Telecom/1996-04-telecom-walnutcreek.iso/back.issues/1993.volume.13/vol13.iss451-500

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Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 01:21:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #451

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 6 Jul 93 01:21:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 451

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Audiovox CTX-3200M Cellular Telephone Programming Information (B Nickless)
    Lobbying Powers in U.S. (was Re: Opiniongrams) (Doug Granzow)
    Access to Toll Records (Les Reeves)
    Phones That Work With "Call Answer"? (Irene Berkovich)
    900 Number Portability? (Jeff Jonas)
    Electronic Exhibition in China Announcement ([e-mail])
    Mitel Smart-1 Dialer Programming Information Needed (Jack Decker)
    Nine Volt Phone Operation (was Re: Decline ...) (Jack Winslade)
    Looking For a Solution to Voicemail Problem (Chuck Wooters)
    Connecting From Poland (Steve Weimar)
    Re: Telepassport (was Re: Sprint Does it Again!) (Willie Smith)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Steve Forrette)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Audiovox CTX-3200M Cellular Telephone Programming Information
Date: Mon 05 Jul 1993 17:12:42 -0500
From: Bill Nickless <[e-mail]>

I own an Audiovox CTX-3200M Cellular telephone.  This is a very nice
installed-in-car phone, and it includes an RJ-11 jack to accept
modems, fax machines, etc.  Following is what I know about NAM
programming for that phone, and I'd like to know more.  But first a
disclaimer:

I am only interested in making cellular calls expecting and intending
to pay for them as per standard, legal, aboveboard service
arrangments.  What I'm want is control over the options and features
enabled to the local user of the cellphone.  Taking half a day's
vacation and paying someone $25 to reprogram the phone to, say, turn
off in twelve hours after the ignition key is removed instead of the
standard eight hours is a wee bit excessive.

My next hardware hack is a 12-volt battery with a wiring harness so
that, if I run the main car battery down, I can still call AAA.  I
think I have all the information I need to do that.  Ameritech would
probably even *like* it!

A big Thank You to Douglas Scott Reuben for his message of Fri, 25 Jan
1991 in the Telecom Archives about other Audiovox cellphones.  The
same mechanism for entering program mode applies to the CTX-3200M.
Thanks go to Leroy Donnelly for his list of cellular phone technical
support numbers; unfortunately, Audiovox at [phone] wouldn't
tell me anything about this because I (truthfully) told them I wasn't
a service center.  *sigh*

I would be interested in a) anyone confirming/denying my guesses, b)
anyone adding information to what I have below, and/or c) anyone
sending me the non-private settings of their CTX-3200M (or similar
Audiovox product.)  Don't send me your phone number(s) or lock
code(s)!  I don't want them!  I don't need them!  I don't want to be
responsible for them!  But if, say, you *know* you have Horn Alert
enabled, I'd be interested in your values for registers 09, 10, 11,
12, 13 and 14.  Modulo Moderator approval, and those of you who send
me information, I'll summarize results back to the Digest.

Here's what I do know: (n's replace numbers You Don't Need to Know.)

To put phone in program mode, enter the three-digit lock code, then
<func> # 1.  To move through the list, press "*" or "#" keys.  After
you alter items, press <sto>.  <func> <snd> writes the values to NAM
and advances you to Reg #46.  <func> <clr> resets the phone to the NAM
values last <func> <snd>'d.

Confidence values: A=Gotta Be, B=Probably Is, X=Wild Guess, Z=No Clue

      Original    Valid                                         My Personal
Reg#  Value       Regex       Meaning                           Confidence
 ---  ----------- ----------- --------------------------------- -----------
01    708nnnnnn8  [0-9]{10}   Telephone number                      A
02    nn8         [0-9]{3}    Standard Lock Code                    A
03    00020       [0-9]{5}    Cellular System ID                    A
04    08          [0-9]{2}    Overload Class                        B
05    10          [0-9]{2}    Group ID                              B
06    1           [0-1]{1}    Access                                X
07    1           [0-1]{1}    Local                                 X
08    0334        [0-9]{4}    Paging channel                        A
09    0           [0-1]{1}                                          Z
10    1000        [0-1]{4}                                          Z
11    00000000    [0-1]{8}    Features, left->right bits 7->0:
                              Bit 7: Beep every minute feature      A
                              Bit 6: Power on into locked mode      A
                              Bits 5-1                              Z
                              Bit 0: Any digit answers incoming     A
12    11111000    [0-1]{8}                                          Z
13    00          [0-9]{2}                                          Z
14    000         [0-9]{3}                                          Z
15    nnn         [0-9]{3}    Call timers lock code                 A
16-40 00000       [0-9]{5}    System IDs to inhibit                 B
41-45 <empty>     *{0}        Unwritable.                           A
46-47 nn, nn      [0-9A-F]{2} Unwritable.  NAM checksum.            A

Location unknown, but referred to as NAM options in user's guide:

  Automatic Redial:      Retries busy cell cites if busy
  911 Emergency Call:    Allows 911 calls even if locked
  Call Restrictions:     Set of restrictions on outbound numbers
  Hands-free operation:  [Active on my phone, I can't seem to disable it!]
  Horn Alert:            [Not active on my phone, may not even be connected]
  Safety Timer:          Turn off some number of hours after car is stopped

"Call timers lock code" is the code that must be entered to reset the
total elapsed airtime used and number of calls made.  This might be
different than the standard lock code for a short-term cellphone
rental outfit.

"System IDs to inhibit" is a list of cellular services to ignore.  The
phone will say "NoSvc" rather than "Roam" in those areas.

I hope this helps someone save on reprogramming fees, and I hope
anyone using this information to try to defraud a cell company gets
caught and thrown into the slammer!


Bill Nickless  System Support Group  <[e-mail]>  [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Lobbying Powers in U.S. (was Re: Opiniongrams)
Organization: ProLine [pro-cynosure]
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 93 15:12:53 EDT


[e-mail] (Nigel Allen) writes:

>   -- The key groups who are frequent communicators with Congress are
> senior citizens (48 percent), followed by Pro-Life/Religious Right (15
> percent), special interest groups (14 percent) and environmentalists
> (11 percent).  General or across-the-board opinions made up 15
> percent.

Is this saying that 48 percent of Senior Citizens communicate with
Congress, or that 48 percent of those that communicate with Congress
are senior citizens?  Either way, this statistic demonstrates the
power held by the AARP.  You thought the NRA was the biggest lobbying
organization in the U.S.?  Think again.

> [Moderator's Note: Western Union is desparately trying to stay in
> business. I can't blame them, but the handwriting is on the wall.

I work in a store that offers Western Union services.  None of their
services are cheap, but the same people who complain to us about the
rates are the same ones that keep coming back.  The most popular
service (at our location) is the Quick Collect payment.  For $10.50,
you can send any amount of money to beat the deadline on your
mortgage, credit card, etc., so long as the company you owe already
has an arrangement with Western Union.  We get about 50% commission on
these, which is why we continue to offer the service, but may also be
part of the reason WU is struggling.


Doug Granzow ([e-mail]) -- Cynosure BBS 410-549-2584 (free!)


[Moderator's Note: Quick Collect from Western Union is going to be one
of the options I begin offering customers of the Talk Ticket; that and
a few currency exchanges in the Chicago area have indicated to me they
would like to begin selling cards.  PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1993 13:40:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Access to Toll Records


Two programs aired on PBS in 1992, "Nova" and "Adam Smith" dealt with
privacy and access to personal information.  In both programs, the
example of viewing then V.P. Dan Quayle's credit report was used.

In the Adam Smith program, a person named Jeffery Rothfeder used his
"computer" to access Quayle's credit report.  The journalist in Nova
supposedly got legitmate access to Quayle's info by simply stating
that he was a journalist.

The credit info both of these came back with appeared to be the same
thing an individual is entitled to when denied credit by a credit
grantor.

Both programs used the figure of 100 dollars as what they paid for
other information, including long-distance records.  There was no
elaboration on what was meant by "records", but one would assume they
meant individual call detail.

I have a problem understanding how this can be so.

First, assume that "long distance" is restricted to 1+ calling billed
to an individual's personal telephone bill.

Second, assume that the long-distance is provided by one of the three
major long-distance carriers.

Third, assume the person is served by a Regional Bell Operating
Company Local Exchange Carrier.

Fourth, assume that criminal activity is not involved, and that no
law-enforcement agencies are involved.

These assumptions mirror the calling-billing of many individuals.

It does not seem possible that toll records are available to any
entity, at any price, under the above scenario.

What's going on here?

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

From: [e-mail] (Irene Berkovich)
Subject: Phones That Work With "Call Answer"?
Organization: Computer Assisted Writing Centre, York Univ, Toronto, Canada
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 11:13:52 -0400


I have recently subscribed to Bell Canada's "Call Answer" which is a
voice mail answering service.  It notifies you that there is a message
waiting by changing the dial tone into a broken stacatto-like tone.
Unfortunately this means that you have to pick up the telephone to see
if there are any messages waiting.

Are there any phones on the market (preferably Panasonic) that have a
flashing light to indicate that there are messages waiting on Call
Answer?

Thanks.

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

From: Jeff Jonas <[e-mail]>
Subject: 900 Number Portability?
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 21:28:48 -0400 (EDT)


There's been talk in TELECOM Digest about 800 number portability.  I
was wondering if 900 numbers are portable too?

What brought this to mind is a catalogue I got with an
errata slip that reads:

"Due to sudden changes in regulations within the telephone industry,
the telephone numbers shown are incorrect ..."

I do not understand - what would cause somebody to change their 900
number?  If 900 numbers are now portable (as 800 numbers), then they
could switch carriers and keep the existing numbers.  Does this have
anything to do with some companies no longer accepting billing?  But
how would that force then to change their numbers?

Mind you, my heart doesn't bleed for these 900 services, but I'm
curious about the number changes.


Jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: It is anyone's guess what the catalog meant by
'sudden changes in regulations within the telephone industry'. If this
was a sex-catalog you were reading, it might be they could no longer
bill via 900. Also, at one point, all of AT&T's 900 numbers were org-
anized by the cost of the call. For example, calls to 900-410-xxxx
cost so much; calls to 900-234-xxxx cost so much, etc. What prefix you
got on depended on what you wanted to charge. You changed your price
and the phone number had to change. Maybe that is not the case any
longer.  How about telling us the *original* numbers which are now
wrong and the *now correct* numbers printed in the errata. Maybe we
can piece together the facts from the actual numbers; figure out which
carrier operates what, etc.  PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1993 12:47:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Electronic Exhibition in China Announcement
Organization: Penn State University


Exhibitions on electronics products, sponsored by Electronics
Information Cen Ministry of Machinery & Electronics Industry, PRC,
will be held in Beijing, Sha ai, and Guangzhou sequentially.  Those
who are interested in the exhibition can write to:

          Transpac Infoserv.
          1816 Weaver St.
          State College, PA16803

for detailed information and formal application form.

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

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 93 03:14:45 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Mitel Smart-1 Dialer Programming Information Needed


Subject line says it ... I know a guy (not on the net) who needs the
programming information for a Mitel Smart-1 PAV dialer.  Apparently,
Mitel won't send programming manuals to anyone other than their
dealers, and none of the local dealers in his area (or mine) have one.
If you have one, I'd either like to ask you a couple of questions
(well, maybe a FEW more than a couple :-) or else see if we could work
something out to get a copy of the manual.  In fact, if you know
anything at all about these units (good, bad, or indifferent) I'd like
to hear from you.  Please reply via e-mail so as not to waste
bandwidth here in the TELECOM Digest.


Thanks in advance,

Jack Decker | Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 93 07:20:08 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Nine Volt Phone Operation (was Re: Decline ...)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 27-JUN-93, <unknown> writes:

> Please remember that a phone is designed to work with 48 volts, not
> nine ... if you want a DTMF circuit off 9V, then I recommend creating one
> yourself ... the phone probably wont work without a lot of hacking
> around.

CO batteries are typically around 48 volts or so, but on a POTS line
when the set goes off hook, the resulting DC across the pair is
usually right around 9 volts, +/- a few.  Some non-telco equipment
will run the loops at 24 volts with no ill effects.

Ah-ha.  I just remembered the case of the almost-extinct AML-1 box.
This was a kludgy analog subscriber carrier used to multiplex a second
POTS line over an existing physical pair.  The box at the subscriber
end was powered by a twelve volt nicad, trickle-charged from the
physical loop when it was on hook.  The on-hook voltage across the
derived pair was between nine and twelve volts, and this dropped to
six volts or so when the second line went off hook.  Touch tones
usually worked fine on these.

The AML had its problems, so most of them are in the scrap heap by
now.


Good day.

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Chuck Wooters)
Subject: Looking For a Solution to Voicemail Problem
Date: 5 Jul 1993 06:13:00 GMT
Organization: ICSI (International Computer Science Institute)


Hello-

I'm looking for a hardware/software combination that will let me
collect data over a telephone line on my PC. Specifically, I want to
run some experiments in which a person calls into my PC and navigates
through a "simulated" voice-operated voicemail system. It will be
simulated by a person (the Wizard) who is listening to the callers
voice commands and controlling the voicemail system's responses. The
purpose of this setup is to be able to evaluate different speech
interfaces over the telephone.

Some of the features I'm looking for include:

1) The ability for a person (the Wizard) to listen to the caller and
control the voice-mail system's responses.

2) Programmability. A nice C, C++, (or whatever) programming
interface. (I want to be able to construct different voicemail
interfaces easily.)

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.


Chuck Wooters    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Weimar)
Subject: Connecting From Poland
Organization: Geometry Forum
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 19:33:04 GMT


I'll be working in Poland for two weeks.  Any advice on how I might
connect to my Internet account?  I'll be using a Powerbook and Supra
v32biz modem.


steve


[Moderator's Note: One of our regular readers is in Poland and I hope
he will respond with details to this ... but anyone welcome!   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Willie Smith)
Subject: Re: Telepassport (was Re: Sprint Does it Again!)
Organization: PictureTel Corporation
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1993 13:59:11 GMT


[e-mail] (John Macdonald) writes:

> Pat writes:]

>> Me! I am going to be offering a new service called 'Telepassport'

>> lines installed for the purpose. They will let it ring once or twice
>> (best to have it ring twice to be sure I catch the signal) then hang up.

> Hmm, Pat, I can recall there having been many instances where you have
> disapproved of the practice of passing messages through the phone
> system without paying the phone company for the use of its services

[...]

> Is this system not a variant on the same theme?  Someone calls your
> equipment to pass a message to you without your answering the call and
> thus causing their call to get billed by their phone company.

> [Moderator's Note: Well, we are going to be using international toll-
> free (ie 800) lines from AT&T. The foreign telco won't be out anything
> one way or the other. Plus, AT&T is going to be handling all our
> traffic, both on the return call to the subscriber and on his outbound
> call through our system.

Yeah, but Pat, you didn't answer the original question: Doesn't the
deliberate and continued use of "call this number, I won't pick up,
I'll call you back" constitute fraud, as you are passing messages thru
the phone system without paying for them?

AT&T may not mind, as it's generating revenue for them indirectly, but
the foreign telco isn't even getting paid for the original call to the
international 800 number.  Do they normally not get paid (by AT&T) for
the use of their facilities for such calls?


Willie Smith    [e-mail]        [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I do not know how AT&T and the PTT's settle with
each other on the use of international lines from overseas which are
terminated in the USA. I know when we will call back to the subscriber
the call will go over AT&T to the distant PTT and the PTT will collect
on those calls in the usual way from AT&T.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Date: 5 Jul 1993 21:34:48 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jim
Haynes) writes:

> Not to get into the old rut of arguing whether it's the cell phone
> companies' own fault that their systems are poorly designed, and all
> the analogies about whether you left your door unlocked, ad
> infinitum ... but it does seem that the cell system doesn't make the
> best use of available technology to prevent that kind of thing.

> Maybe I'm armchair quarterbacking, but it seems to me Kerberos should
> be good for making cell phone accounting really secure.

It would also be a good way to make all current cellphones obsolete.
Keep in mind that any change in the authentication protocol would
necessitate making current phones unusable -- there would be no
opportunity for having both the 'old' and the 'new' phones operable.
After all, then the phreaks would always imitate an 'old' phone,
wouldn't they?  Even once a new standard was agreed upon, a carrier
would have to either require all subscribers to replace their phones
with what would certainly be just a few available models at higher
prices, or buy a new phone for every subscriber.

And then what would they do with roamers?  It sure would have been
nice if they had thought of these things 15 years ago when the AMPS
standard was being developed.  Then again, the proliferation of
cellphones has greatly exceeded even the industry's wildest
expectations.  Ten years ago, cellular was just getting started in
most markets, and nobody had any idea just how big it would get.  With
all of the growth, it makes the problem of dealing with the installed
base enormous for any substantial change in the protocol.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: But you know something Steve? I'll bet the cellular
industry could cut a deal with two or three (or how many ever) of the
major cellphone manufacturers to make new phones at a deeply discounted
rate, then *give them away* to existing customers for less than the
current losses due to fraud. The cell companies would have to bite the
bullet and do it, but once it was over with, so would be the problem
for the most part. Didn't AT&T have to make some major changes in the
'way the system worked' in the 1960's to combat not only fraud but the
extremely rapid increase in telecommunications usage?

Contract with Motorola and others to make new phones; cut the best
deal possible. Announce a cutover date and tell the subscribers to go
to any dealer with (a) their old phone and (b) proof they are a sub-
scriber on some cellular service -- maybe the most recent billing.
Dealer would verify the customer was in good standing with the carrier,
and issue a new phone on the spot *if the carrier approved the trans-
action*. Dealer would be required to keep old phone which would be
sent back to the factory as part of the deal for scrapping or to be
retrofitted or whatever ... there would be a conversion period of two
weeks or maybe three weeks for everyone to take in their old phone and
get a new phone *in the approximate price range and with the same fea-
tures as their old one*. In other words, no upgrading to better quality
phones (other than where security is concerned) at the expense of the
cell company.

At the time the conversion was to begin, and for the two or three
weeks it was in progress, the carrier's software would be toggled to
*ignore* ESN's it could not understand, did not recieve, etc.  This
would be sort of like they do now with demonstration phone numbers
used by dealers: every cell phone on the premises can be used to
demonstrate how it works; the tower simply is told when calls come
from (cell) phone number such and such, ignore the ESN ... and don't
think a few phreaks are not familiar with the cell phone number used
by the Radio Shack dealer in their community and don't set their phones
to go out on his 'demonstration' phone number ... :). On the closing
day of the conversion, toggle that software back to normal status. Yes
there would be two or three weeks of fraud galore, and yes, the cost
of conversion -- giving the customer a free phone of equal value but
with enhanced security -- would run in the millions of dollars. How
much is fraud costing now?  I'd be very surprised if the conversion
was not amortized in several months or a year at best. Once it was
over with, the old phones would be worth zilch, that is, in the event
you decided to keep a few and try to bluff the carriers. You watch,
there will be a major shakeup and reform before long ... there has to
be the way the cell carriers are being eaten alive.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #451
******************************










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Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 02:29:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #452

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 6 Jul 93 02:29:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 452

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    First Announcement/On-Line Congressional Hearing (Journet via Nigel Allen)
    Help Wanted Addressing Email (John Hurst)
    International Yellow Pages Wanted (Hindra Irawan)
    Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted (Dennis Mitchell)
    Telephone Gateway Information Wanted (J. van Zijll de Jong)
    Auto Call Back on Collect Call? ([e-mail])
    How to Get EIA/TIA Standards? (Marko Ilari Silventoinen)
    Re: How to Destroy a COCOT (Justin Greene)
    Re: How to Destroy a COCOT (Charles Stephens)
    Re: Value Added Voice Services (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Time Signals via Modem (Louis A. Mamakos)
    Re: GSM Security (Haakon Styri)
    Re: Only in Texas (Charles Stephens)
    More About Counterfeiting (Andrew Finkenstadt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 93 02:08:30 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: First Announcement/On-Line Congressional Hearing
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I found the following message on the [e-mail] mailing
list.

 From: David Farber <[e-mail]>
 Subject: First Announcement/On-Line Congressional Hearing

 Station: Internet Multicasting Service
 Channel: Internet Town Hall
 Program: On-Line Congressional Hearing
 Release: July 5, 1993
 Content: First Announcement/On-Line Congressional Hearing

     On July 26 at 9:30AM EDT, the Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and Finance of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold the first
Congressional Hearing ever held over a computer network.  The
oversight hearing on "The Role of Government in Cyberspace" will take
place in the Grand Ballroom of the National Press Club at 14th and F
Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C.  The hearing is open to the public. An
open house will be held from 3 - 5PM on the same day in the same
location and is also open to the public.

     Chairman Markey has asked that this historic occasion demonstrate
the potential and diversity of the global Internet.  Thirty
Sparcstations will be in the hearing room, allowing members of
Congress, staff, and their guests to read e-mail, use Gopher menus,
read testimony in WAIS databases, browse the World Wide Web, and
otherwise use the resources of the global Internet as part of the
hearing.

     Some witnesses for the hearing will testify remotely, sending
audio and video over the Internet.  Audio and video of the hearing
will also be multicast over the Multicast Backbone (MBONE).  We are
hoping that C-SPAN and other traditional media will also carry the
event.  *MORE DETAILS ON MBONE AND OTHER WAYS TO WATCH THE HEARINGS
REMOTELY WILL BE FORTHCOMING SHORTLY.*

     One of the primary points that we are hoping to demonstrate is
the diversity and size of the Internet.  We have therefore established
an electronic mail address by which people on the Internet can
communicate with the Subcommittee before and during the hearing:

          [e-mail]

     We encourage you to send your comments on what the role of
government should be in the information age to this address.  Your
comments to this address will be made part of the public record of the
hearing.  Feel free to carry on a dialogue with others on a mailing
list, cc'ing the e-mail address.

     Your cards and letters to [e-mail] will help
demonstrate that there are people who use the Internet as part of
their personal and professional lives.  We encourage you to send
comments on the role of government in cyberspace, on what role
cyberspace should play in government (e.g., whether government data be
made available on the Internet), on how the Internet should be built
and financed, on how you use the Internet, and on any other topic you
feel is appropriate.  This is your chance to show the U.S. Congress
that there is a constituency that cares about this global
infrastructure.

     If you would like to communicate with a human being about the
hearing, you may send your comments and questions to:

          [e-mail]

     Support for the Internet Town Hall is provided by Sun
Microsystems and O'Reilly & Associates.  Additional support for the
July 26 on-line congressional hearing is being provided by ARPA, BBN
Communications, the National Press Club, Xerox PARC, and many other
organizations.

