with the word
"why" is "money."  No windows are cheaper than windows.


Peter Capek

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

Date: Tue, 18 May 93 23:57:58 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Call Processing/Fax-on-Demand Systems on Macs?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Andrew J. Eichstaedt) writes:

> I'm looking for information on call processing systems (voice mail,
> fax-on-demand, etc.) that run on Macs.  I'm particularly interested in
> multi-line solutions.

> I'm seeking to set up a four (or more) line system that callers can
> use to retrieve information in recorded messages and faxes.  The data
> is on a network of Macs, which is why I'd strongly prefer a Mac-based
> solution.

> If a Mac-based system is unavailable, does anyone have experience
> integrating PC-based systems into a Macintosh environment?

   Since this isn't my usual subject area, these are not even my own
opinions!  But here's what I've seen:

   Great Valley Products (GVP) in King of Prussia, PA makes lots of
add-on products for the Commodore Amiga.  You didn't say what kind of
"network" the Macs are using, but there are also add-on's that handle
Apple-Talk, Ethernet, and TCP-IP over other media to connect the Amiga
to the Macs.  There are also software utilities to convert Amiga file
formats to common Mac formats.

   The GVP product you would be interested in is called "PhonePak
VFX".  Call GVP on [phone] for more information.  The product
is a single board (probably one per line, about $400 each).  An Amiga
to support the board(s) would be about $2000 (4MB RAM, lots of SCSI
disk).  Here's some highlights:

  - The PhonePak is a combination FAX (in or out), voice mail (record),
answering machine (send and record voice) and software controller.

  - An internal scripting language and/or ARexx interface allows the
user to control the actions taken on each incoming call, including the
option to transfer (via Centrex(tm)) to another extension, leave voice
message, receive FAX, or some combination.

  - Scheduler for sending FAXes, voice recordings, etc.

  - Manages private mailboxes for voice mail and FAXes, as desired.

     Don Lloyd on [phone] operates an information service for
his BBS that uses both voice and FAX (maybe-on-demand) using PhonePak.
This would give you an idea of how the system can be used.

   As for <[e-mail]>'s comments about Brooktrout's fax on demand
patent, I don't believe it would apply since YOU would be supplying
the instructions (send a FAX) in response to some user input that YOU
select, along with some customized voice YOU recorded.  Can you
violate a patent by building/programming something for your own use?


Al Varney

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #338
******************************










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Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 16:56:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #339

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 19 May 93 16:56:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 339

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Those Talk Tickets - BIG Mailing Completed Today! (TELECOM Moderator)
    Windows Telephony Specs Available in Postscript (Toby Nixon via M Solomon)
    New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set (Stephen Palm via Monty Solomon)
    MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (Richard Budd)
    Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude (Thomas Schafbauer)
    Wireless Drop? (Sam Houston)
    Is Someone Using My Telephone? (Steve Grant)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (Richard Budd)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Dave Ptasnik)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Those Talk Tickets - BIG Mailing Completed Today!
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 16:20:20 CDT


Just a note to let all of you who have been waiting for the Talk
Tickets that my third large supply came in from New York and ALL back
orders were put in the mail today. Watch your mail Friday, Saturday
and Monday ... you should all surely have your orders by then.  I
have enough stock on hand now to fill orders with no further delays.
They are still $2 each for the sample cards, or $15 for 10 cards, good
for use calling anywhere in the world from any phone in the USA.

Thanks for your patience in waiting. I did not begin to imagine the
large response I would have on this. Some of you have waited three
weeks for your tickets. Repeat: Everyone should have them in a day or
two as they were mailed from the Chicago Main Post Office today.


PAT

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 06:35:54 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Windows Telephony Specs Available in Postscript


[Moderator's Note: Monty passed along the following article written by
Toby Nixon which appeared in other groups. Replies should be directed
to the groups specified below -- not here to the Digest.  PAT]

 From: [e-mail] (Toby Nixon)
 Newsgroups: comp.archives
 Subject: Windows Telephony specs available in Postscript
 Followup-To: comp.dcom.modems,comp.dcom.fax,comp.dcom.isdn
 Date: 15 May 1993 22:20:51 GMT
 Organization: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond WA, USA


After my previous posting, many of you asked for the Windows Telephony
specs in other forms than self-extracting ZIP archives.  In response,
we have created Postscript versions of the API and SPI specifications,
and have also decided to post the .DOC and .PS files in both
uncompressed and ZIP (not self-extracting) form in addition to the
self-extracting files.

The PostScript files have been tested by Don Stoye at Sun and
confirmed to work properly with the "pageview" tool and to print OK.
Thanks, Don!

The files will be posted on ftp.uu.net ~vendor/microsoft/telephony
soon.  They can be downloaded NOW from rhino.microsoft.com
~specs/telephony.  Here is how the subdirectories are structured:

   telephony
      readme.txt   {explanation of the contents of the subdirectories}
      api          {Application Programming Interface spec}
         doc       {contains the original .doc files}
         ps        {contains the uncompressed postscript files}
         zip       {contains the compressed versions of the above}
      spi          {Service Provider Interface [driver] spec}
         doc       {contains the original .doc files}
         ps        {contains the uncompressed postscript files}
         zip       {contains the compressed versions of the above}

Please let me know if there are any questions or issues regarding
these files (particularly problems using the Postscript files on
different platforms).  Thanks for your interest!


Toby Nixon     Program Manager - Windows Telephony
Digital Office Systems Groups   Microsoft Corporation

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 06:32:56 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set


[Moderator's Note: Monty also sent along this article by Stephen Palm
he found of interest.  PAT]

 From: [e-mail] (Stephen [kiwin] PALM)
 Subject: New V.32bis Chip Set
 Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
 Date: Fri, 14 May 1993 22:23:31 CDT
 Newsgroups: comp.newprod
 Reply-To: [e-mail]

Inquiries to:
Eileen Algaze   Digital Communications Division
4311 Jamboree Rd., M/S 501-300   Newport Beach, CA  92658-8902 USA
[phone]   Internet: [e-mail]


ROCKWELL SLASHES MODEM COSTS WITH NEW V.32BIS CHIP SET

Rockwell International Corporation has announced production sample
shipments of its new, low-cost V.32bis modem family.  They are
targeted for the increasingly cost-sensitive PC retail segment.

The new device sets, the RC96ACi and RC144ACi, consist of a modem data
pump and an integrated modem controller, and will rely on increased
industry volume to provide a combined price reduction and
manufacturing cost savings of up to 30 percent.  These modem products
reduce costs by integrating external memory, glue logic devices and an
optional 16550 Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART).

The RC96ACi and the RC144ACi incorporate Rockwell's advanced sigma-
delta analog front-end technology optimized for highest performance
over low-quality telephone lines.  The products, which support
14.4Kbps data (V.32bis) and 14.4Kbps send/receive Group 3 facsimile
(V.17), operate at 9600bps data (V.32), send/receive facsimile (V.29),
with downward compatibility from 7200 to 75bps for data and 7200 to
2400bps for facsimile transmission.

The complete modem solutions also support AT commands, V.42 and MNP
2-4 error correction, V.42bis and MNP 5 data compression, MNP 10,
V.25bis, EIA/TIA 578 Class 1 and Class 2 (defacto) fax standards and
Calling Number Delivery (CND) or Caller ID detect.  Worldwide call
progress tone detection and blacklisting further contribute to the
global connectivity of the products.

The optional 16550 UART improves system performance in Windows
environments. The RC96ACi and RC144ACi's modem data pump offers up to
12dB improvement in signal to distortion levels that great enhances
the performance of the echo canceller thereby improving connectivity.

Also, a wider dynamic range which improves performance at low signal
levels down to -52dBm.

The two-package RC96ACi and RC144ACi are offered in 68-pin PLCC and
84-pin PLCC packages.  Pricing for quantities of 10,000 is as follows:
RC96ACi -- $55; RC144ACi -- $65.  All products are backed by
Rockwell's five-year warranty and worldwide customer support.  For
technical documentation, contact Rockwell's Literature Line at (800)
436-9988 or fax [phone].


Stephen [kiwin] Palm                                     TEL: [phone]
Rockwell International - Digital Communications Division     COMNET: 930-8862
Japan Engineering Design Center                          FAX: [phone]
      [e-mail]       [e-mail]           NIHON::PALM

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 93 17:28:14 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split
Organization: CSAV UTIA


Yes. I will tell you about the MCI Operator who insisted there is
still a Czechoslovakia|

Over the Easter weekend an exchange student in Bardejov, Slovakia and
I surveyed calling cards in that city.  He tried to place a call to
distant relatives he had discovered were living in Prague in the Czech
Republic using a service of MCI World Reach.  Bear in mind, this was
just last month.

He was able to reach an MCI operator after dialing the CS access code
and his card number.  He then asked her to place a country to country
call through his calling card to Prague.  This was the conversation he
reported to me:

Operator: I'm sorry, we can't do that.  Our records indicate Bardejov and
Prague are in the same country.

Student: Bardejov and Prague are no longer in the same country.

Operator: Our records indicate that Bardejov and Prague are in
Czechoslovakia.

Student: But Czechoslovakia no longer exists.  The country split into
two on January 1.  Bardejov is in Slovakia and Prague is in another
country.

Operator: I'm sorry.  You can't use this particular service.
According to our records, Bardejov and Prague are both located in the
same country.

Student: YOUR RECORDS ARE WRONG| THE COUNTRY SPLIT| I WAS IN
BRATISLAVA FOR THE CELEBRATION.

Operator: I'm sorry.  Your party has to be in a different country for
you to use this service.

He asked my advice.  I suggested he get together with his friend, Igor
(yes, there are people there called Igor), who is high up in the
Slovak government.  Have HIM try to call Prague through MCI.  Better
yet, have the Prime Minister of Slovakia listen in.  It might not do
much good, but I would guarantee, he would learn the latest Slovak
curse words. (Kids, don't try this stunt at home, especially if your
country has nuclear weapons|)

Later that night, he became sympathetic with the operator when he
found out the Czech Republic and Slovakia still share the same country
code (42).

On the other hand, AT&T has realized Czechoslovakia has split, and USA
DIRECT, according to the International Herald Tribune, won't be
accepted from Slovakia.  When I tried that weekend to call home as a
test, I could not get through to an AT&T operator with my calling
card.  However, a colleague reported he obtained a US dial tone
through AT&T from Bratislava, the Slovak capital.

My housemate found he can't use his AT&T calling card from the
majority of public telephones in Prague.  The pad goes dead the moment
he completes dialing the access code.  The new telephones are all
operated by PRAHA TELECOM, the government telecommunications entity.
The only telephone he has gotten to accept his calling card are the
public phones at Namesti Republiky Metro station, which appears to be
"tourist haven" in a city overloaded with them.  I should ask him to
try calling Bardejov from Prague on AT&T, or better yet, MCI.

FYI, you can't use Sprint's calling card service in either country.
There is not even an access code to get dial tone.  After the MCI
incident, we wondered what the Sprint operator would say.

My guess: "We're sorry.  We don't accept calling card requests
originating from a Communist country."


Richard Budd  | USA  [e-mail]    | CR  [e-mail]
              |      139 S. Hamilton St.    |     Kolackova 8
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |     18200 Praha 8

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

From: [e-mail] (Thomas Schafbauer)
Subject: Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude
Organization: Leibniz-Rechenzentrum, Muenchen (Germany)
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 10:41:57 GMT


I`m terribly looking for a database to translate a huge phone number
list (worldwide) to a longitude/latitude format (which then can be
displayed on a world map).

This is not too difficult as far as the European number format (each
city has it`s pre-dial) is concerned (though I haven`t found a
suitable database yet).  As the American format (where each local area
has its own pre-dial) is more complex, I wonder if there`s any
database around.

Alternativly, I would be satisfied with a list area-code/predial ->
cityname.

If anyone can help, pleas send me a private e-mail, since I can`t
visit this newsgroup often enough.

Thanks a lot.

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

From: [e-mail] (Sam)
Subject: Wireless Drop?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Xerox
Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 14:06:05 GMT


Does anybody know of anyone making a wireless drop device (using RF,
not IR) with voice bandwidth?  Specifically what I'd like is a
wireless extension of the telco's RJ-11 wall jack that provides
on-hook/off-hook and ringing at the remote.  That is -- essentially a
(ISM, spread spectrum-part 15) cordless phone with an RJ-11 on both
the base and the master, but without the speech and dialing
components.

The Cylink Airlink VF is ideal for my application, but at $5400 (for
two units) is *way* too pricey ... yes, I know about the Phonejak, but
need multichannel, freedom from power line transients, and a modicum
of security and protection from foreign use.


"sam" houston      Xerox, Rochester, N.Y.

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 93 18:59:36 GMT+12:00
From: [e-mail] (Steve Grant)
Subject: Is Someone Using My Telephone?


Hi All,

    Just a few questions: I have a funny suspicion that somebody
has been playing with our telephones: A few unaccounted tolls have
come up recently and I was wondering how easy it is to do this by
getting to the little grey things we have outside our houses and just
connecting a telephone to it. (In NZ we have these little grey things
outside most houses that contain telephone wires.) Anyway what would
the signs be? I have heard it can be done, how easy is it to do? What
wires go where?  All replys by email please.

Can't people also listen to your phone conversations in this way?


Steve

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 93 16:59:48 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!)
Organization: CSAV UTIA


[e-mail] (Brad Hicks) wrote in TELECOM Digest V13 #329:

>> Let's see. You have a credit card and lend it out. Huge charges appear
>> on your next bill. Who's responsible?

> Hey, I just spotted this in somebody's reply.  Not only is it a rotten
> analogy, it's not true, either!  Anybody in the credit card industry,
> and most people in the banking industry, and (in theory) just about
> any clerk in the retail business could tell you the answer to your
> question: as described, THE MERCHANT is responsible.

> That's because merchant (technically, the term is "acquirer") credit
> card agreements explicitly state that in order to collect the money,
> the merchant MUST confirm that the card isn't on the lost/stolen list,
> that the transaction is within the card's remaining credit limit, and,
> most importantly to this discussion, that the signature matches the
> one on the signature panel.

I can second that.  Four years ago I did the books for a sporting
goods store.  That included compiling and depositing the merchant
stubs from Master Card/Visa.

The majority of merchants slide the magnetic strip of the card through
a device that is a remote data entry terminal to the database of
either Master Card or Visa, depending on what number the card reader
dials.

However, the manager of this store thought he could save on the
purchase price of the card reader and have the clerks phone in the
confirmation directly.  The person answering the phone would check the
credit card and confirm the purchase with a five digit code which the
clerk would write onto the card.  One of my jobs was to spot-check to
see if there was a code.

A problem many of you can see right away is that a clerk dialing a
regional toll-free number to confirm a customer's credit card will
often receive a busy signal because he/she/it is competing with clerks
from MANY other retail stores. After five minutes of this, the
customer, sick and tired of waiting and probably in a hurry, will just
lay down his/her/ its purchase and just walk out vowing never to
return again.

So one "enterprising" salesman, in hopes of increasing his commission,
decided to hell with this, he would not call to confirm the credit
limit of a customer and write his own code on the stub.  I caught it
after a couple of weeks not only because the code did not look like
the typical numbers I saw, but also the bank bounced back one of our
deposit stubs and I had traced it to a woman who had purchased over
$400 dollars worth of merchandise.

Since my job also included collections, I called this woman and
explained what had happened.  She came to the store one afternoon to
see me (I worked nights, but came by one afternoon a week for
day-business work) and went through this sob story about her daughter
at Sylvan Learning Center (the place that keeps Sandy Duncan on the
air) and how she did not know she was at her credit limit.  She
promised the manager and me to pay for the merchandise on installment.
The manager believed her and let her go with the merchandise no less.
Did she ever pay the balance?  Do pigs fly?

I can confirm that we tried to get the money from VISA and found out
it was our responsibilityur responsibility to collect.  When we found
out the salemsan wasn't calling to confirm a customer's card, the
manager made sure he was doing it afterward. I also stopped doing
spot-checks and started watching EVERY card for a code number and
making sure they were valid numbers from a list we kept.  I admit part
of the situation was my fault for not looking more carefully at the
stubs.

The salesman wasn't fired that day, but should have been.  He got the
boot two months later for stealing money left by a customer for a
deposit. Ever have to give a deposition to two policemen, when you
might be a possible suspect.  Thank the Almighty I was twenty miles
away from the store when the crime allegedly took place.

You can also be damn sure, the manager picked up a credit card reader
inside of two weeks after our meeting with the lady and my telephone
conversation with the VISA credit department.

> For the sake of completeness, I will note that there are two
> exceptions to the the credit-check authorization: "floor limits" where
> certain types of retail establishments are granted an exemption for
> purchases under some VERY low dollar limit.

That store's floor limit was $25.00.  Yes, some stubs for that amount
bounced back too. Nine times out of ten, it went through the second time
around.

Not all of this article is TELECOM related, but it does back up Brad's
point about responsibility and tells you something about the advantage
of devices allowing fast and automatic confirmation of a customer's
ability to pay by check (i.e. SCAN) and credit card (the Master
Card/VISA card reader).


Richard Budd  | USA [e-mail]    | CR [e-mail]
              |     139 S. Hamilton St.    |    Kolackova 8
              |     Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |    18200 Praha 8

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

Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 08:31:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Ptasnik <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies


> [Moderator's Note: No, I don't condone rudeness by bill collectors. It
> is, in fact, usually a waste of the collector's time since many debtors
> are quite sophisticated -- or fancy themselves to be -- where the law
> is concerned ... Smart collectors know they can catch more flies with
> honey than with vinegar.   PAT]

 While a little off topic, still a related story.  A couple of months
ago I neglected to make a house payment until two days before it was
due.  I chose to send the check by express mail (better $9.95 to the
post office than a $50.00 late fee to the bank).  Unfortunately it
turned out that this collection center was in a very small town in the
middle of Ohio, and the post office would not get the (normally)
overnite letter delivered until Saturday.  Technically not a late day,
but the bank would probably not see the check until Monday.  I called
them up to tell them that the money was in fact on its way, and to see
what there policy was for this kind of thing.  I was hoping to avoid
the late charge.  I was tranferred to this INCREDIBLY RUDE woman who
informed me in no uncertain terms that I certainly would pay every
penny of the late charge, and that I should be mailing in my checks
absolutely no later than 15 days in advance.

I was REALLY being polite, and she was taking my head off.  I wasn't
asking to have a late fee waived, I was just asking their policies.
At one point I (jovially) asked her to smile, and asked her not to be
angry with me.  She responded "Sir, I am in collections."  As if this
somehow justified her behavior.

At that point I asked to speak with the manager.  I explained the
situation to him.  He seemed rather distressed that one of his good
customers (this was the closest we have come to a late payment in five
years) should be treated so poorly.  Turned out he was a University of
Washington alum (my current employer).  I suspect that that
collections rep had an attitude adjustment later that day :).

I just got word yesterday that our loan has been sold again to another
bank, that makes the sixth time in five years.  No wonder Banks and
S&L's have trouble.  All that shuffling around has to be costing lots
of bucks that we end up having to pay for.


Dave P    [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #339
******************************










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Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 16:57:44 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #340

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 20 May 93 16:57:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 340

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Choosing Among Carriers (David G. Lewis)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (David G. Lewis)
    Re: Line Status Indicator (John C. Fowler)
    Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles (Lars Poulsen)
    ITS/IEEE Seminar in Brasil (Marcelo DeAlencar)
    High-Performance Apple Port to Take Mac Connectivity by Storm (J. Leavens)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Choosing Among Carriers
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 13:59:41 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ed
Greenberg) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
( Garrett Wollman) writes:

>> ... it seems like this generalizes quite well: AT&T and
>> MCI are people's preferred carriers, and Sprint is where everybody
>> goes when they can't get acceptable quality from their PIC.

>ATT:    Mostly good quality but occasional breakdowns.  Highest volume.

So help me, I tried to let this go, really, I did, but I can't.
"Highest volume" is fine; it's a simple statement of fact.  Even the
"mostly good quality", well, I can concentrate on the "good quality"
part and take the "mostly" as a statement that one can always do
better.

But I've got to take issue with the "occasional breakdowns" part.
While strictly speaking it is correct -- AT&T has occasional
breakdowns, as do all carriers -- I take issue with the image it
presents, that AT&T is mostly OK but crashes are a salient
characteristic.

I don't like to do this, but I'm going to toss out some information
from (gasp) our advertising.  I'll try to filter out the hype and just
state the facts ...

Between 4/7/92 and 3/19/93 (no, I don't know why those particular
dates were chosen, save that this was printed in an ad in the WSJ on
4/15/93), AT&T suffered three "network outages" which met criteria
requiring them to be reported to the FCC (>50,000 customers affected,
duration 30 minutes or more).  In the same time period, MCI suffered
fifteen outages meeting the same criteria.

I believe the reason for the perception of "occasional breakdowns" is
the two significant failures AT&T has had in the past three years (the
Martin Luther King Day software failure and the NYC CO power failure)
have had a widespread effect, and therefore gained a lot of attention.
This is a natural consequence of the fact that AT&T has 65% of the LD
market -- if we have a widespread network outage, it affects 65% of the
LD calls nationwide; if MCI has a widespread network outage, it
affects 20% of the LD calls nationwide.  But if it's your call that's
not getting through, it doesn't matter to you whether one other person
or one million other people are affected -- you're not getting through.

Disclaimer: I'm just a techie, and I didn't even have anything to do
with the studies that put the numbers together, but I take some pride
in my company ...


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

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 13:42:24 GMT


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

>> [Moderator's Note: ... You should note that telco looks at
>> all the digits dialed before they hand the call anywhere, and if they
>> have the right to handle the call themselves, (such as local, or
>> intra-LATA) they will do so, ignoring your 10xxx instructions.

>They better not!  When I call Dallas from Fort Worth, I dial 10222 and
>it's covered under my MCI Primetime Texas Plan (.16 a minute).  If I
>just did a 1+, SWB would keep the call at .20+ a minute.  They have
>never over-ridden my 10xxx code for a LD call.  The entire area
>(except for a few islands) is served by SWB.

>[Moderator's Note: Well I know IBT keeps whatever they can if it is
>within their LATA, at least where 10xxx is concerned. They also
>examine the tables before handing off stuff out of LATA. If *their*
>copy of the tables is screwed up, they intercept and reject the call
>without handing it to the carrier to see what the carrier would do
>with it...]

Alas, Pat has again fallen victim to the common practice of
extrapolating the behavior of one LEC in one state to that of all LECs
in the entire US.

Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer
enters a carrier access code.  Some states don't.  It appears that
Texas does, and Illinois doesn't.  If the state permits IXCs to carry
intraLATA traffic, the LEC is obligated to deliver a call dialed with
10XXX prepended to the selected IXC, regardless of the dialed digits;
the LEC may still do some translations of the dialed digits if there
are several IXC POPs to route to, but it will route to the IXC.  If
the state does not permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic, the LEC is
obligated to *not* deliver intraLATA calls to IXCs, regardless of
whether the customer prepends 10XXX; the LEC will therefore translate
the NPA or NPA-NXX and determine if the call is intraLATA or interLATA
before making the routing determination.

Switches sold to LECs have to have an administrable office parameter
that indicates which of the above cases is true -- whether intraLATA
calls dialed with 10XXX prepended should be routed to the selected
carrier or sent to an intercept.


Disclaimer: All I know about routing I learned through osmosis.

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

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

Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 11:16:10 -0600
From: John C. Fowler <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Line Status Indicator


>I would have thought this would be in the TELECOM Archives or the FAQ,
>but I can't seem to find it there.  How does one build a telephone
>line status indicator?  That is, a device which lights up when an
>extension goes off hook.  Thanks very much!

>[Moderator's Note: There *is* a file in the archives on this, but I
>forget off hand the name of it. Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

Hi, Pat, I checked again and was still unable to find this project in
the ordinary files in the TELECOM archives.  What's more, I started
receiving messages from others who also couldn't find it.

So, I tackled the back-issue collection, and I finally found something
in volume 11.  I am including it here, and I would appreciate it if
you would re-publish it, so that I don't have to field any more
requests.  It might also be a good idea to put this in the archives
under extension.in.use.indicator (or something similar), as this
request seems to pop up from time to time.  Thanks!

(I also see that this particular project relies on external batteries.
If anyone has one powered by the telephone line instead, please submit
it to the Digest.)


John C. Fowler, [e-mail]

Included text follows:

   Organization: Penn State University
   Date: Saturday, 9 Feb 1991 13:36:13 EST
   From: [e-mail]
   Subject: Schematic For "BUSY" Phone Extension Indicator


   Well, I saw that a few people wanted to BUY a indicator for their
   extentions to show when it was busy ... BUT ... for those that would
   rather build one, and save the dough, then here are the plans.

   *Note* : I'm not responsible if you hook it up wrong ... I did it, and
   it works fine. Also, I origanally go it out of a magazine, which I
   have long lost ... but it was published. I don't have an address to
   write to, to ask for permission to post it here. If you don't like it,
   buy the magazine.  I at least did have the name of the author, and do
   give him full credit.

   Anything I left out???  Oh yeah, there is one place that almost looks
   like two lines shoud be connected ... DONT.  It is actually overlapping
   (ie, a jumper) and could cause problems. That's why, if two lines
   are connected, I use 'o' indicate a connection.

   Well, thats it ... enjoy, and watch out when stripping those phone
   wires ... you can get a nasty jolt if you do it with your TEETH!  (like
   me!)


                   Phone Line "Busy" indicator

                 Taken out of Modern Electronics
                          November. 1988

                  Written by:  Robert M. Harkey

             (I only wrote it up, and condensed it.)


   This little circuit is VERY nice to have, especially if you use a
   MODEM on a multi-Extention line. It is small enough to be built on a
   small circuit board, and then added to the phones on the extension
   (PUT IT INSIDE THEM! Its neater and better for the reliability of the
   circuit. Compared to if you had the wires hanging out where they can
   be ripped out of the phone by a cat or small child.)

   Here's the Circuit:

   Note:
       o is for where a connection               |-----------+
            has been made...           R4       /c           |R5
                                 _____/\/\/\___|b   <-Q2   /\/\/\
                                |               \e           |
              R1               /b                |          ---
      o-----/\/\/\/\----o-----|c  <-Q1           |          Led1
                        |      \e                |           |
      to             R3 |       |----------------|-----------o
      phone         /\/\/\/\                     |           |
                        |                        |           |
             R2         |                        |           |
      o----/\/\/\/\-----o------------------------o----|:|:|--+
                                                     B1

   What does all that mean? Well, here is a list of parts...

   R1,R2  : 2.2M ohm Resistors

   R3     : 330K Resistor

   R4     : 33K  Resistor

   R5     : 220 ohm Resistor

   Q1     : NPN Transitor#> 2N3906

   Q2     : NPN Transitor#> 2N3904

   B1     : 3V external battery supply (2x AA batteries)

   Led1   : General purpose Light emitting diode



   All can be found at Radio Shack...

   For Beginners:

   One particular thing to note: On Q1 and Q2, When I drew them above, it
   was hard. So I labeled each with their corresponding E - C - B...
   What is ECB?? It stands For Emitter, Collector, Base.  I hope I did
   them right, Its been a while, and I wasn't sure, but basically, if you
   get the right transistor number you don't have to worry, just put it
   in the circuit with the E being the little ARROW coming off of the
   picture on the back of the Transistor pack.

   Good Luck...


   Steven Shimatzki    RD#1 Box 20-A    Dunbar, Pa 15431
   InterNet: [e-mail]    BBS: [phone]

   Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the people I know, nor do I know
               the people I am with.  I just like the money they pay me.

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Thu, 20 May 93 17:24:05 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes
a somewhat inflammatory article about how the introduction of itemized
billing and "Call Waiting" will be delayed for some German telephone
customers:

>According to preliminary and unofficial information from various
>TELEKOM sources one of the system suppliers (SIEMENS or ALCATEL SEL)
>will probably not meet the set schedules to modify their switches to
>offer these features.  The sources also state that ALCATEL SEL is the
>probable candidate for this mess. SIEMENS as a supplier of several US
>telcos, who offer numerous custom calling features, will probably have
>no problems to offer these features in Germany since they have
>comprehensive experience from the US markets.  But as I said, all
>information is NOT offical nor is it comfirmed so far.
    ...
>The German TELEKOM has installed digital switches since 1985, so the
>troubled system supplier should have plenty of time to implement these
>features in their switches. But as time passed by, they were either
>not capable or they have just forgotten to implement these features.
>Both reasons are highly embarrasing for the supplier in question and
>will not show their sophistication in this fast changing market.

I have no doubt that Alcatel has lots of experience in producing
feature-rich switches. Remember that Alcatel is the new name for ITT.
Alcatel also within the last year has acquired the Switching Systems
Division of Rockwell International (in Richardson, TX).

To those who would argue that Alcatel is composed of many different
companies that have been brought together over the few years, I would
say that most of Siemens' US presence is through their ownership of
ROLM, which still maintains a fairly separate identity.

I would suggest that the real reason for a situation such as what you
describe, would be the regulatory environment. I strongly suspect that
in years past, the Bundespost insisted that switching systems for sale
in Germany must be implemented in Germany from the ground up, and that
the features that were so desirable in the US would never be allowed
in Germany. The change of rules may well have been the result of
Siemens' lobbying the new administration, and I would not be surprised
if the rules allowing the new features are written in such a way that
generic US switching systems still are not allowable; - in effect
rigging the deal such that ONLY Siemens equipment is allowed.

There is a word for this: It's called "non-tariff trade barriers".  I
don't personally think it is completely immoral in all cases. I
sympathize with the desire of the German government and its
"independent public service corporations" to protect German jobs. But
the comments blasting Alcatel for their impaired ability to compete
under the circumstances.


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: Marcelo DeAlencar <[e-mail]>
Subject: ITS/IEEE Seminary in Brasil
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 17:41:16 GMT


    I thought you might be interested in attending this Symposium,
in Rio de Janeiro. Talk to your supervisor, he will be happy to let you
go and present a paper.

    Marcelo.

        SBT/IEEE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMUNICATIONS SYMPOSIUM
            August 22-25 , 1994
               Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

              CALL FOR PAPERS


General Chairman: J.R. Boisson de Marca (PUC-Rio/Brazil)
Vice-Chairman/Registration: Andre L.de Ulhoa Cintra (FURNAS/Brazil)
Finance: Luiz Otavio V. Prates (EMBRATEL/Brazil)
Local Arrangements: Liliana Nakonechnyj (REDE GLOBO/Brazil)
Publications: Joao Celio B.Brandao (PUC-Rio/Brazil)
Publicity: Waldo A. Russo (VICOM/Brazil)
Secretary: Sandra Schwabe (FUND. PDE.LEONEL FRANCA/Brazil)
Member at Large: John Silvester (USC/USA)


              TECHNICAL PROGRAM


Abraham Alcaim (Chairman/Brazil)

Ken-ichi Aihara(Japan)
Ezio Biglieri (Italy)
Anthony G. Constantinides (England)
Vladimir Cuperman (Canada)
Maurizio Decina (Italy)
Flavio Hasselmann (Brazil)
Shuzo Kato (Japan)
Helio Jose Malavazi Filho (Brazil)
Leonardo de S. Mendes (Brazil)
William B. Pennebaker (USA)
Carl-Erik W. Sundberg  (USA)
Bruno S. Vianna (Brazil)
Stephen B. Weinstein (USA)
Lawrence W.C. Wong (Singapore)


        COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS SUB-COMMITTEE


Edmundo A. de Souza e Silva
(Chairman/Brazil)

Marco Ajmone-Marsan (Italy)
Jean Pierre Courtiat (France)
H. Richard Gail (USA)
Jose A. Suruagy Monteiro (Brazil)
Luis F.M. de Moraes (Brazil)
Don Towsley (USA)


You are cordially invited to submit an original paper for consideration by
the ITS 94 Technical Program Committee. Papers are now being accepted for
review on the following topics:

- Antennas
- Communication Theory
- Communications Software
- Communications Switching
- Congestion Control
- Digital Signal Processing
- Distributed Systems
- High Speed Networks
- Image Processing
- Information Theory and Coding
- Internetworking
- LANs, MANs, WANs
- Microwave Devices
- Mobile and Portable Communications
- Multimedia Systems and Services
- Narrowband and Broadband ISDN
- Network Operations and Management
- Network Performance Evaluation
- Network Reliability Issues
- Optical Communications
- Propagation
- Protocol Specification/Verification
- Satellite and Space Communications
- Speech Processing
- Transmission Systems
- VLSI for Communications

In this symposium, a special cluster of sessions in Computer
Communication Network will be organized. The cluster will comprise the
12th Symposium on Computer Networks annually promoted by LARC and the
Brazilian Computer Society.