     Network connectivity for the Internet Town Hall is provided by
UUNET Technologies.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (John Hurst)
Subject: Help Wanted Addressing Email
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 03:43:59 GMT


I am trying to find an email route to my dad in Omaha.  He says his
address from denver is omhp/nwnt11/thurst.  Thanks in advance for your
help.


John Hurst   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Hindra Irawan)
Subject: International Yellow Pages Wanted
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 04:00:08 GMT


I need help locating distributor/publisher/supplier for computer
readable (CDROM/tape/disks any format) of international yellow pages.
Does this thing even exist?

I thank you for any leads that you can provide me.


Hindra Irawan    [e-mail]    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dennis Mitchell)
Subject: Answering Machine Bypass Code Informatio Wanted
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 03:18:47 GMT


I'm looking for a new answering machine, I've heard that one with the
features I want exists, but I have no idea who makes it.

My fiance works nights, and sleeps during the day.  When she's in bed,
she unplugs the phone and lets her answering machine take all the
calls.  Generally that's all right, but _sometimes_ there are calls
that she needs to receive right away.

We need to find an answering machine that will prevent the phone from
ringing unless the caller enters a bypass code of some sort.  Can
anyone offer a suggestion on where to look?

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

From: [e-mail] (J van Zijll de Jong)
Subject: Telephone Gateway Information Wanted
Organization: School of Maths and Info Sciences, Massey University, NZ.
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 01:59:06 GMT


Does anyone have any information on telephone gateways.  I am doing a
fourth year project at Massey University New Zealand on home
automation.  I am interested in being able to have remote operation of
the home control system via the telephone.  I know that SMART HOUSE
has a AT&T telephone gateway, but I have been unable to get any
information on it.  Do you know of any other products avaiable that
would be relevant to my project.


Thanks,

Jeroen

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Auto Call Back on Collect Call?
Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 01:21:47 -0500


    After reading recent posting about passing the message without
accepting the collect call, I just wonder if the auto callback feature
can work on those unaccepted collect calls.  For example, a person
call collect from a payphone, can the other party say no to the telco,
that is, not accepting the call, but use auto call back to call the
payphone (provided it accepts incoming call) and talk to the party
there?


[Moderator's Note: This will not work because auto callback like other
CLASS features relies on getting the number of the calling party. When
the call goes through the operator, the called party's number is not
sent along to the end recipient. In other words, if the operator calls
you it shows up as 'outside' on the Caller-ID box.  Auto callback
attempts will fail, and the computer will tell you either it has for-
gotten the number, or never had it to begin with, or similar. What you
*can* do, although it is illegal and a violation of tariff is have the
calling party call you *person to person collect*. When someone answers
and tells the operator you are not there, the calling party can ask
the operator to 'leave word'.  She will then leave a message with the
person who answered your phone saying 'Ask Mr. Smith to call Mr. Brown
in Chicago. Dial the long distance operator, ask for Operator 7 and
the Chicago number 312-xxx-xxxx."

Now there is no such person as 'Operator 7' (or maybe the number has
since been changed). That is merely a code phrase which tells *any*
AT&T operator handling the return call to put the call through and
bill it at operator assisted person to person rates and show Chicago
as the originating point of the call for inter-company billing
purposes, etc.  When you receive this message, instead of going through
the Operator 7 routine, you simply dial the Chicago number at station
dial rates, saving quite a bit of money (again assuming the payphone
he called from accepts incoming calls.) Like other collect call scams
where a message is passed but no one pays for it; it is illegal to
return the call direct without advising AT&T to bill it at person to
person rates, but at least the company gets some money out of the
deal; all they lost was the operator's time and surcharge.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marko Ilari Silventoinen)
Subject: How to Get EIA/TIA Standards?
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 06:26:57 GMT


Hello there,

Could somebody tell me how can I obtain EIA/TIA standards? The address
or telefax number of TIA office would do also.


Thank you in advance,

Marko Silventoinen, PhD student of Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: How to Destroy a COCOT
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 93 22:52:15 GMT


> (useful for voicemail, calling cards, etc.).  Can anyone recommend a
> good tone dialer?  Are they available in general electronics stores?

Radio Shack sells a few models the cheapest being about $20.00.

> 2. If I use a COCOT to place a collect call to Canada, then assuming
> the call goes through at all, can I assume the party in Canada will
> be charged only the standard rate for a collect call (as opposed to
> the exorbitant AOS rate)?  I've always assumed that the AOS would have
> no way of charging their high rates for collect calls to Canada because
> of the monopoly situation in Canada.  Am I right?

Which standard rate? Be careful as a lot of COCOTS use small expensive
third party carriers.  They should however allow you to select a
carrier using 10xxx0.


Justin


[Moderator's Note: On a collect call, the rate charged is the rate in
effect at the telco originating the call and per the time of day at
the place of origin ... the recipient's telco rates or his time of day
have no bearing on it. He is simply agreeing to pay on behalf of the
caller.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Charles Stephens (ast GA uucpMC - exp 1/9/93))
Subject: Re: How to Destroy a COCOT
Date: 6 Jul 1993 03:32:28 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS


Well if it isn't so profitable, then why aren't there less COCOTS and
AOS's around?!?!  Wouldn't they go belly up sooner or later?



Charles Stephens       [e-mail]
DISCLAIMER: I am a guest a Emory's Math and CS Dept., all opinions expressed,
except those quoted by others, are my own, and not those of said organization.


[Moderator's Note: A lot of them have gone out of business. People have
gone into the COCOT business knowing diddly about the telecom industry,
and wound up getting eaten alive by fraud and vandalism to their phones.
COCOTS are not a get rich quick business. If you have a bunch of COCOTS
out on the street you must pay attention to them. They are as subject
to vandalism and theft as the 'genuine Bell phones' plus they have the
distinct disadvantage of no central office intelligence. So the owner
either programs them correctly or he stands to lose big time.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Value Added Voice Services
Date: 5 Jul 1993 21:52:07 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

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

>> 2. When making calls from some hotel rooms, all the numbers dialed are
>> intercepted, printed out, and used by hotel staff when calculating
>> your bill. When you dial the card-calling service, your ID (or
>> card-number) AND your secret number, is also printed out.

> Actually, it isn't.  The hotel switch receives only the tones used to
> reach the card service provider.  It then cuts through the voice path,
> and the remaining tones are sent directly to the card service
> provider.  If the hotel were to monitor and intercept those tones, it
> would be in violation of those same wiretap laws.

I know someone that used to be the front desk manager at a hotel.
With their equipment, which was in common use at many hotels a few
years ago, the calling card number was definately recorded by the
hotel's equipment.  This was in the days before integrated billing
equipment at the front desk.  Each device that generated charges for
the guest printed out its own ticker of the charges, which the front
desk clerk then manually keyed into the register to put on the guest's
folio.  The pay-per-view cable machine printed out little tickets
which were keyed in by hand, and the PBX did the same.

For every call that was placed, the PBX would print out a single line
on an 80 column dot matrix printer.  The guest would dial 9+ for a
local call, and 8-1+ for a long distance call billed to the room, or
8-0+ for a long distance call billed collect or to a calling card.  In
any event, all digits dialed from the guests phone (up to the first 32
digits) were printed on the printer, including the called number (of
course) and the calling card number.  This was not done for any
nefarious purpose, but simply because the device that recorded the
digits was too dumb to do anything else.  The front desk personnel
were trained to just ignore the 8-0+ calls, and only enter charges for
the other ones.

My friend who was the manager said that the other front desk personnel
weren't bright enough to figure out what the other digits were -- they
were told by the manager to just ignore the 8-0 calls, and that's what
they did.  He did note that there was a large opportunity for anyone
that knew what the digits were to have a constant supply of valid
stolen calling card numbers.  I would imagine that the AT&T fraud
people would be able to corrolate that a large number of cards that
are used at a particular establishment were later reported
compromised, and would be able to have the management look into it.
But the bottom line is that this definately was wide-spread in the
80's.  Now, most hotels have integrated compter systems, where the PBX
feeds the charges directly into the billing computer, so the clerk
never sees the SMDR directly.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Louis A. Mamakos)
Subject: Re: Time Signals via Modem
Date: 6 Jul 1993 01:46:03 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Daniel
Burstein) writes:

> You can -guess- based on phone line distance, but there are so many
> factors involved (what route was taken, what's the built in delay from
> signal processing ... or, to paraphrase Admiral Harper: "How many
> nanoseconds are there between your system and Fort Collins?") that you
> really are just making a guess.

Arrggg ... it's Admiral Grace Hopper.  She's only been dead a short
time now.  I'm glad I was able to see her in person giving a talk on
the "stone-age" of computing and other interesting topics.


Louis Mamakos

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

From: [e-mail] (YuNoHoo)
Subject: Re: GSM Security
Organization: Norwegian Telecom Research
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 93 02:09:14 GMT


[e-mail] (Raj Sanmugam) writes:

> The governments consider the security measures in the GSM system as
> "Too secure".  I am not familiar with the #435 comments. But, I think
> the GSM security measures should make it much more difficult, if not
> impossible, to penetrate the system.

The security measures you are thinking about here wouldn't be the
authentication scheme, but rather the encryption of signalling and the
data ("speech" or whatever). Encryption of the signalling does of
course help against fraud, but encrypting the data channel is more of
a privacy question. The way GSM was designed the authentication is
mandatory, but the encryption is optional. If either the handset or
the base station doesn't turn on encryption it will not be used.

However, even a flexible design may turn into a political hot potato
when the subject is encryption. I'll say no more (in this group anyway).


Haakon Styri  <[e-mail]>   std. disclaimer applies.

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

From: [e-mail] (Charles Stephens (ast GA uucpMC - exp 1/9/93))
Subject: Re: Only in Texas
Date: 6 Jul 1993 03:28:05 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS


Randal L. Schwartz ([e-mail]) wrote:

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (K
> Husain) writes:

>> I saw a similar listing in the Austin, residence pages by a Heanauder
>> Titzhoff a few years ago. Don't see him here now. If I remember
>> correctly some guy did answer the phone and acknowldege the name when
>> my roommate had called.  Found it quite by accident actually ...

> Several years ago, one of the Portland Oregon phonebook whitepages had
> "FARRAH ... FAWCETT" as the range of last names covered on that page.
> No kidding.

While we are on the subject, the Atlanta white pages lists as the last
resident:

ZZMMTHISJ Zibre 123 Elm St. SW Mreta --- 555-1212

(Phone and address changed obviously...)

It think his (or is his hers?) parents wanted to ensure that person
would show up last in any alphabetical listing ...


Charles Stephens    [e-mail]
DISCLAIMER: I am a guest a Emory's Math and CS Dept., all opinions expressed,
except those quoted by others, are my own, and not those of said organization.


[Moderator's Note: The last one in Chicago for several years -- as
long as I can remember -- has been Mr. Zzyxy.  He exists, they say.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Finkenstadt)
Subject: More on Counterfeiting
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Vista-Chrome, Inc.
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 05:47:44 GMT


Our Esteemed Moderator noted:

> Counterfeiting requires a claim by the person making the
> reproduction that his scrip is the currency of the United States. A
> printed repudiation on the scrip is all that is required; note the
> newspaper advertising coupons which include 'savings dollars' and the
> like; any 'too close to the real thing' always have a disclaimer
> printed on them.

It is a requirement of the Secret Service to make ANY color copies of
money via press, xerography or sublimation less than 75% or more than
150% of the original size in all cases.  Even then sometimes they will
come after you for other specks in your eye, ignoring the plank in the
eyes of the Miami hoods. We (Vista-Chrome) once printed a dollar
savings book which had pictures of various kinds of money including
coinage and bills which was distributed in the Seattle area.  They
traced it back to us in Tallahassee, came in, said they wanted the the
film, the plates, any spoilage, the camera readies, and never to do
that again.


Andrew Finkenstadt  |  andy@{homes.com,vistachrome.com,genie.geis.com}
Systems Analyst     |  Vista-Chrome, Homes & Land Publishing Corporation
                    |  1600 Capital Circle SW, Tallahassee Florida 32310
[phone]     |  GEnie Postmaster, Unix & Internet RoundTables Sysop

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #452
******************************










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Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 23:58:08 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #453

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 6 Jul 93 23:58:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 453

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Brendan B. Boerner)
    Canada <--> US Call Rates (was Re: How to Destroy a COCOT) (Steve Kass)
    Exclusion Module Question (Michael Weigang)
    BBS to Internet Connection (Thomas Hinders)
    Any Communication Exposition/Show in the Near Future? (Heng Chu)
    Northern Telecom Wins AGT Pact (Washington Times via Paul Robinson)
    North American Numbering Plan (Bob Schwartz)
    Digital Signature Patents (Paul Robinson)
    Some More Historical Questions (Martin McCormick)
    Most Economical Way to Call Canada From UK (Tony Palik)
    Touchtone Pad Needed (George Thurman)
    DID Chip? (Seth B. Rothenberg)
    Canadian Telecoms Law (Tyson Macaulay)
    SL-1 Msg Waiting Light Always On! (Richard Hyde)
    Re: Caller ID via 800 Number ([e-mail])
    Re: Gnocchi al Telefono (Frederick Roeber)
    New House Problems (Chris Ambler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner)
Subject: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Organization: Novell, Inc. --Austin
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 15:45:07 GMT


I was reading in the {Austin Chronicle} the other day that Cox
Enterprises, Inc. (big paper chain, owns the {Austin American
Statesman}) and BellSouth have announced an "agreement in principle"
to form a joint company that will deliver information services to
consumers who dial 511 (for a small fee of course).

I think the Austin A-S has been trying to generate demand for such a
service by offering a service where you can call them up and get
additional information about a topic or whatnot in the paper by
punching in a four digit code next to the article or whatever you were
reading.  Presumably if they are ever able to charge for this then
they will have hooked some percentage of current callers.

My questions are: Who controls the allocation of N11 numbers? And if
presumably the allocation is controlled by a regulatory body and not
the phone company, why in God's name would these guys even think of
allocating such a number so phone companies/newspapers can make a
buck?  Tell them to get a phone number like the rest of us ...

Let's see:

111 - can phone equipment distinquish between this and a L.D. call?
211 - ?
311 - ?
411 - Directory assistance
511 - Proposed information services
611 - ?
711 - ?
811 - ?
911 - Emergency services

This means that there would be five, maybe six codes left over.  Hmmm,
I wonder if we can think of a better use for 511.


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.


[Moderator's Note: Don't forget 611 in your list above which is often
used for repair service. 811 is used in California to reach the phone
company business office. Of course, 011 is used as a prefix for inter-
national calls from the USA. Within any given area code, the telco of
record (as often as not, a Bell company) is responsible for doling out
the exchanges or prefixes. For instance, in 312/708, Illinois Bell
arranges for Centel to have certain prefixes, keeping others for their
own use. I think elsewhere in Illinois, IBT also controls the process
and arranges with the other telcos in the state regards who gets what.
With this in mind, BellSouth (although I think you mean Southwestern Bell)
can  pretty much do as they please with 511 within their territory, so
long as it does not conflict with the same code being used by some
other telco in the area code. *Area code* assignments are a different
matter.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1993 12:06:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Canada <--> US Call Rates (was Re: How to Destroy a COCOT)


In TELECOM Digest Volume 13 : Issue 452 The Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: On a collect call, the rate charged is the rate in
> effect at the telco originating the call and per the time of day at
> the place of origin ... the recipient's telco rates or his time of day
> have no bearing on it. He is simply agreeing to pay on behalf of the
> caller.   PAT]

The recipient's telco rates can affect the cost of a call.  When I was
living in Canada five years ago, I found this was the case for some
calling card calls.  The situation was this:

                 AT&T calling card    Bell Canada calling card
                 =============================================
                         | Bell Canada rate for a
Call from US to     AT&T rates     | call entirely within
Canada                             | Canada based on distance
                                   | called!
                 =============================================
                                   |
Call from Canada Bell Canada rate  |   Bell Canada rate
to US            converted to $US  |
                                   |

In a perfect world, the upper right box should read AT&T rate
converted to $Cdn.  Since AT&T carried the call, it should be their
rate, right?  Anyway, after paying very high rates for such calls, I
started using a friend's AT&T card for calls back to Canada.  It never
made sense to me, but I read the tariffs and they backed up this
assymetrical rate structure.

Does anyone know if this is still the case?


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Weigang)
Subject: Exclusion Module Question
Organization: University of Maine
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 13:36:53 GMT


We have offices where multiple modems and phones are connected to the
same phone line.  We run into problems with people placing voice or
modem calls while someone is already connected via modem.

We are experimenting with a device called a 41405 Station Exclu- sion
Module from Proctor.  Apparently, this device, when connected to each
modem and phone in the office, will prevent someone from beaking into
another's call.

How does this device work?  (I have a very limited knowledge of phone
systems.)

Is this the best solution for our problem?

BTW, all phones in our offices run through key systems like a Merlin,
or Panasonic 616.


Michael Weigang                           University of Maine
e-mail: [e-mail]     Cooperative Extension, Rm 114
Phone:  [phone]                    5741 Libby Hall
Fax:    [phone]                    Orono, ME  04469-5741

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

Date: 06 Jul 1993 10:28:10 EDT
From: Hinders, Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: BBS to Internet Connection


I have a friend who is setting up a BBS system (for the Commonwealth
of PA).  He would like the BBS to be able to pass messages to/from the
Internet.  Fidonet came to mind.  Could someone point me towards
information on obtaining Fidonet access, etc.  Does anyone have any
other suggestions.


Thanks.............

Tom Hinders/Soft-Switch   [phone] (v/vm)
[phone] (f)       Internet:  [e-mail]
X.400:  C=US A=Telemail P=Softswitch S=Hinders G=Thomas


[Moderator's Note: Have your friend check a local BBS list for Fido sites.
Any local FIDO sysop would be able to refer him to the coordinator for
the local network and arrange for him to get a 'node number' and be part
of the node listings which come out weekly. Or, your friend could run
a BBS using something similar to Waffle; this has UUCP mail and news
as part of the package. Then all he has to do is cut a deal with a local
public access Unix site to get a news feed and mail from them. I imagine
this message will prompt at least a few people in your vicinity to write
a note with offers of help, etc.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Heng Chu)
Subject: Any Communication Exposition/Show in the Near Future?
Date: 6 Jul 1993 16:05:54 -0400
Organization: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


(I am asking this for my friend who has no access to news service.  My
friend wants to know if there is any communication exposition/show
(NOT of academic type) in the coming few months. Any information or
pointer will be appreciated.  Please reply to me ([e-mail]) and
I will pass on the information. Thanks a lot!


Heng Chu   [e-mail]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1993  16:11:33 EDT
Subject: Northern Telecom Wins AGT Pact


Page B4, {Washington Times}, 6/6/93

"Edmonton, Alberta - Northern Telecom Ltd. received a three-year
contract worth more than $18 million from AGT Ltd. to supply copper,
fiber optics and cable.  AGT, Canada's third-largest telephone
company, operates the phone system for most of the province of Alberta
and is the main unit of Telus Corp.  Northern Telecom's U.S.  unit is
also a major supplier of telephone equipment."

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

Subject: North American Numbering Plan
From: [e-mail] (Bob Schwartz)
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 93 14:23:59 PDT
Organization: Bill Correctors, Inc., Marin County, California


Sure enough, the North American Numbering Plan seems to be cuumbling
before our eyes. The introduction of "1 and 0" as the second digit for
NPA and NNX is tough enough but when I asked a Pacific Bell executive
what will happen in 1994 (my estimate) when LATA competition is
authorized, he looked puzzled. I explained my question further by
asking if local numbers had been set aside for competition as was the
case for 800#'s prior to portability. I also asked if portability
would be a feature of Lata competition. The answer - We don't know yet
Belcore hasn't told us, but we just may have to implement ten digit
local, intra-LATA, accross the street , dialing like they have in parts
of New York. Imagine, 1 + ten digits to call the apartment next door!


Bob Schwartz                                       [e-mail]
Bill Correctors, Inc.   [phone]   Marin County, California


[Moderator's Note: Hey, I have to dial 1 + 708 to call fifty feet across
the street to the McDonald's to have them fix and bring me my dinner.
I am right on an area code boundary between 312/708 (Howard Street).
You'll survive!   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 22:16:53 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Digital Signature Patents
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


It has been mentioned that there is an E-Mail address related to the
Digital Signature Patent item.  It is as follows:


The eMail address for:

Michael R. Rubin
Active Chief Counsel for Technology
Room A-1111, Administration Building,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
[phone].

[e-mail]


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

Subject: Some More Historical Questions
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1993 16:38:30 -0500
From: Martin McCormick <[e-mail]>


The discussion of the origin of the -48 volt DC telephone line voltage
reminds me of an interesting story told by a Southwestern Bell
official who appeared on a radio talk show, once.  He said that when
Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907, a speech was broadcast
from Oklahoma City to Tulsa via telephone line so that Tulsans could
participate in the celebration.

    The account of this hookup said that the governor spoke into a
water-cooled microphone in Oklahoma City and the signal was audible in
Tulsa, about 100 Miles to the Northeast.

    I actually called into the talk show and asked the official
for more details about the setup, but he only had that schetchy
account.

    In 1907, vacuum tubes were in their infancy, if available, so
it almost sounds like they just ran an incredible current through that
microphone and used water to keep it from doing a melt-down.  The
audio in Tulsa must have been really fabulous after 100 miles of
open-wire unequalized line.

    If anybody has actual knowledge of a similar system, please
give us a technical description.  In that day and time, this type of
telecommunication was probably as amazing to the listeners as
holograms or tiny cell phones are, today.


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


[Moderator's Note: Yours is the second time I've heard that story, and
it is hard to imagine how it was done. My grandfather was born about
1880 near (what was then) Tulsa, Indian Territory, in a small town
called Tahlequah. As a young man he was an administrative assistant to
the federal governor who oversaw or administered Indian Territory. He
told me about being at the ceremony when the federal government
officially disincorporated Indian Territory simultaenously with the
establishment of Oklahoma as a state in the USA. He kept telling me
they 'broadcast the ceremony over the radio' and I kept telling him
they didn't likely have radios then. 'Well,' he said, 'they took turns
talking in a microphone to people ...'. Grandpa was almost eighty
years old when he told me about this, and his memory from a half-century
before was not good.

Amazing technology? By the time grandpa left us he had seen in his
lifetime: the invention of radio, television, talking movies, airplanes,
automobiles, computers, countless other things; he saw the telephone
and electricity come into very wide acceptance and use as well,
bringing with widespread electrical distribution the use of refriger-
ators, fans, household lighting, etc.  Can you imagine coming into a
world with none of those things as a young person growing up and and
having all of them in your daily life when you leave? Will we ever see
another century like the 20th in terms of sheer variety of inventions
and technological changes?  Of course *I* remember when there were no
computers and television was only something that a few very rich
people had in their houses and phones were black instruments with a
round dial if you lived in a place where the exchange was 'modern'. I
suppose given life-expectancy rates I will be around until 2030 or so,
and many of you will be around until 2070. Given the changes in the
past century, doesn't it blow your mind to think of what technology
will be like when *you* depart?  I know it excites me.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 08:49:00 +0000
From: Tony (A.T.) Palik <[e-mail]>
Subject: Most Economical Way to Call Canada from UK


  I will shortly be moving from Canada to the UK on a semi-permanent
basis. My wife and I have a number of relatives here in Canada and
will call them on a regular basis. Being aware of the rates from BT
and Mercury, I thought I could use my Bell Canada Calling Card and
make my calls through Canada Direct. No luck. Bell won't let you keep
a Calling Card if you don't have a home phone number to bill it to.

In an attempt to give me more choices, I have obtained both MCI and
Sprint Cards through no small amount of grief (at least with MCI. What
do you mean you don't have a zip code ? A story for another day). I
can therefore route calls through the US to Canada.

My question is, have others facing this situation determined what
provider offers the best rate? Are there other providers that offer
better rates? I'm reluctant to go to AT&T given who I work for.


Tony Palik [phone]|Bell Northern
Internet  : [e-mail] |Research Ltd. Ottawa
ENVOY 100 : TONY.PALIK    |Ontario, Canada

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

From: [e-mail] (George Thurman)
Subject: Touchtone Pad Needed
Organization: GAGME - Public Access UNIX of Chicago, Illinois, USA, Earth
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 12:06:00 GMT


Does anyone know where I can buy some old Western Electric Touch-Tone
pads? I need the real old ** POLARITY SENSIVIVE ** type.

Please E-mail me.
Thanks !!


GEORGE S. THURMAN    [phone]   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Seth B Rothenberg)
Subject: DID Chip?
Date: 6 Jul 93 19:02:26 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


Having resolved that there's no cheaper substitute for DID service, I
would like to ask if there is anyone who knows where I could find out
if there is a chip that supports DID?  (I figure, if you can buy a
telephone-on-a-chip at Radio Shack, maybe there's a chance you can
buy DID-on-a-chip someplace ... it does not need to be as close as the
Radio Shack up the street.)


Thanks,

Seth

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

Date: Tue,  6 Jul 93 15:28:38 EDT
From: Tyson=Macaulay%DTP%DGCP=HQ=[e-mail]
Subject: Canadian Telecom Law


    It occured to me that I never saw this press release posted
anywhere on the 'net.  (Better late than never.)

    Though this is an offical Canadian Government press release, I
regret that it cannot be made available in both offical languages.
This is due to the fact that french, with it accents and hyphens, is
incompatible with the ASCII format.  I tried and failed to send the
French version with the English version.  If there is a way around
this I would appreciate hearing about it.


Regards,

Tyson Macaulay    e-mail:  [e-mail]
                           [e-mail]
Communications Canada
7th Floor, Journal Tower North
300 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario   K1A 0C8

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

 JUNE 23, 1993                         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


               Canada has its first Telecommunications Act

OTTAWA -- Communications Minister Perrin Beatty today announced that
Canada now has, for the first time in its history, comprehensive
telecommunications legislation.  Bill C-62, the Telecommunications
Act, today received Royal Assent.  The new legislation will replace a
mixture of outdated Acts that had been used to regulate
telecommunications.

     "Canadians everywhere will benefit from the passage of the
Telecommunications Act," said Mr. Beatty.  "This forward-looking piece
of legislation will open the doors to new communications products and
services, and will help to propel our already world famous
telecommunications industry into the twenty-first century.  This
legislation will also help to protect Canadian consumers from
intrusive or abusive telemarketing practices, including 'junk' faxes."

     Before C-62, telecommunications was governed by a mixture of The
Railway Act, the National Telecommunications Powers and Procedures
Act, the Telegraphs Act, and a number of special Acts.  C-62's focus
on a unified national regulatory structure will help to accelerate the
market entry of new products and services, to the benefit of both
consumers and businesses.

     "C-62 is the first successful overhaul of telecommunications
legislation in over 60 years," added Mr. Beatty.  "As such, it is also
the first piece of legislation that can pave the way for the
Electronic Highway System, which depends heavily on advances in
telecommunications technology.  With the Telecommunications Act,
Canadians and Canadian businesses will be able to take full advantage
of the leading-edge telecommunications media that are just around the
corner!"

Contacts:

Charles Chenard
Minister's Office
Ottawa, Ontario
[phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Richard Hyde)
Subject: SL-1 Msg Waiting Light Always on!
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 17:05:36 GMT


I've got a puzzle that I hope someone out there can help me with.

We have an NT SL-1 switch with M2616 sets attached.  Our VP Sales has
a message waiting light that remains lit, even when all messages have
been deleted from the list.

Unplugging the phone briefly causes the light to extinguish for a few
seconds, but then the switch re-activates it.

Performing a DISU followed by an ENLU has no effect.

The manuals seem to have no information on this situation, but then
again, they are NT manuals and the information could be anywhere :-)

Right before this problem with the light occured, I had programed this
DN and two others to appear on the area associates desk.  Both of the
other two DNs are working correctly.

Thanks for the help!


  Richard Hyde   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Caller ID via 800 Number
Organization: CompuData Inc., DeLand
Date: Tue,  6 Jul 93 09:26:04 GMT


> If you are receiving harrasing calls, call your telco's business
> office and explain the situation.

If you are in Southern Bell territory, you can save some time by not
doing this.  All they will do is try to sell you a service where, for
so much a month (or so much per use) they will print the caller's
number inside their office.  While they won't give it to you, they may
offer some co-operation (for a fee) with law enforcement.

This phone co practice makes it more costly to be the victim of
harrassing callers. Of course, the phone company profits by this
crime, and therefore does nothing effective to discourage it.

I wonder if I can charge the deputies $4.50 the next time I am a
witness to crime, thereby profiting from it, or if the privilege of
profiteering is restricted to phone companies.

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

From: [e-mail] (Frederick Roeber)
Subject: Re: Gnocchi al Telefono
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: CERN -- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 1993 08:33:33 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Paolo
Bellutta) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
edu (Gabe M Wiener) writes:


>>              Gnocchi al Telefono

> I'm Italian, an I never heard about such a kind of Gnocchi.

You guys are missing the obvious solution: they don't make it
themselves -- they order out for it!


Frederick G. M. Roeber | CERN -- European Center for Nuclear Research

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

From: [e-mail] (Chris Ambler -- Phish)
Subject: New House Problems
Organization: The Phishtank
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1993 09:02:39 GMT


I've just moved into a new house, and took all 11 analog lines plus
the two ISDN BRIs we have. What a hassle.

The problem I'm having is that hangups don't seem to be recognized by
some of my equipment now! The answering machines don't recycle when
the user hangs up, but wait for five seconds of silence. A few of the
modems cannot detect when the remote site hangs up as well. The voice
mail isn't on line yet, but I'm dreading it.

Is this common on the outskirts of a town (where I am). Could it be a
lack of voltage or impedance or something like that at the end-of-the-
line where I am?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, PS: My request for ISDN data services in Los Angeles LATA 5 yielded
3 responses, all "me too" flavoured. Oh well, technology marches on, but
slowly :-)


[e-mail] | Christopher J. Ambler
[e-mail]  | Author, FSUUCP 1.32

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #453
******************************










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Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 16:26:48 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Telepassport International Calling Service


Telepassport is now available and open for business! Hereinafter in
this message I shall refer to it as TP. TP is an international long
distance carrier. The idea behind TP is to route international calls
all over the world via the United States, allowing callers to access
state of the art telecommunications technology, the best line clarity,
and the lowest rates in the world.

TP capitalizes on the rate differential between the USA and other
countries using a technique known as 're-origination'. The switch
takes calls from customers anywhere in the world, reverses the call so
it is billed as USA originated, and provides USA dialtone so the
customer can complete the connection to any other country in the world.
The cost savings to the customer could be up to fifty percent, depending
on a few factors.

For example, a five minute call from Italy to the USA handled and
billed by the PTT would cost $11.40. Using TP, the cost for the same
call would be $6.84. A five minute call from Brazil to the United Kingdom
costs $18.95 through the Brazilian PTT, but only $10.84 using TP.

Legal Status:
=============

TP is available in virtually every country in the world as a Value Added
Service. Although in some countries the PTT may not welcome the compe-
tition, they are bound by international telecommunication treaties to
allow us to operate.  In addition, TP is required to compensate the PTTs
as part of an international settlements process for carrying our calls
in and out of their country.

Where telecommunications monopolies are in effect, they specifically
prohibit competition by disallowing the installation or use of facilities
in the territory controlled by the monopoly. TP requires no installation
or equipment of any kind in various countries except the telephone
instrument itself. It is an American service and its customers are billed
in the United States, with the US Dollar the method of payment.

In the United States, AT&T has raised objections when certain companies
it suspected were marketing a callback system filed for FCC authorization
to carry international traffic. In their objections they complained that
callback systems were illegally using carriers' facilities to signal for
the callback and thereby avoiding payment of the tariffed rates for useage.

In fact, the tariffs are specifically set not to charge for uncompleted
calls so there is no avoidance of payment. AT&T's own answering machine
product, 'The Toll Saver' is designed not to answer a call if there are
no messages on the machine, thus signalling such to the caller without
him incurring a charge. There are several other examples of security
systems, energy devices, etc which use the telephone for signalling
without payment. AT&T was requested to respond as to their intentions
regards their own products and the technology used by non-telecom
related services (security devices, etc) and 'toll avoidance'. AT&T
was asked if their stance on this related only to organizations in
direct competition with that company.

How to Use Telepassport:
========================

An account is required of all users. TP cannot accept 'casual users'
who do not have a specific business relationship with us. This is
because of the nature of how the TP switch operates. Accounts are
*very easy* to set up, but accounts *are* required, since your
telephone number must be authorized to use the service. You need not
call from an authorized phone however; if you do so, your call will
proceed without further identification or security checks unless you
ask us to incorporate this feature. If you (as a subscriber) call from
an unauthorized telephone, then an account number and PIN must be
entered as part of the session.

Subscribers who are outside the USA:

Three methods can be used to access Telepassport -

(A)  Automatic Callback when calling from an authorized telephone:

1. Dial your TP access number in the USA (1-212-xxx-xxxx).

2. Let the phone ring once or twice (preferably twice to insure
we caught the signal), then hangup.

         - You will receive a call within 10-20 seconds -

3. When our call arrives, pick up your receiver, then you will hear,
depending on your instructions one of these messages:

    "Telepassport"

    OR

    "This call is for <your name>, please transfer this call to
    <your name>; if you are <your name> press 1 on the keypad."

    OR

    "Please transfer this call to extension xxx, if this is
    extension xxx please press 1 on the keypad."

One of these messages (depending on how you have it set up) will play
in any of several languages, depending again on the language you have
chosen for the computer to use.

4. Press '1' at any time during the message.

    - if you are not at your authorized telephone, or if you
      instructed us to make the PIN mandatory on all calls you
      will then hear, (in language of choice) "please enter
      your PIN now."

5. If PIN required, enter it at this time.

     - USA dial tone will be extended to you -

6. Dial the number you wish to reach followed by # (country code +
city code + number + #)  ... for example, to Japan 81 44 954 3951#
or to the USA 1 818 956 6936#.

     - you will hear a TP tone indicating your call is being
       processed. -

If you get a busy signal, or the called party does not answer or you
get an error message, just press * to get dial tone and make another
call if you wish, or hang up. Also when the called party hangs up you
may stay on the line and make another call if desired.

If you make an error in dialing, just press *, wait for dial tone and
dial your call again. If you get an answering machine or some other
device answering the call, maintain silence for five to ten seconds
after speaking your message and you will hear dial tone.


(B) Immediate Callback (For use when not at your authorized telephone):

1. Dial the TP toll-free number from your country, or if toll-free
is not available in your country dial the direct number in New York
(1-212-xxx-xxxx).

Please note if toll-free access to us is not available in your country
then you will have to pay PTT charges for this call, however once you
connect with us, *immediatly* instruct the computer to make a callback
to you. This will limit your exposure to PTT charges to a minute or
lerss.

2. After dialing our toll-free number from your country (or our direct
New York number) you will hear the computer respond,

    "Telepassport, please enter your account number and PIN".

    Enter these numbers and you will hear a spurt of tone followed
    by dial tone.

3. Either dial your call to completion as per 'automatic callback'
 -or- preferably to keep your costs down access the Administrative
Functions Menu to arrange an immediate callback.

(C) If you choose to continue the call, we refer to this method as
'Direct Access'; if you choose to have us call you back, we refer to
it as 'Immediate Callback'.

You use 'Immediate Callback' or 'Direct Access' when you are NOT at
an authorized telephone number. When you are at an authorized tele-
phone number you merely call the number we give you, let it ring a
couple times and hang up to await our callback.


If you are calling from within the USA:
=======================================

1. Dial the number we assign you to call or the direct access number.

    If you are calling from an authorized TP telephone, you will
    hear 'Telepassport' followed a second or two later by dialtone.

    If not, you will hear 'Telepassport, please enter your account
    number and your PIN'.

    After entering this you will hear dialtone.


Regardless of where you are calling from, or how you access TP (that
is, by Direct Access or Automatic Callback) when you reach the
dialtone you can either place your call or access administrative
functions.

To reach administrative functions, press 1# when you get dialtone.

  You will hear:

     "Press 1 to change your callback number, 2 to access your
     account balance, 3 to change your callback message, 4 to
     change your callback message language, 5 for an immediate
     callback."

   Changing your callback number:

     Press 1. "Please enter your new callback number."
     You enter the country code, city code (area code), number, and #.

     You will be asked to re-enter it for confirmation. If you
     do it the same way, fine, if not the computer will keep asking
     until you get it the same way twice in a row.

     We will then use this as the number to reach you for Automatic
     Callbacks until you change it.

     To change it back to your authorized telephone number as per
     our records, when you are asked to 'enter new callback number'
     just press #.

     The computer will respond, 'your new callback number is
     <authorized number>'.

Press 2 to hear what credit balance remains in your account.

Press 3 to change the way we speak when we call you back. If the
short form 'Telepassport' is sufficient, you can indicate that.
If you are in a hotel or at a place where many people answer the phone
or we need to be transferred to an extension or room number, you can
tell us with choices 1, 2 or 3 how to ask for you:

   "This call is for <your name>, call <your name> to the phone".
   "Please transfer this call to extension xxx"
If you tell the computer to ask for you at an extension number, the
computer will ask you to enter the extension number we are to ask
for, followed by #.

Press 4 to change the language we use when making callbacks to you.
Press 1 for English; 2 for Spanish; 3 for Mandarin; 4 for Japanese;
5 for German; 6 for French; 7 for Italian; 8 for Portugese; 0 to
make additional choices.

Your callback message ('connect this call to <your name>' or 'connect
this call to <extension number>') will remain in the language chosen
until you change it. This is helpful when dealing with telephone
operators or hotel clerks, etc in other countries.


Press 5 to get an immediate callback from us. The computer will ask
you to enter the number you want us to call you at. This will be
the country code, city code and number, followed by #.

     After entering this, hangup. We will call you back in 10-20
     seconds, at which time you would proceed as with Automatic
     Callback.

To exit administrative functions menu at any time, press *.

Other features of Telepassport:
==============================

Voicemail: callers leave you messages. You retrieve later with your PIN.

Message forwarding:  If called party is not available, you can record
   a message. We will try to deliver it every two hours for four days.

Phone Home:  You pay for the calls of relatives and customers, but
   only on calls they make to you. The best way to describe this is that
   it is very similiar to the AT&T Easy Reach 700 service.

Toll Free service from USA to other countries: If your country does
not offer toll free service (or offers it, but not from international
points) then TP will offer this to your customers in the USA. They
will dial an 800 number here, and get cut through to your international
number (as shown on our records, or to whatever is your 'callback
number' at the time).

We also offer speed dialing and restricted calling using four digit
codes. You can set it up so that persons calling you dial an 800
number in the USA, then are permitted only to enter a four digit code
to reach you.  Or you can allow employees to make calls to certain
places while not making calls to other places, etc.

Conference calls:  dial multiple numbers linking participants from all
over the world.

Fax broadcast:  send your fax to TP, and we forward to your
distribution list.

Above special services and rates discussed on request. Various special
applications can be designed.

Billing arrangements:  All payments are made either by credit card or
electronic funds transfer from your bank to ours. You will receive a
very detailed monthly accounting. If you prefer, you may establish a
trust fund with the TP business office from which charges will be
paid. If you wish, a 'credit limit' will be set for monthly usage to
assist you in detecting abuse when usage for the month reaches the
agrreed-upon limit.  TP does *not* offer open account billing at this
time.

                 ---------- RATES FOR CALLS ------------

This is probably the most important part to many of you. A full
schedule of rates would be impractical to list here; there are simply
too many countries which can call other countries, etc ... so this
sample listing will provide rates *to and from the USA* from other
countries, with some comments about calls from other countries to
third countries via the USA.

I'll be glad to quote rates between countries on request; just ask
for your specific application.

Our rates are composed of three parts. Calls to the USA, and certain
other countries where we have agreements in place will only see ONE
OR TWO of these components. Calls to third countries via the USA will
see either TWO OR THREE of these components.

The components are:

   ACCESS CHARGE (a per session charge regardless of how long you
     are connected through us)

   INITIAL CHARGE (a per call charge which applies on many inter-
     country calls via our switch)

   PER MINUTE CHARGE (the cost of the call for each minute you
     are connected, speaking with someone).

On calls to the USA from other countries, usually the only charge will
be the PER MINUTE charge. From some points, the ACCESS charge will
also apply. The INITIAL CHARGE will only apply when calling between
other countries using the USA as the transit routing. If we had *our
way*, only the PER MINUTE rates would apply ... but we must make
payments to the PTTs and AT&T for services they render to us, thus
the ACCESS CHARGE and INITIAL CHARGE in some instances.

Here are some sample rates to the USA from elsewhere. Where the rates
are shown as amount/amount/amount this means standard/discount/economy
rates, as per the custom in the country where the call originates.
Time of day for the call is always by local time in the country where
the call originates. Remember, the ACCESS CHARGE is made one time per
session; you can make several calls in succession by pressing the *
key between calls. Each callback by us (or direct access to us) counts
as one session, or one ACCESS CHARGE.


 From (to USA)       Access Charge     Per Minute
==============       =============     ==========

Venezuela              51 cents        .91/.81/.81
Italy                  36 cents        $1.09/1.09/.80
Lebanon                86 cents        $2.73/2.73/2.73
Mexico                 None             .95/.95/.95  plus .16 INITAL CHARGE
                                                     per call.

Canada                 None             .39/.39/.39
China                  $2.12            $1.29/1.29/1.29
Greece                 52 cents          .91/.91/.91 plus .59 INITIAL CHARGE
                                                     per call.

Korea Dem. Rep.        $1.15            $1.20/1.20/1.20
Japan                  None              .98/.85/.79
Colombia               68 cents         $1.05/.94/.94
Taiwan                 95 cents         $1.04/.99/.99
Argentina              57 cents         $1.39/1.19/1.19
CIS (USSR)             91 cents         $1.81/1.81/1.81
Brazil                 60 cents         $1.50/1.30/1.30
Dominican Republic     23 cents           .85/.85/.85
France                 None               .89/.67/.60
Germany                28 cents           .99/.99/.99
Haiti                  31 cents          $1.11/1.11/1.11
Israel                 31 cents          $1.03/.83/.80
United Kingdom         None              !!  Fifty cents per minute always !!

These are just a few examples ...

Now country to country via the USA gets tricky -- you can check out
what your local PTT charges for calls, knock off 30-40 percent in
almost every case, but add on an INITIAL CHARGE typically in the range
of 50 cents to a dollar. The charge for the first minute therefore
will be INITIAL CHARGE plus MINUTE.

Now on calls from USA subscribers outbound:

 TO: (from a USA origin)    First 30 secs.      Addl. 6 secs.
========================    ================    ===============

Argentina                   1.18/1.02/.94       .07/.06/.05
Australia                   1.00/1.00/1.00      .06/.06/.06
Germany                      .69/.67/.63        .06/.06/.05
Israel                      1.25/1.25/1.25      .07/.07/.07
Netherlands                  .59/.43/.43        .06/.06/.06
Hong Kong                   1.54/1.27/1.30      .07/.06/.06
Japan                        .34/.32/.30        .07/.06/.06
United Kingdom               48 cents per minute, all hours!
France                       58 cents per minute, all hours!

Calls to Australia as an example would cost $1.30 for the first minute
and 60 cents per minute thereafter.

Calls to Japan as an example would cost between 60-70 per minute
depending on the time of day.

Calls to Hong Kong would cost 60-70 cents per minute after the first
minute which is much more expensive. The same is the case in calls
to Israel.

I am not privy to all the details as to why calls to some places have
higher first minutes; I do know that TP had to negotiate not only with
AT&T on outbound calls from the USA but also with various PTTs around
the world to meet their requirements and pay them certain fees, etc.

Also, I should point out that USA subscribers calling outbound will
pay an additional 9 cents per minute if they access TP via our 800
number for that purpose. If they dial direct to our New York number,
they pay the rates shown above.  It almost makes better sense (and we
recommend) for all callers to whenever possible use our automatic
callback from their authorized phone(s) or immediate callback to avoid
the extra toll charges while they are calling our switch.

To sign up for Telepassport service, send me email. In the course of
our discussion and sign up process, be prepared to supply the VISA/MC
or AMEX number you wish to have charges applied to periodically or the
bank account you wish to have debited for charges. (But we will be
sending you a detailed monthly analysis and billing in any event.)

Other fine print and 'gotcha!' things you should know about:

Anyone is free to sign up. Businesses will be the primary users of
Telepassport but individuals making at least $25 per month in
international calls are also invited to join the service. In fact, we
have a $25 per month minimum fee; you will be charged that minimum fee
unless your usage exceeds that amount.