            SCHEDULE AND INSTRUCTIONS


- Complete Manuscript Due: January 14, l994

- Notification of Acceptance Mailed: May 11, l994

- Camera-Ready Manuscript Due: June 22,  l994

The title page must include the author`s name, designation of the
author to whom all correspondence will be sent, complete return
address, telephone, e-mail and/or fax number and a 100 word abstract
of the paper.  All other pages should bear the title of the paper and
the author`s name. Send five double-spaced copies of the manuscript
(limited to 15 pages 8" 1/2x11") in English, to the ITS`94 Technical
Program Chairman. The Symposium will be in English. Please make plans
to participate in ITS`94.


DR. ABRAHAM ALCAIM
ITS`94 Technical Program Chairman
CETUC-PUC-Rio
Rua Marques de Sao Vicente, 225
22453-900 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
phone: + 55 21 5299384
fax: + 55 21 2945748
e-mail: [e-mail]


            Sponsored by

SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE TELECOMUNICACOES AND IEEE COMMUNICATIONS SOCIETY

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

Date: Thu, 20 May 1993 12:08:34 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: High-performance Apple Port to Take Mac Connectivity by Storm


Taken from From {MacWeek}, 5/17/93:

High-performance Apple port to take Mac connectivity by storm
by Robert Hess

   Cupertino, CA - Apple will bring a whole new world of connectivity
possibilities to the Mac with a high-performance digital
communications port to be introduced this summer.

   Dubbed GeoPort, the technology will be included in the Cyclone and
Tempest Macs due this summer, as well in the PowerPC-based Macs next
year.  Products in Apple's personal-electronics line, such as Newton,
will also use GeoPort technology.

   GeoPort consists of several hardware and software components: a new
physical connection, an application programming interface (API) and
other software that takes advantage of digital signal processing (DSP)
chips, hardware and third-party external interface boxes that connect
to a GeoPort and expand its connectivity.

   While current Mac serial ports serve one function at a time, the
GeoPort supports such high throughput that, when it is combined with
the multiplexing technology, it can maintain multiple connections.

   Theoretically, users could simultaneously print to a high-speed
serial printer, download data from an on-line service at 14.4kbps, and
maintain a high-bandwidth network connection - all though a single
GeoPort.

   Sources said Apple believes a GeoPort can deliver as much as 2 Mbits per
second throughput, about 10 times faster than current LocalTalk ports.

   Apple is most excited about GeoPort's telephone possibilities,
according to sources.

   The company is enocouraging the development of external interface
boxes that can be hooked up to GeoPort to inexpensively connect the
Macintosh to ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and PBX
services.

   A possible telephony implementation, for example, would be a Mac
acting as a voice-mail answering machine. Incoming callers could
instruct the Mac to retrieve voice-mail and electronic mail. Taking
advantage of Apple's new voice-synthesis software, callers could have
the mail read to them over the phone.

   Other possibilities would be a speakerphone will full-duplex
cancellation implemented solely through a Mac or an inexpensive
teleconferencing system created by integrating digital cameras and
similar hardware with GeoPort and telephony on the Macintosh.

   Geoport-equipped Macs will likely have three serial ports: Printer,
identical to current Printer ports; Ethernet, identical to the
external Ethernet port on Quadras; and a GeoPort labeled Modem. New
technology in future Macs will accelerate even the Printer and
Ethernet ports.

   Current serial ports are mini-DIN 8 connectors. Sources saidGeoPort
uses a mini-DIN 9 connector, which will accept and support older
cables and devices.

  Apple is enhancing and supplementing current communications and
telephony APIs to support the wide array of possible communications
hardware that developers could encounter while connected to the
GeoPort.  Programmers will be able to add telephony to their
applications without knowing, how to communicate with ISDN or PBX, for
example.

   The APIs support DSP chips in the Cyclone and Tempest, as well as
equivalent functionality in PowerPC Macs. The DSP chip will let Macs
emulate a variety of hardware, including data modems and fax machines.
In effect, this means future Macs will sh with a fax-data modem
inside.

   Apple has told developers that the DSP will be able to implement
most current modem and fax standards. As future standards such as
V.FAST emerge they should be easy to add to a Mac with a software
upgrade.

   Because many of GeoPort's capabilities are implemented in software,
current Macs will be able to use some of the technology's features.
Since existing Macs don't have DSP chips, they will be unable to send
and receive faxes, for example, but they could use external interface
boxes with cables that connect them to ISDN and PBX services.

[I claim responsibility for all typos.]


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #340
******************************










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Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 17:55:18 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #341

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 21 May 93 17:55:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 341

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Phone/Debit Cards and Rock Music? (Daniel Omundsen)
    Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom (H. Hallikainen)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Jon Edelson)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows ([e-mail])
    Re: What is Residential Line Hunting? (Bob Frankston)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (Robert Shaw)
    Re: CCITT Dissolved? (Wolfgang Henke)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: Choosing Among Carriers (Arthur L. Rubin)
    Re: Calling Card Merchant Status (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Re: Telecom History (Dave Strieter)
    Re: Want a Good Phone (Pete Lancashire)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit
public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA
markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800
service.  In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined
Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for
the file 'products'.

The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail-
ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: [e-mail].
Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our
file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our
email address: [e-mail] -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom.

Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.
Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the
Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there,
where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not
require the use of our products and services. The two are separate.
All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi-
zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The
Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles
between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile
mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein.  Send tithes and
love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :)  Phone: [phone].

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 12:46:18 NZS
From: Daniel Omundsen <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone/Debit Cards and Rock Music?
Organization: Telecom New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Todd Inch)
writes:

 >In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
 >(Daniel Omundsen) writes:

>> In New Zealand, most pay phones use plastic, credit-card sized debit
>> cards which are purchased in fixed denominations ($5.00, $10.00,
>> $20.00, etc).  These have a graphic design on the front and a series
>> of magnetic stripes on the back, into which is encoded an encrypted
>> pattern representing the amount on money left on the card.

> Unless these stripes are mechanically difficult to duplicate, this
> sounds like fraud waiting to happen.

> I've heard that a standard single-stripe (credit) card can be easily
> reproduced by gluing an encoded stripe of magnetic tape onto any
> plastic or even cardboard card.

 >Unless there is a serial number or somesuch, couldn't you buy one and
 >make duplicates and never even bother decrypting them?  Yes, you'd
 >have to magnetically reproduce the stripes, but that's fairly trivial.

Actually, it is not quite as simple as that. The cards do not use
standard one-stripe magnetic strips (there are a number of disjoint
magnetic stripes in several locations on the card), so a standard
credit card reader will not read the card. You can not insert a credit
card in the phone and charge your call that way, either.

Also, I've heard that the encryption incorporates a permanent magnetic
pattern buried in the card itself, so you can not make duplicate
cards. The encoded value on one card is different from the same value
encoded on another card. Also, some part of the pattern is
destructively erased as the card is used up, so you can't recharge a
card by re-recording the pattern that it had when you bought it.

IMHO this type of scheme does have some advantages over the Talk
Tickets that have been discussed here recently. All the validation
intelligence is in the phone itself, rather that in a remote computer,
so "800" number trunks are not tied up by the call. You must
physically have the card in your possession, so phreaks can not
"borrow" your card by intercepting the DTMF tones or by watching you
as you enter the serial number. Finally, there is much greater
convenience to the customer as there is no need to memorize or type in
a long string of digits -- you just insert the card and dial the number
you wish to call.

There are also disadvantages -- primarily the cost of installing the
(expensive) phones in the first place. In a country the size of the US
with its many payphones I imagine this would be a primary
consideration. Also, you can not use the card from a normal phone or a
coin-operated phone (although there aren't many coin phones left now).
Telecom does however offer a calling card service which lets you do
just that -- for a surcharge of course.

Can anybody else think of other comparisons between the two systems?

The incidence of phraud from pay-phones has decreased greatly since
these phones were introduced several years ago -- despite the added
incentive in the fact that the cost of local calls went up from 20c
per call to 20c per minute.


Daniel Omundsen.

*DISCLAIMER* These are not official observations, just hearsay. Just
because I work for the phone company doesn't mean I know what I am
talking about. I also don't have anything to do with pay phones. So
there.


[Moderator's Note: Either way you go with these things will present
advantages and drawbacks. While it is true the Talk Ticket scheme,
where the user punches in the serial number and the computer keeps
track of everything makes it easier for a 'shoulder surfer' to get the
data, this method does not cause the inconvenience of having to look
all over for a card reader phone. With the card necessary for the
purpose of swiping it, there is always the possibility of the card
reader phone (when you find one) not working correctly or someone
stealing your wallet and thus your card. With the Talk Tickets, lost
cards can be killed immediatly in the computer thus rendering them
useless. This is not so with the card which has to be swiped; how do
you go around changing all the card reader phones so they will not
accept a stolen card if the phone is the only place the intelligence
resides? "Shoulder surfers' are easy enough to avoid for the most
part; simply use some discretion when standing at a phone entering the
digits.

Obviously, since I sell Talk Tickets, you'll see my bias in the
choices, but I think I would still prefer the manual entry of the
digits thus allowing me to use any phone anywhere rather than having
to seek out the still relatively rare (in this country) card reader
phones.

I have a large supply of the sample $2 tickets in stock now, here in
my desk. They are still available for their face value of $2 each, or
a package of ten tickets for $15. In either case, include a LONG,
self-addressed, stamped envelope with your check or money order
payable to TELECOM Digest, 2241 West Howard #208, Chicago, IL 60659.
When sale of the larger denomination ($5,$10,$20,$50) tickets goes on
sale later this month, I will have those also, but do try a sample or
two first to get aquainted with them. Profits from the sale of the
larger denomination Talk Tickets go exclusively to the Digest to
offset production costs.  Thanks.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 23:58:14 GMT


    There's a magazine for everything!  Earlier this week, I saw
an international magazine for phone card collectors!


Harold

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

From: [e-mail] (Jon Edelson)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 14:15:42 GMT


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

>   An note on my latest phone bill from Pacific Bell announced that
> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible 3
> 1/2" computer disk (which can be read by Macintosh computers with the
> proper software) for a $15 monthly fee. For a short time, they will be
> waiving the $100 start-up fee.

I am surprised that none of these companies have offered to fax the
phone bills rather than mail them out.  When Sprint sends me my phone
bill it costs them about $0.45 in postage, in addition to the printing
costs.  I figure that they could send me a fax for considerably less,
and use less paper to boot.


Jonathan Edelson    [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 10:00:57 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


 From article <[e-mail]>, by icmad!madnix!zaphod%
[e-mail] (Ron Bean):

> And it HAS WINDOWS. Even the front door is glass. What gives?

A CO I was in in Florida had windows and a glass door but these were
just part of a small empty room in front. You go through a solid
interior door to get to the "real" part of the CO.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: What is Residential Line Hunting?
Date: Fri 21 May 1993 10:28 -0400


 Just a reminder that "call forward busy" seems similar to hunting except:

a) It is compatible with other CLASS services;
b) There is likely to be a charge for it.

I suspect it would be more flexible since hunting is traditionally
limited to a single exchange (to celebrate its mechanical origins?)


[Moderator's Note: Hunting is compatible with many CLASS services
also; it is just that call-waiting can only be on the very back line
in your hunt group; if it is on a line earlier than that it will never
get a chance to execute since the decision to hunt is made ahead of
certain other decisions including the one to call-wait. But I have
found many other CLASS services work fine with hunting, including Call
Screening (decision to screen is made ahead of decision to hunt, thus
an entry in your screen list is honored even if the dialed line is
busy and the call would ultimatly move to another trunk).  PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 11:35:38 +0200
From: SHAW <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?


> According to several sources at communications firms (mostly modem),
> the CCITT is gone.  The standards have been inherited by the
> International Telephone Union, Telecommunications Standards Sector
> (ITU-TSS).

I work at the ITU so I might be able to clear up some confusion.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a United Nations
agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.  Before 1993, the ITU
consisted organizationally of five permanent organs: the General
Secretariat, the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB),
the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), the
International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT)
and the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT).  In early 1993,
the ITU was reorganized into the General Secretariat and three new
Sectors:

ITU Radiocommunication Sector
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector
ITU Telecommunication Development Sector

The standards-making activities of the CCITT and CCIR have been
consolidated into the Telecommunications Standardization Sector.  The
remainder of CCIR activities are integrated with the activities of the
IFRB into the new Radiocommunication Sector.  The functions of the
Development Sector are assumed by the BDT.

Here is a guide to the "current" new acronyms for the ITU
Telecommunication Standardization Sector:

The CCITT                  The ITU-TS
CCITT Plenary Assembly     World Telecommunication Standardization Conference
CCITT PA                   WTSC
CCITT Study Groups         ITU-TS study groups
CCITT Study Group VII      ITU-TS Study Group 7
CCITT Recommendations      ITU-T Recommendations
CCITT Recommendation X.400 ITU-T Recommendation X.400


Robert Shaw   ITUDOC Project Leader   Information Services Department
International Telecommunication Union  Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland  TEL: [phone]  FAX: [phone]
X.400:G=robert;S=shaw;A=arcom;P=itu;C=ch  Internet: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Wolfgang Henke)
Subject: Re: CCITT Dissolved?
Organization: Netcom
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 16:26:20 GMT


Toby Nixon ([e-mail]) wrote:

> I must say I'm a bit disappointed that one or more modem companies
> would go around stirring up fear, uncertainty, and doubt, giving half
> the story and leading people to believe that somehow work on modem
> standards has been disrupted by this purely-administrative

Toby,

I hope this comment is not intended for me. I merely reported what Ken
Krechmer of Action Consulting, a neighbor of mine who just returned
from the last CCITT in Geneva, told me the night before. As far as I
am concerned V.32terbo might well bridge the gap until V.FAST is
approved.


Wolfgang Henke    [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 14:23:08 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing


> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible
> 3 1/2" computer disk

Ah, but is it in a plain format that can be read as ASCII and imported
into spreadsheets?

Residental uses: how about to track your room-mate's 900 number bill  :-)

This is a step in the right direction, but what I really want is an
interactive dial up facility where I can my up to the day (or hour)
phone bill.  I'd like to see any of:

- modem dialup so I can check the bill;
  (support not only modems to V.fastest_yet, but TDD with a similar interface)
- fax me a recent account;
- voice prompts and touch tone;
- and operator/billing dapertment for rotary phone users.

I do not think this is asking too much, since on line services such as
GeNie have up to the day/week billing status on demand.

<< cynical mode ON >>

Now that the phone companies are free to offer "information services"
where they originate the content, why are they so slow to offer
services that are useful to us?

<< cynical mode OFF >>

NYNEX is offering some service where subscribers can directly control
their phone service options/setup.  It's probably not for residental
users, though.  It would great to have a dialup or TELNET session
where I can check the status of my phone (call forwarding to xxx-xxxx
enabled, hunting to xxx, call wait enabled, etc).

When I was attending some time-share vacation condo offers (mostly for
the discount tickets and free meal), I was struck by all the
businesses that siphon money from the time share owners.  There are
fees for EVERYTHING: maintenance, trading time, and phone.  I was
thinking of how I could make money just doing the billing for the time
share condo.  I'd get the bill from the condo's CO and my value added
would be breaking the bill into the individual bills.  Unless I get
the bill in a machine readable format, I'd have to resort to optical
character recognition of the printed bill.  You're free to steal my
ideas, as I'm backlogged with other more worthy projects.


Jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Choosing Among Carriers
From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin)
Date: 21 May 93 17:39:34 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Arthur Rubin)


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
> (Garrett Wollman) writes:

>> ................, it seems like this generalizes quite well: AT&T and
>> MCI are people's preferred carriers, and Sprint is where everybody
>> goes when they can't get acceptable quality from their PIC.

>> I wonder why this is?

> Sprint: Mostly good quality.  Fine for use as 10333 carrier. Heaven
> help you if you get into a billing dispute with them.

I once got them to write off about $92 of phone calls that were billed
to my phone, because I never got an itemized bill that contained the
calls.  It did go to collections, however.  Maybe their collection
agency is more reasonable :-).

Of course, that was 1987.  Your "mileage" may vary (especially if you
are using an affinity account that gives "Frequent Flyer" miles.)


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.

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 14:57:12 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Merchant Status


> Does anyone out there know how to accept telephone calling cards as a
> form of payment?

I'm not sure if an earlier reply of mine was accepted to TELECOM, but
I was also questioning the policy of what is acceptable for phone
bills.  The way 900 numbers can bill for "information services" simply
because the knowledge was conveyed via a phone call really opens the
door for abuses.  Can I charge my stationery order because I ordered
it via the phone?  Does the stationery have to be limited to "while
you were out" pads since they're phone related?

There was a recent thread in TELECOM about what's allowable to bill as
a 900 number, and it was mentioned that Western Union once allowed you
to pay for TELEGRAMS on your phone bill way before 900 numbers.

Traditionally, the phone lease/rental was part of the bill.  AT&T used
to allow you to buy phones and have the payments via the phone bill.
Now that AT&T can bill directly and has its own Visa/Mastercard, I'm
not sure they can do that (it's been a while since I last walked into
an AT&T phone store).

If 900 numbers can bill you, why not computer services such as GeNie
and Compuserve, and thus allow casual users.  I just remembered --
UUNET has a 900 casual dialup for source code (900) GOT-SRCS UUNET
0.40/min (DATA).

It sounds like it's easier to get a billing arrangement for a 900
number than to establish an alternate billing arrangement for
equipment, etc.  AT&T probably allows equipment billing for historical
purposes, as well as its position of a major player in all the
regional billing systems.

I think the most practical aspect of the billing (besides all the
wrestling about what appropriate to appear on a phone bill), is the
billing arrangement: to whom you submit the bill, and how you get the
money back.

Oooh, my criminal mind is at work here: let's say I have a catalogue
showroom and I want to allow your purchase on your phone bill.  I'd
have a pair of phones on the counter so you can call the clerk on the
other side of the counter to place your order.  Voila!  A phone call
was placed!


jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Strieter)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Organization: AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, Arizona
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 18:40:15 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
edu (Ross Richardson) writes:

> ... There are several examples of Bell taking over
> Strowger-based independents, ripping out the automatic exchanges, and
> putting in operators.  Customers, who had had quite enough of
> operators and their eaves-dropping and general uncooperativeness, were
> furious.

Indeed, one of my favorite pictures is a photograph of an early-1900's
exhibit at some trade show, or perhaps World's Fair.  Above the exhibit
 is a sign that reads:

  ---------------------------------------------
         Automatic Electric Company
      Chicago, U.S.A. - Birkenhead, Eng.
        Automatic Telephone Equipment
  The Girl-less, Cuss-less, Wait-less Telephone
  ---------------------------------------------

I can't imagine such a sign today! :-)


Dave Strieter,  AG Communication Systems,   Phoenix AZ 85072-2179,   USA
   *** These are not my employer's positions...just my ramblings. ***
UUCP: ...!{ncar!noao!enuucp | att}!gtephx!strieterd      [phone]
INTERNET: [e-mail] | gtephx![e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Pete Lancashire)
Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 21 May 93 16:05:06 GMT


[e-mail] (Hans Lachman) writes:

 >I need to buy a phone.  I'm not interested in fancy features.  An
 >ideal choice for me might be a pre-divestiture (pre-1984) Western
 >Electric Touch-Tone phone, but I don't think those are available
 >anymore.  I understand they were pretty solid, probably much more so
 >than any phones on the market today.  They also had a very good keypad
 >"feel", and I definitely want to know about any phones that have the
 >same feel.  Keypad feel is perhaps my top criteria, because I hate the
 >feel of most newer phones.

> If you have any recommendations, please email me directly at the
> address below.  If I find out anything interesting I will post it to
> the net.

I've followed up instead of a reply because of my 'religious' feeling
about REAL phones. I'm one of those nuts that collect them.

REAL WE phones are available usually for next to nothing if you take
the time to look around. The best place I have found is at garage
sales. I have a retired friend buy old phones for me. The other is at
local resale stores (Good Will et.al.)

I've been able to buy 500's for as little as $1.00. And 2500's for
$2.50. TT Trimlines can be found for as little as $5.00 but usually go
for $10.00 to $15.00.

So I would find a garage sale junkie to look for a WE phone.  And get
one that has one it 'Bell System Property/Not for Sale'. Note also
that just because it may say 'XYZ Bell' or 'Real Bell' this does not
mean that it is a WE phone, after the divestiture all bets are off.


Pete Lancashire [e-mail]
Sr. Systems Engineer   Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #341
******************************










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Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 19:22:03 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #342

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 21 May 93 19:22:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 342

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: 206 Being Split Soon (Jim Rees)
    Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!) (Tony Harminc)
    Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (David Leibold)
    Re: Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude (David Leibold)
    Re: Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude (Carl Moore)
    Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area (Bob Clements)
    Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area (Carl Page)
    Re: Deregulation of Telcos in Texas (Mike Coyne)
    Re: Octel Voice Mail System Advice Needed (Peter M. Weiss)
    Re: International Pager Services Accessible From the US. (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone? (Steven J. Tucker)
    Re: ACD Printouts (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number? (Steven J. Tucker)
    Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number? (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Cliff Sharp)
    Re: Internet on the Nevada Plan (John R. Levine)
    Re: Presidents and Telephones (James Van Houten)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 00:08:50 GMT


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

> An note on my latest phone bill from Pacific Bell announced that
> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible 3
> 1/2" computer disk (which can be read by Macintosh computers with the
> proper software) for a $15 monthly fee. For a short time, they will be
> waiving the $100 start-up fee.

    Since PacBell is in the communications biz, why not just email
the bill to me?  With all the bridges between various networks, it
seems that their billing system could send the bill by email (getting
it to me quick, and in machine readable form) and not have to pay
postage or print the bill or stuff the envelope.


Harold

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 206 Being Split Soon
Date: 21 May 1993 00:38:23 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI


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

> My pager is on 206-609.  When I was issued the number, I commented to
> the paging company rep about the number, and he offered to change it
> to a "regular" number if I needed it done.  He said that since the
> move to NXX prefixs in 206 was so recent, many PBXs and COCOTs would
> not complete calls to the "new" numbers ...

It's not just PBXs and COCOTs.  I used to have a 313-600 number from
the local Cellular One franchise, and I eventually had to have it
changed because other Cellular One franchises didn't recognize the
number.  I stuck it out for about four months, so it takes at least
that long for most Cellular One companies to update their tables, even
for a prefix assigned to another Cellular One company.

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 13:13:15 EDT
From: Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Individual Responsibility (was Roommate Runs $2100 Tab!)
Reply-To: [e-mail], Tony Harminc <[e-mail]>

 From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>

 >The majority of merchants slide the magnetic strip of the card through
 >a device that is a remote data entry terminal to the database of
 >either Master Card or Visa, depending on what number the card reader
 >dials.

 >However, the manager of this store thought he could save on the
 >purchase price of the card reader and have the clerks phone in the
 >confirmation directly.  The person answering the phone would check the
 >credit card and confirm the purchase with a five digit code which the
 >clerk would write onto the card.  One of my jobs was to spot-check to
 >see if there was a code.

 >A problem many of you can see right away is that a clerk dialing a
 >regional toll-free number to confirm a customer's credit card will
 >often receive a busy signal because he/she/it is competing with clerks
 >from MANY other retail stores. After five minutes of this, the
 >customer, sick and tired of waiting and probably in a hurry, will just
 >lay down his/her/ its purchase and just walk out vowing never to
 >return again.

> So one "enterprising" salesman, in hopes of increasing his commission,
> decided to hell with this, he would not call to confirm the credit
> limit of a customer and write his own code on the stub.  I caught it
> after a couple of weeks not only because the code did not look like
> the typical numbers I saw, but also the bank bounced back one of our
> deposit stubs and I had traced it to a woman who had purchased over
> $400 dollars worth of merchandise.

When I worked for an oil company some years ago we evaluated several
models of of such point of sale terminals.  One of them had a feature
such that it would locally generate the auth code for transactions
below the pre-programmed floor limit.  But it was very cute -- it
still went through the dialing procedure and waited a few seconds
before displaying the code, but with the line on hook.  This was so
that potentially dishonest employees would not realize that
transactions below a certain limit were not being checked.  It
wouldn't take a telecom genius to figure out what was going on, but
then again most gas stations don't have a lot of such talent sitting
around.


Tony Harminc   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: When I was with Amoco/Diners Club Sales Authorization
in the early seventies, POS terminals were not yet available. Gas station
dealers and Diners merchants had to call all sales in by voice which were
above their floor limit. That is why we had 15,000 calls per day on average
with maybe 3000 during the midnight to 6 AM period when I was there.
There were times the system would 'go down' and the so-called 'backup
system would kick in for the authorizers to use. Other times both
systems would be down and the authorizers had to use microfilm of the
last billing statement (ugh!) without a hint as to the current status
of the customer account, etc. We had to raise the 'floor limit'
ourselves on those occassions, otherwise the logjam of calls would
have been hopeless. The supervisor would tell the clerks to automatically
 approve sales up to $50 (then, $50 was much more than now) without
looking at the films.

But the *real fun times* in Sales Authorization Units were in the days
*before any computers at all* -- when I started with Amoco/Diners all
the authorizations were done by manual lookup from customer account
ledger cards which were in racks. Imagine a room about the size of a
typical high school gymnasium: racks and racks of ledger cards in rows
throughout the room. Two or three dozen people each wearing an
operator's headset and carrying a clipboard.

Calls got switched into our headsets and we would jot down the account
number given and the amount, then walk to the rack and row therein to
pull the ledger card. You walked around other people or lifted the
cord on their headset and walked underneath it, etc. You pulled the
card, looked it over to detirmine the balance, jotted down the new
sale in the 'memorandum' area, initialed it, gave an approval code and
clicked the button on your headset to get the next call. While you
were standing there with the ledger card in your hand, a bookkeeping
clerk might walk up, see the card missing from the rack, snatch it out
of your hand, write some entries on it and hand it back to you. The
bookkeeping clerks continually walked around posting entries on the
cards and the authorizers kept walking around looking at the cards to
approve or decline sales. All the headsets had 100 foot expansion type
cords on them so you could walk all around this large room looking at
the one million plus ledger cards in little slots. It was about the
same way Directory Assistance (or Information as they used to call it)
worked before computerization.  Directories on reading stands all
around the room and lots of people with headsets walking around the
room to the right directory to look up the information.  Young'uns,
aren't you glad you started your working career after computers had
been installed at *your* company? If there are any old timers left at
your place who were around in the 1950-60 era, ask them what it was
like when everything was manual.  PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 13:27:53 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split


While the continued presence of one country code for both the Czech
Republic and Slovakia is confusing to MCI, there is at least a way to
find out the republic based on the area code.

Under country code 42:

Area codes beginning with a digit from 1 to 6 will be in the Czech
Republic.  (eg. Prague)

Area codes beginning with a digit from 7 to 9 will be in Slovakia (eg.
Bratislava)

I have not heard of any plans to set up separate country codes yet.

The entry for the country codes listing in the Archives will be
updated:

42 Czech and Slovak Republics
    [Czechoslovakia was split into two separate countries as of
     1 January 1993. Both nations were apparently still using country
     code +42 with no known plans to separate the country codes.
     Czech Republic has area codes beginning with digits from 1 to 6
     (before Bratislava in this list); Slovakia has codes with digits
     7 to 9 (Bratislava and after). (MTO) = manual office (?)]

While on an Eastern European topic, Romania (country code 40) changed
their numbering plan last fall so that Bucharest city code is now 1
(formerly 0) and all other area codes have a 9 prepended to them (eg.
a former city code of xx as in +40 xx ... becomes 9xx as in +40 9xx).
The domestic dialing also changed STD codes from the 9xx format to the
more common 0xx format.


[e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 13:39:10 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude


Thomas Schafbauer wanted some information on converting North American
numbers to a Latitude/Longitude co-ordinate.

Bellcore sells the V&H tape listing North American exchange
information; this is named after the V&H co-ordinate which determines
geographic position for rate calculation purposes (the rate distance
which determines long distance charges is obtained from the
co-ordinates of the rate centres involved in a call).

The V&H only lists the co-ordinate for the rate centre; no exact
position can be determined based on area code and NXX, and given that
some exchanges cover a wide geographic area, the information obtained
may be off by several minutes (in long/lat terms) for a given number.

The V and H numbers are not the latitude/longitude numbers, but there
is supposed to be a correlation. The exact formula has been talked
about in the Digest, but never seen. Maybe the FAQ list could use a
contribution of such a formula (I can at least dig up the calculations
used to obtain rate distance from V and H numbers).


[e-mail]    [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 9:24:15 EDT
From: Carl Moore (BVLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Number -> Longitude, Latitude


Is someone sending [e-mail] a description of V&H
coordinates?  They can be converted to latitude and longitude.

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 11:02:48 EDT
From: Bob Clements <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area


In Volume 13, Issue 322, Message 2 of 8, Jonathan_Welch
<[e-mail]> submitted the text of NETel's CLASS offering
announcement to customers.  I just received the next edition of that
leaflet with my bill, with minor changes as noted below.  Also, I'll
include come comments from my discussion with the NETel Service
Representative just now.

>Beginning in May 1993, New England Telephone will offer your area a
My copy says "June".

The list of exchanges is expanded, presumably to include the offices
being converted in June.  I considered typing in the new list, but I
didn't bother because it will presumably grow every month for a while.
If anyone really wants to know whether some exchange is on the list,
send me email.  Lexington and Concord are added, Waltham is not (yet).

> New England Telephone
> A NYNEX Company
> New England Telephone recycles  MA 4/93

Mine says "MA 5/93".

(End of comparison.)

It says:

> CallerID Blocking: [...] Your line is already equipped for Per-Call
> Blocking.  All you have to do is push *67 on a touch-tone phone [...]

I tried this today and found that on 617/861-xxxx it is NOT yet
implemented.  It produced a recording "If you wish to place a call,
please hang up and try again."

I called to order line blocking, and asked some questions.

I asked whether there was any way for a customer to determine whether
line blocking was in place, either by calling some number or entering
some test prefix.  Answer: No.  Call a friend with CLID.

I asked whether the service order charge was being waived if you
ordered CLASS features at the initial offering.  Answer: Yes.

I asked whether other CLASS features were coming soon, e.g.,
distinctive ringing for particular numbers, refusing calls from
particular numbers.  Answer: Not that he has heard of.

This leaflet also answers the question I posted here some weeks ago
about whether a DIFFERENT prefix was used to one-time-block a call
versus to one-time-UNblock a call.  My recollection was that the MA
DPU had required different codes when they approved CLID.  But this
leaflet says it's the old "*67 toggles, good luck as to whether that's
what you intended".  The Service Rep confirmed that, and seemed quite
annoyed when I pointed out that this was stupid.  Ah, well...


Bob Clements, K1BC, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Page @ DAD)
Subject: Re: NET Pamphlet on CallerID For 508/617/413 Area
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 22:45:02 GMT
Organization: Mentor Graphics Corporation


Note that the New England Telephone's PhoneSmart system has a user
interface wart.  If you have line blocking then *67 unblocks your
phone, but if you don't have line blocking then *67 blocks your phone.

So how do you make a blocked call from a phone whose line blocking
status is unknown?  (This could be to protect a freind's reputation,
or because you don't know whether line blocking is installed yet on
your own phone.  Or you could be at a motel).

The only way I can figure is you dial a friend who has Caller-ID and
ask them if it is blocked first.  The telco does not provide this
service.