 Another 'gotcha!' --

We have both 'system time' and 'connect time'. System time is the time
between when you answer our callback and the party you are calling
answers the phone. Connect time is the time you are actually speaking
with your party.

When your caller disconnects (but you stay on the line to make another
call) then the 'system time' clock begins running again. As long as
your 'system time' each month is not more than ten percent of the
total session time (system plus connect) we waive the charges for
system time.  If your system time is excessive (i.e. in excess of ten
percent of the total amount of time you spend connected to us), then
system time is charged at the rate of a call to the United States.
There is no system time if the call is on your nickle, i.e. you dial
our direct access number and continue straight through. System time is
only the time when *we call you back*.  And as stated above, provided
this is not excessive, we waive that charge.

How can you keep system time from being excessive? For one thing, a
call of ten minutes would in effect give you a free minute of system
time. When we call you back, be prepared to begin dialing immediatly.
Answer our phone calls promptly if we need to have someone call you to
the phone, as in a hotel. We offer speed dialing of your common
numbers at no extra charge. Most international connections from the
USA can be done in seconds if you dial rapidly and remember to put the
# terminator on the end of the dialing string.

If you were to spend let's say, two hours per month in actual talking
time on international calls, that 120 minutes would give you 12 minutes
of system time at no charge -- more than enough to dial your calls,
wait for the ringing, change your administrative options,  etc. For
most users, this will never be a problem ... but I am required to tell
you that if you call us and hang on the line doing nothing but wasting
our time and money on the callback connection, we charge you for it.
Almost anytime you make a call that lasts two or three minutes or longer
your system time will be easily absorbed. And since it accumulates all
month, several short calls and one or two longer ones will reach the
same result:  no system time charges. Remember the ratio is not more
than ten percent of the time on call set ups, administrative options,
etc.

Welcome to Telepassport!  I hope it will provide a low-cost solution
to your international calling requirements both to and from the USA.
For precise rates, please ask, and certainly on calls between
countries where the USA is the switching point ask for rates. I could
not begin to list the thousands of actual rates in this message.

Patrick Townson

[e-mail]


If you prefer:  call 312-465-2700  or fax  [phone].

Or write:  Telecom Digest
           Telepassport Program
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           Chicago, IL 60645












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Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 01:10:07 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #454

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 8 Jul 93 01:09:40 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 454

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Kerberized Cellular Phones (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Andrew Watts)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Paul Wallich)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Tom Olin)
    Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse? (Mike King)
    Re: Coin Refund Required ... NOT! (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Coin Refund Required ... NOT! (David J. Greenberger)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 21:51:05 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Kerberized Cellular Phones
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Steve Forette suggested the possibility of using Kerberos Authenti-
cation for Cellular Telephones as a means to reduce fraud.  Kerberos
is a means of authenticating access to something by means of a
"ticket" or authentication code being generated on the fly each time a
request is made.  When a system uses Kerberos Authentication, the
system is said to be Kerberized.

"SF" refers to Steve Forrette; "Moderator" refers to Pat Towson.
The following was my response; I'd appreciate comments:


SF>> Maybe I'm armchair quarterbacking, but it seems to me Kerberos should
SF>> be good for making cell phone accounting really secure.

I think I already settled this several months ago in asking questions
on both the TELECOM Digest and Info-Vax list (because a number of VAX
systems are using Kerberos).  Kerberos can't be used on mobile
telephony because there is no trust at *all* that can be imposed on
the system.  A user who calls into a system has *something* that can
be trusted, either the terminal location (for a local terminal) or
their "dotted quad" internet address they are at under TCP/IP, or the
dial-in telephone number, in addition to their password.  Well, with
the ESN or Password given in the clear, there is *nothing* that is
secure in mobile telephony.

But I could be wrong with respect to telecomputing. Someone want to
tackle this?  Is any place using Kerberos for security where anyone
can call in on a dial up number without any other considerations, e.g.
they could be at home or on a dial-up computer?  I suspect that
Kerberos won't work without *something* it can trust.  Could Kerberos
be used to create Kerberized Cellular Telephones or Kerberized Mobile
Computing?

In short, Cellular phones can't be Kerberized because any mobile user
could be spoofed by any other, there is *nothing* that can be trusted
on the system. Therefore you need something that either (1)
authenticates the user based on something that can't be faked (2)
authenticates the user in such a manner that failure to authenticate
can be used to deny service.

SF> It would also be a good way to make all current cellphones obsolete.
SF> ... Keep in mind that any change in the authentication protocol would
SF> necessitate making current phones unusable ...  phreaks would always
SF> imitate an 'old' phone... a carrier would have to either require all
SF> subscribers to replace their phones...  or buy a new phone for every
SF> subscriber.

SF> And then what would they do with roamers?

> [Moderator's Note: But you know something Steve? I'll bet the cellular
> industry could cut a deal with two or three (or how many ever) of the
> major cellphone manufacturers to make new phones at a deeply discounted
> rate, then *give them away* to existing customers for less than the
> current losses due to fraud. The cell companies would have to bite the
> bullet and do it, but once it was over with, so would be the problem
> for the most part.

Before this could happen, a major antitrust exemption would have to be
issued to every wireline and cellular company in the United States,
and every cellular telephone manufacturer, in order to allow them to
do this.

The three major broadcast networks and Fox had to get this in order to
allow them to set up standards for the violence in television shows.
Otherwise, as competitors it's a criminal offense for the representatives
at these companies to meet together to make joint agreements.  Doubly
so in view of the ex-Bell system companies being under the restrictions
of Judge Greene.

Perhaps a cheaper way is to have some sort of security device
retrofitted onto cellular phones that generates an off-band security
code.  Have it made by one company in the ten-million quantity range.
It simply generates an extra identification code tacked onto the
beginning or end of the ESN, in the manner and method I state below,
e.g. block of twenty different numbers issued in rotation each time a
call is placed.  If both don't match the call won't be permitted *and*
all twenty codes become invalid.

In the multi-million copy range the device can be made for perhaps $10
or so.  If it's that cheap, it can be made such that if it gets
broken, you get a replacement.  Now, you'd also have to fix it so the
device becomes inoperative if opened, or maybe not since each one
would have a different serial number.  Tie a serial number group
(authcode) to someone's ESN and you have essentially the same security
as an ATM card user, since he must have a valid ESN AND a matching
authcode security box both registered with the carrier.  To spoof any
user, the thief would have to have caught all twenty or so authcodes
of the same user, then remember which one was the last one used and
use the next one in sequence.  Also, they'd have to increment to the
next code, meaning that they would have to make 19 calls in order to
spoof the phone owner so that his phone isn't invalidated.

And to defeat that capability, use a four digit number indicating the
call number; if the two don't match, the carrier knows the user's
phone has been compromised.  So it would require someone monitoring
and storing thousands of codes in order to spoof one code, plus
needing some means to not let the phone owner know his phone has been
compromised.

If each phone (or authentication box) has 20 random ESNs/authcodes,
there is no way to know which ones are related to which phone unless
you took it apart.  This would solve the problem of everything except
someone fraudulently obtaining a phone and selling the codes to
someone.  But then, only one person at a time could use it since a
second code coming in at the same time would then deny access to *all*
codes of that phone until authorized.  As would a call at the same
time as someone else using it.

The other thing to do is to reset the national database of authorized
and hot-listed numbers and get federal laws in place to allow data
sharing.  Adding credit limits would help as well.

But the answer will have to be a change in authentication.  And here
are some suggestions that will probably have to be done.

  1.  A sequence challenge in which a phone has several authentication
      codes, and each time a call is placed, the next code in sequence is
      sent; memory is cheap, so a phone could easily have twenty or thirty
      ESNs.  The advantage here is that if the ESN is not the one that is
      next in order, the phone can be permanently denied service (see 2).

  2.  When an ESN comes in that isn't recognized, it calls back to the
      issuing carrier and asks if it's valid.  If the ESN is the next in
      the sequence based on the last ESN accepted, the call is approved,
      otherwise the questioning carrier can be told to deny service.  This
      would require that all roaming calls be verified with the originating
      carrier.  As the usual delay is about one second or so, this should
      not be a problem.

  3.  Allow any phone to call 911 or customer service, even if it's invalid
      roaming or hotlisted.  It makes no sense to refuse a phone access to
      911 or to call the cellular carrier to complain that their phone
      doesn't work.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Thu, 7 Jul 1993 15:40:46 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> attsbbs!laurence.chiu@
PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) writes:

>> In article <[e-mail]>, TELECOM Moderator <telecom@
>> eecs.nwu.edu> writes:

>>> In a one year period from 1991 through 1992, losses from cellular
>>> phone fraud tripled from $100 million to $300 million nationwide
>>> according to the Washington DC based Cellular Telecommunications
>>> Industry Association.

>> I have two comments.

>> Whoever designed the AMPS "security" system was an idiot.  It was well
>> known in the telephone industry at least as far back as 1978 (see the
>> Bell System Technical Journal describing the Unix password system)
>> that you don't broadcast passwords in the clear.  That should be
>> obvious to anyone, even if you aren't expert in security systems.

>> The other thing is, I don't understand how roamer fraud could be a
>> problem in LA, since the LA carriers don't allow inward roaming
>> without a pre-arranged billing arrangement (usually via credit card).
>> Can someone explain this?

>> [Moderator's Note: Well, they don't *any longer*.  Fraud problems,
>> maybe? They were not always that way, where they?   PAT]

> As a new user of cellular communications, I am concerned about this
> hole in security (though I don't live in LA thank goodness). Does
> anybody know if the ESN is transmitted in the clear using either
> digital AMPS or GSM?  This might be a longer term solution to the
> problem.

> Using current technology, would it be possible for the Cellular
> companies to put safeguards in their system which would deactivate a
> cellular phone once a monthly bill got beyond a set amount for an
> account. If a user really was using more a particular month then he
> could call it, present some identification code and have the limit
> raised that month.

Ah, just another reason for the U.S. to finally adopt a new digital
cellular standard!!

Digital AMPS (TDMA AMPS) does a secondary authentication once the
digital voice channel has been established. It cannot enhance the old
authentication of the analog stuff, due to compatability issues. The
secondary authentication uses a shared secret data scheme, similar to
GSM, I believe. Note that TDMA AMPS still does not have a fully
digital control channel yet. DS-CDMA proposed by Qualcomm, and
provisionally accepted by the TIA as PN-3118, uses a shared secret
data scheme and has a fully digital control channel.  So, regardless
of the new digital standard, the fraud problem will be abated.

I beleive more than 15% of a provider's cost goes toward fraud.


Dan DeClerck      EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD   Phone: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Watts)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Victoria University of Technology
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 02:12:37 GMT


Fred Morris ([e-mail]) wrote:

> Judges *make* law.  It's the law.

Legislation is law. And it's made by politicians. Judges interpret the
law as they see it, and set legal precidents. They don't make law.

Just my two cents worth.


Andrew Watts | [e-mail] | [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Well, there have been serious social problems in
the USA in the past few decades because of what has been termed by
many an 'activist judiciary'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Wallich)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Date: 7 Jul 1993 16:09:04 -0400
Organization: Trivializers R Us


In <[e-mail]> mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=0205925@mhs.
attmail.com writes:

>> "Why bother," said Mr. Belitz. "The judge in this district
>> said cellular fraud is not a violation of the law ..."

> Of course, this presupposes that you HAVE some way to detect
> fraudulent use of an ESN in time to catch the user, anyway.  Which
> they don't.

> But honestly folks, this is yet another attempt to retrofit a legal
> solution onto a technical problem.  The real problem here is that
> valid ESNs can be taken right off the airwaves and then used for
> months, because the ESN is broadcast "in the clear" and there's no way
> to tell a valid use from an invalid use.  The cellular phone
> manufacturers put in no security other than "security through
> obscurity" -- which NEVER works.

Hear, Hear. Note, BTW, that the decision in question said nothing
about phone fraud and the law -- what it was talking about was the
applicability of a (relatively) obscure provision of the law governing
unauthorized access to computer systems. This is the one that said if
you know more than ten passwords that you shouldn't, you've committed a
federal crime -- it's been extended to telephone credit cards by the
hack of considering the phone system to be one big computer (and
making a call to be alteration of files because it generates billing
records). What the judge said was that cellular fraud is a crime, but
it's not _this_ _particular_ _crime_.

(Personally, I think the "Access Devices" rule, which is the thing
above, is a major crock because it makes a felon of anyone able to
write the numbers from 0 to 9999 and append them to a phone number.
But that's another story.)


paul

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 15:00:25 EDT
From: adiron![e-mail] (Tom Olin)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year


[e-mail] (Fred Morris) writes:

> adiron![e-mail] (Tom Olin) writes:

>> Do you say this because you sincerely feel that the judge intention-
>> ally made a decision contrary to the law, or are you merely displeased
>> with the practical consequences of the decision?

> Judges *make* law.  It's the law.

Well, then, I sit corrected.  I know people say that the Congress
doesn't do anything, but I thought it was still involved somehow in
the legislative process.  My mistake.

>> And there is also the real possibility that a law may be
>> interpreted differently by different people.

> What's the point?

The point is that just because two people disagree doesn't mean that
either one is an idiot or a criminal.  Of course, either one or both
*could* be, but not necessarily.


Tom Olin ([e-mail])

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 18:03:57 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse?


In TELECOM Digest, V13, #443,  [e-mail] (Jim Rees) wrote:

> I always assumed that the sex lines went through an ACD and out to
> POTS lines in suburban housewive's homes, probably with distinctive
> ringing to inform them of the nature of the call.  They don't really
> have a bunch of women hanging around a boiler room, do they?

> Of course, getting the POTS translation out of the ACD would be nearly
> impossible ...

and Pat replied:

> [Moderator's Note: 'They' have it both ways -- either way. A bunch of
> people working out of a phone room, or sometimes calls transferred to
> people at their home, etc. But if the call was transferred to someone
> at home, even with distinctive ringing, finding out that number would
> cause havoc for the IP, wouldn't it?  PAT]

A couple of months ago, {The Washington Post} had an article by a lady
who took a job working for a phone-sex service.  She described how she
had the choice of working in the boiler room or working at home.  She
opted for the latter.

Each day when she was ready to work, she had to call the service's
switch and enter her ID and password.  This validated her AND logged
her time for pay purposes.  She would then wait on the line, and the
switch would three-way callers to her.  When the caller was finished,
he would be disconnected, and the lady would then wait for the next
caller to be connected.  When her 'shift' ended, she would hang up.
She could also hang up to disconnect an abusive caller; she simply
called back to continue her shift.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 12:20:28 EDT
Subject: Re: Coin Refund Required ... NOT!
Organization: Salomon Inc, Rutherford NJ
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)


On 3 Jul 93 06:00:25 GMT, [e-mail] (Harold
Hallikainen) said:

> So, any c.d.t. readers in the COCOT biz?  I've read very little
> about it.  Some of the technology would be interesting to hear about,
> as well as the business itself.

To which Pat replied:

> [Moderator's Note: A couple years ago when we had this dicussion and
> terms like 'bottom-feeders' were in all the messages, we did have one
> regular reader who operated a service bureau for COCOT and AOS type
> calls.  I wonder if he is still out there. He wrote to us several
> times to explain his position and business practices.  PAT]

That was Jim Allard, who showed his grace and sense of humor by adding
"The Bottom Feeder" to his .signature.  Jim always claimed to be
running an honest AOS that give good prices, value, and dealt fairly
with consumers.  He also claimed that it was possible to make money
with such a business ... until his AOS went belly up.

Some will probably cry that obviously something bad that Mother, her
seven children, and her two distant cousins (MCI and SPRINT) did put
this company out of business.  I suspect that the nature of the
business is such that it is nearly impossible to run one both honestly
and at a profit.

Consider how Joe's Storm Door and AOS Company gets customers.  They
pay huge commissions to the owners of the places that their payphones
or AOS services cover, and then charge the differential (and more) to
the ultimate consumer in the form of outrageous call prices.  If you
play fair, and allow consumers to dial around your service, then you
either get low call volume, or you have to offer rates that are
competitive with the big three.  Either way, the margins are attacked on
both ends, what with those big commissions, and the capital required
to set yourself up at the fringes of the phone business.

*MY* opinions, of course ...


Andy Sherman   Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David J. Greenberger)
Subject: Re: Coin Refund Required ... NOT!
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Young Israel of Cornell
Date: 7 Jul 93 22:52:02 GMT


[e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen) writes:

> We hear a lot of terrible things about COCOTs.  I also
> generally avoid them, since they generally don't do what I want to do.
> Some haven't let me use 950 to access my long distance carrier.
> Others disable the DTMF pad when the call goes through so I can't pick
> up messages off my answering machine.  But, there MUST be some good
> COCOTs out there!  Is it not possible to have a privately owned pay
> phone that works well?  It does make sense to me that these phones be

I'm sure some COCOTs (hey, I learned a new term from the TELECOM
Digest today!) are quite decent, and they do have a purpose.  New
York Telephone recently removed the payphone from my organization,
leaving a gaping hole in the wall (it wasn't getting them any money,
probably because a non-payphone is semi-publicly available nearby for
local calls, so the only use the payphone got was for long-distance,
usually calling card or collect, calls). It might make sense to get
it filled with a COCOT.  However, I'm not plunking *my* quarter into
the slot to test it.


David J. Greenberger   [phone]   [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #454
******************************










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Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 02:21:03 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #455

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 8 Jul 93 02:21:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 455

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Dialing "1" First (David J. Greenberger)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Hans Mulder)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Dave Niebuhr)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Mike King)
    Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on Collect Call (Mitch Wagner)
    Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on Collect Call (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted (Steven King)
    Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted (Kenneth R. Crudup)
    Re: Nine Volt Phone Operation (was Re: Decline ...) (Jack Decker)
    Re: Caller ID via 800 Number (David G. Lewis)
    Re: Networked Notebooks (was Net Safari '93) (Jim Rees)
    Re: Only in Texas (Ed Casas)
    Re: Only in Texas (Brendan B. Boerner)

                     ----------------------
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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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
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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] (David J. Greenberger)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Young Israel of Cornell
Date: 7 Jul 93 23:08:35 GMT


[e-mail] writes:

> Basically, dialing 1 is like saying "I know this is a long distance
> call and I understand that I will have to pay extra for this call."
> It's a good idea, I think, and it makes it easy to teach kids how to
> use the phone ("Never dial a number that starts with 1, because it
> costs more.")

Unfortunately, it's not that easy.  Calls between area codes 212 and
718 are local, yet from 212-land I always dial 1-718-whatever or vice
versa.  It costs the same 10.6 cents it does to call within 212 (no
"1" first).


David J. Greenberger      [phone]      [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 20:44:38 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Hans Mulder)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First


Brett Frankenberger <[e-mail]> writes:

> By enforcing the correct "dial 1" rules, the telco switch is able to
> make sure you know if the call is toll or not.  If you just dial
> XXX-XXX, that means (to the switch) that you don't think the call is
> toll.  If you are wrong, the switch will tell you by informing you
> that you must dial 1 (and the reverse applies also).

I fail to understand the reverse.  I can see that people from a
1-means-toll area being annoyed when they have to pay toll for a call
even if they didn't dial a leading 1.  But the reverse?  What's the
point of telling callers to hang up and dial again, without the 1?
Do people complain that they dialed a 1 and that they expect to pay
toll.  Would anybody complain if the meaning of the leading 1 were
changed into "please, connect me to this number, even if it's toll"?


Confused,

Hans Mulder    [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 09:08:52 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First


In TELECOM Digest V13 #449 [e-mail] (Bob Goudreau)
writes:

> Regarding the discussion of the few benighted areas where "1" is still
> not allowed before area codes when dialing LD numbers ...

> Does anyone have an exhaustive list of all the locations in the NANP
> that have this restriction, and when they plan on changing over to
> allow eleven-digit dialing?  Are there any telcos that aren't on track
> to handle NXX area codes when they arrive in 18 months?

I tried using 1+ in the 516 area code and came up with the following
(the number is one that I know to not be in service yet otherwise I
would have substituted X's):

  395-6701: Disconnected
  1-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed
  1-516-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed
  10288-1-516-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed

So, as I said in prior issues, 516 will not implement 1 plus dialing
until forced to do so.


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: Wed, 7 Jul 93 17:52:58 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re:  Dialing "1" First


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #449, [e-mail] (Arman Dolikian)
wrote:

> HOWEVER, MY PET PEEVE is that, when I dial using the "fully specified"
> string of digits, there is NO ambiguity, and therefore, the system
> should not reject "extra" information.

Here in Maryland (C&P, 301), a leading 1 is required for a toll call,
but if it is included on a non-toll call, the call goes through
without any whining from the switch.  Dialing my office from home is a
local call, but I can dial 1-301-428-5384 and the call goes through.
The switches in Northern Virginia (C&P, 703) exhibit the same
behavior.  Local calls *from* 202 to 301 or 703 do get denied if
preceded by a 1, however.  Maybe the congresscritters NEED unnecessary
regulation in their lives?

Local calls to other area codes (e.g., 202, 703) do NOT require the
leading 1; one simply dials the area code and the phone number.  Toll
calls in this area always require the area code, even if it's the same
(there are many NXX exchanges in the area).

> For example, if the called number is  1 [phone]:
>         (remember, the "1" is the country code for USA)

Actually, it's more a coincidence that the country code for North
America is the same as the code used in many areas to indicate 'area
code follows' or toll call.  Otherwise, you should be dialing
011-1-708-555-1234.

> This is like having the Post Office REJECT my mail, if I put TOO MUCH
> information on the letter, such as adding "USA" on a letter sent
> inside the USA!

Might not be a bad idea for letters to New Mexico. <g>


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.


[Moderator's Note: Awwwwg! Ask any New Mexico resident how often
stupid telephone order takers claim they 'cannot ship outside the
United States' when the person gives a NM address. A reader from there
even wrote to me saying an AT&T service representative once told him
he would have to 'contact the Mexican Telephone Company to see what
long distance plans they had available ...' Gimme a break already!
When I was in elementary school they taught geography. I don't know if
they were still teaching it when the young'uns who work on inbound
telephone marketing desks were in school or not, but some of them
don't have the brains that God gave a goose.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mitch Wagner)
Subject: Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on a Collect Call?
Organization: Open Systems Today
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 93 17:43:06 GMT


[e-mail] (Andy Sherman) writes:

 < regarding the system for operators processing collect calls>

> This system was not designed to piss off customers or any nefarious
> stuff like that.  After watching it in action, it was clear that this
> system was designed to keep operators *VERY* busy.  (Well, except for
> the voice path games, which were designed to keep you from passing
> messages for free).