Or you stick to the old standby -- make an operator assisted call,
which is supposed to evade the Caller-ID transmission.  The telco
will love it if lots of us start doing that, especially in areas
without blocking.

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

Subject: Re: Deregulation of Telcos in Texas
Date: Fri, 21 May 93 13:55:03 -0600
From: Mike Coyne <[e-mail]>


I said in my last post on this subject that something could happen
even though the bill was reportedly dead.  Legislation has been
approved to deregulate AT&T.  This was passed by the house.  I have
not heard of its progress in the senate.  AT&T has more stringent
requirements than the other 195 Texas long distance companies because
it has 55% of the business.  It is not clear whether this is what was
originally meant by deregulation or if this is some wonderful
sublimation of what was meant.

NPR reported this morning that legislation approving caller-id in
Texas has been approved.

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

Organization: Penn State University
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 10:54:27 EDT
From: Peter M. Weiss <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Octel Voice Mail System Advice Needed


If you have not joined the TOUCHTON listserv at SJSUVM1 (bitnet) or
searched the archives, now would be a good time.


Pete

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

Date: 21 May 93 08:36:05 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: International Pager Services Accessible From the US.


Last time I looked Skytel offerred this service in several European
countries.  It might be the most cost effective as she can be reached
24 hours a day and carry the damn thing with her.


Brian T. Vita           CSS, Inc.       CI$70702,2233

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

Date: 21 May 93 08:36:00 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service


This service will last until an airliner gets the first in-flight joke
fax about terrorism or hijacking.  :-(


Brian T.Vita            CSS, Inc.


[Moderator's Note: I would think those fax machines would work the
same way as the airfones and have outgoing service only. Of course
someone on board could send a fax to the nearest airport saying the
plane had been taken over in a hostage situation or something.
Wouldn't that be cute, watching them try to figure out who sent the
fax later on, particularly if it can accept cash money as payment.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)
Subject: Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone?
Date: 21 May 1993 07:13:47 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Steve Grant) says:

>Hi All,

>Just a few questions: I have a funny suspicion that somebody
>has been playing with our telephones: A few unaccounted tolls have
>come up recently and I was wondering how easy it is to do this by
>getting to the little grey things we have outside our houses and just
>connecting a telephone to it. (In NZ we have these little grey things
>outside most houses that contain telephone wires.) Anyway what would
>the signs be? I have heard it can be done, how easy is it to do? What
>wires go where?  All replys by email please.

>Can't people also listen to your phone conversations in this way?

Steve, if someone was on your line to use it for free calls, you would
have more than "a few" calls, your would have confrence calls for
$4000 each.

And there are much eassier ways to listen to your phone calls than to
sit outside your house with a handset and listen.

Nobody would waste thier time w/ what your decsribing.


Steven J Tucker  [e-mail]
P.o.Box 33475    North Royalton  Ohio 44133-0475   Cleveland Free-Net

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

Date: 21 May 93 12:51:59 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: ACD Printouts


>Is anyone downloading their ACD stats to a PC and not to a continuous
>feed printer?  Any suggestions welcome.

Instead of wasting reams of paper, we download our SMDR to the serial
port of a computer.  We have a Macintosh network and have White Knight
(a plain vanilla comm program) running in the background on the
server.  We've configured the KSU to dump the data at 9600 baud
through the serial port.  WK is set to copy the incoming text to disk.

A practial advantage to this system is that we can take the ASCII file
from the disk, massage it slightly, and dump it into Foxbase (Dbase
clone).  We can then generate whatever reports we want.


Brian Vita   CSS Inc.   CI$70702,2233

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)
Subject: Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number?
Date: 21 May 1993 07:27:25 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Brad Turner) says:

>I'm trying to help my roommate sort out the wiring in an 80 year old
>house that has two lines run in it. What is the phone number that I
>can call from the (408) 971 exchange that will answer and
>automatically reply with the number of the line from which I'm calling?
                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Don't bother, you get caught using the ANI and youll have some
uncomfortable questions to answer.


Steven J Tucker   [e-mail]
P.o.Box 33475    North Royalton  Ohio 44133-0475


[Moderator's Note: Not necessarily, but telcos everywhere tend to keep
those numbers secret as much as they can.  PAT]

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

Date: 21 May 93 12:51:50 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number?


>What is the phone number that I can call from the (408) 971 exchange
that >will answer and automatically reply with the number of the line
from which >I'm calling?

I've run into a fair amount of exchanges that use [phone] as
their ANAC line.  Give it a try.


Brian Vita      CSS, Inc.    CI$70702,2233

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

Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Date: Fri, 21 May 93 0:18:26 CDT
From: Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]>


> [Moderator's Note: No, I've never wondered why, have you?  I know
why. PAT]

   Okay, I'll bite.  Why?

   BTW, it's occurred to me that a cellular telephone is (in part) a
scanning receiver capable of automatically scanning 333 frequencies
between 800 and 900 MHz, which makes it fit the description I've seen
for the banned scanners.  Anyone know if there's a specific exemption
for them, or is it really, actually going to be illegal to manufacture
and/or import cellular telephones after 4/26/93?


Cliff Sharp  [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]
  WA9PDM               Use whichever one works

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

Subject: Re: Internet on the Nevada Plan
Organization: I.E.C.C.
Date: 21 May 93 11:27:16 EDT (Fri)
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)


>>"To contact them ... dial in on 10288 1 503 520 2222."

> GTE doesn't allow intra-LATA calls using an alternate carrier.
> I wonder how a Portland-area resident would use this service?

They suggest making an AT&T calling card call via 1-800-321-0288.  Not
a great solution.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (James Van Houten)
Subject: Re: Presidents and Telephones
Date: 21 May 1993 13:07:24 -0400
Organization: Metropolitan Security Services, Inc, Ft. Washington, MD  USA


In article <[e-mail]> jack.winslade%drbbs@
axolotl.omahug.org writes:

> In a message dated 09-MAY-93, John Nagle writes:

>> Lyndon Johnson has been credited with demanding the invention
>> of "executive override", so he could break in on calls in progress.

> I wonder if the history books will credit LBJ with the invention of
> Call Waiting.  <big snotty grin>

 Here is a little White House trivia for you.  During my years at the
White House we would go into the residence to test the phones.  There
is a phone in the main bathroom right beside the toilet.  The phone
was requested by LBJ and according to an usher that had been there
since that time, Quote "LBJ did most of his business from that phone".
Colorful President!!!


James Van Houten, Metropolitan Security Services, Inc
Ft Washington, MD / 202-672-6926

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #342
******************************










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Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 13:03:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #343

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 22 May 93 13:03:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 343

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Taxpayer Assets Project News (Tyson MacAulay)
    Test Numbers for Oregon (Marcus Blankenship)
    Blocking Selective Long Distance (Lenny Simon)
    AT&T Cell Phones (Chris Ambler)
    Cellular Phone FAQ? (Zoltan Egyed)
    Macs Answering Phones (Justin Leavens)
    The Telex Machine in Popular Music (Nigel Allen)
    Message Length on Display Pagers (Bonnie J. Johnson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tyson MacAulay)
Subject: Taxpayer Assets Project News
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 04:10:32 EDT


Hi Pat,

          I got this in my mail yesterday and I thought it might
interest the readers, it came in two parts so I joined them for
obvious reasons.

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

Taxpayer Assets Project
Information Policy Note
May 18, 1993

The following is our letter regarding the May 20 mark-up of the
GPO Access legislation (S 564).


James Love
Taxpayer Assets Project
P.O. Box 19367
Washington, DC 20036
202/387-8030   Ardmore: 215/658-0880


May 17, 1993

Charlie Rose
Chair, Committee on House Administration
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20036

RE:  GPO Access (S. 564 mark-up)

Dear Representative Rose:

I am writing to thank you for your efforts to expand public access to
government information through the proposed GPO Access program.  I
understand that the Committee on House Administration will mark-up S
564, the GPO Access legislation, on May 20.

While we are strong supporter of the proposal to require GPO to
provide this online service, we believe it is possible to strengthen
the bill in several areas.  This may be done through amendments or
through the report language.

1.   It would very helpful if GPO was directed to host an
     Internet discussion group, which would receive all GPO
     press releases and notices on the GPO Access program, and
     allow citizens to debate aspects of the implementation of
     the bill.  We think this type of interactive feedback is an
     important innovation for government agencies.  Today GPO is
     relatively isolated from the growing national debate on
     federal information policy which is taking place on the
     Internet.  It is relatively easy to start an Internet
     discussion list  -- several federal agencies do this now.
     Even a organization like ours supports our own list with a
     very modest budget.  This would allow GPO much needed
     feedback on the system on a timely basis.  GPO could get
     nearly instant feedback on its policies, and data users
     would feel they are empowered to influence this giant
     federal agency.

2.   The legislation or the report language should direct GPO to
     provide the service through ordinary telephone connections
     and through the Internet.  The Internet service will make
     it less costly for citizens who live outside the beltway to
     receive information from the GPO Access program.

3.   The House report language should direct GPO to provide a
     public inventory of the legislative information that could
     be available through the new online program, and to solicit
     public comment (by post and electronic mail) on the
     executive branch products that should be provided through
     the GPO Access program.  We are particularly interesting in
     having access to the full text of bills before Congress and
     the transcripts of testimonies before Congressional
     Hearings available as early as possible.

4.   On the subject of pricing, the report language should
     direct GPO to provide differential pricing for peak and
     off-peak users, to make it less expensive for individuals
     who use the service (most commercial use occurs during 8am
     to 6pm on week days).

Again, thank you for your efforts to broaden public access to these
valuable federal information resources.


Sincerely,

James Love
Taxpayer Assets Project


Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036;
v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet:  [e-mail]

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

Taxpayer Assets Project
Information Policy Note
May 17, 1993


MAY 20 MARK-UP ON GPO WINDO/ACCESS LEGISLATION

On March 11, 1993, the Senate and the House introduced identical bills
(S. 564; HR 1328) that would require the Government Printing Office to
provide the public online access to a wide range of federal
information.  The bills are titled the "Government Printing Office
Electronic Information Enhancement Act of 1993."  (GPO Access for
short).

S. 564 has passed the Senate, and the House has scheduled a mark- up
of the bill on May 20 in the Committee on House Administration.
Representative Charlie Rose (D-NC) has indicated that he wants to move
the bill out of committee without amendments, in order to avoid
conference with the Senate, and to possibly send the bill to the
President by Memorial Day.

We have discussed the current GPO Access bill in a February 28
information policy note, which is stored on the tap-info archives.
While the bill isn't everything that we were hoping for, it does
require GPO's to launch an important new online service.  The
information will be priced at the incremental cost of dissemination
for most users, and free to 1,400 federal Depository Libraries.

The initial products will be the Federal Register, the Congressional
Record, a federal information locator, and other information under the
control of the Superintendent of Documents or information from
executive branch agencies, at their request.

Assuming that the bill does pass, the next step will be the
implementation stage.  One of our complaints about the present bill is
that it omits the requirements that GPO solicit public comment on the
service every year.  This language, which was included in last year's
GPO WINDO/GATEWAY bills was replaced with a vague requirement that GPO
consult with users and other affected parties.  The Senate report
language on the bill asks GPO to solicit user views through an
electronic bulletin board.  We are writing Rose to ask that the report
language in the House direct GPO to host an internet discussion group,
which would receive all GPO press releases and notices on the GPO
Access program, and allow citizens to debate aspects of the
implementation of the bill.  We think this type of interactive
feedback is an important innovation for government agencies.

To appreciate the importance of this, consider the fact that some
Congressional staff members and GPO officials are considering an
online system of disseminating bills before congress in postscript
only formats (rather than ascii only or both formats).  This ill
conceived proposal is supposed to provide "printing on demand" of the
bills, complete with fancy fonts, but would make it impossible for
full text searches, reposting of bills on internet discussion groups,
and would require expensive hardware to print the bills.

The GPO Access legislation also dropped mention of the use of the
Internet, which would have been required under the WINDO/GATEWAY
bills.  We are writing to ask that the report language direct GPO to
provide the service through ordinary telephone connections *and* the
Internet.

We are also asking that the House report language direct GPO to
provide a public inventory of the legislative information that could
be available through the new online program, and to solicit public
comment (by post and electronic mail) on the executive branch products
that should be provided through the GPO Access program.

On the subject of pricing, we are asking that the report language
direct GPO to provide differential pricing for peak and off-peak
users, to make it less expensive for individuals who use the service
(most commercial use occurs during 8am to 6pm on week days).

Copies of the bill and the fax numbers of the committee members are
given below.  Feel free to share your thoughts with the members of the
committee.

Fax numbers of members on the Committee on House Administration.  All
numbers are 202/225-XXXX.  All members can be reached by telephone at
202/225-3121.

Democrats        St   fax     Republicans    St   fax

Charlie Rose,    NC   2470    Bill Thomas    CA   na
Al Swift         WA   2608    Newt Gingrich  GA   4656
William L. Clay  MO   1725    Pat Roberts    KA   5375
Sam Gejdenson    CT   4977    Bob Livingston LA   0739
Martin Frost     TX   4951    Bill Barrett   NE   na
Thomas Manton    NY   na      John Boehner   OH   0704
Steny Hoyer      MD   4300
Gerald Kleczka   WI   na
Dale Kidee       MI   na
Butler Derrick   SC   na
Barara Kennelly  CT   1031
Benjamin Cardin  MD   na



                                  S. 564

     Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
     This Act may be cited as the "Government Printing Office Electronic
Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993",
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 44, UNITED STATES CODE.
     (a) IN GENERAL.--Title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new chapter:
"CHAPTER 41--ACCESS TO FEDERAL ELECTRONIC INFORMATION
"Sec.
"4101. Electronic directory; online access to publications; electronic
     storage facility.
"4102. Fees.
"4103. Biennial report.
"4104. Definition.
 4101. Electronic directory; online access to publications; electronic
storage facility
     "(a) IN GENERAL.--The Superintendent of Documents, under the direction
of the Public Printer, shall--
     "(1) maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic
information;
     "(2) provide a system of online access to the Congressional Record,
the Federal Register, and, as determined by the Superintendent of
Documents, other appropriate publications distributed by the Superintendent
of Documents; and
     "(3) operate an electronic storage facility for Federal electronic
information to which online access is made available under paragraph (2).
     "(b) DEPARTMENTAL REQUESTS.--To the extent practicable, the
Superintendent of Documents shall accommodate any request by the head of a
department or agency to include in the system of access referred to in
subsection (a)(2)information that is under the control of the department or
agency involved.
     "(c) CONSULTATION.--In carrying out this section, the Superintendent
of Documents shall consult--
     "(1) users of the directory and the system of access provided for
under subsection (a); and
     "(2) other providers of similar information services.
The purpose of such consultation shall be to assess the quality and value
of the directory and the system, in light of user needs.

 4102. Fees
     "(a) IN GENERAL.--The Superintendent of Documents, under the direction
of the Public Printer, may charge reasonable fees for use of the directory
and the system of access provided for under section 4101, except that use
of the directory and the system shall be made available to depository
libraries without charge.  The fees received shall be treated in the same
manner as moneys received from sale of documents under section 1702 of this
title.
     "(b) COST RECOVERY.--The fees charged under this section shall be set
so as to recover the incremental cost of dissemination of the information
involved, with the cost to be computed without regard to section 1708 of
this title.

 4103. Biennial report
     "Not later than December 31 of each odd-numbered year, the Public
Printer shall submit to the Congress, with respect to the two preceding
fiscal years, a report on the directory, the system of access, and the
electronic storage facility referred to in section 4101(a).  The report
shall include a description of the functions involved, including a
statement of cost savings in comparison with traditional forms of
information distribution.

 4104. Definition
     "As used in this chapter, the term 'Federal electronic information'
means Federal public information stored electronically."
     (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.--The table of chapters for title 44, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
"41. Access to Federal Electronic Information.................4101".
Sec. 3. STATUS REPORT.
     Not later than June 30, 1994, the Public Printer shall submit to the
Congress a report on the status of the directory, the system of access, and
the electronic storage facility referred to in section 4101 of title 44,
United States Code, as added by section 2(a).
SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES.
     (a) OPERATIONAL DEADLINE.--The directory, the system of access, and
the electronic storage facility referred to in section 4101 of title 44,
United States Code, as added by section 2(a), shall be operational not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
     (b) FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT.--The first report referred to in section
4103 of title 44, United States Code, as added by section 2(a), shall be
submitted not later than December 31, 1995.

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

Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036;
v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet:  [e-mail]

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

Tyson Macaulay
Directorate of Technology and Policy Planning
Communications Canada
7th floor, Journal Tower North
300 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario  Canada  K1A 0C8
[phone]    [e-mail]   [e-mail]
 ...the usual disclaimer about not speaking for my employer...blah, blah.

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

From: [e-mail] (Marcus Blankenship)
Subject: Test Numbers For Oregon
Date: 21 May 1993 21:17:01 GMT
Organization: The Santa Fe Institute


I am a telephone repair person for a small telco in Oregon.  Since we are
private, we do not work with USWest, our line supplier.  I reparir
payphones around the state, and a list of test numbers for OR would be
VERY helpful to me.  Things like ANI and Ringback numbers in particular.
Is their anyway I can get these? Does someone have them?.  If so, please
email me with them.Thank you very much.


Marcus Blankenship  [e-mail]
Payphone Tech, Alpha Telcom Inc.

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

From: [e-mail] (Lenny Simon)
Subject: Blocking Selective Long Distance
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 17:54:31 GMT


My local phone co., GTE, is telling me there is no way to selectively
block long distance calls.  I had a completely block long distance but
need it removed since some long distance calls need to be made.

Is there a device I can buy to hook up to a POTS to selectively block
long distance calls. Or, does anyone know the right words to ask the
telco to do what I want done.


Thanks.


[Moderator's Note: There are 'toll-restriction' devices for sale at
Radio Shack, in the 'Hello Direct' catalog (1-800-HI-HELLO) and at
other telephone supply houses. These devices can be configured to
block all outgoing toll calls unless a password is entered first.
Depending on the volume of long distance calls you make monthly, there
are also programs like the AT&T Software Defined Network which allow
blocking of calls to NPA, NPA-XXX, or NPA-XXX-XXXX. Blocking can be
done by time of day, day of week, etc. Passcodes can be required to
override blocking. The AT&T SDN has more options available in it than
I can describe here. Plus, the rates are super low. If your long
distance bill runs at least $300-400 per month you can have all the
blocking you want, plus very detailed reports of your monthly calls by
access or passcode number, etc. You also get a 5-15% discount against
your total bill each month. You have to get this package through an
AT&T reseller; your local telco cannot help with it. Everything is
done in the network; you need no premises equipment. I resell this
package for AT&T through my office; proceeds from monthly residuals
benefit the Digest. For more information, '[e-mail]'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Chris Ambler -- Phish)
Subject: AT&T Cell Phones
Organization: The Phishtank
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 13:25:06 GMT


I'm looking into getting an AT&T cell phone. Up until now, I was sold
on the 3730, but was just told that the 3760 was out, and was made a
quote at $699. Does anyone know about these phones? Any information
would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!


[e-mail] | Christopher J. Ambler
[e-mail]  | Author, FSUUCP 1.32

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 20:16:07 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cellular Phone FAQ?


Is there a FAQ file about different cellular phones, their capacities,
ranges, features, what to look for? (We've seen the one about
programming them, I'm looking for one about the different types.)
Thanks.


Zoltan Egyed   Wilson Synchrotron Lab

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 17:47:53 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Macs Answering Phones


   I replied directly to the original poster on this, but I thought
the net might be interested in a brief summary.

   There are two products that I know of on the market that interface
a Macintosh computer with a phone line, and allow for programming the
Mac to use it. They are both single-line solutions, meaning that you
have to purchase on copy for every line that you want it to answer,
and they both pretty well tie up an entire Mac (and I wouldn't suggest
using them on anything less than a Classic II, no matter what they
say).

   The first one is called PhonePro, and it's from a company called
Cypress Research. I've had a good amount of experience with this
package, so if anyone else has any direct questions, I can probably
answer them. But basically, it comes with a serial hardware interface
and an application that lets you build program scripts. The PhonePro
software will let you build simple scripts such as answering
machine/voice mail types, as well as more sophisticated, such as
fax-on-demand and database lookup projects. In its current
incarnation, it is a pretty good product. Its programming interface is
pretty much a flow-chart, with function icons that you can place and
tie together. It also supports 1000 record databases with multiple
data types, including (of course) sound. It is very easy to learn.  It
is not, however, a really heavy duty program. I wouldn't suggest it at
this point for any application requiring more than four lines (that's
four Macs too).PhonePro also works with the NuBus ISDN card, if you
can find one. It costs about $750/copy for PhonePro, and $650 for
FaxPro if you want to do faxes (includes repackaged SupraFax 9600bps
modem) [phone].

    The second one is called TFLX and comes from Magnum Software. I
have not used this package, nor do I know a whole lot about it. I do
know that it costs $495 for a basic system and $1750 for the
professional system. As far as I can tell, however, the professional
system is the one that includes the hardware interface and lets you do
anything more than the straight voicemail that the basic package does.
[phone].

   Interesting to note is the announcement of the new GeoPort that
will come on some of the new Macs coming this summer. This high-speed
port, in combination with included DSP boards, should be able to
eliminate these hardware interface boxes and let the DSP boards
communicate directly with the phone line. In fact, Apple hopes to get
a low-cost ISDN connection using this port. Combine that will new
text-to-speech capabilities, and the new Macs will be able to answer
your phone and read your e-mail to you.


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 21:04:37 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: The Telex Machine in Popular Music
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Telex machines were never really part of the popular consciousness.  I
can only think of one popular song which refers to a telex machine: "I
Don't Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats. The song contains the lines

 "The telex machine is kept so clean
  As it types to a waiting world..."

(For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, it is based on an
actual incident in which a teenaged girl brings a gun to school and
starts shooting. When she was asked why she did it, her reply was only
"I don't like Mondays." The "telex machine" in the song was probably a
dedicated printer for a news agency such as the Associated Press,
rather than a terminal connected to the switched telex network run at
that time by Western Union in the U.S.)

The Canadian student press has a long tradition of writing new words
to existing music. In the interminable debates about immediacy versus
analysis within Canadian University Press, the national co-operative
news agency to which many English-language Canadian student newspapers
belong, someone once penned the lines "We don't need no telex, cause
it only shovels s--t." Clearly, the lyricist was on the "analysis"
side of the debate, one of the people who favored sending
feature-length articles out by snail-mail rather than short news story
by telex.  (This was several years ago. E-mail me if you want
information on how student newspapers in Canada and the U.S. use the
net to communicate.)

So can anyone else think of any telex-related songs?


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:33:53 EDT
From: Bonnie J Johnson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Message Length on Display Pagers


In response to Steve Forrette's question, there is at least one
display pager out there that is not limited to a 20 character display:

Motorola Advisor, 160 character limitation, can access by telephone
and also thru pc's, Windows and the Mac.


bj

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #343
******************************










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Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 14:32:11 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #344

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 22 May 93 14:32:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 344

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Tibetian Telecom Report (The Tibetian Traveller)
    Disaster Avoidance and Recovery Conference; Exhibition May 26-28 (N. Allen)
    A Help Request From Russia (Dmitri Rostislavovich Sysoeff)
    1-800-COL-LECT (Rich Greenberg)
    Stocks via Internet (Marshal Perlman)
    Cardphones and Frequencies ([e-mail])
    How to Evaluate Software (Andrea Spinelli)
    New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (Ken Mandelberg)
    Telephone Service via Cable TV (Juergen Ziegler)
    Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (William K. Kessler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 06:50 EST
From: The Tibetian Traveller <[e-mail]>
Subject: Tibetian Telecom Report


Hello readers,

I figured that it was time to type up another report on China's telco.
One of the reason's that it has taken so long to send anything is that
I have had a very difficult time getting an IDD, modem, and computer
together in the same place.  And as of today, April 26, I still have
not managed that feat.  So I am not sure how old this report will be
before I get a chance to send it.  Right now, the only thing that I am
lacking is a modem (and a modem cable).

I have had several questions about the numbering plan in China so I
will tackle that issue first.  All local calls are dialed by merely
dialing the subscriber number.  All DDD calls are 0 + area code
(sometimes called city code) + subscriber number.  And all IDD calls
are 00 + country code + destination number.

That was the easy part, the hard part is the area code in China can
vary from one to four digits while the subscriber code can vary from
four to seven digits.  And the format follows some complicated rules.

If the first digit of the call is a 1, then it is a one digit area
code for Beijing which has a seven digit subscriber code.  If the
first digit is a 2, it is a two digit area code.  If the first digit
is not a 1 or 2, it is a three or four digit area code.  If the second
digit is even, it is a four digit area code.  If it is odd, it is a
three digit area code.

All the area codes in Tibet start with an 8.  And the three digit area
codes are 89x while the four digit area codes are 80xx.  And in Tibet,
with only two exceptions, the area code plus subscriber number equals
a total of eight digits.  For anyone interested, those two exceptions
are Shiquanhe (8073) and Naqiu (8064).  Both cities have five digit
subscriber numbers for a total of nine digits.

If you are thoroughly confused, don't feel bad.  So am I.

I am also including some information from an article in the {People's
Daily} (not the most objective source).  I hope some of the readers
will find it of intrest.

   The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) expects gross revenue
   to expand at a growth rate of 25 - 27% and to generate 2% of China's GNP
   by the end of the 90's.  The industry's ratio of GNP last year was 0.7%.
   Last year, China invested $2.54 billion in the industries fixed assets.

   Last year, China added exchanges with a capacity of 4,345 million lines,
   which brought the country's total capacity to 32 million lines -- among
   the world's top ten nations.  The network includes 19.26 million lines
   for public use and 12.74 million for privite and specialized use.  [Your
   guess what they mean by a public and privite line is as good as mine.]

   By the end of 1992, China had installed 19.11 million public telephones,
   which means that for every 100 Chinese, there were an average of 1.63
   phones compared with 1.29 in 1991.  This is equivalent to the ratio in
   most countries with per-capita GNP of about $600.

   But problems are obvious in the sector's development, including a lack of
   long distance telecom capacity, a shortage of management and technical
   personal, slow postal delivery and unprofessional service by postal
   and telecom workers.  For example, the number of families in Shanghi
   queuing to have phones installed rose to about 400,000 by the end of last
   year from 170,000 in 1991, even though in 1992 more than 200,000 families
   had phones connected.

The rest of the article did not contain many hard facts.  Any
information that I have about cost of installation and length of wait
comes from talking to various people in China.  In Changchun, one man
was telling me about an ad for phone installation.  For $500, they
will install a phone line within one year.  In Beijing, I was told
that a phone line costs $1,000 and takes between six to twelve months.
In Tibet, dream on!  The managers of the Lhasa Holiday Inn have been
complaining that they have been trying to get additional lines for
over a year and MPT will still not promise them when they can get
them.

There also appears to be three different types of pay phones in China.
The first is by a coin operated telephone.  (I have not seen one, I
have only heard about them.)  It appears that the Chinese do have a
coin (worth about $.02) and the coin phones will accept them. Obviously,
these are intended for local calls only.

The second are the type with the card reader phones.  A card costs
$17.50 (one of these days, I will buy one and describe it to the
readers.)  These are not very practical for calling the States since a
call there costs about $5 a minute.

The third method is the phone booth with a regular handset in the
booth.  In ChangChun, there was a little room inside the busness
center with a regular phone in it.  While I never used it, I did get
to see the process a couple of times while I was waiting for them to
send a fax to the States.  You give the number you want to call to the
girl and go into the room.  She places the call and transfers it into
the room.  When you are done with the call, you hang up and come out.
In the meantime, the girl timed the call and figures out who much you
owe.  I was cautioned that if you do use this type of phone booth to
time the call yourself since some of the operators like to add a
couple of minutes to the bill and pocket the difference.

In Mangkang, I had an interesting experience.  Mangkang is a small
town in Tibet with a population of 500 to 1000.  You can walk
completely around the town in an half hour.  Since this town had not
gotten the new switch or manual operator board when we were installing
our equipment, they decided to run a two wire cable about 200 yards
into the telegraph office [MPT handles telegraph as well as telephone
communications] and install a regular handset into a "phone booth".
This phone booth was two feet by four feet and a very tight squeeze
for someone 6'5".

Anyhow, when I went down to the office to make sure the handset
worked, I saw the old manual operator board.  It looked like something
out of a very old movie.  On the left, was a wooden cabinet about five
feet high, three feet wide, and 1.5 ft deep.  There were two glass
doors on the front.  The outside looked like a little cupboard that
you might keep dishes in.  Inside, were four sets of relays about two
feet long and six inches wide.  There were arranged in two vertical
rows.  Next to them were four "christmas trees" with wires soldered
onto them.  These were used for distribution between the cabinet and
the operator board which was next to it.

The operator board was also made of wood.  There was a shelf about
normal desk height with a "hutch" that sat at the rear of the shelf
and rose another foot.  On the "hutch" was rows of jacks with little
metal plates covering the jacks.  (I tried but I couldn't figure out
how to open the jack coverings.)  One the self were the sets of plugs
with cords attached that you would associate with an operator board
and several toggle switchs.  Also embedded with the shelf was a rotary
dial.

They also had the operators headset laying on the shelf.  The
mouthpiece was a speaker tube that rested on the operators chest and
was held in place with a cord around the operators neck.  The ear
piece looked like the ear piece from an old crystal radio. Unfortunately,
they had pulled the switch out of operation before I got there so I
could not see it in action.

That's it for this issue of the Tibitian Telecom Tabloid.


Garnet    email:[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Thanks very much for your report. Please write us
again soon with more details.   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 21:57:25 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Disaster Avoidance and Recovery Conference; Exhibition May 26-28
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


 Disaster Avoidance & Recovery Conference & Exhibition May 26-28;
 Contact: John Mungenast of Insystex Inc., Ventura, Calif.,
          805-650-7052, or
          George J. Whalen of G.J. Whalen & Co. Inc., New Rochelle,
          N.Y., 914-576-6750

 News Advisory:

   Disaster Avoidance & Recovery '93, sponsored in part by AT&T, NCR
and Power Quality magazine, will take place May 26-28, at the Sheraton
Premiere at Tyson's Corner, in Vienna, Va.

   CEOs, participants from government, technology, financial
manufacturing and utility companies, other major industry and key
government groups are expected.

   They will hear from a blue-ribbon faculty of experts whose
presentations will deal with all sides of disaster preparedness and
recovery, sharing latest planning methods and technology to ward off,
deal with and rapidly recover from natural or man-made disasters.

   The intensive three day conference points up the reality that U.S.
businesses, buildings and people are more at-risk than ever before and
that our technology-dependent society now relies on a "house of cards"
of interdependent computers, telephone and power utilities.

   Keynote speaker will be Rep. Dick Swett (D-N.H.), who sees
preparedness as a "new war" against natural and man-made threats.
Assessments of recent wide-area disasters (Hurricanes Andrew and
Iniki, floods, Nor'easters, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and
blizzards) and a comprehensive review of the terrorist attack on the
World Trade Center will introduce topics such as evacuation, medical
care and shelter, building vulnerability, standby power, elevator
design flaws, plus how to plan against high-rise disasters.

   Participants will also discover that only a handful of utilities
now have tested, workable disaster and recovery plans in place...
that few power companies have "mutual aid plans" with telephone
companies, even though they share the same poles and conduits and
despite the fact that telephone companies rely in part on electric
utility power.

   Counter-terrorism authorities will advise on protective measures,
while telecommunications, computer, power and business recovery
xperts will deal with how disasters can strike through our
near-total dependency on computer technology and its vulnerability to
the minute-by-minute quality of electrical power.

   There is a side benefit of all this: the wave of new methods,
technology and products now emerging to improve preparedness of U.S.
businesses is stimulating the economy with new jobs, new contracts and
new opportunities.  Additional information and details about Disaster
Avoidance & Recovery '93 can be obtained from John Mungenast at
Insystex Inc., the conference organizer, 805-650-7052 during business
hours (Pacific time).


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]

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

Organization: Information Technologies Center of The Moscow City
From: [e-mail] (Dmitri Rostislavovich Sysoeff)
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:46:30 +0400
Subject: A Request For Help From Russia


[Moderator's Note: I received this letter in the mail and am hoping
that one or more readers will take time from their busy day to help
this gentleman obtain copies of the documents he is seeking. To anyone
who can help, thanks in advance from me.   PAT]


Dear mr. Patric Tomson,

For me VERY VERY VERY impotant to resive
CCITT or analog document FCC (Federal Communication Commity )
becouse of The lagest and best library in the Russia
State Public Scient. and Tech. Library don't have it.
modem v22bis , fax G3.
ANY HELP, ANY REPLAY, ANY form collaboration WElLCOME !

SImon

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

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 04:00:52 PDT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: 1-800-COL-LECT


Today's {LA Times} 5/20 has a story in the business section on MCI's
newest bright idea which is too long to key in and I am sure you are
all familiar with it already.

There were two parts of it I would like to share with the TELECOM
Digest though.

There was a mention that MCI had been preparing this new offering for
a while, but couldn't get 800-COLLECT until May 1.

There was a chart showing which carriers got what slice of the collect
call pie.  AT&T 75%, MCI 11%, Sprint 5%, Others 9%.  The other part of
the chart showed where collect calls are made.  (MCI was quoted as the
source, so these percents may be percents of their 11%, not the
totals.)  Listed were:

57% - Public pay phone
31% - Someone elses home
29% - home
18% - hotel/motel
15% - office
14% - School, dorm, hospital.
12% - military base
 3% - airport

I wonder which of these catagories the collect-only phones in jails
would fall into?


Rich Greenberg      Work: [e-mail]   310-417-8999
N6LRT               Play: [e-mail]           310-649-0238
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....


[Moderator's Note: From another source, I'm told calls from jails,
peniteniaries and other correctional environments are in the 'schools,
dorms and hospitals' category. The thing I found interesting about the
1-800-COLLECT program is that thus far *no one* at MCI knows what the
rates are for calls!  I tried the service a couple times, and both
times when the MCI operator could not quote the rate and/or detirmine
what surcharge would apply if any, I was transferred to customer
service, and they did not know either, saying the 'public relations
and advertising departments got ahead of us (in operations) on this one.'
They offered to send me a $5 gift certificate to make up for inconvenience
caused as a result. The customer service rep said they hope to have the
details of the program soon, including rates, surcharges, etc.  From
another source however, I'm told the surcharge is over a dollar per
call, and that the rates are not very good.  :(   They do however
check the database of numbers that are restricted from being billed
for collect or third number type calls.  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshal Perlman)
Subject: Stocks VIA Internet
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 04:08:16 GMT


Anyone know of any stock purchasing companies that are computer linked
to the internet ... where I could buy and sell stocks with my
computer?

I 'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then using my broker who just
punches what I say to him into a computer and charges me $50 for 'his
help'.


TThanks,

Marshal

   =-> Please Reply VIA E-Mail If Able <-=

Marshal Perlman      Internet: [e-mail]
Florida Institute of Technology       IRC: Squawk
Melbourne, Florida            Private Pilot, ASEL
407/768-8000 x8435     Goodyear Blimp Club Member

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cardphones and Frequencies
Organization: Nanyang Technological University - Singapore
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 07:18:45 GMT


Could someone please furnish me with information on how a cardphone
and a phonecard works (the one without an eprom chip in it).

Could you also tell me the frequencies of the different numbers in a
tone dialed telephone? Thanks.


AAron


[Moderator's Note: The frequencies for the digits on a touch tone
phone are discussed in the Frequently Asked Questions file and also in
the Telecom Archives, available using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: How to Evaluate Software
Date: 22 May 93 10:20:31 +0100
Organization: CINECA, Italian Interuniversity comp. centre


Hi everyone,

I am working on an applied research project on software quality, and I
ask the cooperation of the Net.  I will post the result of my queries
asap. Please mail directly to me, not to waste bandwidth.

My field of interest is measuring the quality of applications.  That
means answering to some questions, such as "are there any goto's?",
rating the answers, hashing results with some queer software and
saying "good usability, bad maintainability" and so forth.

What I need are the questions. There are some lists in literature, but
they are not specific for a technologic area.

I ask you: from your experience and judgment, what things would you
check (which questions would you ask) to determine whether a program
or a piece of documentation in the area of telecommunications is:

        - meeting its original requirements (accurate, interoperable,
          conforming to standards, keeping privacy)
        - reliable (mature, error tolerant, recoverable)
        - usable by actual people (understandable, teachable, easy to use)
        - efficient
        - maintainable (readable, modifiable, stable, testable)
        - portable (customisable,installable,platform-independent)

This is a kind of worldwide brainstorm, so diversity is welcome!  I
think that self-consciousness of the Net on quality attributes and
measurements is of general utility, and I dare ask you a few minutes
of your time. I will quote the names of all people who do not ask to
remain anonymous. Of course, indirect pointers to publications,
ftp-accessible archives, FAQ lists and the like are equally welcome.

Thanks for reading this message.


Andrea Spinelli          tel     [phone]
ISMES SpA                fax     [phone]
Viale Giulio Cesare 29   e-mail  [e-mail]
24123 Bergamo BG

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

From: [e-mail] (Ken Mandelberg)
Subject: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?)
Date: 22 May 1993 13:29:59 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I just read an article in the local paper about BellSouth's plan to
introduce "ScanFone". Scanfone is apparently a smart phone with 4x20
character display and a credit card reader that is designed to
interface with home banking and shopping services.

What really caught my eye was a note in the article that the phone
could display "who's trying to reach you if you`re already using the
phone. The latter service likely would cost extra.".

This sounds like some merger of Call Waiting and Caller-ID. I'm not
much interested in the Scanfone, but am interested in the this new
phone service. Does it have a name? How does it work?

What I really would like to see is a modem that could reliably detect
a call waiting signal (while running V32BIS/V42BIS).  Caller-ID info
would be a bonus. I'd be happy to just be able to tell the modem to
drop the data call and switch to voice if it detects call waiting. No
modem maker seems to be interested or perhaps able to do this with the
current "in band" call waiting beeps.  Perhaps the new service would
be easier to handle.


Ken Mandelberg      | [e-mail]          PREFERRED
Emory University    | {rutgers,gatech}!emory!km    UUCP
Dept of Math and CS | [e-mail]              NON-DOMAIN BITNET
Atlanta, GA 30322   | Phone: Voice [phone], FAX [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 20:39:08 +0200
Subject: Telephone Service via Cable TV


I heard in some UK cities cable TV operators offer telephone services
with their cable TV networks.

Who knows a little bit more about this interesting new technology?
Who (in UK) has experience with this new type of telephone service?
What are the rates compared to old style telephone service?  Are their
any special features available?


Juergen Ziegler.........  Internet: [e-mail]
Obervogt-Haefelinstr. 48
W7580 Buehl (Baden).....  Secondary Mail address:........
Germany.[PLZ NEU:77815].  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 10:13:42 EST


It appears that Indianapolis is being plagued by an automated
telephone dialer (possibly a trolling FAX machine or cracker).

I received a call to my home number on April 24th at 3:31 AM.  The
call was some type of machine that beeped at about one second
intervals.  The call was from 317-471-XXXY.

I hung up and then received a second call about one minute later.  The
second call also was a beeping sound.

I called the number back and received an immediate disconnect followed
by dial tone.

The pest has called other numbers in following groups 317-841-XXXX,
317-579-XXXX, 317-845-XXXX, and 317-849-XXXX.  Caller-ID, where
available, revealed an origination number that differed in only the
last digit.

The pest has been active for about a month.  I complained to Indiana
Bell and the Sheriff's department two weeks ago.  I received a
follow-up call asking what crime was committed.  It's not clear what
laws if any have been violated.

I just received a another call to my home number so it appears that
the pest is making a second pass through the CO.

This time I complained to the Utility Regulatory Commission.  The
consumer affairs representative said that they would talk to Indiana
Bell.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this pest would be appreciated.


William K. Kessler   att!inuxy!kessler or [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Try calling back the numbers on your Caller-ID display
at various times of day and night. Use a criss-cross directory to find
out who the calling number(s) likely belong to. Most public libraries
have a telephone reference department, frequently in the 'Business and
Technology' area of the library. As often as not, they will check
their copy of the criss-cross and save you a trip downtown, although
it helps with those directories to review entries on either side of
the offender to see if the number is part of a larger bunch, such as a
centrex group, etc, and the librarian usually won't spend that much
time doing a detailed analysis. Some libraries won't read to you over
the phone from the criss-cross at all, citing 'privacy concerns' for
the persons listed therein. That's a crock, but you can't easily fight
it so go to the library for yourself. When you get the name/address of
the person/company which relates to the offending phones, send a note
and let us know who it is. If you prefer, if it is a company, get the
name of the person who handles the telecom for that company, and *talk
to that person only* about the problem. Don't waste time talking to
anyone else in the firm unless the telecom person won't cooperate, in
which case you go to the President, Chairman of the Board or perhaps
their attorney and offer to remodel their back porch if needed. If it
is coming from a private residential phone, contact the person and
tell them everyone is sick of it and there are to be no more games. PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #344
******************************










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Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 17:56:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #345

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 22 May 93 17:56:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 345

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Tales of the TV Tower Prague (Richard Budd)
    New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Verifying Simulations (David Ross)
    Correction re France Direct (Robin K. Brookes)
    Cable References Wanted (Demosthenes Panagopoulos)
    Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom (Kevin Fitzpatrick)
    Cellular Eavesdropper Stops a Crime (Ken Weaverling)
    AT&T Getting Desperate? (A. Padgett Peterson)
    Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West (Terence Cross)
    International Discount Telecom (Robert L. McMillin)
    Scalable Coherent Interface (Chuck Ludinsky)
    Help Needed Getting Internet Connection (Kelly McGinnis)
    Voice Mail - DID Trunk? (Seth B. Rothenberg)
    CATV and Telephony (Bill Phelps)
    How Does 0+ATT+0 Happen? (Mark Brown)
    Oops, You Didn't Hear That (Jeffrey Jonas)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 15:41:26 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Tales of the TV Tower Prague
Organization: CSAV UTIA


When I hear complaints about AM/FM radio or television towers on the
World Trace Center frying people with electromagnetism or that it
causes cancer, I think of the complaints about the Prague TV tower.
The two best stories I heard were radioactive emissions from the TV
signals destroying health and that the tower was being used by the KGB
for surveillance.  I haven't heard yet on this forum that US transmission
towers were radioactive or that the FBI was using them to listen in on
conversations. I hope this article doesn't give anyone ideas.

If you come to Prague, you can't help but notice the Televzni Vysilac
Praha towering 216 meters over the Zizkov neighborhood just east of
Wenscelaus Square.  The American community likes to refer to it as the
'Launch Pad' since it does look like a rocket ship ready to lift off.
Many Czechs are more crass.  They call it the 'Prague Penis' since it
also resembles an uncircumcised male organ.

Construction began by the Communist government in 1985 and it was
finished just in time for the Velvet Revolution.  It has been a
controversial thing to say the least.  First, it's construction
displaced a Jewish cemetery.  Then, while laying the foundation, the
construction team found a gravesite for victims of plague during
Napoleonic times.  Because Europeans recommend that bodies of plague
victims not be disturbed for 400 years, that almost caused the site to
be moved.

The tower, as mentioned before, is in the middle of a residential
neighborhood.  In addition, you can see it from virtually anywhere in
the city.  Of course, that brought out concern over the safety of the
television signals.  The story was that residents were concerned about
radioactivity from the television tower affecting people's health and
minds.

A team of scientific experts, doctors, hygienists, bio-electric
experts, and soldiers researched the signal and examined residents.
They determined the tower of safe.  But then came the Revolution and
the neighbors denounced the committee as Communist stooges.  So there
were more tests.

The strange thing is that all the complaints about health came before
1991, when the tower became fully active.  There haven't been too many
since then.  The technician in charge of the tower believes the
neighborhood was confusing radioactivity with electromagnetism, but
admitted there was no research about the effect of electromagnetic
signals on the human body.  Still the tower keeps broadcasting
messages.  The bottom two-thirds of the tower have been rented to a
Czech company who is developing the tower as a tourist site.  The
tower includes an expensive (for Czechs, moderately inexpensive for
Americans, a thrifty alternative to $500 dinners at Windows of the
World in New York) restaurant and observation decks where you can get
an excellent view of the Vltava, the Castle, and the Old Town.

The towers gives off 60 kilowatts of television signals, whereas
transmitters in Western countries, according to the technical director
of the tower, emit 100 kilowatts or more.

The other popular complaint against the tower was that it was being
used for KGB surveillance.  That came about because the tower, when it
began sending signlas, interfered with reception from the more liberal
Polish and Hungarian channels that townspeople picked up using "super
antennae" in their homes.

It has become a tourist attraction, especially since it is convenient
from the Metro Line A.  It is one block from an art deco church built
in the 1920s that was neglected by the Communists, but has been
restored since the Revolution.

There are still mixed feelings about the tower.  Expatriates and some
of the citizens admire it as a modern touch among Prague's thousands
of spires.  Others still say it's out of place with the town and a
symbol of a regime they prefer to forget.  You may understand from the
experience here that the complaints and action groups against
transmission towers in the United States aren't necessarily confined
to the US.

My thanks to an article in Prognosis dated February 1993 from Tonya
Cook for this nice story.


Richard Budd  USA  [e-mail]    CR [e-mail]
                   139 S. Hamilton St.       Kolackova 8
                   Poughkeepsie, NY 12601    18200 Praha 8

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 93 14:08:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card


At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow
New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card.  The vending
machine that dispenses the cards says that the cards cost $5, and are
worth $5.25.  There's a bargraph showing the value used, and it looks
like the strip could go to $6.  It's called a:

    Change card or Coin replacement Card.

The advertisements say "think of it as a roll of coins".

(800) 545-EASY for more information (but I'm not sure the number is
valid out of NY).

I didn't buy a card since I barely make $5 of payphone calls in a
year, let alone from the few places with these card phones.  That's
the drawback of these cards: they seem to work ONLY in the yellow
phones equipped for them; they probably cannot work on any other phone
since the value seems to be on the card itself. (Unless that's an
indicator only, but the ads only mention using them on the yellow
payphones).

I looked at a phone while in use.  The LCD displays shows "FREE" for
free calls, or the value remaining on the card (or was it the cost of
the call?)  The sign says that when the card is expired, you have 20
seconds after the warning beep to insert a new card and resume the
call without interruption.


Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Ross)
Subject: Verifying Simulations
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 09:07:47 GMT


This may be a FAQ (for comp.simulation), so please bear with me.

Can anybody point me to references discussing the verification of
simulations?

What I'm interested in is how confident one can be that measurements
made of the behaviour of a simulated system correspond to the
behaviour of the real-world system.

I work in broadband telecommunications, and I often see things like
"simulations *show* that the DQDB protocol is unfair" or "simulations
*show* that a TCP window size of 8 is wonderful". Often the
standarization of a new protocol relies heavily on the results of such
simulations, and so trusting the simulation results implicitly seems
to me to be a potential risk. (I also worry when results of a
simulation of a particular protocol implementation (e.g. the BSD
implementation of TCP/IP) are used to make generalised statements
about the protocol itself.)

How much should we trust such results? How much depends upon the
implementation of the simulation? I would really appreciate references
to good textbooks or recent articles.

I've crossed posted this to some of the comp.dcom.* group but I think
answers should go to comp.simulation or email me direct.

Thanks.


David Ross   ([e-mail])   On loan to:  Alcatel STR, Zurich, CH.
Phone:       [phone]     Fax:         [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 22 May 93 15:28 ut
Subject: Correction re France Direct


 In an item on France Direct Clive DW Feather wrote re the UK access
number to France Telecom:

> The first of these should be 0800 89 33 00.

This is still incorrect. The number should be 0800 89 00 33.


Robin K. Brookes
<[e-mail]>  53.00.00N, 06.00.00W
BROOKES, ROBIN K. (REV'D),  74 GRACEPARK ROAD, DRUMCONDRA, DUBLIN 9.
FIDONET ADDRESS:  2:263/151

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

From: [e-mail] (Demosthenes Panagopoulos)
Subject: Cable References Wanted
Date: 22 May 1993 09:39:28 GMT
Organization: FORTH - ICS, P.O.Box 1385, Heraklio, Crete, Greece 71110


I am looking for any good references on cabling standards which
explain the different types of wiring, concerns, applications, etc.
Any good books, articles, on-line text that I can read would be great.
I would appreciate any help you might offer.


Demos

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

From: [e-mail] (Kevin Fitzpatrick)
Subject: Opinions Wanted: Future of  Healthcare Telecom
Date: 22 May 93 11:41:33 GMT


Dear Friends:

I am writing an article for a medical journal that seeks to look ahead
at the impact of computers in healthcare.  (Healthcare, as you may
know, is the least automated of all the information intensive
industries) One of the most revolutionary changes in healthcare will
be the way our telephones, voice mail, beepers and modums evolve and
overlap.  I would appreciate your thoughts and observations.  Thanks
in advance.


Kevin Fitzpatrick   Medical Center Information Systems
Duke University     [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 07:56:03 -0400
From: Ken Weaverling <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cellular Eavesdropper Stops a Crime


I saw an interesting item in the Police Report of the May 21st issue
of the Wilmington DE {News-Journal} today.

An unnamed person eavesdropping on cellular phone calls overheard two
people talking about how to steal money from a local Sears store. The
plan involved an employee of Sears who works as a cashier at the store
intentionally giving out the wrong amount of change to his accomplice.

The eavesdropper, reportedly listening in on a scanner, called police
who used the tip to arrest two people in the scam.

There was no mention of any charges being filed against the eavesdropper.
Of course, the two charged will most likely get off easily, since the
interception of their phone conversation was illegal!


Ken Weaverling,  Sys Admin/Faith Healer,
Delaware Tech College  [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 08:16:03 -0400
From: [e-mail] (A. Padgett Peterson)
Subject: AT&T Getting Dsperate?


Yesterday I received a most interesting letter from AT&T asking to be
"my phone company". The facinating part was that the slam authorization
was an apparently negotiable check for $75.00 US, not a credit but a
check. The instructions were to take it to a bank, cash it, and when
they received it back I would be switched.

Now I am happy with my Sprint (have had it since before there was a
Sprint 8*) and they give me a volume discount, but this was a novel
approach.

In the "busy" circuit, I suspect that it might work a tad better if
the base and collector in Q1 were "slammed".


Warmly,

Padgett

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

From: [e-mail] (Terence  Cross)
Subject: Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Telecom AB
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 13:56:38 GMT


In a recent edition of {Newsweek}, "Wiring The World", I read of a
network being created by US West.  It said that in Feb. a decision had
been made to connect all 13 million subscribers of US West to fiber;
that it would take 26 years, and that cost would be $13 billion.

I have not seen this info anywhere else and am now wondering if I am
mistaken.

If not, maybe I should consider moving to US West's turf.  I'll
probably be rotting in a worm before I could see that here.

Does anyone have more info on this?


rgs,

Terence Cross, Athlone, Ireland

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 07:26 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: International Discount Telecom


I read about International Discount Telecom in the current (May 24,
1993) issue of {Forbes}.  Basically, the customer calls them from a
foreign country, the IDT end rings once, the customer hangs up, and
IDT calls back with AT&T dialtone local to the States.  Since it's
*much* cheaper to call from the US to other countries, IDT splits the
difference.  For companies (and individuals) who make a lot of
international calls overseas, this saves tons of money over the
direct-dial rates of most government-owned monopolies.  One customer
in Jerusalem says that he regularly saves 30% over the local telco
rates there.

Of course, there are drawbacks: it appears that you have to have a
dedicated line on their end, and (I would surmize) you can only make
calls from one phone number; the world just isn't SS7 connected!  AT&T
would very much like them to go out of business, because they're
"stealing the ring."  Partly, I'm sure, AT&T's just upset because they
didn't think of this first, but also because they very probably
couldn't get away with it: it would make all the foreign telcos with
whom they have reciprocal contracts very unhappy.


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ludinsky)
Subject: Scalable Coherent Interface
Organization: The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Ma.
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 17:29:10 GMT


Does anyone have any information regarding a high-speed, data
communications system known as "Scalable Coherent Interface?"  Or can
anyone point me in the right direction to sources of information
regarding SCI?  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.


Chuck Ludinsky   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Kelly McGinnis)
Subject: Help Needed Getting Internet Connection
Date: 22 May 93 18:26:59 GMT


I was just wondering where (other than universities), I can gain
access to the e-mail system the schools use.  I'm home for the summer
but still want to loggin without having to go to a university to do
it.  Is this possible and if so, how?  I'm in NJ and I have a friend
in WV who is also interested.


Thanks.


[Moderator's Note: By 'email system the schools use' I assume you are
referring to the Internet and its affiliated networks -- what you are
connected to and reading now. There are many 'public access unix
sites' you can subscribe to. I suggest checking out the 'nixpub' file;
you may also wish to investigate the Free Net sites; Portal
Communications in San Jose, CA (they have a PC Pursuit/Sprintnet
link); or Chinet in Chicago (chinet.chi.il.us) operated by Randy Suess.
Another good public access site here is 'Gagme' (gagme.chi.il.us) oper-
rated by Greg Gulick. There are plenty of places where you can sign
 up for modest fees.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Seth B Rothenberg)
Subject: Voice Mail - DID Trunk?
Date: 22 May 93 19:12:21 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


I am thinking of creating a small Voicemail system on a PC, but I
would like to be able to have different phone numbers for different
mailboxes.  I know that a PBX gets the number dialed from the C.O.
somehow, so that the customer does not need a trunk for each DID
number.  Is there anything that can be done with ordinary phone lines?

Please reply directly, and I will summarize.

The voicemail card I am looking at is from the Hello catalog, 800-HI-HELLO.


Thanks,

Seth

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

Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 23:09:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bill Phelps <[e-mail]>
Subject: CATV and Telephony


The recent Time-Warner/US West deal is further (dramatic) evidence
that we will soon be buying local exchange phone service from the
cable company.

Does anyone know how the CATV companies plan to do service activation/
service assurance for phone service.  (For instance, how do the US West/
TCI carriers do it in the UK?)

The US RBOCs use Bellcore systems (LFACS, COSMOS, MARCH), and LMOS
which comes from AT&T).  These are archaic systems based on some
outdated views of how the loop should be managed.  I am wondering if
the cable operators will introduce a new perspective.


Bill Phelps  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brown)
Subject: How Does 0+ATT+0 Happen?
Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 16:55:50 GMT
Organization: IBM Corp., Austin TX


While I know that 102880 gets you ATT from "any" phone, and you can
put the charges on your calling card, my wife encountered this the
other day:

She works at a children's hospital, which recently had problems with
outside callers doing unauthorized LD and billing third-party to the
hospital. They thought that they had put a stop to this by 1) telling
their carrier (local and LD) to disallow *any* third-party billing and
2) making the PBX vendor fix up their security and 3) making hospital
policy on LD clear, all LD goes through their vendor.

Recently she discovered all kinds of ATT LD charges on their bill --
but not through slamming. Evidently, anyone can dial 02880 (not
102880) and then go through the usual to make an LD call -- and the
charges go directly to the hospital phone!  The patients (this is a
psych hospital) do this a lot ...

ATT's rates are higher than her carrier, and she'd like to put a stop
to this -- can she?


Mark Brown       IBM AWS Austin, TX.  [phone]   VNET: MBROWN@AUSVM6
MAIL:   [e-mail]
DISCLAIMER: My views are independent of IBM official policy.


[Moderator's Note: If '02880' plus a long distance number is completing
 the call, then something is drastically wrong somewhere. I am not
sure why the first zero does not drop the call to the hospital PBX oper-
ator for starters; or were you (presuming) '9' for an outside line
followed by '02880'? I tried it from here (yes, I know the sun does
not revolve around Chicago and IBT is not the last word) and the result
 was the switch tried to give operator treatment to 0-288-0xx-xxxx which
of course failed. Who is the default carrier for the hospital? Why is
the local telco letting all that garbage go through without challenging
it if for no other reason than it being rather ambiguous? Is the switch
at the hospital altering that into 10288 for some reason?

The telecom vendor should arrange things so that calls to 0 (as is
probably the case already), 9 + 0, 9 + 00, 9 + 10xxx, 9 + 0/1-700, 9 +
976, 9 + 1-900 and other premium services are all bounced back to the
hospital PBX operator for handling. She in turn would deny connection
to patients or staff without a calling card or some valid billing
arrangement for any of the above *other than the hospital itself*. She
would either instruct the caller to use a payphone (I assume there are
several around the hospital grounds) to complete the call, or she
might simply connect the party to 1-800-CALL-ATT. The local telco
should also be advised to add 'Billed Number Screening' to all lines
which will eliminate *all* AT&T/Sprint/MCI collect and third number
billing attempts, and quite a few others as well. In addition, the
telco can add a flag so that when the call is passed to any of the
major carriers it will *automatically* display on the operator's tube
a caution message, i.e. 'prison', 'psychiatric facility', etc,
with an instruction 'deny billing to calling number -- call must be
made collect or third number.' In fact, IBT's system locks the call
and the operator cannot release it until/unless authorized collect or
third number information has been inserted. Naturally, telco also
should totally block 900/976. Once blocked, even the telco operator
can't put those through. If there is a *legitimate* need for some
collect calls to be accepted at the hospital, then leave only the main
listed number able to receive them. The PBX operator will receive
these calls and supervise them accordingly.

Final note: The law says a 'place of public accomodation' (i.e. dorm
at a university, hotel/motel, etc -- I am not sure if a long term
psychiatric facility or prison would be included) cannot block or deny
passage of calls via 10xxx. Administrators take note: No where does
the law say the calls have to be handled *automatically* -- only that
they cannot be denied. You are perfectly free to have all that routed
right down to your phone room, where an operator can challenge the
billing and insure accuracy of chargeback information -- then release
the call to the public network. Yes, your operators have to do a
little extra work *at first* (until the users wise up that the free
rides via the university PBX are over), but the days of the big phone
bill no one knows anything about will be over.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 16:17:33 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: Oops, You Didn't Hear That


An interesting TELECOM RISKS article in PC Week was a fellow telling
stories of being the victim of wrong numbers.

A) He was sitting by the phone waiting for a call from a call-in
program where he was the guest.  No call.  After a while, he called
in.  They didn't think he was home because they transposed two digits
of his phone number and got an answering machine that didn't announce
who they reached so they didn't know they reached a wrong number.

B) His fax machine received a confidential price list from someplace.
The person simply misdialed the number.

So he implored his readers to be more careful about their dialing
habits, particularly when transmitting confidential information

- read back the number on your FAX machine display before pressing SEND
- have some identification on your answering machine's outgoing message

He also mused about how people are so trusting of their machines, such
as having passwords in auto dial scripts, or having FAX lists built
into the auto dialer of the FAX machine.  He warned that it's quite
easy and undetectable for an infiltrator to add themself to the list.
How many of us would love to have added our FAX number to, say,
Microsoft's FAX machine button "Bill Gates" or "all VPs".


Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #345
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #346

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 23 May 93 00:26:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 346

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Report on Conference on Small Businesses (Jane Fraser)
    Ugh! Call-Forwarding Cancels Hunting! (Tony Shepps)
    ATT vs MCI in June? (Laurence Chiu)
    Cellular Charging (Laurence Chiu)
    Caller ID For Long Distance Calls (Klaus Dimmler)
    Variable Rate 900 (was Re: Calling Card Merchant Status) (Bill Huttig)
    Setting up a SLIP Server (Samuel Hahn)
    Sprint Stupidity (Ken Levitt)
    Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4 (John Edward Teague)
    Problems With 1-800-COLLECT From Canada (Nigel Allen)
    Unitel Offers Canada's Version of Friends and Family (David Leibold)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 07:44:20 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Report on Conference on Small Businesses


Summary of May 12, 1993, CAST symposium

"The Technology and Culture of Cooperation in the New Global Economy"
by Ann Hollifield

For more information, contact Jane M. Fraser ([e-mail])

Cooperation and community are the keys to building the types of
networks U.S. businesses need in order to be competitive in the
emerging global economy.

This message, delivered by presenters at the Spring 1993 CAST
symposium "The Technology and Culture of Cooperation in the New Global
Economy," asked researchers and small businesses to look again at the
way they engage in international trade. Rather than viewing trade as a
competitive process, symposium participants suggested that small
businesses should begin thinking of trade as a cooperative venture in
which a community of businesses working together can succeed together.

The symposium, which drew about 120 participants, examined the issues
involved in constructing networks that can facilitate international
trade among companies that currently sell only to domestic markets.

Columbus Mayor Greg Lashutka keynoted the conference with a discussion
of the Infoport project, which he said is designed to encourage small
businesses to engage in global trade by simplifying the process for
them.  "That's how the whole idea of Infoport was born," Lashutka
said, "to make EDI (electronic data interchange) available to small
and medium-sized businesses."

Lashutka said that the services Infoport will provide will be vitally
important to small businesses where "people can't afford time away
from their businesses to meet with international customers." Lashutka
noted that the project has gained momentum, including plans by the
United Nations to hold the worldwide Trade Point Center conference
here next year, and synergy with other efforts to develop the region's
international trade such as the Inland Port initiative.

The symposium's central theme -- the building of business communities
-- was outlined by Nancy Ettlinger, associate professor in the
Department of Geography at Ohio State. Ettlinger maintained that
advanced telecommunications technologies can empower small and
medium-sized businesses in building communities in ways that
previously have been impossible.  But she noted that technologies are
only highways, and that their existence and use presupposes a culture
of collaboration and cooperation that does not necessarily exist among
U.S. businesses.

Ettlinger argued that the internal culture of U.S. business, where
managers hold onto power and labor has rarely sought participation
rights, is reflected in the external American business culture, where
companies have difficulty establishing joint working relationships. In
Japan and Germany, Ettlinger noted, trade associations act as a
mechanism to create and support cooperative ventures within
industries. In the U.S., by contrast, most associations operate to
lobby on behalf of their membership and to disseminate information to
their individual members, which can then be used by those companies to
compete in isolation.

American business must build internal communities where labor and
management erode the formal barriers to shared responsibility for
information and action, and then translate that into the development
of larger and more internationally effective business communities,
Ettlinger concluded.

Jane Fraser, associate professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
at Ohio State and Co-Director of CAST, built upon Ettlinger's premise
by discussing the use of information technologies to create
relationships among small businesses. Fraser outlined the potential of
bulletin boards, electronic mailing lists and other existing
mechanisms, and then argued that the software design of such systems
is critical if such technologies are actually to aid in building trade
circles.

By way of example, Fraser noted that electronic mailing lists tend to
be more intrusive to the recipient than bulletin boards, which she
suggested may account for the tendency of mailing list users to engage
in "flame wars."  Mechanisms that encourage such message wars are not
likely to help build positive relationships. Software design also
affects how communities develop through bulletin boards.  Some boards
enourage participation through an open access design, whereas others
discourage it by controlling the creation of and access to the boards.

Fraser argued that trade and information technology specialists must
begin working together to build regional on-line business communities,
where businesses would support one another and solve one another's
problems. Such communities may eventually grow into national and
international networks, which could leverage global advantages by, for
example, handing projects off from work team to work team around the
world as the day progresses. The creation of such "virtual
corporations" would permit participants to take advantage of the full
24 hours in a day, as well as gaining global input into their products
and processes.

An example of the power of business networks was provided by June
Holley and Roger Wilkens of ACEnet, an Athens, Ohio, nonprofit
organization that creates and supports flexible manufacturing projects
among existing businesses. Holley and Wilkens explained their process
for identifying potential niche markets for products and then finding
and organizing small business or individuals into networks to produce
and market the targeted product. ACEnet has successfully developed and
organized the manufacturing for remote-controlled, movable cabinetry
for the homes of physically disabled individuals, as well as pulled
together a consortium of women to produce and knit environmentally
sound wool sweaters for markets in Germany.