I notice that this system does not preclude the time-honored system,
known to college students and kids at sleepaway camp everywhere, of
using the name you give the operator as the means of sending a
message.

Thus when the operator asks your name, you respond, "I. M. Okay," or
something like that ...

> [Moderator's Note: Now what would happen if when the call supervised,
> for a few seconds all operator positions were busy? That is, my phone
> rings, I answer, John Doe is waiting to call me collect. He hears me
> answer but his talking path is not open. Ideally at the instant of
> supervision an operator should be brought on the line, no?  What
> happens if there is no operator available for five or ten seconds? Do
> John and I sit and scream 'hello' at each other trying to make the
> other one hear us, or do either I or John or both of us get any sort
> of 'stand by for an operator' message? I would suppose as a courtesy
> the complete talk path would open, and the two of us would converse
> even for a very few seconds as a courtesy to us until an operator was
> available to cut in on the line and complete the formalities?   PAT]

What if it connects to the operator first? That way, until the operaor
is available, the call does not go through to the called party?
Wouldn't that work? Is that the way it's done now?


mitch w.


[Moderator's Note: Not from what he said, no. He said the call
progresses on its way and only when supervision is detected does an
operator come back on the line to query for billing authority.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jul 93 15:48:01 EDT
Subject: Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on a Collect Call?
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)


>>>>> On 3 Jul 93 17:48:23 GMT, Pat asked:

> [Moderator's Note: Now what would happen if when the call supervised,
> for a few seconds all operator positions were busy? That is, my phone
> rings, I answer, John Doe is waiting to call me collect. He hears me
> answer but his talking path is not open. Ideally at the instant of
> supervision an operator should be brought on the line, no?  What
> happens if there is no operator available for five or ten seconds? Do
> John and I sit and scream 'hello' at each other trying to make the
> other one hear us, or do either I or John or both of us get any sort
> of 'stand by for an operator' message? I would suppose as a courtesy
> the complete talk path would open, and the two of us would converse
> even for a very few seconds as a courtesy to us until an operator was
> available to cut in on the line and complete the formalities?   PAT]

Since my training was large aimed at what things looked like from the
OSPS operator's end, nobody talked about what happened if there were
no operators.  I am pretty sure that the system was engineered to make
it unlikely; one switch controlled multiple operator services centers,
and I'm pretty sure it could put the call on the first available
position in any of them.

I am all but certain that the system would *NOT* open a bidirectional
voice path as a "courtesy" in the absence of an operator.  You would
hear John answering the phone, just as you heard the call progess
leading up to supervision.  I don't know what John would hear, but it
certainly wouldn't be you.

I strongly suspect that this type of event would be exceedingly rare.


Andy Sherman   Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Actually, if AT&T did not do this as a courtesy
(permit the call to complete pending an available operator) I would be
surprised simply because in the past the customer was given the bene-
fit of the doubt time after time when irregularities occurred. Even
today, you can have a twenty second coversation with someone, then
call the operator and claim you reached a wrong number and you will be
credited. You can still claim you lost money in a payphone and have a
refund coupon mailed back to you, admittedly 'payable to the order of
the Telephone Company'.

Long retired (since 1960) operator Myrtle Murphy here in Chicago told
me once that AT&T used to have fire drills for the operators. When the
fire drill was announced, everyone had to leave the building. Although
no new calls would be answered, calls which were 'up on the board'
stayed connected but in the process of vacating their position for the
fire drill, all pending long distance tickets were 'stamped out' on
the time clock. Better that disconnects during the interim got away
with a minute or two of free time than disconnects during the interim
get charged a minute or two too much. Seriously.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steven King, Software Archaeologist)
Subject: Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 15:09:37 GMT


[e-mail] (Dennis Mitchell) publicly declared:

> We need to find an answering machine that will prevent the phone from
> ringing unless the caller enters a bypass code of some sort.  Can
> anyone offer a suggestion on where to look?

Sounds like a job for Distinctive Ringing (or whatever your telco
calls it).  Get a switch that detects the ring patterns and routes
different rings to different devices.  Then, have the "normal" number
route to the silent answering machine and the "immediate" number route
to the noisy phone.  Of course, you have to rely on people not using
the "immediate" number capriciously ...

Another answer is to get her a pager.  Low-priority callers should use
the regular phone number and talk to the machine, high-priority
callers should page her.

In either case, you can add to the machine's OGM "In case of an
emergency, I can be contacted immediately at xxx-xxxx."


Steven King -- Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group

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

Date: Wed,  7 Jul 93 19:19:59 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Dennis Mitchell) writes:

> We need to find an answering machine that will prevent the phone from
> ringing unless the caller enters a bypass code of some sort.
> Can anyone offer a suggestion on where to look?

I really hate to start sounding like a Panasonic spokesman, but my
KX-T2634 has a mode where you dial a (user-specified) code of up to
three digits during OGM announcement, and it will produce a loud
ringing tone regardless of volume control setting or ringer-volume
setting.

(Evidently, there's a lot of single young males in (like me) for whom
having a lot of loud messages from other ... people while entertaining
could be a problem, but don't want to miss important calls from
business associates :-)


Kenneth R. Crudup, ATT BL, 1600 Osgood St, N. Andover, MA 01845-1043
MV20-3T5B, [phone].     [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jul 93 08:51:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Re: Nine Volt Phone Operation (was Re: Decline ...)


In message <[e-mail]>, Jack.Winslade@axolotl.
omahug.org (Jack Winslade) wrote:

> Ah-ha.  I just remembered the case of the almost-extinct AML-1 box.
> This was a kludgy analog subscriber carrier used to multiplex a second
> POTS line over an existing physical pair.  The box at the subscriber
> end was powered by a twelve volt nicad, trickle-charged from the
> physical loop when it was on hook.  The on-hook voltage across the
> derived pair was between nine and twelve volts, and this dropped to
> six volts or so when the second line went off hook.  Touch tones
> usually worked fine on these.

I am currently served by a "Lenkurt 82A Station Carrier System"
(according to the inscription on the box on the pole outside my home).
It provides about 15 volts on-hook voltage, dropping to around six
when off-hook.  I think it is powered by a line from the C.O. (a
couple of repairmen told me that the C.O. line is actually at over 200
volts; I'm not sure whether to believe that or not).

> The AML had its problems, so most of them are in the scrap heap by
> now.

The Lenkurt units should be, in my opinion.  Or at least, they should
never be used in places where there are temperature extremes since
they tend to get a bit flakey on cold days.  They're also quite
susceptable to Radio Frequency Interference ... if a CB Radio operator
passes by while transmitting, the Lenkurt does a great job of
injecting his chatter into my phone conversations (I just hope the guy
next door doesn't take up CB Radio as a hobby!).

I have been told that we should be off these units sometime this year,
as they are supposed to install some sort of remote service unit in my
area.  I haven't seen it yet, but they did say it would probably be in
by the end of the summer.  As far as I'm concerned, it can happen none
too soon!

And BTW, the low on-hook voltage DID cause me problems when I first
moved here.  I had a "privacy adapter" circuit hooked up to my phone
lines (except for the jack that the modem plugs into) so that if the
modem was online, no one could knock it off by picking up a phone.
This worked great when my mobile home was parked in Michigan Bell
territory, but when I got to GTE land, none of my phones would work
EXCEPT for my cordless phone that shares the modem jack.  This caused
me a few minutes of head-scratching until, armed with my trusty
voltmeter, I figured out what the problem was ... the low on-hook line
voltage wasn't sufficient to let current flow through the "privacy
adapter" circuit.  I had to remove it and take my chances with people
picking up phones.  :-(


Jack Decker | Internet: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Caller ID via 800 Number
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 13:18:18 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
mot.com (Russ Latham) writes:

> With the recent posting of the 800 number that reads back the number
> you are calling from [800-235-1414], I was wondering about the
> following:

> You have an 800 number with ANI, and let's say you live in an area
> that doesn't have Caller-ID yet.  If you were receiving harrassing
> calls on your residential line, could you call-forward that
> residential number to the 800 number, and then take the calls from
> there and determine who was calling you?

When a call is sent to an IXC, the ANI sent is the ANI of the station
which would pay for the call if it were caller-sent-paid.  In most
cases, this is the station doing the forwarding, so the ANI that would
be received by the 800 service would be the ANI of the forwarding
line.

> If this does work, would it also work in the case where a person did
> Caller-ID blocking before they made the call? (Assuming Caller-ID
> services were available in the residential area.)

Moot question, because it wouldn't work ...

> One final question.  What is required for 800 ANI?  Is it similar to
> how current Caller-ID works, with the attachment of an additional box
> to your phone line?

As PAT stated in his note, for real-time ANI delivery, an 800 customer
requires a direct connection to the 800 service provider (IXC in this
case, as to my knowledge only IXCs provide real-time ANI delivery as
an 800 service feature).


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

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Networked Notebooks (was Net Safari '93)
Date: 7 Jul 1993 16:31:06 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan CITI


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Frederick Roeber) writes:

> one of us even took AMTRAK across he country with a Little Work
> prototype and the Outback portable cellular modem.

That paper is old.  We're using an Oki handheld phone now with various
modems (Microcom, Qblazer) and it's a lot easier than lugging the
Outback.

The biggest problem I have now is not technical, it's administrative.
Cellular roaming is still pretty difficult in most places.  On my last
cross-country trip (to San Diego on the Sunset) I was unable to roam
anywhere west of Austin.

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Casas)
Subject: Re: Only in Texas
Organization: University of BC, Electrical Engineering
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 07:36:06 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Charles Stephens) writes:

> While we are on the subject, the Atlanta white pages lists as the last
> resident:

> ZZMMTHISJ Zibre 123 Elm St. SW Mreta --- 555-1212

I was aware of the war over the first listing in the phone book, but
it's amusing to find that there's also a little skirmish to capture
the end.  In the 1992 Vancouver white pages the last two listings are:

    Zzyzzy W .....
    Zzzyzyton P ......


Ed Casas ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner)
Subject: Re: Only in Texas
Organization: Novell, Inc. --Austin
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 15:26:34 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (K
Husain) writes:

> I saw a similar listing in the Austin, residence pages by a Heanauder
> Titzhoff a few years ago. Don't see him here now. If I remember
> correctly some guy did answer the phone and acknowldege the name when
> my roommate had called.  Found it quite by accident actually ...

My officemate a few years ago pointed out a Dr. who I could swear
advertised as doing vasectomies.  I just checked and he's still there
but there is no mention of what his specialty is.  Anyway, his name is
Chopp, Dr.  Richard Thomas.  Ouch!


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.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #455
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #456

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 8 Jul 93 04:21:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 456

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: New York Telephone Outage (David G. Lewis)
    Re: New York Telephone Outage (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Lynne Gregg)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Nigel Allen)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Charles McGuinness)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Carl Moore)

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone Outage
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1993 18:46:08 GMT


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

> Previously I wrote:

>> With this cable break in place, what would happen if someone in 914
>> tried to call a business in 212 on an 800 number provided by someone
>> other than NY Telephone (MCI, SPRINT, ETC.)? Likewise, what would
>> happen in the same situation using one of the local 800 numbers NY
>> Telephone tries to push on its customers?

> And our much-better-informed-than-IO Moderator responded:

>> [Moderator's Note: I suppose if the wires handling the call went
>> through that cable the call would not go through. 800 numbers are
>> nothing special ... they travel over a wire pair also.   PAT]

> My original question was not clear. The original message about the
> outage said a trunk cable that connects 212 and 914 (and other area
> codes) was severed/broken whatever. What I want to know is when
> someone in 914 calls my MCI 800 number in 212, does their call leave
> the 914 telco switching equipment, connect to MCI, then move through
> MCI to the 212 switching equipment? If this is the case, then the
> broken cable would be completly bypassed since it goes out from 914
> into MCI then back through MCI into 212.  I guess my question is where
> and when does a call leave the local carrier?

Additionally, John Hawkinson    [e-mail] writes:

> So my question is whether if I'd dialed 10333- first, instead of the
> 10288- I dialed to get AT&T, would Sprint have successfully completed
> the call. I would think so, since they should, like AT&T, have
> separate circuitry between 212 and 914, but then again, the sprint 800
> number (which maps to the number I was calling) failed.  So is that
> number carried by NYT within the LATA or something?

The answer to all of these questions is, as usual, "it depends".

Let's start with the simplest case, 1+ dialed, IXC-carried, sent-paid
calls.  These are routed from the originating end office to the IXC in
one of two ways: directly to the IXC from the end office, or via an
access tandem.  Typically (although not necessarily in all cases),
AT&T uses access trunks directly connected to the end office, whereas
other IXCs use access trunks connected to an access tandem.

Therefore, in some cases, a LEC facility failure may cause MCI,
Sprint, and other IXCs which get LATA access through an access tandem
to be unable to handle interLATA calls, if the facility failure is
between an end office an an access tandem, while AT&T may remain able
to handle the same interLATA calls due to AT&T having direct
facilities into the end office.

In the more complicated case of 800, post-800-number-portability, a
failure between the EO and AT will likely cause 800 service to all
carriers to fail.  This is because the query to the 800 database (SCP)
is sent from an 800 SSP (Service Switching Point, if I recall
correctly); and most SSPs are implemented on access tandems.
Therefore, even though AT&T has the facilities to directly route calls
from end offices to the AT&T network, the LEC must first route to the
access tandem to perform the routing translation on the 800 number
that determines the call gets sent to AT&T.  If the EO/AT facilities
are down, the call can't get to the SSP, the routing translation never
happens, and the call fails.

Given that the failure was characterized as a NYT cut between 914 and
212, and not as a trunk failure in 212 or in 914, I suspect that the
failure was not between an EO and an AT; it was more likely between
two NYT tandems (LATA tandems, I think they're called in the post-
divestiture world).  So 800 calls to all carriers could, presumably,
exit the LEC network and get into the IXC network.

So, given the above information, and the additional information (also from
John Hawkinson    [e-mail]):

>    New York Telephone        failed due to disruption
>    Sprint 800 number          "     "   "     "
>    AT&T                successful

the question remains of why did the Sprint 800 call fail, given that
the call should have been able to exit the NYT network in Manhattan
and re-enter in Weschester, and would an MCI (or, for that matter,
AT&T or any other carrier) 800 number succeed or fail?

My hypothesis is that, since intraLATA toll competition is not widely
tariffed, widely known, or widely advertised, many IXCs do not build
their own intraLATA facilities (or may not be permitted by the state
PUCs to build their own intraLATA facilities).  They therefore lease
facilities from the LEC to handle the intraLATA traffic, such as 800,
that they can handle.  Not that they lease trunks on a minutes of use
basis, but rather that they lease DS1s on a monthly basis, and build
their own "interoffice" trunks and "access" trunks on those facilities.

So an interLATA 800 call served by, say, Sprint may go from the
caller's CO to the NYT access tandem at, say, the 140 West Street CO
downtown (I'm just guessing that NYT has an access tandem there, but
it seems a likely spot ...), where the switch queries the 800 SCP and
determines that the call should indeed go to Sprint.  NYT then routes
the call to the Sprint POP downtown.  Sprint sends the call to wherever
their nearest switch is, which does its lookup and determines the call
has to go to a 914 POTS number.  The Sprint switch routes the call to
a trunk group riding on a DS1 which goes back to 140 West Street, then
cross-connects to a DS1 (built and operated by NYTel, leased to
Sprint) which heads up to Westchester.  Unfortunately, the cable has
been cut, so the call fails (most likely at the Sprint switch, since
the trunk group will be down).

At this point I admit my analysis starts getting biased, both in terms
of knowledge (I know more about how the AT&T network works) and claims
(I would claim it works better ...).  Sprint will, presumably, fail
the call at that point, either because the leased NYTel facility is
the only route to a Sprint switch serving Westchester (unlikely;
Sprint has a sufficiently small number of switches that I suspect the
switch that serves Manhattan is the same switch that serves Westchester),
or because the leased NYTel facility is the only access facility
leading to the Westchester NYTel access tandem from the Sprint switch
serving Manhattan and Westchester.

MCI, I suspect, is in a similar position; I have read in the trade
press that Sprint has on the order of a dozen switches, and MCI on the
order of a dozen and a half to two dozen, so I wouldn't be surprised
to find that a single switch serves all of downstate NY for both of
them.  I'm sure people from MCI and Sprint will correct me if I'm
wrong ...

AT&T, on the other hand, would route the call from 140 West Street to
our office at Broadway (33 Thomas Street, formally).  The Broadway
4ESS switch would then attempt to route the call to the White Plains
4ESS switch, which would send it to the end office serving the called
party.  AT&T, I suspect, has its own facilities between BW and WHPL.
Even if AT&T does lease facilities from NYTel for intraLATA traffic,
those are unlikely to be the only facilities between the two switches;
if one trunk group fails due to a facility failure, the BW 4E will
hunt to a second facility.  And even if all the facilities between the
two switches fail, the call can be routed through a via switch in,
say, Minneapolis.  The call progresses to the WHPL 4E, egresses to the
LEC end office serving the translated called party number, and
completes successfully.

I realize that I've painted a picture of the Sprint and MCI networks
as being very "thin" in terms of alternate routes and backups.  I do
not know this to be the case, and it is strictly guesswork on my part
based on the behavior reported with regard to the NYT facility failure
 -- the only reason I can see that an IXC would be unable to complete
calls based on a LEC facility failure is if the only trunks available
to complete the call are leased from the LEC and ride on the failed
facility.  If the picture I've painted of MCI and Sprint are
inaccurate, I apologize in advance and I'm sure Sprint and MCI folks
will rush in to correct my errors.

Disclaimer: I doubt there's anything in here that Frank Ianna (AT&T
Network Services Division Chief Quality Officer) hasn't been saying in
prime time ads for a year now ...  AT&T, Best in the Business (SM).


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone Outage
Date: 7 Jul 1993 20:59:54 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


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

> I believe I was a little ambiguous above. On this intra-lata call,

>    New York Telephone        failed due to disruption
>    Sprint 800 number          "     "   "     "
>    AT&T                successful

> So my question is whether if I'd dialed 10333- first, instead of the
> 10288- I dialed to get AT&T, would Sprint have successfully completed
> the call. I would think so, since they should, like AT&T, have
> separate circuitry between 212 and 914, but then again, the sprint 800
> number (which maps to the number I was calling) failed.  So is that
> number carried by NYT within the LATA or something?

It depends on the carrier.  Each IXC must have at least one Point of
Presense (POP) in each LATA where it operates.  Generally speaking,
the access charges that they pay the local telco are not mileage
sensitive, so they pay the same rate regardless of the distance
between the originating or terminating end and their POP.  So, many
carriers see fit to only provide one POP per LATA.  AT&T is known to
have many more POPs per LATA than any of the other carriers -- in fact,
they have started to complain to the powers that be that this uniform
pricing is unfair.

Take, for example, the case of city A and city B in the same LATA, 50
miles apart.  Let's say IXC 1 has a POP in both A and B, while IXC 2
only has a POP in city B.  When a call is placed from city A to city B
over carrier 1, the call goes into 1's network in city A, travels over
1's facilities 50 miles, and goes back into the LEC's network in B.
However, since carrier 2 only has a POP in B, the call travels over
the LEC's network 50 miles from A to B, into 2's switch at B, and back
out into the LEC network at the same POP!  Both 1 and 2 are charged
the same rate by the LEC for each part of the access charge, but 1 has
carried the call 50 miles on its own network, and 2 hasn't done
anything but switch it back out within the same switch.  In states
where intra-LATA competition is not allowed, this is not as big an
issue, but still can be significant.  Where intra-LATA IXC calls are
allowed, it gets quite ridiculous.

So, in your case above, what probably happened is Sprint's configuration
of POPs in the LATA meant that Sprint-handled calls went over the same
NYT trunks as a NYT-handled call does, but AT&T had POPs on both sides
of the cable break so their traffic was unaffected.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1993 03:50:10 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brendan
B. Boerner) writes:

> I think the Austin A-S has been trying to generate demand for such a
> service by offering a service where you can call them up and get
> additional information about a topic or whatnot in the paper by
> punching in a four digit code next to the article or whatever you were
> reading.  Presumably if they are ever able to charge for this then
> they will have hooked some percentage of current callers.

> My questions are: Who controls the allocation of N11 numbers? And if
> presumably the allocation is controlled by a regulatory body and not
> the phone company, why in God's name would these guys even think of
> allocating such a number so phone companies/newspapers can make a
> buck?  Tell them to get a phone number like the rest of us ...

> 111 - can phone equipment distinquish between this and a L.D. call?
> 211 - ?
> 311 - ?
> 411 - Directory assistance
> 511 - Proposed information services
> 611 - ?
> 711 - ?
> 811 - ?
> 911 - Emergency services

> [Moderator's Note: Don't forget 611 in your list above which is often
> used for repair service. 811 is used in California to reach the phone
> company business office. Of course, 011 is used as a prefix for inter-
> national calls from the USA.

    A few comments ... on "Tell them to get a phone number like
the rest of us", true, why are there ANY three digit phone numbers
(other than, perhaps, 911).  With all this talk about phone number
shortages, they're giving up maybe 80,000 phone numbers per area code
by having these three digit numbers.

    I recently got the PacBell bill stuffer on "1 means ten digits
follow".  It looks like that's really gonna free up the number space.
People have complained about not knowing if a call is gonna cost them.
Maybe the telco can give a little warning beep as the call is being
handled.  In any case, the "new system" seems to make a lot of sense,
though I prefer my previously proposed method of using # or timeout on
dialing.  The system would then assume all unspecified leading digits
were the same as the originating phone.  That way, I could dial one
digit to get my second line, or eleven digits (country code, area code,
and seven digits).  This method would allow those with pocket dialers to
use the same number, no matter where they were.  It would also remove
the need for an international access code.  If you dialed eleven or more
digits, the first ones must be country codes.

    Back on the subject (511 infomation), the idea of putting a
code at the end of the article to get more information sound nice!
However, I sure wouldn't want more info in voice form.  I'd go for
ASCII or maybe fax.  This could be handled with a standard phone
number (no need for special three digit number).  With DID, several
numbers could be assigned with one number per subject, or some such
thing.  This could even be done with 900 or 976 numbers.  By the way,
what do telcos charge for 900 and 976 billing?  I've seen very few
legitimate IPs.  Can only illegitimate ones afford the high rates?