James E.P. Sisto, special projects manager for the Governor's Export
Initiative for the State of Ohio, gave perspective to the importance
of the symposium's topic by outlining the dimensions of the global
trade problem in the U.S. Sisto noted that there are 3.9 million
enterprises in the U.S., of which only 105,000, or less than 3
percent, engage in exporting. Of those, more than 50 percent of all
U.S. exports come from only 70 companies.

Sisto maintained that while information on trade and exporting is
abundant, it fails to reach the small and medium-sized businesses who
are being lost to the export markets. The need, he said, is for
mechanisms that overcome both the external barriers to trade and the
internal ones -- the lack of time and fear of the unknown that
frequently keep small business owners and managers from entering
international markets. He noted that the state is developing several
projects to facilitate new ideas for encouraging trade and added that
initiatives such as Infoport, the Inland Port, Governor's Trade
Initiative and the creation of networks all are steps in the process
of changing the way U.S. businesses approach global markets.

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

Subject: Ugh! Call-Forwarding Cancels Hunting!
From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 10:28:07 EDT
Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system


I run a small public access system in the Philadelphia area.  Called
"The Cellar". It has five incoming lines for users, all in a hunt
sequence.  But suddenly I have a terrible, albeit interesting
telephony problem here.

I recently bought a house, and of course I decided to move the system
 from a friend's house into my own house.  What I didn't realize is
that unlike my friend's house, my place is not within the Philly
metropolitan calling region!  It'd suddenly be a toll call for almost
all of the users!

Naturally I found this out one day AFTER having all the lines
installed and moving the system.

OK, not a problem, I thought -- the old number is a LOCAL call to the
new number, so keep call forwarding on the old number and everything
will be fine.  I'll have the keep the old line active forever, but
that'll be ok.  But that doesn't fly.  It turns out that call
forwarding sorta cancels hunting; after one person is forwarded to the
new number, everyone else gets a busy signal.

I called Bell of PA and begged them for any hints they could offer.
The Bell person I worked with is extremely nice, very enthusiastic
about the problem, and willing to try to find a solution.  After
discussing it with his techies, they suggest trying another type of
call forwarding: "call forward, no answer".  They figure the hunting
won't be lost.

But now it looks like this solution won't fly either.  It almost
works; it preserves the hunting.  It's interesting, actually; all five
lines at the old place are no-answer-forwarded to the first line at
the new place.  If someone calls using the first line at the old
place, he'll get through to the first line at the new place.  If
someone then calls the third line at the old place, he'll land on the
second number at the new place.  That proves that the hunt is working.
But now -- stay with me, here -- let's say a third caller tries to get
in using the first number at the old place -- the same number that the
first person used, who is still dialed in.  That new caller gets
endless rings -- no answer.  Same result if he were to call the old
number, third line.  Now, if he tried the SECOND number at the old
line, he'd get through, and would be connected to the third line at
the new place.

As it was explained to me, the old numbers have to remain in place
with call forwarding, because they're required to make a "path" -- I
guess that's the circuit between the old switch and the new switch.
So it looks like each line at the old place is connected to one "path"
 -- and when that's busy, the no-answer-forwarding just rings and
rings.  At the same time, with the original call-forwarding (called
"variable call forwarding"), if the path is busy, the caller to that
line gets a busy.

Phew!  Got all that?

If any telephony enthusiasts out there have ANY suggestions at all as
to how to resolve all this, please let me know.  Send it to me
directly, at [e-mail] -- for a public access site, this is
nothing short of an emergency situation.  And thanks in advance.

P.S. The telco does offer a plan called "remote call forwarding" where
they forward a non-installed line to an installed number.  However,
Bell of PA doesn't offer any "calling plans" on remote call
forwarding.  The cost is $14/month per line, plus $.07/call.  The
$14/month I can handle, but I get about 125 calls per day on these
lines; that's $271.25 per month.


Tony Shepps  [e-mail]
The Cellar: Public access and thoughtful conversation  [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Get rid of ALL the lines at the old location except
the first line. Have 'transfer on busy/no answer' installed on that
line. The first call will transfer to your new location on no answer.
Subsequent (while he is still on) calls will transfer on busy. Unlike
'regular' call forwarding, where generally only one at a time can go
through, transfer on busy/no answer has no such limitations that I
know about, and allows an endless number of calls to be transferred at
the same time subject only to the limitations on the end as to the
nuumber of calls received. Five calls would make it through, the sixth
caller would get a busy.  I just now tried it with a line I have which
transfers to voicemail on busy/no answer. I busied out the line and
from other phones started calling in to the busy line. I only had
three phones (otherwise) available, but all three got through to voice-
mail just fine all at the same time (because of course voicemail has
about fifty DID trunks standing by ready to receive calls.)  Your
problem will persist as long as you keep the hunt group. Get rid of it
and all the lines except the first one. The only exception, I think,
would be if two original 'first' calls arrived at the same time. If
the line is going through its three rings before transfer, a second
call at that instant would get a busy. But while you are at it, have
telco set the one single line to transfer on zero rings or one ring to
speed the process up since no one will ever be there to answer it.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: ATT vs MCI in June?
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access System: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 01:54:51 GMT


AT&T isbecoming a little more aggressive in its comparison advertising
and pricing versus MCI. MCI are offering 40% discounts in June to
those who call on Saturday's internationally to their Friends and
Family Numbers (presumably 20% to all other numbers).  This seemed
like a good deal.  Now I just caught an ad from AT&T (trouble it was
on a Chinese channel in Cantonese so I only understood about 75% of
it) but it seems they are offering 40% off to any destination on any
weekend day in June. There were even some comparison prices against
MCI for calling Hong Kong, China and Taiwan (presumably since the
target audience would most likely want to call these numbers).

I think my wife might be calling her family in June a bit!


Laurence Chiu     Walnut Creek, CA    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cellular Charging?
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access System: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 01:55:13 GMT


I just began to investigate getting cellular service in the Bay Area
and was rather surprised to find that one gets charged not only when
making calls, but when receiving them also. Presumably this is old hat
to Americans but as someone who arrived from New Zealand it was a
surprise.

Why should I have to foot the bill for someone calling me? I don't in
my domestic phone service, why in cellular? Was there some technical
reason it was implemented this way? Is this the same throughout the
US?

In New Zealand one only pays for outgoing calls, callers pay to call
you.  Granted we are not a big country, but all cellular phones are
assigned a specific area code(s). It is the same rate to call anywhere
in NZ from a cell phone though this is not a technical restriction,
more a policy. It is clear from the number that you are calling that
it is a cellular phone and you know up front what the charges will be
(around US$0.40/minute anytime of the day). Telecom NZ recognizing
that some people might be reluctant to call you to seek your services
because of that cost, also offer local numbers which actually ring on
your cell phone. The caller pays no charges if calling local, you pay
a monthly charge for the number and some charge per minute for the
calls. The caller has no idea that he or she is calling a cell phone.


Laurence Chiu     Walnut Creek, CA   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Klaus Dimmler)
Subject: Caller ID For Long Distance Calls
Organization: Community_News_Service
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 14:47:08 GMT


My local LEC is offering caller id. However, this caller id only works
in my local calling area. It does not seem to work for any long
distance calls. Does this have to do with my long distance service?


Klaus Dimmler    [e-mail]     CNS, Inc
1155 Kelly Johnson Blvd, Suite 400
Colorado Springs, CO 80920   719-592-1240

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:33:59 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Bill Huttig)
Subject: Variable Rate 900  (was Re: Calling Card Merchant Status)
Organization: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL USA


I read in {Network World} and/or {Communications Week} that AT&T was
reserving a entire 900 prefix for business (help lines) type calls
and that the person at the help line could change the rate as the call
progressed.

On a related thought ... Now that we have equal access 800 when are
we going to get equal access 900?

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

From: [e-mail] (Samuel Hahn)
Subject: Setting up a SLIP Server
Date: 22 May 1993 18:06:58 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Samuel Hahn)


Could someone please point me in the direction of a 4.3 BSD compatible
SLIP server for a MicroVAX? I am trying to establish dial-in net
access...I have the appropriate client software, but the only server
software I have come across seems to run only under SunOS.


Thanks!

Please email responses to [e-mail].

Sam

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 01:23:13 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Ken Levitt)
Subject: Sprint Stupidity


Here we go again with yet another story of phone company stupidity.
This time it's Sprint.

I have an existing 800 number with Sprint.  I wanted a new 800 that
spells out something special for my company.  Sprint's minimums are
high and they want an outrageous amount to put a recording on the line
telling people to call the new number.  So I decided to go through
Patrick for a new 800 number and keep both for a while to see how
things work out.

Patrick works with a company called The Hogan Company who resells
Sprint service.  I have been attempting to get this number going since
4/21/93.  There have been numerous delays due in part to my wanting a
previously unassigned number and no one knowing how to get it assigned
to me.

Now the stupid part.  Today Sprint rejected the order from Hogan for
my number because they already had an 800 number that was routed to my
telephone.  There is no logical technical reason that two different
800 numbers can't end up at the same phone number.  So I am forced to
conclude that Sprint just doesn't want Hogan taking their customers
away.

This is incredibly stupid because I will just respond by taking all of
my business to Hogan or some other company that doesn't use Sprint.
So their attempt to keep business at Sprint will result in losing
business.


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


[Moderator's Note: This is the first I heard of this, Ken! You never
called and told me ... I wish you had. Monday we shall talk to the
Hogan people and see what is what.  Sprint *cannot* hold back a number;
the rules for drawing from the number pool are quite specific. A number
can be on reserve for 60 days, but everyone with a terminal who can
access the database pool checks it daily ... a number is not available
one day and becomes available the next, etc. First come first served.
Please call my office Monday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon. And you
are correct; you can have a dozen different 800 numbers all terminating
on the same line as desired. You are not the only complainer though;
Sprint has been very bull-headed ever since portability started.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (TEAGUE, John Edward)
Subject: Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4
Date: 22 May 93 06:18:43 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology


Ok, I've seen the deal on Prodigy, but now I was wondering if this can
be had by anyone.  Ie someone who does not have Prodigy service (like
me) eligible?  And if so, where do you call?  Or is there another
source for these modems at the Prodigy (or better) price?

And most importantly, are these modems any good?  Has anyone tried
them?  Impressions, feelings, (dis)likes, etc.  I'll post a followup
if I get enough responses.


TIA,

TEAGUE,JOHN EDWARD                  Electrical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology     Vox: [phone]
27610 Ga. Tech Sta.                 Fax: ditto, hours vary
Atlanta, Georgia  30332             Internet: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: That deal is intended as an inducement to get
people to join Prodigy. It is much like the book club deals where you
get a bunch of free books if you join the club and promise to buy more
at the standard rate.  Prodigy is not in the modem selling business
for their health. Another analogy is the giveaway or near-giveaway of
cellular phones by dealers in exchange for a service contract with the
carrier. It is your business they want; not your everlasting gratitude
that you got a cell phone (or modem, or whatever) at a cheap price.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 20:09:33 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Problems with 1-800-COLLECT from Canada
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I tried to call the 1-800-COLLECT number from a payphone in downtown
Toronto, and my call was answered by a man who had obviously received
a number of unwanted calls for that service.

800-COLLECT translates to 800-265-5328, and the 800-265 prefix was
assigned to Canada before 800 numbers became portable.

Presumably Bell Canada never entered the 800-265-5328 number into
Bellcore's database of 800 numbers (which might almost make sense if
the number was Canada-only), and so a U.S. customer was able to obtain
a number already in use in Canada.

The moral of the story: be careful when requesting an 800 number of
the format 800-x6x-xxxx. It may conflict with an existing Canada-only
800 number.


Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I hope the Canadian customer stands his ground and
forces the number to be entered correctly in the database showing that
he had it first. It would be a shame if MCI had to change their number
wouldn't it!  :)  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 16:59:13 EDT
From: David Leibold <[e-mail]>
Subject: Unitel Offers Canada's Version of Friends and Family


Canadian carrier Unitel recently announced its Close Connections
program which offers additional discount to calls placed to other
Unitel customer numbers. This is similar to MCI's Friends and Family
offer.


[e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #346
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #347

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 23 May 93 02:15:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 347

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T and Spectrum Technologies Hanky Panky (Dave Niebuhr)
    Equal Access 800 Problem (Bill Huttig)
    AT&T's Calling Card (Bill Huttig)
    Re: The Perils of Caller-ID -- A Question (Carl Page)
    Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! (Carl Page)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Martin Harriss)
    Re: Sex Telemarketing (Joe Bergstein)
    Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (John David Galt)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Al Varney)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Michael Rosen)
    Re: AT&T Cell Phones (Steve Forrette)
    Re: AT&T Cell Phones (Steven H. Lichter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 19:10:30 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: AT&T and Spectrum Technologies Hanky Panky


Yesterday's and today's {Newsday} (5/21 and 5/22) had articles
concerning a join venture by AT&T and Spectrum Information
Technologies, Inc. about sending computer data via cellular service.
No big deal, you say.

Well, it seems that the stock of Spectrum took off and all of a sudden
it peaked well beyond what it was worth and then the decline occurred
fairly quickly.  Hmm, says me; a little hanky panky going on.

Sure enough, today's issue noted that the President of Spectrum has
been contacted by at least nine attorneys who are looking into what
went on because the stock skyrocketed and then dropped in price in
less than a week.  Even the analysts are wondering what went on.

Unfortunately, there isn't that much information floating around about
this in the paper.  I haven't looked at the {Wall Street Journal} or
the {New York Times} so I can't say what those papers reported.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Huttig)
Subject: Equal Access 800 Problem
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:46:20 EDT



There was a certain 800 number controled by AT&T that I wanted but I
didn't like AT&T's rate ... so early april I got the number as a AT&T
Starter Line ... really bad rates ($6/mo + .32/min ) anyway ... I
called LDDS FL office (ATC's headquater) and they said they need a
form filled out wich I received and mailed back 4/30. They received it
5/3. On 5/13 I received a call say the number was ready. They said
the number was 72x-xxxx; well the number should have been 22x-xxxx.

So I called and they said it would be fixed in a couple of days.  And
they would call me. No calls ... Thursday night (5/20) I received a
wrong number call to the number (9:30 or so). About 11:30 I called the
number from my second line and it was busy. I tried a few times, then
I called the AT&T service center (800-222-0300) and they said the
number was maintained by LDDS. I called LDDS repair in TX; they said
the number was never loaded into the switch. (I would have thought a
number you have dialed is not in service message would be returned).
Anyway (I had called around 11:30 AM), the rep said he would call when
it was fixed. I kept checking and it was fixed about one hour later. I
never did get a call from LDDS saying the number was switched or LDDS
repair saying it was fixed. I am glad I was not a large business trying
switch vital 800 numbers.

It took over three weeks to get one 800 number changed.


Bill


[Moderator's Note: Three weeks or so seems about average for switching
carriers on 800 numbers now that portability has gotten underway. The
difference between AT&T/your new carrier and myself is that I am so
small I actually handle all the orders to Hogan myself. As a result,
people get call backs and service as fast as I can render it.  If other
readers are interested in switching their 800 service (or installing
new 800 service) with a small firm where the people have actual names
and strive for personal accountability, let me know. I talk to Hogan
on an almost daily basis and it rarely takes more than a single call
on any customer (of mine)'s order to get it done correctly. I guess
that's because Hogan, like myself, need the business!    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Huttig)
Subject: AT&T's Calling Card
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:51:01 EDT


I just received a replacement card (my old one was peeling).  AT&T has
stoped embossing the cards (MCI stopped on some of it's cards a long
time ago). But they are still printing the PIN. They even label it PIN
on the card now.


Bill

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Page @ DAD)
Subject: Re: The Perils of Caller-ID -- A Question
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 22:29:54 GMT
Organization: Mentor Graphics Corporation


Jim DePorter ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Portland OR started caller-ID yesterday with Bell(?). My question is
> that I live under GTE lines. GTE doesn't start caller-ID until June.
> If I call Portland now will they see my number? Does *67 work even if
> caller-ID isn't invoked yet.

>   I really see no problem with this, but a lot of people are going to
> think that because they're in GTE land they have no concerns until
> June. I don't think this is true.

Supposedly that is true.  If it isn't we need to complain loudly to
the Oregon PUC, so make noise if you detect any problems.  The story
is that until an area has CLASS services installed, it will not
transmit CID data.

The telephone companies are therefore not warning people about
the hazards of transmitting their number until CNID is actually
deployed on their switch.

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Page @ DAD)
Subject: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID!
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 23:01:03 GMT
Organization: Mentor Graphics Corporation


California allows Last Call return but not Caller ID?  Amazing.
Oregon made the opposite decision!  And for good reasons.

Last call return (or Auto-callback) is NOT offered in Oregon, even
though Caller ID is being offered!

Reason is, the telco's can't make it work right yet.  Right now it
returns calls to BLOCKED numbers, and potentially puts those numbers
on the recipients phone statement.

There is plenty of evidence from the domestic violence community that
this costs lives. Sheltered women frequently need to call their homes
from an undisclosed location, which is often an inexpensive and
insecure motel.  If the batterer can return the BLOCKED call, the
motel will answer with the business name, and the woman's location and
vulnerability is revealed.  There are lots of other likely scenarios.

What it all boils down to is, if blocking is going to be offered, it
better work.

Last call return will be offered in Oregon as soon as the telcos fix
the bugs that cause it to ignore blocking.  This is expected to happen
in a year.


[Moderator's Note: Every telco seems to have their own philosophy on
this. IBT offers both Caller-ID and Auto-callback, or Return Last
Call. They could care less that numbers otherwise blocked on the ID
display are still returnable via *69.   PAT]

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

From: bdsgate![e-mail] (Martin Harriss)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 14:23:55 GMT
Organization: Beechwood Data Systems


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

> Up the road from Bell Labs, Holmdel, is an American Water Company
> pumping station that was built to meet the Holmdel zoning codes.

> It looks like a residential home!

This reminds me of a telephone exchange in England: Kingswood is a
rather well-to-do area south west of London, just beyond the limits of
the London directory area.  It is (was?) served by a rather ordinary
four-digit step by step switch called Mogador.  (I have no idea why
they chose that name -- Mogador is a nearby village not even served by
that switch; I assume it was chosen because the digits 604 were
otherwise unused by the nearby London director area, and back when I
knew it just about all the fringe area exchanges were dialable with seven
digits.)

Anyway, this switch was installed in a house.  Not a structure built
to look like a house, but an actual house bought for the purpose of
installing the switch.  It has a nice front lawn and fence and a gate;
if you look beyond through the bay windows you can see the equipment
racks complete with the blinking lights.

I heard two stories of why this came to be.  On was that there was
some kind of foul-up in the design of the building, making it too
small to house the equipment.  With a planned cut over date, the PO
had no option but to purchase an existing building, to wit a house.

The other story is that the snotty residents of Kingswood would have
no other style of building in their area.  (Bear in mind that when the
switch was installed, the phone administration was part of the
Government and had considerable leeway in what they could get away
with, vis a vis the local town planners.)

Well, I don't know what the real story is.  Probably neither of the
above.

Miscellaneous facts:

The STD code for Mogador was 0737 83 (Redhill 83.)  By now it's
probably an electronic switch of some kind with 6-digit numbers,
linked numbering with Redhill.

The BBC's research establishment is in Kingswood.  They are (were?)
served out of this switch.  Probably quite a few special circuits for
them go through Mogador.


Martin Harriss    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Joe Bergstein)
Date: Sun, 23 May 1993 00:52:51 -0500
Subject: Sex Telemarketing


>> [Moderator's Note: Are you POSITIVE those calls were not originated by
>> someone playing pranks on the people? I cannot think of a bigger waste
>> of a sex-IP's time than to dial at random as you suggest.

>  Well Pat, I haven't been so fortunate as to receive one of
> these calls myself, but I have seen several news reports on the
> various Baltimore Area television stations.  In each news report
> several people were interviewed, each claiming to have received
> the same type of call.  While it is possible that the calls are a
> prank, it would not surprise me at all if they were indeed placed by
> the IP. After all, who would have thought that calls to an 800 number
> could be billed back as collect calls @ $35.00 per minute ...

Pat,

Isn't it possible that some sex telemarketer is using a predictive
dialing system to dial those calls, and only when they get an answer
followed by a positive response (user presses '1') then the call gets
switch to the "lady with the lusty voice?"  I know this would be quite
expensive and far fetched, but isn't it possible?  Maybe as you say
this story is from the urban "truth is stranger than fiction"
department!


[Moderator's Note: Certainly it is possible. But unlike selling life
insurance, home improvements or newspaper subscriptions over the phone
using the same kind of dialing, sex is the one topic which would cause
so much hell-raising by the citizenry that it hardly seems worth the
risks involved. I think that way, but I am not a sex telemarketer. Do
any of you recall thirty years ago when the US Postal Service was
ruled against by the Supreme Court in a case involving sending
pornography through the mail?  The USPO had to devise that special
form for people to sign (the Prohibitory) so the post office could
return mail to the sender and prohibit further mailing by the porn
company to the person who signed the form. Mailers of porn had to
stick it in a second envelope inside the first envelope with a warning
on the second envelope about 'adult material'. There was *such* a
stink between the post office, the government, the porn outfits and the
citizens that I would not think any purveyor of sex by remote service
(be it mail order or phone stuff) would dare to make unsolicited
mailings (or phone calls). Now, I have heard that some sex
telemarketers are going back and working old numbers a few times. If a
person used the service, their number is in the sex-IP's database; a
'followup call' (would you like some more like last time? ... :) ..)
at a later date might be appropriate except that even then, the guy's
wife might answer the phone or the kids, etc. And people change their
numbers.  Imagine getting a new number that had been heavily used for
sex calls by its previous owner!  Overall, I still can't see how they
would do it. Even manually would be a hassle, but automated cold calls
for sex?  No way ... but still, readers insist it is happening.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.
Date: Sat, 22 May 93 15:00:40 PDT


Your article is good as far as it goes, but leaves out some things.

1.  If you hold up the plugs at BOTH ends of a standard modular cable,
in the same orientation, you will find that the correspondence between
wire colors and plug pins is reversed; that is, if red is pin three on
one plug, it will be pin four on the other.

This is not a wiring mistake.  All modular cables intended for phone
use are "reversed" in this way.  Likewise, any gadget that plugs into
the line between telephone and wall should be "reversed" if-and-only-if
its two connectors are the same gender.

2.  Because of the above, you can't assume that red is negative
compared to green.  Get out your voltmeter.  (Or try plugging in an
old Ma Bell-era touch tone phone.  If it won't dial, you need to
reverse the polarity at its wall jack.)

3.  GTE phone systems use three wires instead of two: you still talk
on red and green, but you ring on red and yellow.  This may be a
holdover from the days of party lines.  Some party-line systems use up
to four wires, with each customer's phones ringing on a different
pair.  If you have party-line or non-RBOC service, you may have one of
these non-standard setups, which make it a real headache to
"piggyback" the lines if it can be done at all.  If in doubt, get out
your voltmeter.

4.  Many older phones have yellow and green connected in the phone,
usually to deal with the systems described in 3.  Therefore if you're
going to "piggyback" the lines, be sure to go into each wall jack and
connect only the proper two wires.  Tape the others.  (Of course, a
few phones and answering machines can handle two lines on one jack.
In that case, be sure the polarity of each line at that jack is what
that machine's manual specifies.)

5.  In older houses it is common to find only two or three wires in
most of the cables in the walls.  More than four wires is very rare.
So you may need to string some new cables.


John David Galt   Freedom of Lifestyle is an inalienable human right.

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 16:35:39 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL


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

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

>>> [Moderator's Note: ... You should note that telco looks at
>>> all the digits dialed before they hand the call anywhere, and if they
>>> have the right to handle the call themselves, (such as local, or
>>> intra-LATA) they will do so, ignoring your 10xxx instructions.

   The LSSGR FSD 20-24-0000 requirements are clear that, while it is
POSSIBLE for a TELCo to "ignore" 10XXX instructions, the typical
treatment for blocking Intra-LATA 10XXX calls is Announcement 230,

    "We're sorry, it is not necessary to dial a long distance company
     access code for the number you have dialed.  Please hang up and
     try your call again."

   A case where 10XXX is ignored (per Bellcore) is 10XXX + 911, but
others are possible with some TELCo effort.

>> They better not!  When I call Dallas from Fort Worth, I dial 10222 and
>> it's covered under my MCI Primetime Texas Plan (.16 a minute).  If I
>> just did a 1+, SWB would keep the call at .20+ a minute.  They have
>> never over-ridden my 10xxx code for a LD call.  The entire area
>> (except for a few islands) is served by SWB.
                 ^^^ ^^^^^^^
                ???????????

   Islands in Northern Texas?  Actually, I believe SWB has only about
50% of the Dallas LATA territory (but most of the population).  The
DFW area is almost an island of SWB surrounded by GTE and others.
Does GTE also allow 10XXX Intra-LATA calling in their areas in the
LATA?

   Dallas is one of those places where I think SWB has a "Railroad
Commission" (whatever their PUC is) directive to allow intra-LATA IXC
calls in LATAs where the Intra-LATA TOLL rates do not subsidize
Residential phone rates.  (Such subsidies are the usual reason that
PUCs mention for prohibiting IXC intra-LATA calls; in effect, the PUC
is taxing intra-LATA Toll users via the TELCo to keep local monthly
rates lower.)

>> [Moderator's Note: Well I know IBT keeps whatever they can if it is
>> within their LATA, at least where 10xxx is concerned. They also
>> examine the tables before handing off stuff out of LATA. If *their*
>> copy of the tables is screwed up, they intercept and reject the call
>> without handing it to the carrier to see what the carrier would do
>> with it...]

   IXCs would prefer that IBT not pass them calls that can't be
completed because of unassigned NPA-NXX codes.  (TELCo uses the term
VACANT CODE.)  Thus the intercept.  Of course, when the tables are
wrong, it screws things up, just as it did before divestiture: after
all, the old Long Lines didn't want such calls either.  If the
intercept identifies a switch, such as ( "... Oh Four Tee"), the TELCo
can use this to help localize the problem.

   Note that Bellcore specifies the SAME announcement for Vacant Code
detected in the originating EO switch,

   "We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed.  Please check
    the number and dial again."

as they specify for incoming calls delivered to the wrong POP by an
IXC.  If use of another IXC avoids the problem, it's usually a problem
between the IXC and the TELCo in the terminating LATA.  Otherwise,
it's usually in the originating EO.

  Occasionally the EO will permit a new Code through to the IXC, where
the IXC hasn't updated their routing tables -- their announcements may
be different.  And of course the EO may permit a Vacant Code through
to the IXC, forcing the IXC to block the call.  Bellcore doesn't allow
for any TELCo error here, since the SIT (tri-tones) for Vacant Code
intercept is only defined for the TELCo.

> Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer
> enters a carrier access code.  Some states don't. ...

> Switches sold to LECs have to have an administrable office parameter
> that indicates which of the above cases is true -- whether intraLATA
> calls dialed with 10XXX prepended should be routed to the selected
> carrier or sent to an intercept.

> Disclaimer: All I know about routing I learned through osmosis.

    Better stick that LSSGR under the pillow a tad longer, David.  FSD
20-24-0000 states that the parameter for intra-LATA traffic to an IXC
must be selectable on a per-IXC basis (not per-office).  Whether you
interpret "per-IXC" as "per carrier" or "per-XXX code" (some IXCs have
multiple XXX codes), it's still not office-wide.  And it's only BOC
and GTE switches that must do this -- it's optional for other TELCos.


Al Varney - just my opinion

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Date: 23 May 1993 00:23:30 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> Switches sold to LECs have to have an administrable office parameter
> that indicates which of the above cases is true -- whether intraLATA
> calls dialed with 10XXX prepended should be routed to the selected
> carrier or sent to an intercept.

This implies an important point that contradicts PAT's report -- if
your area does not support intra-LATA IXC traffic, then prepending a
10XXX code will *not* be ignored, but will route the call to an
intercept, telling you that "an access code is not necessary for this
call."  In my experience (with US West and Pacific Bell), in no event
will specifying an IXC's 10XXX code cause the call to be handled by
the LEC -- it will either complete over IXC facilities or route to an
intercept.  Does Illinois Bell truly ignore the 10XXX for intra-LATA
calls and complete the call itself, or does it route to an intercept
like many other places?


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Test results done now:

Begin all calls with 10-anything, plus:

7-D  (in other words, a call within 312) ... call completes via IBT.
     instantly, immediatly. IBT intercept if called number is invalid.

1-312-anything ... IBT's recording says 'do not dial 1 on calls within
     area code'. Same recording as when not using 10-anything.

1-708-anything ... call completes via IBT; IBT recordings, etc.
An interesting exception: 1-708-555-1212 (aka '411') completes.
                   10288 [phone] returns fast busy/reorder.
             10222/10333 [phone] go through immediatly to 411.

1-815 some things ... call completes via IBT; IBT recordings, etc
      other things are handed to AT&T or various 10xxx carriers.

Substitute '0' for 10xxx and get the same results. Whether I am
thanked by AT&T or thanked by IBT depends on if it is 312/708 or
elsewhere.

Substitute 00, wait for operator and ask for assistance in dialing to
312/708 point. (Or, make Easy Reach 700 forward from home number to
number within 312/708):  call goes through and when bill comes it is
on the AT&T portion, but listed by itself with a notation, 'call
handled by AT&T as agent for Illinois Bell'.  (I have previously had
this notation on my bill as a result of Easy Reach calls.)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Sun, 23 May 93 05:19:54 GMT


Secondary service?  Does this mean that one can have two different
long distance carriers on their line?

I told a friend of mine about AT&T's Easy Reach service.  He is an MCI
customer and was informed that he must have AT&T service in order to
sign up for Easy Reach.  He currently uses an MCI personal 800 number.
The 0-700 number would seem to be less expensive than the personal 800
from MCI.  Certainly per minute costs are cheaper, .15/min compared to
.20/min.  Of course that's night rates; I don't know if the 800 rates
are different during the day.

Can he keep his MCI service and still get AT&T service secondarily in
order to sign up for Easy Reach services?  He does not wish to switch
from MCI as he is happy with their service.


Mike


[Moderator's Note: AT&T says the way in which their billing is done by
the local Bells is very dependent on the software the local Bell is
using, and that Easy Reach requires a number somewhere which directly
relates to AT&T 1+ service. Tell your friend to sign up for AT&T 1+
in order to get the 700 number if that is his pleasure, and make MCI
his secondary carrier -- or does MCI claim they need to be primary in
order to provide the 800 service?  The 800 numbers I offer (as well as
the 1+ service I offer) are both billed entirely independent of telco.
(Yes, I offer 1+ also, 15-18 cents per minute daytime rates.)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: AT&T Cell Phones
Date: 23 May 1993 00:09:50 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Chris Ambler -- Phish) writes:

> I'm looking into getting an AT&T cell phone. Up until now, I was sold
> on the 3730, but was just told that the 3760 was out, and was made a
> quote at $699. Does anyone know about these phones? Any information
> would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The 3730 is identical to the Oki 900, except for the label.  They are
made by Oki under contract with AT&T.  I have an Oki 900, and cannot
say enough good things about it.  It has all the bells and whistles,
great sound quality, etc.  The only negative comment I can offer is
that it does not have a retractable antenna - it screws on.  You get
both a stubby and a regular one, but you can't switch without dropping
the call.  Compare this with many of the newer handhelds, where the
antenna is retracted while in standby, and you extend it to take a
call.  The Oki 900/AT&T 3730 has 5 NAM capability, 200 number autodial
with alphanumeric tags and searching, automatic calling card dialing
if you need it when roaming, toll call restriction, and so on.  Also,
it has a pager mode, where it will answer calls automatically and take
display pager messages, which can later be called up on the screen.  I
don't know what they've done with teh 3760, though...


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven H. Lichter)
Subject: Re: AT&T Cell Phones
Date: 23 May 1993 04:17:56 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


I know that they are made by OKI and both of the OKI phones I have had
have worked with no problems. AT&T buys the basic phone and puts them
in another case, but that seems to be the only difference.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #347
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #348

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 23 May 93 03:36:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 348

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Choosing Among Carriers (William D. Bauserman)
    Re: Choosing Among Carriers (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles (Juergen Ziegler)
    Re: Telecom History (Jack Winslade)
    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Cliff Sharp)
    Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Hamish Moffatt)
    Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies (Mike Covington via D. Ptasnik)
    Re: Far Rockaway (was Re: Telecom History) (Carl Moore)
    Re: Northern Telecom SL1 ACD Stats (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set (Alex Pournelle)
    Re: Want a Good Phone (Hon Wah Chin)
    Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number? (Dale Farmer)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 22 May 93 09:03:50-0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Choosing Among Carriers


[e-mail](david.g.lewis) writes:

> But I've got to take issue with the "occasional breakdowns" part.
> While strictly speaking it is correct - AT&T has occasional
> breakdowns, as do all carriers - I take issue with the image it
> presents, that AT&T is mostly OK but crashes are a salient
> characteristic.

IMHO, the root of this problem lies with the newspapers.  Our local
paper (which will remain nameless -- but is the only paper in
Richmond), has printed front page stories on the major AT&T outages.
But, when Sprint had a little water problem a while back, the story
NEVER made the paper -- not even a paragraph stuck in the middle of
paper!

This is key, because the average guy/gal knows only what they read in
the paper, so what do they know AT&T breaksdown all the time and
MCI/Sprint have great networks.  As Joe Jackson said, "They wouldn't
print it if it wasn't true." Let's face it, there hasn't been unbiased
reporting since George Seldes retired.

Just my opinion.


Bill Bauserman   [e-mail]  I speak only for myself

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 13:40:00 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Choosing Among Carriers
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)


I'm sorry if I offended.  I couldn't bear to say it never breaks down,
and the adjective I could think of that describes my perception was
occasional.  Perhaps I could have said "most reliable of the three and
occasional outages due to sensational disasters" but the truth is that
AT&T suffers only occasional outages, and I stand by my use of the
word occasional.

I still think it's yards above the competition, but I'm glad that the
competition is there to (a) keep AT&T focused on quality and service
and (b) to place calls on when AT&T isn't available (occasionally.)


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: [phone] | [e-mail]
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: [phone] | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  [phone] | Ham Radio: KM6CG

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 22:23:53 +0200
Subject: Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Lars
Poulsen) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes
> a somewhat inflammatory article about how the introduction of itemized
> billing and "Call Waiting" will be delayed for some German telephone
> customers:

>> According to preliminary and unofficial information from various
>> TELEKOM sources one of the system suppliers (SIEMENS or ALCATEL SEL)
>> will probably not meet the set schedules to modify their switches to
>> offer these features.  The sources also state that ALCATEL SEL is the
>> probable candidate for this mess. SIEMENS as a supplier of several US
>> telcos, who offer numerous custom calling features, will probably have
>> no problems to offer these features in Germany since they have
>> comprehensive experience from the US markets.  But as I said, all
>> information is NOT offical nor is it comfirmed so far.

>> The German TELEKOM has installed digital switches since 1985, so the
>> troubled system supplier should have plenty of time to implement these
>> features in their switches. But as time passed by, they were either
>> not capable or they have just forgotten to implement these features.
>> Both reasons are highly embarrasing for the supplier in question and
>> will not show their sophistication in this fast changing market.

> I have no doubt that Alcatel has lots of experience in producing
> feature-rich switches. Remember that Alcatel is the new name for ITT.
> Alcatel also within the last year has acquired the Switching Systems
> Division of Rockwell International (in Richardson, TX).

> To those who would argue that Alcatel is composed of many different
> companies that have been brought together over the few years, I would
> say that most of Siemens' US presence is through their ownership of
> ROLM, which still maintains a fairly separate identity.

> I would suggest that the real reason for a situation such as what you
> describe, would be the regulatory environment. I strongly suspect that
> in years past, the Bundespost insisted that switching systems for sale
> in Germany must be implemented in Germany from the ground up, and that
> the features that were so desirable in the US would never be allowed
> in Germany. The change of rules may well have been the result of
> Siemens' lobbying the new administration, and I would not be surprised
> if the rules allowing the new features are written in such a way that
> generic US switching systems still are not allowable; - in effect
> rigging the deal such that ONLY Siemens equipment is allowed.

> There is a word for this: It's called "non-tariff trade barriers".  I
> don't personally think it is completely immoral in all cases. I
> sympathize with the desire of the German government and its
> "independent public service corporations" to protect German jobs. But
> the comments blasting Alcatel for their impaired ability to compete
> under the circumstances.

Lars,

I agree with you that procurement in the telecommunications industry
is mainly based on national industry policy. So most national
(government operated) telephone companies had to purchase their
switching gear from national suppliers.  This was true for Germany. So
TELEKOM (then Deutsche Bundespost) held a system contest in the
beginning 1980s to decide which systems will be used for the future
system deployment. Two GERMAN system suppliers (SIEMENS, Munich and
SEL, Stuttgart) applied for access to this billion $$ market. And both
companies were certified that their switching gear will be deployed by
TELEKOM.

Now SEL is part of ALCATEL. And nothing has changed about this fact.
The SEL branch of ALCATEL is still considered as a German company for
TELEKOM. And of course since technical specs have not changed, ALCATEL
SEL is still a certified system supplier for TELEKOM.

The quota of the annual deployment of ALCATEL SEL "S12" switching gear
versus SIEMENS "EWSD" gear is based on an annual bidding process.
There are no preferences set by TELEKOM in favour of SIEMENS. The
company with the best price will make the best deals.

Now after eight years of digital switch deployment TELEKOM wants to
offer custom calling features. So both system suppliers were informed
about this plan.  As a result SIEMENS will be able to offer these
features in time. Apparently ALCATEL SEL will probably not meet the
schedule. No it should be questioned why SIEMENS can offer these
features and ALCATEL SEL can not?

Certainly TELEKOM has absolutely no interest to delay the offering of
these features, because of the additional revenue it can make on these
features. In fact the more customers will be able to use these
features the more revenue TELEKOM will make. So TELEKOM wants these
features from BOTH suppliers. And TELEKOM will definitely not require
that the neccessary system software changes are made by an all German
company, so that there may be a US made software elsewhere and a
German made software for Germany. TELEKOM wants the features, it
really does not care if the software is made by Germans or any other
nationality. Since there is definitely more experience in this type of
software in the USA, I heard that the billing software for ISDN lines
is made by a US company. Unfortunatley I do not know the name of that
company.

It may look like that TELEKOM "suddenly" and "surprisingly" has
decided to offer these features. So that there is just not enough time
for ALCATEL SEL to provide these features, while SIEMENS may have
learned earlier that these features will be offered this year. But I
think the decision of TELEKOM to offer these features this year or at
most next year was obviuos. TELEKOM is a government operated company.
It has to offer the same services to ALL of its customers. As a result
of this, it is obvious that TELEKOM had to wait several years to
generate a "critical mass" of availability of digital switches. If
TELEKOM had started to offer these features right away in 1985,
millions of customers had to wait five and even more years to get
these features. And you should know that these millions would have
created a lot of trouble for TELEKOM, since they would have felt
disadvantaged from TELEKOM.

According to TELEKOM by the end of 1993 around 40% will be able to get
these features. All customers can get these feature by the end of
1995. Of course not all customers will then be connected to a digital
switch, but digital switched phone lines will then be available to all
customers. A period of two years is "reasonable" to wait to get these
features.

ALCATEL SEL knows how many phone lines are hooked up to a digital
switch. So they should have made any preparations for these new
features, even if TELEKOM has not officially asked for these features.
The "whole" world offers these features, so again it was obvious that
TELEKOM would do the same "in time".

Again, I DO NOT THINK THAT ALCATEL SEL SWITCHES ARE INFERIOR TO
SIEMENS SWIT- CHES, BUT ALCATEL SEL HAS NOT DONE ITS HOME WORK! Their
switches are capable to offer these features, but these features are
not implemented so far! And that is really THEIR problem!

ALL INFORMATION IS UNOFFICIAL AND UNCONFIRMED!!!!


Juergen Ziegler.........  Internet: [e-mail]
Obervogt-Haefelinstr. 48
W7580 Buehl (Baden).....  Secondary Mail address:........
Germany.[PLZ NEU:77815].  [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 23 May 93 00:15:56 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Telecom History
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


I can remember in the late 60's that NYT assigned some REALLY strange
letter combinations for prefixes.  The one that still sticks in my
mind was that for WABC which was printed at the time as LT1-7777 and
spoken as 'Ell Tee One ...'.  I vaguely remember an XX prefix.

When NYC got the intercept number announcers, for a while they would
actually say 'The numberrrr you have reaaached {scratch-pop} Pee Ell
three oh oh nine nine {click!} is not in serrrrrvice ...'

I do know, however, that the practice of reciting two letters and one
number for the prefix was common.  Probably the most famous is
BUtterfield-8.  ;-)

The one thing that named prefixes almost always did was that they
indicated the approximate geographic area.  WHitehall, BOwling green,
etc.  were lower Manhattan.  LOrraine was Upper West Side, CIrcle,
COlumbus, PLaza were midtown.  Wow, dial 667 for NOStalgia !!  I must
be getting OLD, but 944, 269, 569, 247, 265, and 753 will never have
the 'class' that the named prefixes had, let alone stuff like 206 and
590.  ;-)


Good day.   JSW     (1:285/666.0)

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

Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster
Date: Sun, 23 May 93 0:43:15 CDT
From: Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]>


> You are correct that it was a month before local service was restored
> to normal, however by Friday they actually had the 1A ESS switching
> calls again (even as corroded as its networks were.)

   From listening to the ham radio operators who had taken over
emergency services for places like Hinsdale Hospital (by special
dispensation of the local FCC Chief Engineer), it was my impression
that this was done by the use of a mobile unit/truck outside the
building.  I may be wrong, but my (sometimes faulty) memory tells me
that "inside" phone service was not restored until two to three weeks
after the disaster.  The "trucks" also were mentioned on the local
news services as being made available to people who were otherwise
unable to access "normal" telephone service, and very long lines of
people were reported.


Cliff Sharp   [e-mail]   OR  [e-mail]
 WA9PDM                 Use whichever one works

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

Date: 22 May 1993 16:40:46 +1000
From: [e-mail] (Hamish Moffatt)
Subject: Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know?
Organization: Cloud Nine BBS, Melbourne, Australia.


TELECOM Moderator noted in response to [e-mail]
(Reinhard Hamid):

> Europe) who want Americans to be able to call them. Likewise although
> (I think) most European telco variations on 800 -- as in your case it
> is '0130'; in the UK I think it is '0800' -- are intended to serve

In Australia it is 008. (ie 008 xxx xxx.)

> their own countries domestically, some wind up ringing over here in
> the States for businesses who want that service. I would not rely on

Also here in Australia, we have 0014-800-xxx-xxx numbers. In the case
of 0014-800-12a-xxx (where a is 4, 5, 6 or 7), some of these numbers
connect to companies in the US, some in other countries such as New
Zealand, and some even the UK as I recall. Interesting.


Hamish Moffatt,                                 APANA Map co-ordinator
[e-mail]        For APANA info mail [e-mail]
[e-mail]                  Cloud Nine BBS: [phone]
Melbourne, Australia             3:635/552@fidonet, 58:4100/43@intlnet

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 08:14:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dave Ptasnik <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies


I am forwarding this for Michael, as his news feed is down.


Dave

         ---------- Forwarded message ----------
  Date: Fri, 21 May 1993 00:38:51 -0400
  From: Michael Covington <[e-mail]>
  To: [e-mail]
  Subject: Re: Phone Harrasment From Credit Companies


Exactly.  If you were a _bad_ customer, _you_ wouldn't have called
_them_!

My mother used to manage a collection agency.  She pointed out a
widespread problem: people get into the collection business because
they want to act vindictive and be "enforcers."  But that's not how
you make money in collections.  You make money by dealing with the
bills that never got delivered, the bills with errors in them, the
people of good will who have had unexpected adversities, etc.

In short, the goal of collections is to _bring in money_, not dispense
wrath.

My mother took a money-losing business and made it turn a large profit
by this simple bit of common sense.

(I would post this on the net, but our newsfeed is temporarily down.
You're welcome to post it for me if you'd like.)


Michael A. Covington, Associate Research Scientist
Artificial Intelligence Programs      [e-mail]
The University of Georgia              phone [phone]
Athens, Georgia 30602-7415 U.S.A.     amateur radio N4TMI


[Moderator's Note: How very, very true this is! In all the years I
spent working with the attornies, the instructions we gave to the
phone collectors always were to be curteous; never curse or speak in a
threatening way; never belittle the person. Be firm? Yes, very much
so. Make it plain early on that the situation was critical enough that
the creditor had consulted us; that suit was a last resort we would
recommend if/when all else failed; and that we would be calling on a
regular basis as needed.  There was very little margin given; our
stance was 'pay or get sued'. Those were the choices, but I personally
oversaw many accounts with very creative payment plans.

My case load came direct from the chairman of the firm; the smallest
files on my desk were $10,000.00; the largest were over $300,000.00. I
handled all the international accounts, the collections against large
corporations and government agencies, etc. Once I had two AT&T files
on my desk at the same time: in one, AT&T was our client, suing a
company in Germany for $89,000 which had signed a personal guarentee
for an American subsidiary. The other one was a claim against AT&T
for $112,000 by another client who delivered merchandise to AT&T they
had not paid for. All cases in the firm where 'debtor is also a
client' were handled by me. In both of the above it was a paperwork
problem.

It does no good to yell, scream and curse when you are trying to
collect. Like you point out, the money is made by working out record
keeping errors, doing the customer service the client should have been
doing all along, listening to tales of woe -- up to a point -- and
working along with people.  Our first concern was *make money for this
firm*, and you do not make money when you sue people. You make money
when they pay voluntarily. I collected a $40,000 claim against the US
Army Post Exchange Service in Germany on behalf of our client, a
well-known, prominent producer of photographic supplies on the east
coast. The PX bureaucracy is unbelievable. Even if the debtor is only
some guy who owes two hundred dollars to a local merchant he still
should get the same courtesy -- and firmness. Our firm has been around
for seventy years. That kind of longevity does not come from screaming
and cursing at debtors. It comes from convincing them it is in their
best interest to pay.  PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 12:32:23 EDT
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Far Rockaway (was Re: Telecom History)


Someone wrote of 212-FA4, supposedly in Far Rockaway (which has since
moved to area 718).

The 1976 list, which has the zone numbers as well, has FA4 (324) in
zone 5.  This would be in the northern Bronx, next door to Westchester.

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: Northern Telecom SL1 ACD Stats
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 19:38:20 GMT


[e-mail] (Judy Jankowski) writes:

> Is anyone downloading their ACD stats to a PC and not to a continuous
> feed printer?  Any suggestions welcome.

You can check with SwitchView/Linton Technologies.  They were
threatening to do a complete ACD reporting module for SwitchView when
I had anything to do with the company--back before they decided to
keep all their marbles to themselves and not share with local reps  :-(.

(S/V runs under SCO UNIX/XENIX and does complete switch and telemanagement
features -- it's a very good product, we just can't sell it anymore.)


Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
 ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

From: [e-mail] (Alex Pournelle)
Subject: Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 19:41:39 GMT


 ..."additional bonus of optional 16550 UART with FIFO..."

About bleedin' time.  It's not rocket science, but having just a teeny
few characters worth of buffering under Windows will sure as heck help
on total throughput!


Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker
Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others
 ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: [phone]
fax: [phone]  bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3

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

Date: Sat, 22 May 93 20:13:33 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Hon Wah Chin)
Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I went down to a nearby ATT Phone store and asked for a pair of
reconditioned WE 2500 instruments.  (They actually seemed like they
really wanted to keep them for renting out and not sell them.  The
phones were marked "not for sale".)  I used one for a while and then
started hearing scratchy noises from it.  This noise was not heard on
the other end.  Swapping to the other instrument (bought at the same
time) got rid of the noise (swapping handsets and their cables did
not).

Guessing that a screw on a spade lug might be loose I opened up the
faulty one and found that the screws holding on the cover are no
longer captive.  (The plastic cover has a molded in date later than
the dates marked on the chassis, and no metal insert for screws.)  I
didn't find any simple failure to account for the noise.  However, I
found a flat, dirty pink plastic box which when opened up had some
discrete components and what looked like the inside of a fuse
(retractable pen spring) on a little PC board.

Any idea what the circuit in the little box might be, what other
corners were cut in the reconditioning, and any troubleshooting tips?


Hon Wah Chin

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

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: (408) 971 Exchange Trouble Shooting Number?
Date: 23 May 1993 04:01:00 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Brian T. Vita ([e-mail]) wrote:

> What is the phone number that I can call from the (408) 971 exchange
> that will answer and automatically reply with the number of the line
> from which I'm calling?

  Or find a good friend who has a caller ID box on their phone ...


Dale

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #348
******************************










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Date: Sun, 23 May 1993 13:25:51 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #349

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 23 May 93 13:21:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 349

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles (Marc Unangst)
    Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles (Ari Wuolle)
    Re: Want a Good Phone (Terry Kennedy)
    Re: Message Length on Display Pagers (Paul St. Amand)
    Re: Message Length on Display Pagers (Steven Warner)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Michael Schuster)
    Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That (David E.A. Wilson)
    Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone? (Dale Farmer)
    Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Jonathan Bradshaw)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Richard Cox)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Les Reeves)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Les Reeves)
    Re: Call-Forwarding vs. Hunting (Lauren Weinstein)
    Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (Georg Schwarz)
    E1 Standard Introduction Wanted (Donghui Xie)
    Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (Steven H. Lichter)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles
Date: 23 May 1993 09:24:58 -0400
Organization: The Programmers' Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


[e-mail] writes:

> TELEKOM (then Deutsche Bundespost) held a system contest in the
> beginning 1980s to decide which systems will be used for the future
> system deployment. [...]

Don't you think that ten years is a fairly long time to go without
requalifying your vendors, or having other vendors bid?  The market
has changed quite a bit in the past decade.

> TELEKOM is a government operated company.
> It has to offer the same services to ALL of its customers.

What makes you think that the second sentence follows from the first?
Certainly, this has never been true in the U.S., and certainly isn't
now.  Feature availability from RBOCs is very sensitive to what kind
of switch your exchange is on; some people have nothing more than
regular POTS service without any extras available, while other people
have ISDN and fancy CLASS features available.  It all depends on
whether you're being served by a crossbar or a 5ESS, or something in
between.

> And you should know that these millions would have created a lot of
> trouble for TELEKOM, since they would have felt disadvantaged from
> TELEKOM.

They would?  Why couldn't TELEKOM have just said, "Sorry, those
features are not yet available on your exchange due to the
incapability of the switching hardware to provide them.  Your switch
is scheduled to be replaced in 19xx, at which point these features
will become available."

If Alcatel SEL couldn't deliver the software that they were
contractually obligated to deliver by the date specified, then TELEKOM
should do whatever the German equivalent of suing for breach of
contract is.  If TELEKOM wasn't smart enough to get the delivery-date
promise in writing, well, that's their fault.  I suppose ripping out
all the Alcatel SEL switches and replacing them with Siemens (or AT&T,
or...) switches would be a bit drastic, but TELEKOM could always just
refuse to buy any more switches from Alcatel SEL.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH       [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ari Wuolle)
Subject: Re: Germany: Custom Calling Features Switch Troubles
Date: 23 May 93 16:23:35 GMT
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland


> schedule. No it should be questioned why SIEMENS can offer these
> features and ALCATEL SEL can not?

Both Nokia DX-200 and Siemens EWSD switches have offered custom
calling features for more than three years now here in Finland.  So
Siemens EWSD has been custom calling feature capable already for some
time -- no wonder how they can start offering these features right
away in Germany.

I even think that EWSD's software for custom calling features is the
same in Finland and in Germany. I read an article about custom calling
features in United Kingdom. They are using exactly the same codes to
activate call transfers and call waiting, answering call waiting and
how to make three-way conversation as in Finland. I think Europe has
some common standards how to implement custom calling features.


Ari Wuolle
Student, not representative of Helsinki University of Technology

S{hk|posti    [e-mail]  Email
Puhelin        + 358 0 509 2073   Telephone
Puhelinvastaaja    + 358 0 593 324       Telephone answering machine
Telekopio    + 358 0 682 1273   Telefax

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

From: Terry Kennedy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone
Date: 23 May 93 05:31:22 EDT
Organization: St. Peter's College, US


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Hon Wah
Chin) writes:

> I went down to a nearby ATT Phone store and asked for a pair of
> reconditioned WE 2500 instruments. [...] I used one for a while and then
> started hearing scratchy noises from it.

> Any idea what the circuit in the little box might be, what other
> corners were cut in the reconditioning, and any troubleshooting tips?

  In the "good old days", phones were meant to last, since any problem
would cause Ma Bell extra expense to come out and fix it (for free, of
course).  You understand this, since you looked for some quality 2500
sets.

  It wasn't uncommon to get a phone in the late 70's and even the
early 80's which used a base, switchhook, and network from the 50's.
Of course, the plastic and cords were changed to accomodate Touch-Tone
dialing, and (later) modular cords. You could easily tell these phones
as the underside was paint- ed black and had a red date code (with an
R for refurbished). You could get a general idea as to the age of the
original unit by looking to see if the feet were round, triangular, or
square, or you could stare at the paint to see if you could make out
the old date. For those of us who really wanted to tempt Ma Bell 8-),
we'd open the top and look at the dates on the ringer and network.

  Anyway, in answer to your questions, sometime just before AT&T
started pushing the garbage 2500-clone phones, they changed to
self-tapping screws for the cover and stopped doing thorough internal
wiring checks on the phones. I've found phones with buzzers, exclusion
keys, polarity guards, and/or RF filters in them, fresh out of "Phone
Center" boxes. Your phone probably has a polarity guard or an RF
filter in the pink pod.

  You might be able to locate a copy of the "Station Service Manual"
which has wiring diagrams and service tips for this series of phones.
You can probably even buy the appropriate section from AT&T. Of
course, the avail- ability of quality parts is limited to what you can
cannibalize from other "classic" Bell phones.

  I could go on for ages, like the replacement digital dial (that was
developed but not deployed) to replace the 25Y/35Y dual-toroid
touch-tone dial.  It lost out to the garbage dial they use now, which
has a wonderful IC which is more accurate that either the dual-toroid
dial or the digital dial, but is coupled to a *horrible* keypad which
is mushy and has no travel.


Terry Kennedy        Operations Manager, Academic Computing
[e-mail]    St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
[e-mail]    [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Old phones often lasted 30-40 years without
replacement.  As late as the 1960's there were still lots of
'candlestick' models in service from the early years of this century.
Western Electric products did NOT break down or quit working. Those
phones can still be used on the modern network.  PAT

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul St. Amand)
Subject: Re: Message Length on Display Pagers
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Central Connecticut State University, New Britian, CT
Date: Sun, 23 May 1993 11:53:10 GMT


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

> In response to Steve Forrette's question, there is at least one
> display pager out there that is not limited to a 20 character display:

> Motorola Advisor, 160 character limitation, can access by telephone
> and also thru pc's, Windows and the Mac.

The limitation is usually a limit imposed on users by the service
provider.  I think we're at something around 400 characters.  I would
imagine that the protocol from the transmitter to the pager has a
finite limit for the packet length though.


Paul R. St. Amand                    | INTERNET [e-mail]
ITT Hartford, Investment Div.        | DECNET(ctstateu) CCSU::STAMANDP
Central Connecticut State University | (203) 547 - 4030 (Business)
DECUS CVLUG                          |

Disclaimer: These comments are mine and do not reflect the administration
            or policies of Connecticut State University or ITT Hartford.

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

From: Steven Warner <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Message Length on Display Pagers
Organization: RTFM / beachSystems, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Date: Sun, 23 May 1993 05:31:47 GMT


Bonnie J Johnson writes:

> In response to Steve Forrette's question, there is at least one
> display pager out there that is not limited to a 20 character display:

> Motorola Advisor, 160 character limitation, can access by telephone
> and also thru pc's, Windows and the Mac.

Actually the advisor can handle messages up to 2K in length.  Most
limitations on message length are placed by the host paging system.
Acces my telephone/PC, etc also a function of the host system.  A
properly configured paging sysytem can send numeric pages thru modem
ports.

Steve wanted to know if the bravo could handle longer than 20
character message [thru programming...?] I am almost certain that my
old bravo plus could to 24 characters, but I cannot confirm this.


Steve Warner / [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Schuster)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
Date: 22 May 1993 20:52:16 -0400
Organization: Panix Public Access Internet & Unix, NYC


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Jeffrey Jonas) writes:

> At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow
> New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card.  The vending
> machine that dispenses the cards says that the cards cost $5, and are
> worth $5.25.  There's a bargraph showing the value used, and it looks
> like the strip could go to $6.  It's called a:

I commute that way too, and remember when these things went up in the
makeshift waiting area after the Big Fire. During the introduction
they were giving out freebee $1 debit cards.

Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple
interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No
thanks.

> Change card or Coin replacement Card.
> The advertisements say "think of it as a roll of coins".

I think of it as a gimmick.


Mike Schuster   [e-mail] | [e-mail]
[e-mail] | GEnie: MSCHUSTER


[Moderator's Note: All the pre-pay 'debit card' style phone cards wind
up letting the telco (or other issuer) 'hold your money' for some period
of time. The same thing happens when you buy a money order at your bank
or from American Express to send someone: the bank or Amex gets the use
of your money for some period of time until the negotiable instrument
gets redeemed. In the case of Amex money orders, the float is several
million dollars per day that Amex uses interest free. We who sell those
cards prefer to emphasize the other side -- that the cards can be very
convenient for people who may not have the change when they want to make
a call and don't wish to be punished by the surcharge most calling cards
tack on to calls. Different strokes for different folks.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David E A Wilson)
Subject: Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That
Date: 23 May 1993 15:40:23 +1000
Organization: University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.


[e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas) writes:

> An interesting TELECOM RISKS article in PC Week was a fellow telling
> stories of being the victim of wrong numbers.

> B) His fax machine received a confidential price list from someplace.
> The person simply misdialed the number.

This happened to me about a year ago. One of the phones at work kept
getting dialed by a fax machine. After a couple of goes we got wise
and call forwarded that phone number to the fax machine. This fax was
from a bank in Sydney and the error was the area code. Instead of (07)
221 3xxx they dialed (04) 221 3xxx which was interpreted as (042) 21
3xxx. Thus a call destined for Brisbane (QLD) ended up in Wollongong
(NSW). I gave them a call and got them to correct their phone number.
I kept the cover page as a momento.


David Wilson    [phone] voice, [phone] fax
Dept Comp Sci, Uni of Wollongong    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone?
Date: 23 May 1993 04:07:37 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Steven J Tucker ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Steve, if someone was on your line to use it for free calls, you would
> have more than "a few" calls, your would have confrence calls for
> $4000 each.

> And there are much easier ways to listen to your phone calls than to
> sit outside your house with a handset and listen.

> Nobody would waste thier time w/ what your decsribing.

Except possibly some local kid who's parents have forbiddion him/her
phone priviliges for some reason.  And has now found the way around
that ...


Dale Farmer

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

From: [e-mail] (Jonathan Bradshaw)
Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes?
Organization: Purdue University
Date: Sun, 23 May 1993 07:42:05 GMT


[e-mail] (Michael Covington) writes:

>> Actually, the law doesn't seem to make any distinction that would
>> exempt cellphones from such a classification ... anybody have text
>> from it that says differently?

> The law refers to scanning receivers.  A cellphone is a scanning
> _transceiver_.

Well, since my ham rig is a TRANSCEIVER (I can xmit on it) and it
covers 800, by that definition it is legal. I doubt that simply
because a device can transmit it is covered. Nice loophole if so ...


Jonathan Bradshaw | [e-mail] | PGP Key Available On Request

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

Date: Sun, 23 May 93 10:49 GMT0BST-1
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing
Reply-To: [e-mail]


[e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas) said:

>>> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible
>>> 3 1/2" computer disk

>> Ah, but is it in a plain format that can be read as ASCII and imported
>> into spreadsheets?

In the UK, Mercury now offer this facility and it is plain ASCII in
position defined fields. I import clients' bills into FOXPRO 2 and can
check not only whether each call has been billed correctly, but also
recost the entire bill on the basis of all the different tariffs
offered by BT and Mercury, to find out whether a saving might be made
by resetting my least-cost-routing tables to route certain
destinations into a different provider.  It's guesswork if you don't
have this ability because each of the two providers offers billing
options that can't easily be directly compared.

I also get the ability to list numbers that are regularly called and
ask who the number belongs to, and why so many calls are being made.
Finally, I can recost the entire bill on the basis that out-of-area
lines (or FX service if you want the US terminology) were available
and used where it was cheaper to do so.  That way I can see whether it
is worth having those lines installed.


Richard D G Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: [phone]      Fax: [phone]     VoiceMail: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]; PGP2.2 public key available on request

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 23 May 93 15:57:09 GMT
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing


BellSouth is also offering a disk-based billing service, The
"BellSouth Diskette Analyzer Bill" DAB (a service mark of BellSouth).

It costs $35/month and is available to all customers.  I am not sure
but I believe the only one-time charges are the standard service-order
charges.

I have played with the demo diskette, it is pretty cool.  The data
files are in a pseudo-dBase proprietary format, the program itself
presents the bill on screen as an exact copy of the paper bill.

The marketing literature states:

You can also generate:
      *Monthly service reports
      *OC&C reports
      *Summary reports
      *Summary variance reports
      *Call usage reports
      *Bar and pie charts for calls/charges

Unfortunately, this software seems to have virtually no data export
cabability, beyond printing the reports listed above and a standard
call detail.  If you want anything exported in database or spreadsheet
format, it looks like you are on your own.

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 23 May 93 15:57:09 GMT
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?


In Georgia, Southern Bell has been very good about intra-lata
completion by Inter-Exchange Carriers.

In Georgia, a carrier must apply to the state public service
commission for certification to carry intra-lata traffic.

For the carriers listed with the PSC as intra-lata certified, Southern
Bell will deliver ANY call to them which would be handled by the LEC.
The catch is that you MUST dial the carriers 10xxx code to force the
intra-lata call to them, regardless of whether they are your
presubscribed carrier.  This is a bit cumbersome, but here is no
mechanism in place to presubscribe intra-lata traffic to someone other
than the LEC.  I have never seen any of the missing code problems that
you and some others have reported.

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

Date: Sun, 23 May 93 01:02 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Call-Forwarding vs. Hunting


Greetings.  While in some areas a single line call-fowarded may well
be capable of forwarding multiple calls to hunt groups at the
destination end, in other areas there are a variety of restrictions.

In some cases, multiple calls will go through within the same central
office, but not for out of office forwarding.  Many telcos have
specific tariffs regarding this, requiring the payment of additional
fees (essentially equal to an entire line charge!) for each
simultaneous "path" to be available.  Under such systems, you get one
forwarded call per originating line, unless you pay for extra paths.

This also includes RCF (Remote Call Forwarding) situations, where you
pay for a number in an office where you have no phone, and all calls
to that number are always forwarded to some destination, with
appropriate per-call fees.  Not only do you have to pay the cost of
the calls, but you have to pay the multiple charges for each "path" as
described above.


Lauren

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

From: [e-mail] (Georg Schwarz)
Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split
Date: 23 May 1993 09:44:09 GMT
Organization: TUBerlin/ZRZ


In <[e-mail]> David Leibold <[e-mail].
CA> writes:

> While the continued presence of one country code for both the Czech
> Republic and Slovakia is confusing to MCI, there is at least a way to
> find out the republic based on the area code.

I'm just curious: do they still list EAST and WEST Germany?