    Finally, having "more information" available on line (again,
ideally in ascii) is wonderful.  A newspaper article on something the
prez said should then refer you to full the full text on line.  I've
been having a wonderful time reading US Supreme Court decisions via
ftp to ftp.cwru.edu in the /hermes/ascii directory.  All public info
should be available like this!


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: Lynne Gregg <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 93 15:02:00 PDT


Pat, he's in SWB parts, but he really means Bell South.  They're the
guys in partnership with Cox Enterprises.  Yep, the local telcos
pretty much designate NXX codes, though I believe there are Bellcore
guidelines.


Regards,

Lynne

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 18:52:22 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner) says:

> I was reading in the {Austin Chronicle} the other day that Cox
> Enterprises, Inc. (big paper chain, owns the {Austin American
> Statesman}) and BellSouth have announced an "agreement in principle"
> to form a joint company that will deliver information services to
> consumers who dial 511 (for a small fee of course).

> This means that there would be five, maybe six codes left over.  Hmmm,
> I wonder if we can think of a better use for 511.

Someone (possibly the Canadian Association for the Deaf) has suggested
that 511 and 711 should be reserved for voice-relay services (511 for
TDD-to-voice, and 711 for voice-to-TDD, or vice versa).

When the phone service in the Yukon and part of the Northwest
Territories was provides by CN Telecommunications, a division of
Canadian National Railways, 511 (or maybe 1-511) was the number for
the CN telegraph office. CN's telephone and telex operations in the
Yukon, the western Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia
were later transferred to a new CN subsidiary, Northwestel Inc., which
was eventually sold to BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Canada.  I
suspect that 511 no longer works in Northwestel territory.

I think the proposal to reserve 511 and 711 for voice-relay services
would be particularly useful for hearing-impaired people who travel a
lot, and for those who want to communicate by phone with hearing-impaired
people but do not have their own TDD.


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

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

From: marks![e-mail] (Charles McGuinness)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 9:32:43 EDT


You may be also interested to note that in New York's World Trade
Center, the number 211 is used for emergencies -- at least in the
public areas.  It summons the Port Authority Police instead of the NYC
Police, I assume.  All the payphones have "Dial 211 for Emergencies"
inscribed on them.


[Moderator's Note: I found out some time back that some telcos have
provisions in their tariff which allow a subscriber to intercept his
own 911 calls if he has a 'working relationship' with the emergency
authorities in his community to do so. For instance, a university
phone system may be on centrex. Calls to either 911 or 9-911 can be
intercepted and routed to the university police emergency line,
provided the university and the city police department have reached an
agreement for that.  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 11:52:36 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511


There was a blurb maybe two years ago in the Digest about some other
information provider arranging for use of 511.  In 1976, 511 was used
(at least in Philadelphia) for Bicentennial information.

And didn't New York City previously use 211 for refunds?

Apparently no N11 is useable as an area code.  All N10 (except for the
apparently-unuseable 710) is in use or announced for future use as
area codes.  Some N00 is available if any more area codes are needed
before 1995.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #456
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #457

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Jul 93 01:10:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 457

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Proposal: alt.technology.smartcards (Lars Kalsen)
    Incident at a COCOT (Paul Robinson)
    White House Orders No Bid Telephone System (Paul Robinson)
    Lawyers and IP Owners (Dave Niebuhr)
    Teleglobe Canada to Close Down Globetex Text-to-Telex Service (Nigel Allen)
    Public Phone in Chemult, Oregon (Tony Harminc)
    Communication Departments Who Can't Communicate (Monty Solomon)
    Internet Articles in {The Nation} 12 July 1993 (David Leibold)
    How to Get Coin Phone? (Juergen Ziegler)
    US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Ekkehard Rohwedder)
    Can I Use Telnet Over a Satellite Link? (Rogelio Montanana)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Lars Kalsen)
Subject: Proposal: alt.technology.smartcards
Followup-To: alt.config
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 18:50:44 GMT


R E Q U E S T  F O R  D I S C U S S I O N
=========================================

This is a Request For Discussion on creation of a newsgroup under the
alt.technology hierachy. The discussion will be about creation of a
newsgroup for discussions about SmartCards.

Please repost this RFD to any newsgroup or listserver that you think
might have readers interested in this subject to reach as broad an
audience as possible.

Proposed Group

alt.technology.smartcards        General discussions of Smartcards

Status

Unmoderated

Charter

Alt.technology.smartcards (unmoderated) will be a newsgroup which will
provide a common forum for all persons interested in the use and
development of SmartCards and the technologies behind.

(1) To share ideas, information and specific experience about the use
    of SmartCards.

(2) To discuss the design, programming and manufacturing of Smart-
    Cards.

(3) To discuss the use of SmartCards in various businesses and pro-
    spectives for the future use.

(4) To discuss economic issues concerning SmartCards.

(5) To discuss security issues around the SmartCards.

(6) To discuss standard issues concerning SmartCards.

(7) To educate and inform others about the the strength, weaknesses
    and general use of SmartCards.

(8) To share information and ideas about the future use of Smart-
    in all appropriate areas.

Subgroups

Subgroups will be added at a later date, as technology mature and new
products emerge.


Rationale

A SmartCard is commonly understood to be a single chip integrated on
card like a credit card. The chip can be a pure memory device, but
it can also be a full microprocessor for more sophisticated use.

The functions of the card is defined by programming the chip and
it can of course be done in many ways. Therefore the wide spread
of use.

SmartCards are today used in many different areas and there will
be many new possibilities in the future. A market survey from
1992 looks like this:

             Mobile Telephones          25 %
             Banking                   25 %
             Pay Telephones             5 %
             Access Control            15 %
             Health Care                5 %
             Transportation            15 %
             Others                    10 %

SmartCards are often used for identification purposes which means that
security is important issue when we are discussing these cards.

The SmartCards are an emerging technology which will have great im-
pact on a lot of different businesses in the future, therefore the
newsgroup will be of great help to a lot of people.

Summary

In summary, the creation of a new newsgroup is needed for discus-
sions about SmartCards which is an emerging technology.

SmartCards are used and will in the future be used in a lot of dif-
ferent businesses, therefore also a great need for the newsgroup.

Discussions of the proposed group should properly be help on
alt.config (Note that the Followup-To: line of this posting will
direct any responses to alt.config.)

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 alt.config.

Please E-mail me if you have any suggestions or oppinions about the group,
or post them to alt.config.


Lars Kalsen     [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 12:46:45 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Incident at a COCOT
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


I went with my relatives in Alexandria, VA to go to a theatre near
their home at the Skyline Mall to see the movie "The Firm."  (About
the only telecom issue which could be raised by that film was whether
the bugs in the house's phones were installed by the law firm or by
the telephone installer at the lawyer's home who said "We do all the
firm's installations").

The movie ended about 10:30 at night.  We got separated and I was
going to call someone, only to discover I had no money on me at all,
not even a quarter; I'd spent it on cab fare over to the mall from the
train station.  No sweat, I'd use my calling cards.  NOT!

The pay telephones in the mall were all private, e.g.  "Customer Owned
Coin Operated Telephone Single Line Insert Money Excessive", or the
infamous "COCOT SLIME". :) Sure, they'd take quarters for local calls,
or yhou can use a credit card to make 0+ calls via some AOS whose name
I had never heard of.  Since I'm a regular reader of this Digest, this
was a red flag warning to be aware of high rates.

So I thought that I'd better check the rate on a call.  For a local
call over a credit card, that the local phone company would charge
65c, and AT&T would probably charge about $1 plus the usual time
charge of 10c/minute, the AOS operator quoted me a rate of $4.00 for
the first ONE MINUTE.  We are talking about a distance from the mall
to the house I needed to call of roughly four or five miles.  At this
rate, it would almost be cheaper to take a cab over there!

If they were going to charge me the usual rate of say $1.10 or even
$1.60, I would have grumbled and accepted that, but 400% of AT&T's
rate was in my opinion excessive so I refused to go along.

Well, trying to dial the call by using 10288-0-703-xxx-xxxx doesn't
work, giving me a recording of "It is not necessary to dial a
long-distance access code."  Sure it isn't, if I wanted to pay them 6
times what the local telephone company would charge me, or 4 times
AT&T's rate.

So I tried dialing the call 0-703-xxx-xxxx and using the "85" credit
card from AT&T at their "bong".  Their operator came on, then
explained that they can't accept AT&T's non-telephone credit cards,
but she would transfer me.  That didn't work, as the AT&T Operator
couldn't hear me.

I tried using MCI.  Apparently I haven't used my cards in a while or
something, because MCI says the MCI card they issued me is not valid,
and they can't seem to take the telephone company issued card over the
950 or 1-800 access numbers.  (I didn't want to use my telephone
company issued card directly via 0-703-xxx-xxxx because I felt $4 for
the first minute for a local call was excessive.)  And while MCI *can*
take Visa for credit card calls, they can't take it without a PIN
number.  I haven't used a PIN number with my Visa card in four years,
so I don't even know what the PIN is.

I panicked.  I tried calling AT&T's number to dial into its switch -
and I messed up and dialed the wrong number - which meant I couldn't
get through to AT&T; I first thought the phone was blocking that
particular 1-800 number.  After a while, I calmed down and realized
what was wrong; I wasn't dialing 1-800-32-10ATT, I was dialing
something else.

After I calmed down, I dialed the correct 1-800 number for AT&T and
the call went through with the "85" card AT&T issued me.

I wasn't too far off on the cost difference; I got through and someone
at the relative's place left out money for me to take a taxi from the
mall to their house, and it cost $4.75.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 12:35:58 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: White House Orders No Bid Telephone System
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


There has been considerable flack placed upon the White House for
deciding to contact two switch bidders -- Northern Telecom and AT&T --
and deciding to place an order consisting of Centrex service from C&P
Telephone and ordering a switch from AT&T, without putting this
contract out for bids.

The White House cited the security concerns which only those two
equipment companies were able to meet, as the reason for the no bid
contract. A spokesperson for the White House indicated that they need
to order something fast to keep up with the huge volumes of calls they
are getting, and that the new contracts will give them better service
for less than they are paying now.

There may be some issue to question the ordering of a telephone switch
without putting the order out for bid, but -- irregardless of my
personal opinions of the current resident of the Oval office and her
husband -- the questioning of the proposed contract with C&P Telephone
seems specious, because no matter what type of system was installed,
the White House, whether it got Centrex or DID system or even POTS
lines or some hybrid, it would still have to contract for local dial
tone and loop termination of the standard number 202-456-1414 with the
local phone company.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 12:47:30 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Lawyers and IP Owners


There was an article in the July 7, 1993, issue of {Newsday} in the
Part II section about why lawyers are held in such low esteem by the
general public.

There was a little blurb at the end about a person who set up a 900
number that people could call for $5.00 per minute and chew out
lawyers.

The IP owner?  A lawyer.


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, 8 Jul 93 19:28:36 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Teleglobe Canada to Close Down Globetex Text-to-Telex Service
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Teleglobe Canada Inc., Canada's only overseas telecommunications
carrier, says it plans to close down its Globetex text-to-telex
service. It had previously closed down a text-to-fax service.  You
could reach the Globetex computer via the Datapac packet network or by
making a normal modem call.

Teleglobe, formerly the Canadian Overseas Telecommunications
Corporation, provides telecommunications links between Canada and the
rest of the world, except for the United States.  Teleglobe is partly
owned by BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Canada. I think BCE owns
significantly less than 50 percent of Teleglobe, but I don't know the
exact figures. BCE and Teleglobe have their head offices in the same
building in Montreal (1000 de La Gauchetiere Street West, which also
houses the Montreal terminal of STRSM, the Montreal South Shore
Transit Corporation).

A letter from Mr. Gilles Leduc, Teleglobe's vice-president of
marketing, suggests that Globetex customers could switch to comparable
services offered by Stentor (Envoy 100) and Unitel (Dialcom T-mail).
Mr. Leduc can be reached by phone at [phone], or by fax at
[phone].

In practice, I think that Canadian telecommunications users who want
to send a text message to an overseas telex machine may find it easier
and cheaper to use a U.S. e-mail service such as MCI Mail, which
automatically assigns an MCI telex number to every MCI Mail user.
Other e-mail services such as CompuServe and AT&T Mail may also allow
users to send telex messages.

As other people have pointed out, telex may make sense when you need
to communicate with someone in a country where phones are scarce or
unreliable. In most other cases, e-mail or fax makes more sense. (A
shipbroker tells me that messages about chartering ships are often
sent by telex because shipbrokers want written proof a message was
sent, though.)


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

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 22:54:42 EDT
From: Tony @ Brownvm <[e-mail]>
Subject: Public Phone in Chemult, Oregon


Last week I took the train from LA to Portland, Oregon.  The train
made a three minute stop in Chemult, and I noticed from the window a
1960's style red and white phone booth on the platform.  Inside was
what appeared to be an ordinary beige wall phone.  There was certainly
no room for a coinbox, though I couldn't see if there was a dial.
There was a small (say 7" x 9") booklet on a shelf in the booth.  The
booth said TELEPHONE, so I doubt this was a direct taxi line or
anything like that.

What's the story?  Does Chemult have free public phones?  I gather
it's a small lumber town.

On a related note, does anyone know what the cellular coverage is like
along the route of the Coast Starlight?  How about mobile data
(Mobidem)?  Amtrak doesn't provide Railfone service on this train,
presumably because of spotty coverage.


Tony Harminc

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 00:38:54 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Communication Departments Who Can't Communicate


[Moderator's Note: Mr. Solomon passed this along from rec.humor.funny. PAT]

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 93 4:30:02 EDT
From: [e-mail] (FRANK BORGER)

    Abstract of a recent phone conversation between myself and
    a service person from our local communication department.

Me (after bouncing through about six offices)

"One of our computer lines, (xxx-yyyy) has a bad line. I can no longer
get an outgoing dial tone, and incoming calls get a message 'That
number is currently being tested, please try again later.' We've been
doing work-arounds, but wonder how long it will be down?"

Service-droid (after some delay talking to their computer ...)

"Oh, that line was de-activated as a cost cutting measure. We can
re-activate it if you wish."

Me (somewhat puzzled at Ameritech's use of the English language ...)

"You mean nobody was actually checking the line? Why did the recorded
message say the line was being tested?"

Service-droid, (rather bemused at questioning the voice of god ...)

"Oh, that's always been the message you get when a line has been
de-activated."


Selected by Maddi Hausmann.   Sponsored by ClariNet Communications Corp.

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

Subject: Internet Articles in {The Nation} 12 July 1993
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 16:52:21 -0400


The current edition of {The Nation} has two articles regarding
Internet and related "data superhighway" concerns. The first is by
Kevin Cooke and Dan Lehrer, entitled "The Whole World is Talking" and
contains a description of Internet's history and possible future,
including an anecdote about Wam Kat's "Zagreb Diary" reporting the
situation from Croatia via an Internet link through Germany.

The second article by Herbert I. Schiller, "Public Way or Private
Road?" deals more with the future ownership or "government" of the
Internet. There are dangers to letting the private interests run the
show, many of which are old hat to the likes of the EFF, various
Internet veterans, and the computer underground.

Check for 12 July 1993 edition of {The Nation}.


David Leibold

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 06:13:07 +0200
Subject: How to Get Coin Phone?


Hi folks,

A friend of mine will celebrate his ..th birthday this year. Since he
is also one of the phoneholics, I want to make a very special gift to
him.

Well, there are many different new types of phones available, but I
think a US coin phone (please no GTE design) would be just great. Now
I guess such phones are rather expensive, if you buy them new. But is
there a way to get such a phone, "partially" defective, which could be
repaired for home use (no coin operation needed)?

Here (in Germany) the national telephone operator sells old "stuff"
measured by its weight! So I guess the US telcos also want to get rid
of old stuff, and make some "money" on it!?

Please answer by mail! Thanks.

BTW, how to get other used phone equipment in the USA??


Juergen Ziegler          | Mail: [e-mail]   standard
Obervogt-Haefelinstr. 48 |                              disclaimer
77815 Buehl (Baden)      |                              applies
Germany                  |

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 14:34:28 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


Hello --

I never thought I would have occasion to contribute a story to
TELECOM, but ... here it goes:

When dialing direct through AT&T to a fax number in Germany:
     011 +49 6131 XXX 4555

after some time lag, I always hear a short beep and then a busy signal.
On the other hand, I can reach the voice line there at:

     011 +49 6131 XXX 450

just fine.

I contacted AT&T, and today I finally got a technician on the phone.

The bottom line is this:

Local U.S. exchanges only have the capacity to store 12-digit numbers
(i.e. in my case +49 6131 XXX 455). This turns out to be an illegal
phone number in Germany, which causes a congest signal to be sent back
to the US (the beep), which then is turned into a busy signal here.

  The technician was able to reach the fax number dialling through a
T1 connection.

ATTENTION: EUROPEAN READERS TAKE  NOTE

If you have a 13 digit (including country code) phone number, you
cannot be reached through direct dial from a local exchange in the
United States!!  (As I was told there are 13-digit numbers currently
in Germany, Austria, and the Chech Republic.)

AT&T suggested to:

(a) go through the operator.
    -- Of course, this is going to be somewhat of a hassle --- no unattended
       scheduled faxes this way.

    Supposedley in this case I would only be charged the direct-dial rate
    (is this true?).

(b) get a T1-pipe connection and not go through the local exchange.
    This is very expensive. (Just out of curiosity - how expensive?
    Supposedly there some companies do have their own T1 lines.)

Any other suggestions? -- I guess the local exchanges here will always
have 12-digit memory only.

I am actually a bit surprised that the Long Distance Services Repair
operator did not suggest right away to dial through the operator.
Maybe this 13-digit problem is not yet so well known or widespread.


Ekkehard

PS: Excuse me if I used the wrong terminology - I do not know much
about telecommunications. I also do not remember having seen this
topic brought up here, but then I do not read all the messages on the
digest, either.  I will try my luck with option (a) when I get home.


[Moderator's Note: It is true that when direct dial is not possible
for some reason, the AT&T operators will complete the call at direct
dial rates, waiving the surcharge for operator assistance. But I have
never heard of this before; that a number which requires thirteen
digits to dial cannot be reached directly. We in the USA have had IDDD
in many exchanges for twenty years, and in almost all exchanges for
several years now. No one has yet raised this point???  PAT]

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

Organization: Valencia University (Universitat de Valencia) SPAIN
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 23:32:58 EST
From: Rogelio Montanana <[e-mail]>
Subject: Can I Use Telnet Over a Satellite Link?


We are a group of four Universities that want to be connected by high
speed links (2 Mb or higher), without using the PTT services, that
happen to be very expensive in Spain. The topology would be a star
with three links, the distances varying from about 8 Km to about 100
Km. The main protocol used is TCP/IP.

Talking with telecommunication specialists they recommend satellite
links (they call it VSAT); I remember to have read somewhere that
satellite links introduce long delays in the packets sent (something
between half a second and two seconds maybe?). It worries me because,
for example, using telnet with remote echo means two packets sent per
key, and half a second delay would be unacceptable in this situation.
The specialists claim that it is no problem, but I am not so sure.

Is anybody over there using satellite links for interactive
applications, like telnet? I will appreciate hearing of any experience
using satellite links in TCP/IP networks.


Regards,

Rogelio Montanana, System Analyst             Tel:[phone] Fax:[phone]
Valencia Univ. Computer Center                     Bitnet: montanan at evalun11
Dr. Moliner, 50                                  Internet: [e-mail]
46100 Burjassot                   Hepnet: evalun::montanan (or 16530::montanan)
Spain                 X400: C=es;A=mensatex;P=iris;O=uv;OU=ci;OU=vm;SN=montanan

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #457
******************************










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Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 02:24:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #458

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Jul 93 02:24:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 458

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    HPN '94: High Performance Networking - Call For Papers (C. Diot)
    Requesting Information on Arch Telecom Corp. (David Lebowitz)
    Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow (Rob Knauerhase)
    There is Indeed Some Competence at Pacific Bell (C. E. Buckley)
    Information on Singapore Telecomm Wanted (Gerry George)
    Power Crosses Phoneline (Was why -48V) ([e-mail])
    Phone Test Set Recommendations? (Scott McClure)
    Control Device Wanted (Sean Slattery)
    Electronics Now Telephone Projects (David Leibold)
    811 to Reach Telco Business Offices (Lauren Weinstein)
    811 in California (was Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511) (Rich Greenberg)
    Charging, Accounting, Billing (Robert Reijmerink)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Christophe Diot)
Subject: HPN '94 : High Performance Networking - Call for Papers
Organization: IMAG Institute, University of Grenoble, France
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 15:44:17 GMT


HPN'94     5th IFIP CONFERENCE ON HIGH PERFORMANCE NETWORKING
(GRENOBLE- FRANCE)    JUNE 27 - JULY 1, 1994

CALL FOR PAPERS
***************

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

This workshop belongs to the serie started in 1987 in Aachen, followed
by Liege in 1988, Berlin in 1991 and Liege in 1992. It aims at
presenting and discussing evolution in the framework of high-speed
networking and computing in private and public networks. Original
contributions on the following topics are solicited.

A. NEW MAC SERVICES AND PROTOCOLS
Gigabit networks
ATM-based Systems

B. ENHANCED NETWORK AND TRANSPORT SERVICES AND PROTOCOLS
Multipeer services and protocols
Admission and congestion control
Time-constraint management

C. NEW SERVICES AND PROTOCOLS
Synchronization semantic and management
Protocols for groupware communication
Video over high speed networks
QoS semantic

D. NEW APPLICATIONS
Multimedia
Distribution network algorithms
Groupware communication

E. INTERNETWORKING
Routing in high performance multimedia networks
Bridges and routers technology and protocols
Meshed architectures

F. IMPLEMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
MAC Performance in high speed networks
Efficient Protocol Implementation

Prospective authors are invited to send an intention to submit a paper
(with provisional title, author list, and addresses) to Serge Fdida
([e-mail])


GENERAL CHAIRMAN
Guy Pujolle (MASI, Univ. Versailles, F)

PROGRAM CHAIRMAN
Serge Fdida (MASI, Univ. Paris 5, F)

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Daniel Abensour (IBM Res. Div. Cary, USA)
Andres Albanese (Bellcore, USA)
Patrick Baker   (HP Labs Bristol, UK)
Augusto Casaca  (INESC P)
Greg Chesson    (SGI, USA)
Andre Danthine  (Univ. de Liege, B)
Michel Diaz     (LAAS, F)
Christophe Diot (IMAG, Grenoble, F)
Zygmunt Haas    (AT&T Bell Labs, USA)
Marjory Johnson (RIACS, USA)
Nick Maxemchuk  (AT&T Bell Labs, USA)
Hanafy Meleis   (DEC, USA)
Gerard Michel   (IMAG, Grenoble, F)
Craig Partridge (BBN, USA)
Radu Popescu-Zeletin (GMD FOKUS, D)
Otto Spaniol    (Tech. Univ. Aachen, D)
Samir Thome     (TELECOM PARIS, F)
Harmen Van As   (IBM Zurich, CH)
Martina Zitterbart (Univ. Karlsruhe, D)

ORGANIZATION CO-CHAIRMEN

Jean-Pierre Verjus (IMAG, Grenoble F)
Christophe Diot    (IMAG, Grenoble F)


VENUE

The conference will be organized by the IMAG Institute and IBP
Institute, and will be held in Grenoble, France. Grenoble is located
at hundred kilometers from Lyon and hundred and fifty kilometers from
Geneva.