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

From: [e-mail] (Donghui Xie)
Subject: E1 Standard Introduction Wanted
Organization: CSS, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Sat, 22 May 1993 21:13:11 GMT


Hi, I was just involved in a project which involved some kind of E1
standard, I just wondering where can I get this kind of information,
any papers? books? or some on-site archive stuff?  any comments will
be appreaciated.  Please send mail to the following e-mail address:
[e-mail]

Thanks a lot!

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven H. Lichter)
Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate?
Date: 23 May 1993 04:22:13 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


All of the L/D carriers are trying to get as much business as they
can. I get letters from MCI as well as Sprint trying different things
to get me to switch. But why should I do that when I'm happy as you
are with yours.  I was slammed by a marketer for MCI about a year ago
so I wonder about them sometimes. I know it was not done direct and
now they must send a card out when you switch, but I'm sure there are
ways around that.


Steven H. Lichter    COEI GTECalif

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #349
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #350

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 25 May 93 19:12:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 350

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Used 1200 or 2400 Baud Modem Needed for High School (Richard Budd)
    Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) (Jack Winslade)
    Painful Signals (A. Padgett Peterson)
    Cellular Phone Support (Leroy Donnelly)
    Who Needs Caller-ID? (Leonard P. Levine)
    Caller-ID Mistakes (Paul Robinson)
    Germany: Cordless Phone Frequencies Wanted (Rainer Leberle)
    Another Legion of Doom Announcement (Lord Havoc)
    Effects of Automation (was Individual Responsibility) (Lars Poulsen)
    Selecting a PBX (Wong Chee Heng)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:47:50 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Used 1200 or 2400 Baud Modem Needed for High School
Organization: CSAV UTIA


[Moderator's Note: The authenticity of this posting has been verified.
Mr. Budd was the person who forwarded the letter to us from the
students in Poland a few months ago.  PAT]

Next September, I start teaching and developing a computer center for
a gymnasium in eastern Slovakia.  The school just received three IBM
PS/1's from the government.  It was one of the last schools in the
country to get new computers.  In this case, last was definitely best.

The gymnasium is located in Kral'ovsky Chlmec, a town of about 10,000
people located near the Ukrainian and Hungarian borders.  The students
are very anxious about the chance to communicate with their
counterparts in United States and Germany next year.  For good reason
too, because before 1990, this was a "closed city."  The reason was
that KC lay only six miles from the then Soviet border and the main
railroad line from Kiev and Moscow into Czechoslovakia passed just to
the south.  There is also a strategic hill above the town from whose
summit you can see sub-Carpathian Ukraine, Hungary, and, on a clear
day, Poland.  I have had the opportunity to climb up it and poke
around the abandoned military bunkers located there.

The school's director, English department, and I are currently asking
for a computer account from the Technical University of Kosice.  The
University is located 100 kilometers from the gymnasium.  With the
account, we would have access to electronic mail and the network.  The
school and its students have agreed to pay telephone charges for
dialing the computer account from the gymnasium.

Could any TELECOM Digest readers out there with a 1200 or 2400 baud
Hayes-compatible modem (s)he no longer needs be willing to contribute
it to this gymnasium.  One or two modems would be all the school
wants.  The economic situation in the region is bad, and the school is
not that well financed.  The director and students who would use
e-mail have agreed to pay the telephone charges between Kral'ovsky
Chlmec and Kosice to access the computer account.

The gymnasium plans to participate in two global discussion groups
which a high school in Ohio is organizing.  Members of the discussion
group include secondary schools in the United States, and Germany.
The students want as well to correspond with a high school in New York
State with the intention of organizing an exchange between the two
schools in 1994.  A second-year class also would like to communicate
with one of its members, who next year is attending a Philadelphia
magnet school.  He is the first exchange student going to America the
gymnasium can remember.  Finally, we may have some more young people
reading TELECOM Digest.

The program for next year shapes up to be exciting if over the summer
we put all the equipment together and get everything running.  We
certainly hope the readers of TELECOM Digest can help us out with your
technical knowledge as well as providing the school's computer center
with a modem.

Please contact me at either at <[e-mail]> or at
<[e-mail]> if you can contribute a modem.  You may either
send it to the Prague address or directly to:

Sandor Czehmester
ulica L. Kossutha 63
07 701 Kral. Chlmec
SLOVAKIA


Richard Budd  | USA  139 S. Hamilton St.        [e-mail]
              |      Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
              |--------------------------------------------------------
              | CZ   Kolackova 8/1905           [e-mail]
              |      18 200 Praha 8             [e-mail]
              |--------------------------------------------------------
              | SQ   ul. L. Kossutha 69
              |      07 701 Kral' Chlmec

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 09:26:30 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 14-MAY-93, <siegman> writes:

>   Exactly right.  C'mon, guys, let's work for legislation (State or
> Fed) which simply requires that all telemarketing calls must be
> identified as coming from some designated area code (like 700, 800,
> 900, whatever).  Potential callees who wish to can then easily block
> incoming telemarketing.  Technically feasible, cheap (for callers and
> callees), no First Amendment implications, no nonsensical maintaining
> of "do not call" databases.  It's the way to do the job.

Let's consider (hypothetically) what would happen if the REVERSE of
telemarketer blocking were the norm, meaning that the default would be
that a line could NOT receive telemarketing calls and the subscriber
would have to jump through some kind of hoop to enable reception of
sales calls, such as dialing a star-whatever code or (how I wish ;-)
having to pay $x per month for the SERVICE of having telemarketing
calls enabled.

What percentage of residential subscribers would go out of their way
(even if it was as simple as dialing a code or telling the service rep
to enable it) to voluntarily receive sales calls.

How close to ZERO would this percentage be ??


Good day!       JSW    (1:285/666.0)

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

Date: Mon, 25 May 93 07:56:27 -0400
From: [e-mail] (A. Padgett Peterson)
Subject: Painful Signals


    Something that has been bothering me (literally) for the last
few years in the error message supplied by Southern Bell.

    I am somewhat hard of hearing and wear hearing aids/use a
volume control handset on the telephone both at home and at work. My
type of loss is typical of those who had the misfortune to have
explosives directed at them while in foreign lands and after 20 years
am used to it.

    Most people do not understand that neural loss can best be
described as an amplifier system in which the AGC (automatic gain
control) has failed to a fixed value (in my case, about 60 db down).
It is *not* like stuffing cotton in your ears. As a consequence, loud
noises can be painful since the natural defense is missing.

    Further, volume control handsets, both those I have used from
AT&T and Northern Telecom also seem to lack AGC.

    The problem is the "error messages" that Southern Bell
generates -- "We're sorry, you must first dial a one..." -- before the
message there is a three tone "attention" signal that is sent at high
gain. With the handset adjusted to compensate for my hearing loss this
signal is *painful*. I have complained several times but am sure that
it has been circular-filed since nothing seems to have been done.

    My question is: Is this warning really necessary or if enough
people complain, can it be "toned" down?


Warmly,

Padgett

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 15:40:02 CST
From: [e-mail] (Leroy Donnelly)
Subject: Cellular Phone Support
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


Revised 05-23-93

For those of you who own cellular phones without manuals try these
numbers for support.

ALPINE                           800-421-2284
ANTEL                            516-273-6939
AT&T                             800-232-5179
AUDIOVOX                         800-229-1235
BLAUPUNKT                        708-865-5200
BYTEK                            407-994-3520
CINCINATTI MICROWAVE             800-247-4300
CLARION                          800-366-4567
CMTELECOM                        NONE
CURTIS ELECTRO DEVICES           415-964-3846
DIAMONDTEL (MESA)                708-298-9223
E.F. JOHNSON                     507-835-6387
FUJITSU                          800-424-1500
GATEWAY (KELLY CO)               314-567-8943
GENERAL ELECTRIC                 800-528-7711
GLENAYRE (MITSUBISHI)            708-860-4200
GOLDSTAR                         602-752-2200
HARRIS                           716-244-5830
HITACHI                          213-537-8383
KELLY CO. (OMNI, GATEWAY, STS)   217-357-2308 OR 800-233-6031
LUXCEL                           201-843-6400
MEI                              416-475-8444
MITSUBISHI                       708-860-4200
MGA (DIAMONDTEL)                 708-298-9223
MOTOROLA                         800-331-6456
MURATA                           214-403-3300
NEC                              800-421-2141
NOKIA MOBIRA                     813-536-5553
NOVATEL                          800-231-5100
OKI                              800-554-3112
PANASONIC                        800-526-6610
PHILLIPS                         407-740-6655
PIONEER                          213-835-6177 OR 800-228-7721
RADIO SHACK (USA)                817-870-5600
RADIO SHACK (CANADA)             705-728-6242
SHINTOM                          213-328-7200 OR 800-333-1098
SONY                             201-930-1000 OR 800-578-7669
STS (GATEWAY ALSO SEE KELLY CO)  217-357-2308
SUN MOON STAR                    408-452-7811
TECHNOPHONE                      800-251-1414
UNIDEN                           317-842-1036 OR 800-447-0332


(1:285/666.0)

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

From: [e-mail] (Leonard P Levine)
Subject: Who Needs Caller-ID?
Date: 25 May 1993 16:07:56 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Here in Wisconsin, if you have Call Return you can subsequently get
the number of a person who has called you by the following technique:

They call you.

After a while you use call return.

At the end of the month you can demand an itemized bill.  It will
contain the number of the call you returned, the person who called
you.

This works in spite of unlisted numbers, call blocking and the like.

No question about how to get the home number of your social worker;
call her at the office in the evening, ask to have her call you, she
may call you from home.  Use call return, etc.

People at the State Utilities Commission tell me that this will be
addressed later this year.


Leonard P. Levine              e-mail [e-mail]
Professor, Computer Science       Office [phone]
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Home   [phone]
Milwaukee, WI 53201 U.S.A.        FAX    [phone]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 13:11:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <[e-mail]>
Subject: Caller-ID Mistakes


The following item is forwarded from RISKS.  It's a new
wrinkle to the Caller-ID issue that as yet no one had asked:

  Date: Tue, 4 May 1993 23:12:22 GMT
  From: [e-mail] (John H. Dale)
  Subject: Caller-ID mistakes

The other evening, I received a number from an upset woman.  It
appears that her Caller-ID box told her she had just received a call
from my number.  The only call I had made that evening yielded me a
pizza, and the number did not resemble hers.  I did not ask her to
described the call, because she seemed upset.  But I gather I would
not have wanted to be accused of making it.

Anybody know whether this happens often? Does the Caller-ID report
include an error check?  Are all boxes required to verify the check?

[e-mail]


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]
Oh gee, he forgot to tell us if the pizza was any good!

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

From: [e-mail] (Rainer Leberle)
Subject: Germany: Cordless Phone Frequencies Wanted
Date: 25 May 1993 04:30:20 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri Kansas City


Hi,

Could someone send me the list of frequencies used by cordless phone
in Germany?


Thanks,

Rainer Leberle     [e-mail]
University of Kansas City, MO

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

From: TDC <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 10:32:28 -0400
Subject: Another Legion of Doom Announcement
Organization: The Zoo of Ids


                    Final Anouncement:

                           The
                           LOD
                      Legion of Doom
                         Is Back!

No that has not been a mis-print ... the LOD has returned!  The
world's greatest hacking group has formally been reinstated to bring
back dignity and respect to a scene that has rapidly deteriorated
since its departure.

The LOD is not just another "Group" that goes around with upper/lower
case names, trading in PBX's and VMB's and wouldn't know COSMOS if it
hit them over the head.  It's a sad day indeed when the term hacker is
used to refer to every code and credit card abusing rodent in the
nation.  We intend through our presence and many innovative projects,
not to mention the technical journal to restore the original values of
technical exploration and knowledge that the term hacker was founded
on.

The LOD imbodies the pinnacle of understanding that comes from
relentless exploration of the "system" backwards and forwards.  It is
an organization dedicated to understanding the world's computer and
telephone networks.  Enabling everyone to progress forward in
technology.  The accumulated product of this -- the Technical
Journals, full of information unavailible anywhere except from telco
manuals represents something to valuable to lose.

It is a true tragedy that after the great witch hunt that was
Operation Sun Devil that the former LOD died.  If the powers that be,
think they can shut down real hackers by undertaking unprovoked,
uneeded not to mention unconstitutional draconian acts they are
mistaken. We will not be kept down!

We are a segment of society that enjoys what others label difficult
and technical.  Exploration into the uncharted reaches of technology
is our calling.  Information, learning and understanding is what we
are made of.  As the technology revolution impacts us all, it is the
hackers and not the medieval statutes of the land that will lead us
forward.

This will be the primary of purpose the new, revived LOD - the
assembly and release of a Technical Journal.  The previous four
issues, now several years old BADLY need updating.

The Journal will rely heavily on reader submitted articles and
information, so anything you wish to contribute would be GREATLY
appreciated.  Acceptable submitions would include ORIGINAL "how-to-
guides" on various systems, security discussions, technical
specifications and doccumentation.  Computer and telephone related
subjects are not the only ones acceptable.  If you remember the former
journals had articles concerning interrogation, physical security
among others.

The next LOD Technical Journal will comprise almost entirely of
freelance or reader submitted articles. So without YOUR contributions
it can not proceed!  Solid progress is being made in the next
Technical Journal by both freelancers and group members.  But bigger
is better, as you can never have too much information or instruction.
SEND UP ALL ORIGINAL ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION!!!

If you wish to hold the wonderful honour of being an LOD Member (Won't
this look good on the resume), you may apply by contacting us. The
qualifications should need no elaboration.

Regardless of the unbased claims made by others, the LOD is as strong
and capable as it ever was.  Legendary groups like the LOD are not
born this way.  They take time to form, and restarting almost from
scratch almost three years later, time is obviously needed.  We say to
all the skeptics, hang on to your premature judgements until we're on
our feet and judge by actions not opinions.

To set the record straight once and for all, and to convince the
skeptics that doubt the validity of all this, the Legion of Doom >IS<
BACK. Next month, a full-fledged Technical Journal will be widely
released, and you're doubts and questions will be once and for all
answered with uncontestable fact.

In addition to needing articles for the upcoming Journals, some sites
on the net to aid in distribution would also be welcomed.  Someone
willing to donate the resources necessary to operate a subscription
type mailing list service is also needed.  Send all offers and
articles to our email account or P.O. Box.

Reach us at:

[e-mail]

Or by blindingly quick, faster than light mail at:

LOD
P.O. Box 104
4700 Keele St.
North York, ON
M3J-1P3

Closing date for article submittions to the LOD Technical Journal
Number 5 is: Monday 14 June, 1993.

Release date: Friday 18 June, 1993.

Since we have no monetary or contractual obligation to anyone, these
dates are of course tentative. But since or at least initially we will
rely almost entirely on reader submitions a date is needed to get
potential writers into gear.

Note that the LOD does not engage or condone illegal or criminal
activities.  This would cover, but is not limited to, theft of long
distance services, credit fraud or data destruction/alteration.


Lord Havoc


[Moderator's Note: But of course, of course ... all on the up and up,
just scholarly inquiry and reseach. Some readers here who claim they
were the original LOD group keep insisting that this latest effort is
not part of the authentic/original LOD. They say they never heard of
Lord Havoc, and know nothing about his publication. I can't say either
way, so will watch on the sidelines with interest to see the results
this time next month.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Effects of Automation (was Individual Responsibility)
Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date: Tue, 25 May 93 22:35:29 GMT


Moderator comments on improvements in the workplace ...

> worked before computerization.  Directories on reading stands all
> around the room and lots of people with headsets walking around the
> room to the right directory to look up the information.  Young'uns,
> aren't you glad you started your working career after computers had
> been installed at *your* company? If there are any old timers left at
> your place who were around in the 1950-60 era, ask them what it was
> like when everything was manual.  PAT]

While the young ones that are reading the Digest are likely to be
quite pleased with the changes in the business environment (after all,
they probably have jobs) many others have reason to be less pleased
with "progress" -- they are now unemployed.

When I started my working career, I was quite concerned that the
computer systems we installed would put people out of jobs, but for
the first ten years nothing happened. At first the systems were
unreliable enough that it took more people to run them than were
supposed to have been displaced. Then the economy grew fast enough to
absorb the population growth as well as the displaced workers. But in
the last five years, we have really seen the effect of all the
improved technology.  And it seems to be going ever faster. We are now
displacing workers in a shrinking economy, and many of the displaced
workers have no prospect of ever getting jobs again.

Solutions to this problem are probably way outside the scope of the
Digest. I just could not let this rah-rah-for-modern-times pass
without comment.


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: You raise some good points. I don't have any
answers either which could be expressed in a moderator's note or a
dozen such notes. For the first twenty years or so, computers did
generate more paper and work than they eliminated. As you note, they
were 'down' more than they were up. For several months in the early
days we 'ran parallel'; kept manual records and computer records to
make sure everything was going okay. I can't keep track of how many
times the office intercom would announce, "The system is back up" only
to say five, ten or fifteen minutes later, "The system is down". Each
time it went up, all these people would rush over to their terminal
and type furiously to get some of their backlogged data entries in the
system before it 'went down' again. The last CO in Chicago to be
converted to dial from manual was Chicago-Avenue. "AVEnue", or 312-283
as we call it now was cut in 1951. The operators were convinced that
the day the automation was complete they would be out the door. No one
was laid off, and six months after the AVEnue central office was cut,
Ohare International Airport opened, served at the time out of that CO.
Suddenly AVEnue had more operators working there on directory assist-
ance and long distance calls than they had ever had in the old days of
manual calling. In some respects, 'the way we choose to live today'
would be impossible were it not for computers, yet there are the
casualties you mention. I have no answers.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Wong Chee Heng)
Subject: Selecting a PBX
Organization: National University of Singapore
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 07:51:38 GMT


I am trying to find out how others evalute PBXes for a sites with
multiple buidlings and about 4000-6000 lines.

Can someone who have done PBXes evaluation send me a note to give me
some tips?

Thank you in advance.


[e-mail].
Systems Programmer   NUS

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #350
******************************










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Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 20:07:11 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #351

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 25 May 93 20:06:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 351

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Federal Judge Rejects Ban on Recorded Phone Solicitation (Ben Delisle)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (David J. Greenberger)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Robert J. Woodhead)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Richard Osterberg)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Frederick Roeber)
    Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Peter Rukavina)
    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Pat Turner)
    Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (David E. Bernholdt)
    Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (John Rice)
    Re: AT&T's Calling Card (A. Alan Toscano)
    Re: AT&T's Calling Card (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: AT&T and Spectrum Technologies ([e-mail])
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:37:49 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Ben Delisle)
Subject: Federal Judge Rejects Ban on Recorded Phone Solicitation
Organization: Eskimo North (206 367-3837) Public Access Internet. (eskimo.com)


    **>> The Seattle Times / Seattle Post-Intelligencer <<**
               **>> Sunday, May 23, 1993.  Page A-9 <<**

    o Times News Service
        Federal Judge rejects ban on recorded phone solicitation.

     Portland Ore. - A federal judge, ruling in a lawsuit brought
by a chimney sweep, has stuck down a federal privacy law that would
have banned telephone messages with recorded messages.

    "We are extremely happy," Ron Moser, who operates the A-A-A-1
Lucky Leprechaun chimney-maintainence service, said yesterday after
learning of the decision. "It's been a long fight."

    U.S. District Judge James Redden granted a permanent injuction
Friday in a lawsuit brought by Moser and his wife, Kathryn, who have
used an automated telephone calling system for seven years to solicit
customers with a prerecorded message.

    On a typical day, Moser said the computer driven system will
make 500 phone calls, producibg three to four customers.

    The Telephone Protection Act of 1991 was scheduled to go into
effect effect Dec. 20 1992 but was enjoined Dec. 18 by Redden pending
the outcome of the lawsuit.

    The judge found the law unconstitutional because it was aimed
at a small portion of the telemarketing industry. He said evidence
presented to the court showed that recorded messages make up than three
percent of the marketing calls received by Americans.

     "Congress is attempting to ban totally a form of commercial
speech for the sake of reducing only slightly the number of telephone
solicitations," Ridden wrote.

    He also noted that the law banned recorded solicitations for
commercial purposed while still allowing the same type of calls for
nonprofit purposes.


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

[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David J. Greenberger)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Young Israel of Cornell
Date: 25 May 93 23:30:41 GMT


Our Moderator notes:

> [Moderator's Note: All the pre-pay 'debit card' style phone cards wind
> up letting the telco (or other issuer) 'hold your money' for some period
> of time. The same thing happens when you buy a money order at your bank
> or from American Express to send someone: the bank or Amex gets the use
> of your money for some period of time until the negotiable instrument
> gets redeemed. In the case of Amex money orders, the float is several
> million dollars per day that Amex uses interest free. We who sell those
> cards prefer to emphasize the other side -- that the cards can be very
> convenient for people who may not have the change when they want to make
> a call and don't wish to be punished by the surcharge most calling cards
> tack on to calls. Different strokes for different folks.   PAT]

Although I haven't seen the cards or the phones that accept them, I
agree, such cards can be useful.  However, there are two problems I
see with the system in use.  First, very few phones have these card
receptacles.  Second, the charge per call is still the same.  (This is
important because it's *very* easy to accidentally walk away from the
phone without your card, to which you might have just added $50.
There has to be something to balance that out.)

Here at Cornell, the vast majority of on-campus publicly available
copy machines (in fact, I only know of one exception out of a few
hundred), as well as the microfilm and microfiche printers in the
libraries, have so-called VendaCard receptacles.  (On the other hand,
only about a quarter of the machines, if that many, have coin
receptacles.)  Unlike the New York Telephone card, these VendaCards
cost 56 cents, but copies cost 8 cents instead of 10 (microform
printouts are the same 10 cents).  These cards are definitely worth
it, because they can be used *anywhere* on campus, they're very
convenient, and the user saves 20% on copies.


David J. Greenberger      BBS: [phone] HST DS
Internet: [e-mail]    RIME: Common, ->48

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert J Woodhead)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
Organization: Foretune Co., Ltd.
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 00:32:33 GMT


[e-mail] (Michael Schuster) writes:

> Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple
> interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No
> thanks.

These cards are common in Japan, and most public phones take them.
Actually, the 5% interest is quite good; given the rate on T-Bills
these days, if you use up the card in less than a year, you are ahead
of the game.

The real money made in phone-cards isn't from holding your money while
you use the card.  As NTT over here in Japan quickly found out, the
real money is in convincing people NOT to use them at all.  They did
this by 1) ensuring that using a card defaces it (little holes are
punched in them; at least one of the guys who goes around emptying
confetti out of phones has become an artist, using them to make
murals) and 2) making them collectible.  Here in Japan, cards are used
as promotional items for all sorts of products, and there are many
collectors of the things -- sort of like stamp collectors, except that
while stamp collectors want USED stamps, card collectors want unused
ones.

NTT will even make custom cards in small numbers to be used as gifts
for weddings, etc.  Of course, they charge a premium to make the
custom cards, up to twice face value ...

I'm told that the escrow account for cards issued but not redeemed is
up into the multi-billions range now.

Oh yeah, some telecom news.  NTT plans to triple the rate for local
calls from 10yen/3 minutes to 10yen/minute over the next year.  Ouch!


Robert J. Woodhead, Biar Games / AnimEigo, Incs.    [e-mail]
AnimEigo US Office Email (for general questions): [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
From: [e-mail] (Richard Osterberg)
Date: 25 May 93 18:48:50 GMT


> Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple
> interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No
> thanks.

Moderator responded:

> cards prefer to emphasize the other side -- that the cards can be very
> convenient for people who may not have the change when they want to make
> a call and don't wish to be punished by the surcharge most calling cards
> tack on to calls. Different strokes for different folks.   PAT]

Plus ... there's also a large number of people who will simply lose
their cards ... if you lose your calling card, you don't lose money
 ... if you lose that anonymous little debit card, there's $2.75 (or
whatever) down the drain ... or rather ... in their pockets.


Rick Osterberg   [e-mail]  617-493-7784  617-493-3892
   2032 Harvard Yard Mail Center   Cambridge, MA   02138-7510   USA


[Moderator's Note: *Except* in the case of the now infamous Talk
Tickets which you know who peddles to pay his rent. Since my cards do
not swipe, and since the intelligence is all in the network rather
than in the phone, the serial number can! be! blacklisted!  Yes ...
With the $2 Talk Tickets you always have 'change for the phone'; if
you lose the card there is little loss but it can be suspended if you
know the serial number and promptly report it (don't misquote me on
this; they are not eager to spend the time putting a stop on a lost $2
card but will do so on larger denominations). You don't have to waste
time looking for a card reader phone, and if you have a good memory
you don't even need to carry the card around. Lost cards reported to
my office are promptly replaced *IF* you can provide a valid serial
number for the lost card. You see, I get to diddle the computer a
little differently than you ... I get to call the computer and void a
lost card and validate a 'special issue'; that is, if your lost card
had two units left, I void that serial and issue a new serial with two
units for you to use.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Frederick Roeber)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: CERN -- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 08:56:29 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Michael
Schuster) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
> (Jeffrey Jonas) writes:

>> At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow
>> New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card.  The vending
>> machine that dispenses the cards says that the cards cost $5, and are
>> worth $5.25.

> Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple
> interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No
> thanks.

These are rather common in Europe.  I have a nearly identical one for
the Swiss PTT (except it's 0% interest -- don't expect the Swiss to
give anything away!), for two reasons: 1) it is often hard to find
phones that accept coins, and 2) depending on where you're calling, it
can be difficult to feed coins in fast enough.  I'm probably going to
have to buy a French one, too, because the only public phones I've
seen here that take coins are private ones that add a new dimension to
the phrase, 'COCOT sleaze'.

I think the main reason for going to these is that it avoids having
phones vandalized for the coin box.  The interest they get is just
gravy.

The Swiss use a simple magnetic system like what is described in the
quoted article.  You can imagine how secure they are.  The much less
law-abiding French have more of a "smartcard" approach, with a little
circuit imbedded in the card.


Frederick G. M. Roeber | CERN -- European Center for Nuclear Research
e-mail: [e-mail] or [e-mail] | work: [phone]
r-mail: CERN/PPE, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland | home: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: We have so few 'card reader' phones in the USA
(compared to the straight coin slot style) it made better sense here
to let the network handle it and have the users punch in the digits.
By now, everyone should surely have their package of Talk Tickets who
ordered them in the past month. Anyone who wants more can have them. I
now have a stock of them available for immediate delivery. $15 for ten
tickets with two dollars in calling time on each ticket.  If you want
a single ticket just to try it out, send $2. Order from my office with
check or money order payable to TELECOM Digest.

  Telecom Digest / 2241 West Howard Street #208  / Chicago, IL 60645

Thanks.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 18:02:35 -0300
From: [e-mail] (Peter Rukavina)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card
Organization: Prince Edward Island Crafts Council


> At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow
> New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card...

> ...(800) 545-EASY for more information (but I'm not sure the number is
> valid out of NY).

The number is good (for some strange reason) from here on Prince
Edward Island, Canada ... roughly 1,300 km from the nearest New York
telephone.

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 22:42:03 GMT


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

>   From listening to the ham radio operators who had taken over
> emergency services for places like Hinsdale Hospital (by special
> dispensation of the local FCC Chief Engineer), it was my impression
> that this was done by the use of a mobile unit/truck outside the
> building.  I may be wrong, but my (sometimes faulty) memory tells me
> that "inside" phone service was not restored until two to three weeks
> after the disaster.  The "trucks" also were mentioned on the local
> news services as being made available to people who were otherwise
> unable to access "normal" telephone service, and very long lines of
> people were reported.

    It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with
switches and satellite terminals in them.  Just drive the truck up,
plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service.  All
calls that could not be switched locally would go to the satellite.


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 25 May 93 16:13 EDT
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster


Todd Inch writes:

> I would hope the critical systems (air traffic control, 911) would
> have some limited microwave or radio backup?  Probably not.

911, I can't discuss except to say that for many small towns the
computer center may be hundreds of miles away.  Usually a backup site
is used.  As far as CO's are concerned, if the dedicated trunks go
out, there can be POTS backups.

The FAA does have an extensive system of microwave links.  Most towers
don't have microwave to them, but are connected to the links for some
of their services.  The Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ATRCC's or
centers) are the most vulnerable as they may cover many states.
Atlanta center as an example has four microwave links coming into it.
The towers themselves could make do with the radios in the building is
most cases to contact the planes.

In the event of a major telecom failure, cutting both the telco and
telco/FAA microwave, there are HF and VHF FM radios that can be used
to communicate with the centers.  I would also imagine that the
facilities could use their aero band transcevers to talk to the
centers' frequency agile BUEC (Backup Emergency Communication) sites,
sometimes (not always, lest the microwave fail) colocated with the
microwave sites.

As funding is available, low density microwave is being used to
connect the control towers to the microwave backbone.

As we speak, the FAA's leased lines are being cut over to MCI LINCS
contract. The contract establishes multiple diverse trunks between the
more critical facilities (centers, large TRACONS, large towers and
automated flight service stations) and MCI's network hubs.

There is actually more to it than just what I have mentioned, but this
should give you an idea of how seriously the five thumbed people at
the FAA take their communications.


Not the opinion of the FAA...

Pat Turner  KB4GRZ  FAA Telecommunications  [e-mail]

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

Date: 26 May 1993 00:44:36 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate?
Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs, Richland, WA


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
Edu (Steven H. Lichter) writes:

> All of the L/D carriers are trying to get as much business as they
> can.

I can attest to that.  I recently moved to Washington and signed with
MCI for long distance.  I remembered seeing a commercial that said
they were offering $30 free LD for new accounts.  I asked about it and
was told that I could have my choice of $30 free domestic LD or $100
(!!!) free international LD.  Since my wife has a job in Canada at the
moment, you can guess which one I picked.

I also got a certificate for $10 off.

None of it cash, like AT&T appears to be doing, but just as useful to me!


David E. Bernholdt, MSIN K1-90           | Email: [e-mail]
Molecular Science Research Center        | Phone: [phone]
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O.B. 999 | Fax:   [phone]
Richland, WA  99352                      | I speak only for myself!

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate?
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 00:45:20 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(A. Padgett Peterson) writes:

> In the "busy" circuit, I suspect that it might work a tad better if
> the base and collector in Q1 were "slammed".

  I suspect that you're either 'confused' or that you know something
that I didn't learn in school (since it worked when I built it).
Could you explain this comment?


John Rice    K9IJ     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (A Alan Toscano)
Subject: Re: AT&T's Calling Card
Date: 25 May 1993 12:16:48 -0700
Organization: Speedway Free Access -- Dial 10288-1-503-520-2222


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

> I just received a replacement card (my old one was peeling).  AT&T has
> stopped embossing the cards (MCI stopped on some of it's cards a long
> time ago). But they are still printing the PIN. They even label it PIN
> on the card now.

AT&T will omit the PIN if you ask them to. This feature has been
available for a few years now, but they don't publicize it for some
reason! I learned of this only because my employer issued me an AT&T
Corporate Calling Card with the PIN omitted, and so I called AT&T to
ask if I could omit it from my residential card as well.


A Alan Toscano -- P O Box 741982 -- Houston, TX 77274 -- 713 216-6616
[e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:45:39 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: AT&T's Calling Card


[e-mail] (Bill Huttig) writes:

> I just received a replacement card (my old one was peeling).  AT&T has
> stoped embossing the cards (MCI stopped on some of it's cards a long
> time ago). But they are still printing the PIN. They even label it PIN
> on the card now.

My AT&T card doesn't show my PIN but my NYtel card does.  In the case
of the latter, my phone number isn't shown.


Dave Niebuhr      Internet: [e-mail] / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility

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

From: [e-mail] (Trif)
Subject: Re: AT&T and Spectrum Technologies Hanky Panky
Date: 25 May 1993 07:42:13 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave
Niebuhr) writes:

> Yesterday's and today's {Newsday} (5/21 and 5/22) had articles
> concerning a join venture by AT&T and Spectrum Information
> Technologies, Inc. about sending computer data via cellular service.
> No big deal, you say.

> Well, it seems that the stock of Spectrum took off and all of a sudden
> it peaked well beyond what it was worth and then the decline occurred
> fairly quickly.  Hmm, says me; a little hanky panky going on.

What happened is that Spectrum held a news conference announcing the
deal with AT&T and described it as "worth hundreds of millions of
dollars".  So the stock took off, as it should have if this news were
true.

Then someone got the bright idea of asking AT&T for their opinion on
the deal, and AT&T said that it was "worth a few million".  So the
stock dropped like a rock.

> Sure enough, today's issue noted that the President of Spectrum has
> been contacted by at least nine attorneys who are looking into what
> went on because the stock skyrocketed and then dropped in price in
> less than a week.  Even the analysts are wondering what went on.

If a company gives out "substantially misleading" information and the
stock price suffers as a result, it is grounds for a shareholder lawsuit.

> Unfortunately, there isn't that much information floating around about
> this in the paper.  I haven't looked at the {Wall Street Journal} or
> the {New York Times} so I can't say what those papers reported.

Try reading misc.invest.  :)

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #351
******************************










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Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 21:27:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #352

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 25 May 93 21:27:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 352

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (Pat Turner)
    Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Mark Evans)
    Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (Richard Budd)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Fritz Whittington)
    Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Charles Mattair)
    Re: Cellular Charging? (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Cellular Charging? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Cellular Charging? (John N. Dreystadt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 25 May 93 16:13 EDT
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?)


Ken Mandelberg writes:

> What really caught my eye was a note in the article that the phone
> could display "who's trying to reach you if you`re already using the
> phone. The latter service likely would cost extra.".

> What I really would like to see is a modem that could reliably detect
> a call waiting signal (while running V32BIS/V42BIS).  Caller-ID info
> would be a bonus. I'd be happy to just be able to tell the modem to
> drop the data call and switch to voice if it detects call waiting. No
> modem maker seems to be interested or perhaps able to do this with the
> current "in band" call waiting beeps.  Perhaps the new service would
> be easier to handle.

There was an article in the April {IEEE Communication Magazine} on
this service.  Basically the article, written by a Bellcore staff
member, said that features have become too numerous and complicated
for most people to be able to use them effectively.  The article also
discussed CLID/CW interaction, saying Caller ID would be most useful
if the information could be presented along with CW beep.  As a
solution to this problem, the article proposed sending the CLID FSK
info after the CW beep.  The CW beep would serve to wake up the modem.
Using >1200 bps was mentioned, but dismissed due to cost of upgrading
the network and increased CPE costs.  There was no mention of any out
of band/channel signaling methods.

The bulk of the article was concerned with the use of a softkey
display telephone, and it's interface with the PSTN.  This interface,
called Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI), also uses the Bell
202 1200 bps protocal.


Not the opinions of the FAA...
Pat Turner  KB4GRZ  FAA Telecommunications [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?)
Date: 26 May 1993 01:55:22 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> What I really would like to see is a modem that could reliably detect
> a call waiting signal (while running V32BIS/V42BIS).  Caller-ID info
> would be a bonus. I'd be happy to just be able to tell the modem to
> drop the data call and switch to voice if it detects call waiting.

This one's easy.  Almost all current modems support this last
"feature."  One of the "S" registers in a Hayes-compatible modem
determines the maximum amount of time the modem will allow the carrier
from the other end to disappear before deciding that the call is to be
dropped.  Simply set this value to a duration less that the length of
the call waiting tone, and the modem will hang up when the call
waiting "beep" occurs, since during the beep the other end of the call
is not heard.  When the telco switch sees that the original call was
hung up on (by the modem), it will start to send ringing current, and
then you can answer with your regular phone.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Organization: Aston University
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:31:27 GMT


Martin Harriss (bdsgate![e-mail]) wrote:

> Anyway, this switch was installed in a house.  Not a structure built
> to look like a house, but an actual house bought for the purpose of
> installing the switch.  It has a nice front lawn and fence and a gate;
> if you look beyond through the bay windows you can see the equipment
> racks complete with the blinking lights.

It must have been a large house a 10,000 line Stowger plus batteries
plus PSU is not a very small piece of kit.

> I heard two stories of why this came to be.  On was that there was
> some kind of foul-up in the design of the building, making it too
> small to house the equipment.  With a planned cut over date, the PO
> had no option but to purchase an existing building, to wit a house.

They would have had to make quite a few modifications, like solid
concrete floor.

> The STD code for Mogador was 0737 83 (Redhill 83.)  By now it's
> probably an electronic switch of some kind with 6-digit numbers,
> linked numbering with Redhill.

Or simply replace the original with a concentrator unit, no need to
reroute most of the wiring.


Mark Evans                  [e-mail]
+(44) 21 429 9199  (Home)   [e-mail]
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 03:49:17 GMT


The exception proves the rule.

Back in the 1930s, office buildings had no central air conditioning,
just huge windows in their stone walls.  The Rutherford, NJ central
office is built in that style.  Sitting on a streetcorner a block off
the town center, the building has huge glass windows right along the
street.  You can stand there and look in at the eleven-foot high wire
frames that sit on the first floor.


[Moderator's Note: Tell me about it! Even until the late 1950's and
early 1960's, air conditioning in office buildings was not all that
common with windows that actually opened to let in air and overhead
ceiling fans the norm. If it started to rain, everyone was expected to
go to one of the windows and close it, then open it again after the
rain stopped.  When I worked at the University of Chicago telephone
room in those years we had no air conditioning -- just six or seven
overhead ceiling fans which spun very slowly and windows we opened in
the summer. If the temperature was in the nineties all day and the
eighties all night, you suffered. Night workers could not sleep during
the day because of the heat, and things cooled off just enough over-
night to make it hard to stay awake.

Two blocks down the street from my switchboard room was the Kenwood
central office. It was an old building with windows everywhere. In the
late evening, when things were very quiet out on the street -- not
like today with gun fire and gang wars the norm on Chicago streets --
anywhere within a block you could hear the 'Kenwood Bell' chattering
and clacking away. Five seconds of silence without a relay or two or
three 'talking' to its neighbors and them answering back was unusual.
You could tell how busy the central exchange was at any time by
listening to the relays as you walked past on the sidewalk outside.
Sometimes it was so busy there was never a single second of silence,
but a constant clack-clack, rat-tat-tat all evening. And when thunder
was heard, a minute or two later a woman wearing an operator's headset
would appear in a second floor window, stick her head out and look up,
then test with her hand out the window. Feeling rain, she'd walk to
every window and pull it down. A switchman downstairs would be going
around closing all those windows also.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:34:54 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split
Organization: CSAV UTIA


David Leibold <[e-mail]> writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #342:

> While the continued presence of one country code for both the Czech
> Republic and Slovakia is confusing to MCI, there is at least a way to
> find out the republic based on the area code.

(Details about area codes omitted)

> I have not heard of any plans to set up separate country codes yet.

I heard something that the Czech Republic would retain 42 and Slovakia
would get 37X, a country code similar to what the Baltics and the
other newly independent nations are receiving.  However, it appears
the Slovaks want the new country codes for both countries to be of a
format 42X.  All rumors from different forums.

Considering the number of newly independent nations in Europe, I think
the Slovak idea of three digit country codes is the better one.

For anyone who's been in E. Europe, urgent doesn't mean "Had to be
done yesterday", but more like "We'll get around to it the beginning
of next month'.  The zip codes have not changed yet either.  The zip
codes in Prague are 1XXXX, with other Czech Republic zip codes
beginning with 2-7.  Bratislava's zip code is 8XXXX with other Slovak
Republic zip codes beginning with either 9 or 0.  (See my signature
for an example).

There are no new zip codes for either country on the horizon.  What
with the complaints about reunited Germany's new zip code system, I
can under- stand why no one wants to fool around with the zip codes
anytime soon.

in March, the programmers began splitting the Internet into a .CZ
domain for a new CZEARN based in Prague and an .SQ domain for SQEARN
based in Bratislava. It has been a slow process and the network
rerouters are not all together pleased about tearing up the network.
The result is three domains (.CS, .CZ, .SQ) and some fancy addressing
to communicate with Palacky University in Olomouc last month on my
part.

And [e-mail] (Georg Schwarz) writes in TELECOM
Digest V13 #349:

> I'm just curious: do they still list EAST and WEST Germany?

No.  It's just Germany with a single country code (49).  The former
East Germany's country code (37) is being given out with an extra
digit to all the new nations in Europe becoming independent: Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine, etc.


Richard Budd   USA  139 S. Hamilton St.        [e-mail]
                    Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

               CZ   Kolackova 8/1905           [e-mail]
                    18 200 Praha 8             [e-mail]

               SQ   ul. L. Kossutha 69
                    07 701 Kral' Chlmec


[Moderator's Note: The former 'West Germans' were very kind and generous
to their greatly expanded 'family', weren't they? The consolidation
was a real bummer financially for the western government. There was a
tremendous cost involved in absorbing the eastern part in, converting
the money, assuming all the obligations they did, etc. And how long
did it take to upgrade the phone network in the east, and at what cost?
Has that been completed yet?  Maybe a German reader can update us on
the status of east <=> west German telecommunications. For quite some
time after the consolidation, east <=> west telecom was virtually non-
existent. I know the upgrade must have been a financial killer.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 13:37:29 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Fritz Whittington)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?


In comp.dcom.telecom [e-mail] writes:

>   Dallas is one of those places where I think SWB has a "Railroad
> Commission" (whatever their PUC is) directive to allow intra-LATA IXC
> calls in LATAs where the Intra-LATA TOLL rates do not subsidize
> Residential phone rates.  (Such subsidies are the usual reason that
> PUCs mention for prohibiting IXC intra-LATA calls; in effect, the PUC
> is taxing intra-LATA Toll users via the TELCo to keep local monthly
> rates lower.)

Just to set the record straight, the Texas Railroad Commission does
*not* set telephone rates or regulate the telephone industry.  That
would be pretty stupid.

The Texas Railroad Commission has the task of regulating how much oil
and gas can be pumped from various wells in the state.  As far as I
know, they don't have any regulatory power over the railroads.

And before you ask, I don't know why!


Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265
    Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243
[e-mail]                 Office: [phone]     FAX: [phone]
Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes.

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 93 12:41:38 CDT
From: [e-mail] (Charles Mattair)
Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1?
Organization: Synercom Technology, Inc., Houston, TX


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

> Alas, Pat has again fallen victim to the common practice of
> extrapolating the behavior of one LEC in one state to that of all LECs
> in the entire US.

> Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer
> enters a carrier access code.  Some states don't.  It appears that
> Texas does, and Illinois doesn't.  If the state permits IXCs to carry
> intraLATA traffic, the LEC is obligated to deliver a call dialed with
> 10XXX prepended to the selected IXC, regardless of the dialed digits;

Be careful of extrapolations.

Agreed, Texas permits IXC's to carry intraLATA traffic if dialed with
a PIC.  However, it apparently does not mandate it.  SWB in Houston,
and in Dallas/Fort Worth as someone reported, will pass an intraLATA
call to an IXC if the call is dialed with an access code.  However,
GTE (call them a telephone company for sake of argument) in the Clear
Lake/League City area (halfway between Houston and the coast) will
not.

Dialing 102880 + 7D or 102880 + 10D gets you "<boing> GTE" for an
intraLATA call; 1028800 gets you an AT&T operator.

Obtopic: is there any rational explanation for the wide disparity
between SWBs rates and IXC rates for the same intraLATA calls?


Charles Mattair        (work)      [e-mail]
<standard.disclaimer>   (home)    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: In Texas, when AT&T gets a call dumped on them
which 'rightfully' belongs to GTE or SWB, do they handle the call
'as agent for GTE/SWB' like they do here?  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 20:27:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cellular Charging?


Laurence Chiu <[e-mail]> wrote:

> I just began to investigate getting cellular service in the
> Bay Area and was rather surprised to find that one gets charged
> not only when making calls, but when receiving them also.
> Presumably this is old hat to Americans but as someone who
> arrived from New Zealand it was a surprise.

This is generally the way charging is done here.  The companies that
provide service are the local telephone company and a separate
company.  As such, the companies generally are selling to an
"affluent" or "business" crowd and as such, are charging what they
think they can get away with.  Wireline telephone service has many
more customers who are more insistent about complaing to the local PUC
about the cost of service; until cellular customers do this, the rates
will be higher than wired telephony.  (I am assuming that the cost of
providing service for cellular customers is not higher than telephone
companies running wire all over the place.)

> Why should I have to foot the bill for someone calling me? I
> don't in my domestic phone service, why in cellular? Was there
> some technical reason it was implemented this way? Is this the
> same throughout the US?

Some carriers, as they see the possibility of more customers, have
gone to offering nights and weekends with no airtime charge.  But this
is the way things are done because they can do this.

> In New Zealand one only pays for outgoing calls, callers pay
> to call you.  Granted we are not a big country,

New Zealand has about 3.1 million people in a group of small islands
almost exactly equal to the land area of Colorado.  As it is much more
heavily Socialist than the United States, the number of wealthy people
are bound to be a smaller number in absolute and relative terms than
say a U.S. metro area of about that size (City of Los Angeles,
Chicago, DC, Atlanta).  As such, the funds probably aren't there to
charge the higher rates that U.S. companies do.

> but all cellular phones are assigned a specific area code(s).

Had the U.S. had a single (government owned) company running all the
telephone service here, that could have been done, such as assigning
certain prefixes in each area code for cellular phones, or in very
heavy traffic areas, assign single area codes only to cellular phones,
such as Southern California; New York/New Jersey/Connecticut; Gary
Ind/Chicago/Milwaukee.  But we don't so it wasn't.  Also if it had, we
would have Post Office levels of phone service, i.e. worse than GTE.

> It is the same rate to call anywhere in NZ from a cell phone
> though this is not a technical restriction, more a policy.
> It is clear from the number that you are calling that
> it is a cellular phone and you know up front what the charges
> will be (around US$0.40/minute anytime of the day).

We had the same thing when area code 900 numbers were all 50c a call.

> Telecom NZ recognizing that some people might be reluctant to
> call you to seek your services because of that cost, also
> offer local numbers which actually ring on your cell phone.
> The caller pays no charges if calling local, you pay a monthly
> charge for the number and some charge per minute for the calls.
> The caller has no idea that he or she is calling a cell phone.

We have this with 1-800 numbers or call-forwarded local numbers.  You
can route a 1-800 number to a cellular phone, if you wanted to do so,
or get one of those numbers that can be re-routed on request.

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Cellular Charging?
Date: 25 May 1993 02:27:46 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> I just began to investigate getting cellular service in the Bay Area
> and was rather surprised to find that one gets charged not only when
> making calls, but when receiving them also. Presumably this is old hat
> to Americans but as someone who arrived from New Zealand it was a
> surprise.

> Why should I have to foot the bill for someone calling me? I don't in
> my domestic phone service, why in cellular? Was there some technical
> reason it was implemented this way? Is this the same throughout the
> US?

The problem is how to implement the billing.  The situation in the US
is much more complicated than in just about any other country.  The
cellular carriers are independant of the local carriers and the long
distance carriers (although they are sometimes owned by a local or
long distance company).  How would collection of the airtime revenue
work since the caller could be calling from any of several hundred
local telephone companies, and possibly also over any of several
hundred long distance companies?  The procedures for collecting
charges for regular long distnace calls is well-established, but I
just don't think it is feasable to try to do this with cellular in the
US.

There are a couple of cellular companies that have experminted with
"caller pays" as an option, but there are limitations.  I believe
those that have done so are only able to collect the extra revenue if
the caller is in the same LATA and using the LEC to place the call.
The cellular carrier can then either block all other calls (making the
cellular phone uncallable from anywhere outside of the LATA - not very
good), make the cellular subscriber pay airtime anyway for inbound
calls from outside of the LATA (this would be silly - why would
someone sign up for caller-pays service if many times they would have
to pay anyway, and not know at the time of the call if they were
paying for it), or just eat the airtime charges for inbound inter-LATA
calls (which the cellular carrier is not likely to want to do).  Also,
considering how high the cellular rates can be, it would be likely
that they would be blocked from many company/hotel PBX's.  Then
there's the case of COCOTs -- how would billing work from them?

Again, I just don't think this is feasable in the US.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (john n. dreystadt)
Subject: Re: Cellular Charging?
Date: 25 May 1993 17:44:50 GMT
Organization: Lynn-Arthur Associates, Ann Arbor, MI
Reply-To: [e-mail]


The reasons have much to do with how cellular in the U.S. came to
pass. Our cellular carriers often have little to do with the land line
carriers. This makes billing the land line phone an extra charge for
calling a cellular phone very difficult. We could have set up a system
where the caller pays if both parties are cellular but then you have
to try to explain this exception to the users.

Who pays what charges for cellular service depend on the local customs
mostly.  It can be argued that the U.S. system is fairest in that the
receiver of the call is still tying up one channel in a cell.

Who pays for an international call made to a cellular phone in New
Zealand?  The international rates are set by mutual agreement between
the national carriers. I am not aware of special rates to call New
Zealand cellular phones.

I am interested in how other countries do the billing. I know that
Mexico does something similar to the U.S. system. The exception is
roamers. If a roamer comes into your current region and your carrier
recognizes this and directs the call to the roamer without going out
of region, the call is local. In the U.S., normally all billing to the
originating party is based on the number dialed and not on the
location of the terminating party. I believe that Norway uses the same
scheme that New Zealand does. Anyone know the rules in other
countries?


John N. Dreystadt    Lynn-Arthur Associates   [e-mail]
Home:313-878-9719    Work:313-995-5590
        These are personal opinions not corporate opinions.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #352
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #353

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 26 May 93 05:15:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 353

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (J. Eric Townsend)
    Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Steven J. Tucker)
    Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service (Mark Evans)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Justin Leavens)
    Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Christopher Sims)
    Re: Want a Good Phone (Stan Hall)
    Re: Strange Prefix (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Help Needed Getting Internet Connection (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That (David H. Close)
    Re: Telecom History (John A. Shriver)
    Re: Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Message Length on Display Pagers (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: Stocks VIA Internet (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! (Arthur Rubin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Eric Townsend)
Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis
Organization: NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 17:56:11 GMT


William.K.Kessler  <[e-mail]> writes:

> It appears that Indianapolis is being plagued by an automated
> telephone dialer (possibly a trolling FAX machine or
> cracker).

> I received a call to my home number on April 24th at 3:31 AM.
> The call was some type of machine that beeped at about one
> second intervals.  The call was from 317-471-XXXY.

Quite probably a fax.

Suggestion from a friend (when I had a similar problem): beg/borrow a
fax machine and set it up overnight.  Find out who the faxer is.  Have
them removed from the face of the planet.


J. Eric Townsend [e-mail] 415.604.4311
NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation      |    play: [e-mail]
Parallel Systems Support, CM-5 POC              |      '92 R100R / DoD# 0378
PGP2.1 public key available upon request or finger [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)
Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis
Date: 25 May 1993 20:45:29 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Steven J Tucker)


In a previous article, [e-mail] says:

> I hung up and then received a second call about one minute later.  The
> second call also was a beeping sound.

> The pest has been active for about a month.  I complained to Indiana
> Bell and the Sheriff's department two weeks ago.  I received a
> follow-up call asking what crime was committed.  It's not clear what
> laws if any have been violated.

> I just received a another call to my home number so it appears that
> the pest is making a second pass through the CO.

> This time I complained to the Utility Regulatory Commission.  The
> consumer affairs representative said that they would talk to Indiana
> Bell.

What you got was probably a telemarketing-fax machine, many companies
use them to try and find every fax machine they can and send their
crap through it (you've probably gotten weird faxes at work, ads, etc).

If it was a cracker/hacker, scanning for dialtones (PBX) or for
carriers (computer), you would have heard nothing since the modem
would have been in dial mode, not originate mode.

All fax machines emit a shot BEEP at regular intervals if they dont
get a carrier right way, modems don't.


Steven J Tucker  [e-mail]
P.O.Box 33475    North Royalton  Ohio 44133-0475


[Moderator's Note: I hope you agree with the assessment of both Eric
Townsend and myself however that the company -- or whoever owns the
fax -- needs to be put out of business when they are located.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service
Organization: Aston University
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:38:00 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: I would think those fax machines would work the
> same way as the airfones and have outgoing service only. Of course

Looks like the film "Die hard 2" got it wrong then.

or maybe its possible for the service company or the airline only to
make incoming calls to the phones.

> someone on board could send a fax to the nearest airport saying the
> plane had been taken over in a hostage situation or something.
> Wouldn't that be cute, watching them try to figure out who sent the
> fax later on, particularly if it can accept cash money as payment.  PAT]

Or were using a stolen credit card.


Mark Evans       |[e-mail]
+(44) 21 429 9199  (Home)   [e-mail]
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)

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

Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 10:42:39 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing


Although the message did not specifically mention the data format, it
did mention that you could use your spreadsheet to analyze the data.
Also, it doesn't mention any type of "viewer" software or startup kit,
so I can only assume you get a PC disk with an ASCII file from
PacBell.


Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California
    [e-mail]    My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions

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

Date: 25 May 1993 19:25:16 +1000
From: [e-mail] (Christopher Sims)
Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Camelot Swamp bulletin board, Hawthorndene Sth Australia


>> An note on my latest phone bill from Pacific Bell announced that
>> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible 3
>> 1/2" computer disk (which can be read by Macintosh computers with the
>> proper software) for a $15 monthly fee. For a short time, they will be
>> waiving the $100 start-up fee.

> I am surprised that none of these companies have offered to fax the
> phone bills rather than mail them out.  When Sprint sends me my phone
> bill it costs them about $0.45 in postage, in addition to the printing

I am supprised that it has taken companies so long to think of such an
idea.  Better still why don't they give you an id and have custemers
who want to be billed through their modems call a special number
loggon and then look at their bill that way. I would say that such a
system could symply be linked in with the existing public access
systems that telecom would already have in place.  Catch you later.


Voice [phone] Email address [e-mail]
Origin: Camelot Swamp, Hawthorndene, South Australia (8:7000/8)
Camelot Swamp bbs, data: [phone] reply to [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone
From: [e-mail] (Stan Hall)
Date: Tue, 25 May 93 15:52:44 CDT
Organization: The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, Ok


Terry Kennedy <[e-mail]> writes:

>   It wasn't uncommon to get a phone in the late 70's and even the
> early 80's which used a base, switchhook, and network from the 50's.
> Of course, the plastic and cords were changed to accomodate Touch-Tone
> dialing, and (later) modular cords. You could easily tell these phones
> as the underside was paint- ed black and had a red date code (with an
> R for refurbished). You could get a general idea as to the age of the
> original unit by looking to see if the feet were round, triangular, or
> square, or you could stare at the paint to see if you could make out
> the old date. For those of us who really wanted to tempt Ma Bell 8-),
> we'd open the top and look at the dates on the ringer and network.

Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of
course it is black rotary W/E.

This is a classy phone, with its black metal dial wheel and its
leather feet, very nice.  I just went to check the date on it and
underneath the sticker with "C/D 500 11/72" I found the original stamp
of "C/D 500 6/54".  Best of all I paid about $5 at a thrift store for
a 39 year old antique.

What it could use is a little bit of buffing up.  It surface it
covered in light scratches that looks like someone took some steel
wool after it.  Does anyone what would be the best thing to buff the
scratches out with?


[e-mail] (Stan Hall)
The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, OK -- [phone]


[Moderator's Note: You do have a wonderful old phone, but 39 years is
not an antique in the phone business. Try 50 years or more. since a
40 year life-span is not at all unusual for the old Western Electric
units that the Bell System distributed for a century. A couple years
ago I found a 'French-style' WE phone with the manufacturing date of
May, 1931 stamped on the inside. These were the phones with the round,
fat base, the stubby little neck and the four fingers which formed the
resting place for the receiver. These phones had no bell in the base,
and required a 'side-ringer' in the box on the wall if you recall
them, which is also where the 'network' (or the majority of the phone's
innards) were located. The phone itself just had a couple relays in it
and a faceplate where the dial would go. Brown uncurled, cloth cord
connected the receiver to the base, and the same brown cloth cord went
from the phone to the wall box where the ringer was located. The phone
was *still in service* through a manual PBX cordboard when I found it
in an obscure location -- the elevator 'penthouse' (rooftop elevator
machinery room) -- of a northside residential hotel. Of course I
graciously offered to replace it with a 500 set I happened to have
with me, and the building manager was happy to make the trade.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Strange Prefix
Date: 25 May 1993 17:34:00 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David A. Cantor)
writes:

> I stayed overnight in Mystic, Connecticut, and was perusing the local
> telephone directory.  It is SNET territory.  There were several
> references to prefixes (office codes?) 111 and 112.  111 was listed as
> Ledyard, CT, and I don't remember where 112 was.  111 was identified
> as a Ledyard prefix in the section on what exchanges you can dial from
> where, and in the numerical list of prefixes for the state.  112 was
> also in the numerical list.

> Pity I couldn't find any 111 listings.  I would have tried to dial one
> from home if I had found any.

> Does anyone have a clue how such a prefix can exist?  Can anyone
> confirm or deny the actual existence of 111-xxxx numbers?

> [Moderator's Note: I rather suspect it was a misprint.   PAT]

Or, one of those "spikes" that publishers put in to catch people who
copy the data ...


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza   New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578     fax [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell does that sort of thing but in a
more realistic way. They put 'ringers' in the book which look like
legitimate people and numbers. Then they sue the copy-cats who grab
the listings for their own directories, etc.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Help Needed Getting Internet Connection
Date: 25 May 1993 17:45:53 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Kelly McGinnis) writes:

> I was just wondering where (other than universities), I can gain
> access to the e-mail system the schools use.

> [Moderator's Note: By 'email system the schools use' I assume you are
> referring to the Internet and its affiliated networks -- what you are
> connected to and reading now. There are many 'public access unix
> sites' you can subscribe to. I suggest checking out the 'nixpub' file;
> you may also wish to investigate the Free Net sites; Portal
> Communications in San Jose, CA (they have a PC Pursuit/Sprintnet
> link); or Chinet in Chicago (chinet.chi.il.us) operated by Randy Suess.
> Another good public access site here is 'Gagme' (gagme.chi.il.us) oper-
> rated by Greg Gulick. There are plenty of places where you can sign
> up for modest fees.  PAT]

There is a newsgroup which you might not know about, called
alt.internet.access.wanted.  It is perfect for your query.  (I realize
you may not have access to that group, in which case that would be why
you did not post to it.)  Anyway, if you can I suggest you post to
that group.

If you are not able to post to that group directly, you may wish to
consider using one of the services that lets you post via email.  For
example, you could post to:

      [e-mail]

and state in your posting that you would like to get responses via
email.


Best of luck.

Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza   New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578     fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 22:32:44 GMT


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

> 1.  If you hold up the plugs at BOTH ends of a standard modular cable,
> in the same orientation, you will find that the correspondence between
> wire colors and plug pins is reversed; that is, if red is pin three on
> one plug, it will be pin four on the other.

> This is not a wiring mistake.  All modular cables intended for phone
> use are "reversed" in this way.  Likewise, any gadget that plugs into
> the line between telephone and wall should be "reversed" if-and-only-if
> its two connectors are the same gender.

    Which reminds me, why don't we have an RS232 serial connector
standard for modular connectors?  I'd suggest something symmetrical,
probably using the two center pins for ground.  Then, all equipment
would be wired exactly the same.  We'd use reversing cables to connect
anything to anything (no more DTE DCE problems!).  Of course, not all
wires have a symmetrical opposite ... for example TxD and RxD would
generally be swapped, RTS and CTS, DTR and DSR, but what do you do
with DCD and RI?

    Anyway, it seems I'm forever making custom serial data cables.
A standard would be nice!


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

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

From: [e-mail] (David H. Close)
Subject: Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That
Date: 26 May 1993 04:27:51 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena


I don't recall anyone reporting here the long article in the {Los
Angeles Times} about one or two months ago in which: An oil tanker
captain sent a confidential report on some safety problems to his head
office by fax.  For some reason, the fax was misdirected and delivered
to the US Coast Guard instead.  When the ship arrived in LA, the
captain was charged with violations after an inspection.  The company
is protesting on grounds that the report was intended for internal,
confidential use.  (Hope I don't have my memory too screwed up!)

If this hasn't been previous discussed, I'll try to dig out the
original article and send more details.


Dave Close, BS'66 Ec    [e-mail]  [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Yes, please send it along, we have not seen it yet
here that I can recall. The company will lose however; as long as the
government did not use false pretenses to get the fax, or seize it
without a warrant, etc, they are entitled to read it.   PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 26 May 93 00:53:47 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John A. Shriver)
Subject: Re: Telecom History


The dial telephones in Chicago in the teens are related to a most
interesting story.  They were not the "Bell" telephone supplier in
Chicago, but a competitor.  They are the folks who dug the (now mostly
abandoned) tunnels under Chicago that flooded last year.  Their
original charter was to build a dial telephone system, but they
exceeded the charter and made the tunnels large enough for a two foot
guage freight railroad.

The system was also advertised as "secret", since there was no
operator to know who you were calling, nor to spy on your call.

After several recieverships (the freight business barely made money,
the phones never did), the phone system became part of the "Bell"
telephone company.  First thing they did was rip out all the Automatic
Electric Strowger switches and put in switchboards and operators.

The freight railroad finally shut down in 1957.  Their last business
was hauling out ashes from furnace basements.  The city had owned the
tunnels since the 1930's, and their failure in the 1990's to maintain
the ones that crossed the river led to the floods.

For details, see the book "Forty Feet Below".  There was a new seventh
printing last year.

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Opinions Wanted: Future of  Healthcare Telecom
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 21:56:47 GMT


    I have limited contact with the health care industry, so my
perceptions may be way off.  However, it appears that doctors seem to
work very independently.  It seems that they would benefit from
newsgroups (like this) where one can say "I've got a patient with
these symptoms, any comment?"  My supervisor (where I teach part time)
did a lot of computer research on what was ailing his wife.  It took a
week or so before the local doctors could figure out what the problem
was.  The community we have thru Usenet is really great!  Doctors otta
use it!


Harold Hallikainen              [e-mail]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [e-mail]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone [phone] fax [phone]
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

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

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Message Length on Display Pagers
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 23:17:25 GMT


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

> Bonnie J Johnson writes:

> Steve wanted to know if the bravo could handle longer than 20
> character message [thru programming...?] I am almost certain that my
> old bravo plus could to 24 characters, but I cannot confirm this.

I just got a new Bravo Plus, and actually read the directions.  It has
a 160 character memory, shared between up to 16 messages, with no
message being longer than 20 digits.


Rich Greenberg      Work: [e-mail]   310-417-8999
N6LRT               Play: [e-mail]           310-649-0238
What?   Me speak for Amdahl?  Surely you jest....

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Stocks VIA Internet
Date: 24 May 1993 01:50:10 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Marshal Perlman) writes:

> Anyone know of any stock purchasing companies that are computer linked
> to the internet ... where I could buy and sell stocks with my
> computer?

> I 'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then using my broker who just
> punches what I say to him into a computer and charges me $50 for 'his
> help'.

I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to send my trading
instructions over the Internet for every site in the path to see (and
perhaps generate their own under my name!).

If you are interested in computer trading, Charles Schwab has a
program whereby you can do your trades via computer and modem.  You
get special software from them, enter all of your trades offline, then
ask it to dial in and execute your batch of trades.  They take 10% off
their standard commission rates when you use the computer instead of
talking to a person.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID!
From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin)
Date: 25 May 93 17:45:02 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Arthur Rubin)


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Carl Page
@ DAD) writes:

> California allows Last Call return but not Caller ID?  Amazing.
> Oregon made the opposite decision!  And for good reasons.

> Last call return (or Auto-callback) is NOT offered in Oregon, even
> though Caller ID is being offered!


> Moderator's Note: Every telco seems to have their own philosophy on
> this. IBT offers both Caller-ID and Auto-callback, or Return Last
> Call. They could care less that numbers otherwise blocked on the ID
> display are still returnable via *69.   PAT]

I haven't requested it yet, but PacBell (at least in Southern
California) says that the last (two or four -- I don't remember)
digits will be X'd out on the phone bill for a "Call Return"'d call.


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.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #353
******************************