Grenoble is the heart of the French Alps. Following the 1968 Olympic
games, Grenoble developed a high technology R&D park around one of the
most famous French Universities.


CONTRIBUTIONS

Papers must be written in English and should not exceed 12 pages
single spaced, or 20 pages double spaced. The front page should
contain the author's names, address, phones, faxes, and emails, as
well as a 150 words abstract. All submitted papers that scope with the
topics will be refereed.

Authors of accepted papers will be requested to sign a copyright
release from the IFIP. A participant edition of the proceedings will
be made available at the Conference from the camera-ready copy which
will be used later on for the publication of the proceedings by
Elsevier (North Holland). The accepted papers not presented by the
author(s) at the conference will not be included in the published
proceedings.

Four copies of the submitted papers will have to be received no later
than October 30, 1993, by:

Serge FDIDA
Universite Rene Descartes - UFR Maths-Info
Laboratoire MASI
45, rue des Saints-Peres
75006 Paris (France)
Phone : [phone]; Fax : [phone]; e.mail :
[e-mail]


TUTORIALS

Tutorials will be organized on June 27 & 28, 1994. Suggestions for half or
full day tutorials are welcome.

IMPORTANT DATES

OCTOBER 30, 1993        FULL PAPER SUBMISSION DEADLINE
JANUARY 31, 1994             NOTIFICATION OF ACCPTANCE
MARCH 31, 1994                   CAMERA-READY COPY DUE
JUNE 27-28, 1994                             TUTORIALS
JUNE 29, JUL 1, 1994                        CONFERENCE

Any information about HPN'94 can be requested through e-mail at the
following adress: [e-mail]

If interested by HPN '94, return the following information to Serge
Fdida (by post or e.mail):

[ ]  I intend to submit a paper to HPN '94; the provisional title will be
  .............................................

The list of authors will be ...............................
e-mail for the first author:...............................


[  ]  I do not intend to submit a paper but I am interested to receive the
program of HPN '94
First and last names :.....................................
Title :................... Affiliation :...................
Address: ..................................................
Tel : ...................  Fax :...........................
E.mail :.................

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 22:29 GMT
From: David Lebowitz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Requesting Info on Arch Telecom Corp.


Recently a relative of mine was recruited by a company in the tele-
communication business to work for them as a sales representative.
She attended a seminar provided by the company and then contacted me
to see if I might be interested in becoming involved. I asked for more
details on the company and the arrangements for representation and she
forwarded a couple of brochures and a copy of their employment
contract.

The name of the company is Arch Telecom, their headquarters is
in Houston, Texas. From what I can determine, they are a re-seller
of 800 services and claim to have exclusive and proprietary software
that allows them to offer services that other 800 providers don't
have.

 .Fraud Detection and Cost Controls. They guarantee that the
  user will not be responsible for any amount over $50 because
  they monitor all calls constantly.

 .Travel card. Arch Telecom's calling card service has no sur-
  charge, 6 second call rounding, no call minimum, no higher 1st
  minute rate, protection from unauthorized use, speed dialing,
  customers' own choice of authorization codes, international
  calling capabilities, 24 hour customer service.

 .Automatic transfer of calls via preset codes by receptionist.

 .Transfers of calls anywhere without pre-programming by recep-
  tionist.

 .Caller may transfer calls by use of predetermined pre-programmed
  codes allowing caller to make multiple calls to other offices
  or locations without hanging up.

 .Automated menu routing.

 .Live operator database routing based on zip codes, customer I.D.
  or product codes, etc.

 .Real time destination programming allowing the customer to re-
  program from any touch tone phone, where their "800" number will
  ring.

 .Exchange-by-exchange routing, allows a compnay with multiple
  locations to use 1 "800" number. Calls are automatically routed
  to the closest office.

 .Overflow routing.

 .ANI blocking/passing. Blocks access of unmwanted calls or limits
  access.

 .Custom calling region to limit the area from which the number is
  accessible.

 .Real time ANI & DNIS.

 .Customer call back.  By entering a predetermined code customers
  can return calls to hang-ups or disconnects.

 .International call back.

 .On-line up to the second call detail.

Since I'm no authority on the details of 800 services, I would
appreciate any feedback on the relative value of the services as well
as information on their availability from other sources.  I would also
be very interested in hearing from anyone who has had any experience
in dealing with Arch Telecom. They claim to have grown to
$100,000,000.00 in annual billings in a very short time without any
sales force whatsoever. Thus I assume that there must be people out
there who have done business with them and might be willing to share
some information about them.

Thanks for any assistance or information you can provide.


David K. Lebowitz  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rob Knauerhase)
Subject: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 21:09:33 -0700 (PDT)
Organization: Intel Mobile Software Lab, Hillsboro, OR


Greetings all,

    Does anyone know of a switch that will take a four-wire input
(where red/green are line one and black/yellow are line two) and
select one of the pairs to connect to red/green output?  I have two
lines in my apartment, and would like an easier way of switching the
modem between them than moving the plug from one jack to another.

    Radio Shack (even the catalog) was unhelpful.  Hello Direct sells
a two-lines-to-one-line switch, but it's (1) expensive and (2) clumsy
since I'd have to split my one wire in two in order to switch between
them.  I've checked in a couple other places to no avail as well.


Thanks,

Rob Knauerhase, Intel Mobile Software Lab, Hillsboro OR


[Moderator's Note: Radio Shack has a two-line controller which uses
buttons on the front to shift the line of your choice into a single
line output. For incoming calls, the ringing signal forces the con-
troller to shift the ringing line into the output. I've got one here
which allows two Caller-ID equipped lines to be fed into a single
Caller-ID display unit. Either ringing line seizes the controller and
feeds its output to the display box.   PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 21:17:03 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Buckley)
Subject: There is Indeed Some Competence at Pacific Bell


I recently had a service interaction with a Pacific Bell business
office representative that was so extraordinarily above their usual
mediocre performance that I'd like to see to it that the represen-
tative involved gets proper credit.

Unlike the typical Pacific Bell interface employee, this person knew
her stuff, and really did an effective job.  Even more refreshing was
that when she didn't knwo something, she actually went and found out
the answer instead of trying to making something something up (through
which I can usually see).

I know her identifying information, and am so impressed I'd be more
than happy to write a letter of commendation for her (in case anyone
there does care about quality and competence, which sometimes seems
far from evident).

I know that Pacific Bell employees lurk on this list, and I'd be most
appreciative for advice on how to make known my experience in a way
that won't actually cause more harm than good (as often seems to
happen when commendations are fed into organizations which
institutionalize mediocrity).

If Pacific Bell is serious about being some place where "'good enough'
isn't", I'd appreciate the opportunity to give a push to someone who
might materially contribute to making that come true.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gerry George)
Subject: Information on Singapore Telecomm Wanted
Date: 9 Jul 1993 04:22:35 GMT
Organization: Boston University


I am in dire need of some information from anyone at U. of Penn.
(Wharton Business School) or Cornell U.  I'm trying to get a copy of
part of a report on "Teleconnumications in Southeast Asia" by Frost &
Sullivan Research Inc. The portion I'm specifically interested in
is on Singapore.  I found out that it is online at the Wharton
Business School Library, and is available on the shelf (bound copy) at
Cornell U.

Is there anyone out there in netland who knows how I can get online
access to the Wharton School Library or the U-Penn system? Either a
host name or dial-up number would be fine.  In addition, information
about any access restrictions or a contact name (library personnel at
either Wharton or Cornell) whom I could contact for information would
also be helpful.

Additionally, would anyone in comp.dcom.telecom world know of any
pointers, additional info, or any general help?

This info is required for a research project, and is required *as soon
as possible* so please e-mail me at [e-mail] if you can
provide any help.


Thanks very much,

Gerry George
School of Management, Boston Univ.
Internet: [e-mail]
HomeNet: [e-mail]
Compu$erve: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 22:34:15 EDT
Subject: Power Crosses Phone Lines (was Why -48V on Local Loop?)


Andy Rabagliati <[e-mail]> writes:

> In the UK, any crossing of power lines over phone lines is treated
> with great concern. Big netting arrangements are built, so that if the
> power cables break they will still not touch phone lines.

[The above was left in just for clarity]

> Phone lines strung cross country are bare wires -- not the two inch
> cables seen in the US.

Those two inch cables in the United States used to carry quite a few
copper pairs and are just now beginning to carry lots of fiber optic
lines.

> Phone lines in town are ALWAYS buried.

Lots of cities and states in the US seem to be pushing for burial of
most utility cables. Funny part is, where I live my electrical service
is underground, but telephone is still on poles.

I've noticed that during storms you can ALWAYS expect the electricity
to go out (if your lines are on poles) but the phone service hardly
EVER goes out with the exception of a physically torn line.


Tony   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Scott McClure)
Subject: Phone Test Set Recommendations?
Organization: NIX - The Network Information eXchange
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 08:05:19 GMT


Hi all,

    I bought a Vodavi LTS-2000 test set last week, and used it
briefly over the last weekend.  It is a fairly basic model, with few
"extras."  To make a short story long, I ran into a PacBell installer
and we got into comparing gear.  His had all kinds of features, such
as memory presets and a speakerphone (really nice to have when you're
trying to do a million things at once!).  8-) So I've been looking at
exchanging it for a model with more features.

    I've been looking at spec sheets on several other models, such
as the Dracon TS-22 and 22A.  The former is available at the local
Greybar for $299.94.  The 22A (top-of-the-line) is $433.27.  I'm not
sure I really want to pay over $400 for a test set.

    Has anyone else used a particular brand/model they would
recommend?  Do the above prices seem "reasonable?"


Thanks,

Scott      INTERNET:  [e-mail]
Non-MX:  ryptyde![e-mail]    UUCP: {crash, nosc}!ryptyde!scott

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 13:09 GMT
From: Sean Slattery <[e-mail]>
Subject: Control Device Wanted


Hello all, I am looking for a box that I can attach to a phone line
such that when I call that line the box will answer and will close
relay contacts according to what I type on the pad.

For example: I would dial up the box, it would answer, I would dial
"7364#" and contact A would close, I would dial "45#" and contact B
would close.  Dialing "*" would cause contact C to close only while
the "*" tone was present (in this case you would buzzing someone
through a door).

Box should be completely programmable as to number of digits and
actions.  This is for an access control system for my company, I have
been tasked with the job of designing a system flexible enough so that
the engineers won't disable it when it thwarts them.


Please reply to: [e-mail]
Sean Slattery   Network Administrator   Airflow Research & Mfg.

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

Subject: Electronics Now Telephone Projects
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 23:52:06 -0400


The August '93 edition of _Electronics_Now_ (formerly Radio-Electronics,
which formerly was Radio Craft) has a couple of telephone projects for
the DIY enthusiast.

One is a phone line simulator which provides ringing signal, and a
tone (albeit a 500 Hz tone, not a true 350/440Hz dual tone) through
RJ11 jacks.  Phone sets and answering machines can thus be tested off
the local loop.

The other project is a phone line selector, with four phone lines
input, going to a single line output (such as an answering machine,
etc). This is not to be confused with devices to decode a distinctive
ringing cadence; this device just picks up the first call on the
incoming lines.


David Leibold

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 00:36 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices


Greetings.  The Moderator mentions use of 811 in California to reach
the telco business office.  It's worth noting that 811 is not a
complete number -- at least not in Pacific or GTE territories.
Actually, 811 is a statewide "prefix" used by Pacific Bell (I don't
know if Pacific's Nevada territory is tied in).  There are a whole
slew of 811 + 4D numbers for reaching all manner of business offices,
administrative offices, corporate headquarters, etc.  Many are listed
in local telephone directories.  I believe that most 811 numbers are
mapped into conventional POTS numbers.  Note that these 811 numbers
are dialed without any area codes -- they are "local" (and toll-free)
everywhere you can dial them.

While the phone books warn that 811 numbers may not be reachable from
non-Pacific areas, I've yet to find a GTE area where 811 numbers were
not dialable.  How the internal billing for 811 is handled between the
companies, and how the inter-LATA traffic is routed, might be
interesting.  Most likely it all travels on Pacific Bell private
circuits.

GTE, by the way, makes no use of 811 themselves in California, but
uses 800 numbers extensively for business offices and the like.


 --Lauren--

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

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: 811 in California (was Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511)
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 15:09:51 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] our
Esteemed Moderator who was remarking on a post from (Brendan B.
Boerner) noted:

> [Moderator's Note: Don't forget 611 in your list above which is often
> used for repair service. 811 is used in California to reach the phone
> company business office ...

I guess the news hasn't worked as far east as Chicago yet.  811-xxxx
to reach your local telco (provided that your local telco happens to
be Pa Bell) has been phased out.  I had noticed some months ago that
all of the Pa Bell phone numbers on my bill were 800- numbers, not the
811 numbers.  The next time I had business with Pa Bell, I asked the
rep why.

The reason turned out to be quite sensible and customer service
oriented.  Within California, where whatever Pa Bell tells the little
telcos to put into their routing tables goes (with the exception of
those who don't know how to fix the tables) 811 was working well.  The
problem was that some Pa Bell bills were being paid by out-of-state
corporate headquarters and that number was increasing with mergers,
buyouts, takeovers, ...

It didn't make sense to have 800 numbers for out of state and 811
in-state, so they just made all of us dial an extra four digits.  :-(


Rich Greenberg             Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside CA 619-631-5280
N6LRT    TinselTown, USA   Play: [e-mail]           310-649-0238
I speak for myself only.

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1993 11:15:35 +0000 (GMT)
From: [e-mail] (Robert Reijmerink)
Subject: Charging, Accounting, Billing
Organization: PTT Research, The Netherlands


I have a few questions about telecommunication billing.

Billing procedure in the Netherlands provides every customer with one
(specified) bill every two months. Tariffing is centralised. However,
situations occur in which customers (i.e.  customer terminals: PBX or
payphone) have a more direct need for cost information, preferably
on-line. For this, the term direct charging is used. With direct
charging the problem of tariff distribution arises.

In the Netherlands, direct charging is now conducted by means of
sending 50 Hz meter pulses to the calling party's terminal. We are
looking for alternative ways of sending cost data to user's terminals.
Choosing a widely used solution is of importance and therefore we
would like to have a view of some methods used for direct charging in
other countries.

Can anyone provide information about this subject?

The following questions are of concern:

- How is direct charging done in your country? In what ways can subscribers
  get on-line charging information?

- What signals are provided to subscribers (which protocol, meter
  pulses, other solutions)?

- How is tariff information transferred to peripheral devices, like
  payphones and PBXs ?

Please answer by email. Thanks in advance,


Robert Reijmerink

PTT Research
P.O.Box 15000
9700 CD  Groningen
The Netherlands

Internet [e-mail]        Phone [phone]
Uucp     [mcsun,hp4nl]!pttrtl!reijmeri           Fax   [phone]
X.400    Country:NL,Admd:400Net,Prmd:PTT Research,Surname:Reijmerink

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #458
******************************










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Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 17:56:50 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #459

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Jul 93 17:56:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 459

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Seth B. Rothenberg)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Charles Stephens)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Bob Goudreau)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Carl Moore)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (John R. Levine)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (John R. Levine)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (Mark Terribile)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Paul Houle)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (David Leibold)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (David Breneman)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Reid R. Buyaky)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Dale Farmer)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Jeffrey Jonas)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Seth B Rothenberg)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Date: 8 Jul 93 13:30:40 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


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

> I recently got the PacBell bill stuffer on "1 means ten digits
> follow".  It looks like that's really gonna free up the number space.
> People have complained about not knowing if a call is gonna cost them.
> Maybe the telco can give a little warning beep as the call is being
> handled.

Maybe this could be done by requiring IXCs to play their standard tone
whether the call is operator or not.  eg, you would dial 1-212-555-4320
and hear " (chime!) AT & T" and then ringing. Or "(chime!) Thank you
for using AT&T" and then ringing.

Of course, then you would need the LECs to also give 'toll warnings'
such as "(bong) Thank you for using Bell of PA" (they don't use a
chime like AT&T does.


Seth

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

From: [e-mail] (Charles Stephens)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Date: 8 Jul 1993 17:11:42 GMT
Organization: Emory University, Dept of Math and CS


In MetroAtlanta (Southern Bell area) 611 is reserved for repair and
311 is used in some locations as automatic number readback.  Very
convenient when you don't label your phone jacks and you need to know
which one goes to which phone line.


Charles Stephens    [e-mail]
DISCLAIMER: I am a guest a Emory's Math and CS Dept., all opinions expressed,
except those quoted by others, are my own, and not those of said organization.

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 13:39:32 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Bob Goudreau)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511


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

> ... I prefer my previously proposed method of using # or timeout on
> dialing.  The system would then assume all unspecified leading digits
> were the same as the originating phone.  That way, I could dial one
> digit to get my second line, or eleven digits (country code, area code,
> and seven digits).  This method would allow those with pocket dialers to
> use the same number, no matter where they were.  It would also remove
> the need for an international access code.  If you dialed eleven or more
> digits, the first ones must be country codes.

But you presume too much by requiring all fully-qualified international
numbers to be at least 11 digits long.  Not all countries have numbers
which are guaranteed to be that long; some tiny countries have numbers
as short as seven or eight total digits (including the three-digit
country code).  So, for example, how would you parse "6172345678" --
as a call to the Boston area (area code 617, with the missing country
code defaulting to 1), or as a fully qualified number in the Brisbane,
Australia area (country 61, area code 7)?


Bob Goudreau        Data General Corporation
[e-mail]    62 Alexander Drive
[phone]        Research Triangle Park, NC  27709, USA

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 9:58:35 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511


There was a note in the Digest recently about 711 being used for
self-ring in area 412 in western Pennsylvania.  Anyone else ever hear
anything regarding any usage of 711?

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 09:57 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Organization: I.E.C.C.


BellSouth made a big deal a little while ago about their plan to offer
the currently unassigned X11 codes to various sorts of information
services.  (They listed it as one of their wonderful new advances in
the quarterly financial report.)

It is my impression that Bellcore's NANP folks are not thrilled by
this plan, but since Bellcore is BellSouth's slave (along with the
other RBOC's) there isn't much they can do about it.  Perhaps they can
assign 511 as an overlay area code for Miami.


Regards,

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


[Moderator's Note: This sort of fiasco did not happen back in the days
when we had 'one system' (Bell) and 'one way of doing things', did it
John?   :)   PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 11:13 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Organization: I.E.C.C.


> The account of this hookup said that the governor spoke into a
> water-cooled microphone in Oklahoma City and the signal was audible in
> Tulsa, about 100 Miles to the Northeast.

They probably just pumped fantastic amounts of power through it.  In
the early days of electronics, in the absence of tube-based tunable
amplifiers or receivers, they just cranked up the power since power
generation was a technology which was already well established thanks
to Tesla and Edison.

I visited the Marconi site in Sydney N.S. a while back; one of his
first trans-Atlantic radio stations, and the amount of power it used
was amazing (although at the moment I can't find what it was),
something like a megawatt.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Date: 8 Jul 1993 19:52:39 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> Martin McCormick <[e-mail].
okstate.edu> writes:

> The account of this hookup said that the governor spoke into a
> water-cooled microphone in Oklahoma City and the signal was audible in
> Tulsa, about 100 Miles to the Northeast.

Well, last year in {QST}, the amateur radio magazine, there was a
photograph of a water-cooled telegraph key.  A modern-day reconstruction
of an old one, that is.  Then one looked at the date of the magazine
 ... April.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW   (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza  New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578    fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 00:19:30 GMT


Our Moderator notes:

> Amazing technology? By the time grandpa left us he had seen in his
> lifetime: the invention of radio, television, talking movies, airplanes,
> automobiles, computers, countless other things; he saw the telephone
> and electricity come into very wide acceptance and use as well,
> bringing with widespread electrical distribution the use of refriger-
> ators, fans, household lighting, etc.  Can you imagine coming into a
> world with none of those things as a young person growing up and and
> having all of them in your daily life when you leave? Will we ever see
> another century like the 20th in terms of sheer variety of inventions
> and technological changes?  ...  Given the changes in the
> past century, doesn't it blow your mind to think of what technology
> will be like when *you* depart?  I know it excites me.   PAT]

Excites?  It _frightens_ me!

Cast your minds back to the summer of 1969, those of you who are old
enough.  As Apollo 11's Lunar Module separated from the Command Module
and began its descent to our moon's surface, a horde of dignitaries,
guests, and such sat or stood watching a screen in a hall near Mission
Control.  In the front row there was a pair of black men.  One of them
was (if I recall correctly) 65 years old.  He was there to accompany
his father, who was 113 years old at the time, having been born a
slave in the antebellum south.

And those of you who are not old enough -- imagine the hush in
millions of homes as the first pictures come back from the moon.  Deep
as we are in the heart of the Cold War this transmission is piped to
the Soviet Union and broadcast there for those lucky enough to have --
or to be able to see -- a television.  Imagine, if you can, the
over-contrasty side view of a ladder, the black shape at the top
changing as the hatch is opened, the clumsy white form stepping
backwards down the ladder as hushed voice breaks in to explain what
you are watching ... the glitch that suddenly turned the image
negative until it was corrected a minute or so later ... and the
feeling, when the transmission ended, that you may never quite
understand all that this has meant.


(This man's opinions are his own.)    From mole-end   Mark Terribile
[e-mail], Somewhere in Matawan, NJ


[Moderator's Note: Oh Mark, I think the television coverage that
Sunday night was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. At the time, I
had a part-time job running the switchboard at the South Shore Country
Club weekend evenings. Normally that three-position board was a real
rocker, busy all the time; that night it was dead. Everyone in the
place was downstairs either in the lobby or the cocktail lounge watch-
ing the 'moon walk' on television. And not a peep from anyone. Dead
silence with their eyes glued on the picture. Even the talking heads
on television -- I call them the men with the fifty dollar hairdoos
and the fifty cent brains -- had nothing to say once those men came
down the ladder. Do you recall the twenty minutes or so of totally
dead audio on CBS?  Just silence as the camera followed those guys
around, first to install the flag of the United States then to go
about collecting rocks and dirt specimens to bring back to earth ...
that was broadcast everywhere in the world simultaneously; people
having their lunch Monday noon in Australia watched as amazed as we
did here. Normally talkative Walter Cronkite was stunned into sil-
ence.

Oh yes, we wanted the Soviet Union to see this -- so what if it
was four in the morning in Moscow! Do you recall President Nixon
speaking briefly after that? He spoke only a minute or so in relative
humility -- what could he say except thank you for a job well done
to the people who made it possible? And the front page of the paper
the next day was a single large photo of the men uprighting the
American flag on the moon -- like that old photo from 25 years
earlier at Iwo Jima -- and a headline, "Wow! Can You Believe This?"
You can purchase a video of the entire event based on the CBS-TV
coverage that Sunday night from Columbia House in Terre Haute, IN.
I don't need a video. It is burned in my memory forever.

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1993 13:51:00
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First


Tom writes:

> To 1+ or 0+ means that I am spending extra money. I like to
> know this.

        I do too; Not too long I made all my phone calls on a campus
phone system {could tell you the worst horror stories about Sprint,
but I'll pass}, where I had to dial 3+ to enter an authorization code
and 9+ to get an outside line.  Well, not too long I was making an
international call on an ordinary residental line {thank god!}, and I
tried to enter my ATT calling card number as a "3+" once, realized
what I was doing wrong, and then tried to dial the call "9+", well,
I'm dialing "900+[more stuff]" and there were enough digits there to
form a legal 900 number.  Now, if you could dial a 900 number without
the 1+, I could have gotten socked pretty bad.  Unscrupulous 900
providers might find high volume international numbers and set up a
number that slams you for $50 or so.

        I think this is already being done with 800 numbers, since I
am sure people have their fingers slip when dialing them and hit the
"9" instead.  It might really pay to have a 900 number that is close
to the number of really big mail order houses, reservation lines, long
distance access ports ... 1-900-CALL-ATT and 1-900-COLLECT!  When I
called the number that was mentioned here that reads back your number
along with an ad for 1-900-STOPPER, I got a "wrong number" the first
time which seemed to be a hint line for a computer game on acid.
Seriously.  There was a voice menu telling you to "Dial 1 if you just
landed on the planet Clorox 2 and don't know what to do", and "Dial 5
if you can't get past the pukeoid".  Turns out that my finger slipped
and there was an adjacent 900 number, as was investigated with the use
of my custom long distance savings plan.


Origin: NETIS [phone]/432-0922 (HST/V32) (1:132/189)

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

Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 10:07:45 -0400


When the 416/905 split occurs in October, ten digit local calls will
be introduced when crossing the Metro Toronto boundary (which will be
the new area 416 boundary). Local calls from Toronto to 905 points
will be dialed as 905 + number (no 1+ needed) whereas local calls into
Toronto will be dialed as 416 + number. 1+ is only necessary for toll
calls. Whether Bell Canada will permit local calls to be dialed with
the 1+ in front remains to be seen, though calling 1+ local number
normally results in a recorded message complaining that the call is
not long distance.


David Leibold

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

From: [e-mail] (David Breneman)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Date: 9 Jul 93 19:40:37 GMT


[e-mail] (John R. Levine) writes:

> To tell a number like 802-5556 from 802-555-6789, there are
> two dialing plans in use in North America.  In one plan, all calls
> within your area code are dialed with seven digits, whether they are
> local or toll.  In the other, all toll calls are dialed with eleven
> digits, even within your area code.

There's also another dialing plan -- all toll calls are dialed with a
1 first.  If its inside your area code, you dial eight digits; if its
outside your area code, you dial 11 digits.  This is the way it was in
206 until last year when we were switched to 1-206 for all toll calls.
Still, it's not so bad -- I remember when our access code was 1123!

Now here's another question -- why do all the people with 800 numbers
say "dial One, Eight-Hundred," etc?  The "one" is superfluous
information.  If you dial 800, you *must* dial the access code.
  ...And having lived in an area where "1" was *not* the access code
(it is now) it really peeved me!  ("Ignorant urban-centric jerks...")
:-)


David Breneman    Email: [e-mail]
System Administrator, Software Engineering Services
Digital Systems International, Inc.     Voice: 206 881-7544  Fax: [phone]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 09:00:33 EDT
From: mr!dev2![e-mail] (Reid R. Buyaky)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence


Steve Forrette ([e-mail]) responded to my query:

> To the point of your original question, here's what it cost me: the
> standard residential installation charge of $31 per line, plus $11 per
> line for the four lines that are in a hunt group (more on hunting
> later).  So, I expected to pay around $200 for the installation, plus
> the standard labor rate..

Geesh ... did I get taken for a ride?  As I originally wrote, I
finally wound up installing eight lines into rented office space.
There was no question that these were going to be business lines,
though.  The installation charges for those first eight lines ran
around $1000!!  When I increased my line count to 16 I had to pay
another $1000 (approx.).  These were all supposed to be no frills
lines (pulse dial, per call charges instead of measured rates, etc.)
but they stuck me with tone dial and a fee that allowed me 70 free
calls per month (recall that these lines were for a BBS, so there were
NO outgoing calls expected to be made).  I didn't catch this problem
until the second group of lines were installed, and the installer went
over the order with me.  They tried to give me those extra services on
the new lines, too.  I asked for a refund on those services they sold
me that I had explicitly asked NOT to have, and they said "Your fault ...
you should have reviewed the order at the time of installation."

I know the tariffs set the maximum installation charges for
residential lines, and my telco (Ohio Bell) told me what those were.
But no one seemed to know what the tariff said about business lines
(the PUC referred me to some main telco office in Cleveland that's
always busy).

Scott H Harris ([e-mail]) responded to my query:

> out said "NO."  That is just too many lines for a residence.  They
> suggested I go with a Centrex service.  I like the concept, but at
> $36.99 per line *each month* and additional "service" fees, this can
> add up quickly.  Are there any better ways to go about getting a hunt
> group for dirt cheap?

Actually, Centrex would have been THE way for me to go when all this
started.  But four years ago, they weren't marketing it to "small"
businesses.  According to a co-worker who used to work for Ameritech
when Centrex was first introduced, it was geared for, and marketed to,
businesses with 100-200 lines, or more.  Eight lines was too small for
them to mess with back then.

Now they've set it up so you can get Centrex here on as few as seven
lines (possibly as few as two).  For standard business lines, one can
save quite a bit on monthly charges with Centrex.  Since I had
stripped down service, I won't save any money at all.  But the hook
for me was the charge for installing additional lines.  Activity on my
BBS fluctuates wildly.  I've had as many as 16 lines running busy all
the time, to as few as eight active lines struggling for activity.
With Centrex, I can up my line count as high as I want for about a $61
installation fee, in total (of course, monthly charges are per line).

This would allow me to drop my line count (for free) during slack
periods, and increase them during busy times (like Summer) for a
minimal fee.  Compared to the ~$1000 I paid to add eight lines before,
this is like Heaven.


Reid R. Buyaky (Software Systems Engineer)
Micro Resources, Inc. -- [e-mail]
Heartland Multiline BBS - 614-846-7669
MajorNet - Sysop@HRT

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

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?
Date: 9 Jul 1993 16:41:36 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Last year my uncle built a small residential development in Eastern
Mmassachusetts.  We put the street in also so we went to New England
Tel. and asked them what they wanted.  After giving them the information
(six house lots, three to six bedrooms each, and showing them the land
plot) They told us we could put in their cable and hardware (provided
by them at no cost) or they could charge us a lot of $$ to put it in
themselves.  We took the spool of 25 pair and the spool of six pair,
plus the funny green mushrooms that the splice points appear in.
Power and sewer up one side of the street, telephone, cable TV and
drinking water up the other side of the street, all buried 12 feet for
liquids and eight feet down for cables.  (We put it deeper than the
minimum required.  We do good work.)

    So the 25 pair appears in all of the mushrooms, and six pair from
the mushroom to the house.  I would wager that two or three pairs were
connected all the way back to the CO for each house.  (I was not there the
day the telco came and made the connections and locked up the mushrooms)
Leaving several spare pairs for future use.

    Actually, since they gave us enough 25 pair we put in two runs
of 25 pair from the old street to the intersection where the extra
side street left the main street of the development, there are double
the number of pairs in the development that the telco asked for.  Then
a single 25 pair from there to the side street, and a single 25 pair
the rest of the way down the main street.  So one house has (in
theory) all 50 pairs available to it in the mushrooms.  the rest of
them only have 25 available in the mushroom.


Dale

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 14:04:40 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?


When I moved into the old two family house, the phone wires were
probably over 50 years old.  I asked for and got two lines.

The standard operating procedure here in NJ is to pull a cable of six
pairs to the house and attach the demarc outside the house with the
usual gray box.  So I guess asking for up to six lines is quite
reasonable.

While walking to the train station, I passed a New Jersey Bell truck
with a familiar looking spool - yup, six pair.

Yesterday, I lost dial tone on my modem line, and I checked that it
was dead at the demarc.  It didn't occur to me to check the unused
four lines.  I'd guess they're not even attached at the pole (unless
they attached one or two in anticipation of growth so the line could be
activated without any service call, just from the CO.  But that
doesn't sound right since a visit is usually required to verify the
dial tone reaches the demarc, or identify the lines, perform line
tests, etc.)


 Jeffrey Jonas    [e-mail]

[Moderator's note: Did you find out the problem and get service
restored to the modem line?   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #459
******************************










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Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 20:40:13 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #460

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Jul 93 20:40:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 460

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Moving Up the Food Chain (Paul Robinson)
    Send Suggestions for ISDN FAQ (Michael J. Barr)
    EIA/TIA Standards (Bonnie J. Johnson)
    Talk Ticket Distributors Wanted (TELECOM Moderator)
    Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations (Scott Perry)
    Computerized Phone Directory Sites (Richard C. Harrison)
    ISDN/SS7 Test Equipment Needed (Holly Elliott)
    Audiovox CTX-3200M Programming Information Available (Bill Nickless)
    Interesting Use of ANI at Ballys (Seng-Poh Lee)
    DXI Interface (Martin Steinmann)
    Unitel Access Phone Number in Toronto? (Albert Pang)
    Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls? (Anthony Wallis)
    CDMA Technology Texts (Richard Nash)
    700 Number Information Wanted  (Mark Christopher Macsurak)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 07:12:05 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Moving Up the Food Chain
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Seven years ago, I started communicating via modem using a 1200 baud
modem.  Over the past four years, I've bought at least five 2400 baud
modems, starting with a 2400, a 2400 with send-only fax, a 2400 with
send-receive fax, and finally an external 2400 with send/receive fax
for a machine that I could not install an internal in because the
serial port used had sockets for both Com1 and Com2.

After wanting to do so for more than five months, I finally moved "up
the food chain" to the top of the line of standard commercial modems,
a 14,400 baud Practical Peripherals V32bis IBM-PC internal modem in a
half length card which includes send/receive fax capability at the
same speed.  (I say 'standard commercial' because any PC-Based modem
faster than 14400 baud must use a proprietary method and will only
talk to another modem of the same brand and type).

I purchased the modem at Micro Center in Vienna, VA.  The price was a
reasonable $229.95.  I could have purchased a slightly less expensive
no-name brand for $199, but this modem included service trial offers
from the four major on-line services: America On Line, Compuserve,
Genie, and Prodigy.

    Features mentioned in the manual:

The modem will operate at V32Bis and lower speeds (14400, 9600, 7200,
4800, 2400, 1200 and 300 baud); it includes MNP 1-4 and MNP 5, as well
as V42 and V42bis, the usual standards for error correction and data
compression of text files.  It will allow the computer it is plugged
inside of to talk to it at any speed up to 57,000 baud.  It supports
the $ "wait for bong" feature, ! to issue a 1/2 second "flash", and @
for "wait for silence".

The Fax capability supports both Class 1 and 2 at 14400 to 4800 baud.
The modem claims that it has built-in support for Caller ID, which I
can't test because I don't have it on my line, but if the phone
company offers installation charge amnesty for Caller-ID anytime soon,
I'll probably take it for a time to try it.

   My own experiences with this modem:

I have only had the modem for about six hours, but here is my
experience based upon using a few services.  Calling the usual
1-800-456-6245 number on MCI Mail got a standard 2400 baud connection
and no significant difference in speed.  Since I am local to MCI's
9600 baud number, I decided to use the 202 number instead of the 9600
baud 1-800 number so I could see how it would perform on a local call.

When I was using a modem at 2400 baud, Zmodem transfers came in at the
235-237 cps range.  MCI Mail's 9600 baud connection is supposed to
support MNP5 (data compression), but the parameter settings they give
in their help file do not match any of the command parameter values my
modem supports.  MCI's suggested command strings all begin with
backslash or percent (\, %) whereas this modem's command strings all
begin with a letter or an ampersand except for the %CCID= command to
enable or disable receipt of Caller-ID info or %CRID= to re-display
last-received caller-id.  I'll probably do better as I figure out what
settings to use; I've been getting much better results since I started
changing some parameters.

Zmodem transfers on MCI Mail are taking place in the 840-850 CPS range
which seems a bit on the low side.  However, I called a local BBS and
uploaded an 8K text file which I had downloaded from MCI, but the BBS
supported an LAP-M connection with V.42bis and the file, uploaded with
ZMODEM, transferred at a staggering 2000 CPS!  The 8K text file
transferred in four seconds!

On at least one BBS I called, my modem claimed to get a connection at
14400, but had problems which were alleviated when I forced the
connection for that particular modem to be no higher than 9600.  One
BBS I had to call twice because the first connection locked up without
a response.  Another one connected at 2400 but would not accept input.
I fixed this by telling the terminal program to not "auto baud select"
which means it leaves the port locked at 38400 baud, but the two
modems talk at whatever speed that they connect.

On another BBS it connected without a problem at 9600. I did some
uploads.  On a couple of files, one being a ZIP archive, I was doing
about 850-900 cps.  On a text file, I was getting 945 cps.  If I had
disabled compression the ZIP file might have gone through faster.

Major differences between calling at 9600 baud and higher is the extra
time for connections to be made and broken.  The extra negotiations
for 9600 or above can take anywhere from three to ten seconds longer
than the usual two or three second negotiation of two 2400 baud
modems.  Also, call teardowns can take much longer, sometimes ten
seconds at high speed as opposed to zero to two at 2400 baud; I
discovered that it was to my advantage to reset an S-Register to set
the "time before disconnect" parameter (S38) to one second.  This
parameter is used to allow packets to finish transferring before a
disconnection is made.

I called up one site which would connect at 14400 would display to me
correctly, but my input became garbage.  Oddly, changing the default
for that one number to force 9600 caused it to _still_ make a
connection at 14400, but then my input was okay.

I now notice the difference.  An ANSI full screen update at 2400 isn't
too bad; at 14,400 the screen just flies by!

I haven't had the opportunity to test the fax capability as I made the
mistake of not checking the package label; the diskettes enclosed are
all 1.2 meg 5 1/4" disks and I can only support either 3.5" in 1.4m or
720K, or 5 1/4" at 360K.  I will have to obtain replacement disks in a
size I can use.  The software supplied is Smith Micro's Quick Link, a
program that is acceptable for fax use but worthless as a terminal
program; I've used it before.  In fact, I may even have an old copy of
the same send/recieve program around here from an older modem.

The modem will also dial the special A B C D codes in touch tone mode.
It also does something which I had not known was being done in modems
now, and would help people who want to use a modem as an automated
dialer.  I can dial a number such as 1-800-CALL-ATT by telling the
modem to dial: ATDT 1800 "CALLATT" and the modem will translate the
letters (except Q and Z) into the associated digits. The double quote
tells the modem that the indicated field is a string of digit letter
equivalence.

And if you forget what the codes are, AT $H will bring up six screens
showing every AT command and the default value.  Press space at the
end of a screen to go to the next page, ESC to stop the display.
Note: this is NOT done by the terminal program; this is six pages of
display built into the modem.

All in all, it's an amazing piece of work.  Note that I transferred
this message using the new modem.  When I uploaded this message as 6K
of text at 14,400 baud to a local service, I got a transfer rate
reported at 1657 CPS, which is excellent.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael J. Barr)
Subject: Send Suggestions For ISDN FAQ
Date: 9 Jul 1993 14:29:07 GMT
Organization: University of Maryland, Department of Telecommunications


Hello,

I am willing to donate my time to compiling and maintaining an ISDN
FAQ.  What types of questions should be addressed?  Please send me a
list of questions you think should be addressed in such a document.  I
will attempt to include answers to all reasonable questions in an
attempt to build one thorough, standard place for basic information
about ISDN.  If there are questions to which I cannot quickly find
answers, I will solicit help in answering them from the readers/posters
of comp.dcom.isdn.


Thanks,

Michael Barr   [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 09 Jul 93 08:58:25 EDT
From: Bonnie J Johnson <[e-mail]>
Subject: EIA/TIA Standards


Pat one of the netters asked how to obtain EIA/TIA Standards-

The address and phone numbers I have in the front of my Standards
Manual is as follows:

Electronic Industries Association
Engineering Department
2001 Penna. N>W>
Washington, DC 20006       US & Canada 800-854-7179
                           International  714-261-1455


Good day,

bj

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 19:28:23 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Talk Ticket Distributors Wanted


The Talk Ticket program is now officially underway, and distributors for
the product are needed ASAP. While this is not limited to those of you
who tested the product, my feeling is those of you who purchased and
used the sample tickets will have the best understanding of the service
and be able to correctly market them.

There is no multi-level marketing, no 'distributor fees', no
territorial arrangements, no contracts or other gimmicks. You won't be
working for anyone as an employee or contractor. No one cares or will
ask what you do with the profit from the sale of the tickets. You need
not provide identification or SSN, etc for the purchase of the tickets.

The several dozen of you who purchased the samples have seen how they
work and that there are no gimmicks or hidden costs, and I thank the
several of you who responded with summaries this past week in response
to my request for same about a week ago.

Tickets are now available in Spanish or English, with appropriate lang-
uage response from the computer in either case. Tickets are available
in $5, $10, $20 and $50 denominations. Pick the selection and inventory
you want or a 'standard selection' (with emphasis on the five and ten
dollar denominations) will be sent to you.

The minimum order is $2500 in assorted tickets for $1875. My suggestion
for an assortment would be 50 tickets @ $20 = 1000
                           50 tickets @ $10 =  500
                          200 tickets @ $ 5 = 1000

You see that your profit is 25 percent on this; if you wish to sell
these as a courtesy at no profit to yourself the tickets would be sold
for $15, $7.50 and $3.75 respectively. Or you might wish to keep fifteen
percent profit for yourself and give ten percent off to the buyers, or
the other way around. This is your choice; don't tell me about it.

Checks for $1875 should be made payable to TELECOM Digest and mailed
to my attention. Be sure to indicate the desired mix of tickets (and
if to be in English or Spanish) to total the $2500.

For your protection and mine, the tickets will be sent registered mail
and will NOT be activated in the computer until the receipt is returned
or we talk on the phone, etc.

If outside the USA, your check should be 'payable in US Dollars'. So,
if you have ever wanted to be in the long distance reseller business,
here is your chance to get started, with a nice little profit for
yourself.

Call or write with questions.


TELECOM Digest
2241 West Howard Street  #208
Chicago, IL 60645
Phone: [phone]   Fax: [phone]


PS: If you are not familiar with these and want to try them out first,
the sample $2 tickets are available for $2 each. Or you can have ten
$2 tickets for $15, a $5 ticket for $4.50 or a $10 ticket for $9. They
are good for calls anywhere in the world by calling an 800 number, then
entering the ticket serial number and the number you are calling. They
work the same as any telephone calling card except they are prepaid.


PAT

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

From: [e-mail] (Scott Perry)
Subject: Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations
Date: 9 Jul 1993 20:12:09 GMT
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742


I am looking to reproduce various noises you hear over the phone with
my computer (I miss Cat's Meow on the apple). I've found a few things
via the FAQ (touch tones) and searching some FTP sites (quarter,
nickle, dime tones), but this leaves a lot left.

    What I would like is the frequency and durations necessary to
reproduce various things like busy signals, doo-doo-doo "We're sorry
 ..." messages, etc. Basically anything I can find. If anybody can
point me to info (preferably electronic), it would be most appreciated.

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 16:11:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Richard C. Harrison <[e-mail]>
Subject: Computerized Phone Directory Sites


The Beth Israel Hospital of Boston is implementing a computerized
telephone directory system which will integrate operational processes
concerned with telephone, voicemail, and pager installation as well as
directory updating and electronic mail. We seek sites who have
accomplished a high degree of directory integration who are willing to
discuss their strategic and tactical approach with us. We are
particularly interested in speaking with the Director of
Telecommunications or other knowledgable individual by telephone with
the possibility of a later site visit.

Beth Israel Hospital in Boston is an independently owned
Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital with 452 beds, a $30 M research
effort and a personnel complement of 4,000. We are a decentralized
multibuilding urban campus.

If you know of an organization which is a good match to the above let
me know. Thanks for your help. Please reply directly to:


Dick Harrison   [e-mail]
tel: [phone] FAX: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Holly Elliott)
Subject: ISDN/SS7 Test Equipment Needed
Organization: DSC Communications, Plano Tx.
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 15:50:24 GMT


I am looking for test equipment for ISDN and SS7, preferably in the
same unit.  We currently are using a Tekelec 32, but it will not meet
our needs.  What we want is a unit (PC card?) that will allow us to
build ISDN/SS7 messages in software, and the recieved messages must
also be software readable.  The test unit must handle Primary Rate
ISDN, Layer 3 ISDN and Layer 4 SS7, and ISDN Code Set 6.

If you have any leads on who I should contact, please respond via
e-mail, as I do not regularly read this group.


Thanks in advance.

 Holly Elliott    DSC Communications   Email: [e-mail]

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

Subject: Audiovox CTX-3200M Programming Information Available
Date: Fri, 09 Jul 1993 11:51:21 -0500
From: Bill Nickless <[e-mail]>


I think I have figured out some of the programming options for a
CTX-3200M cellular phone; things like how to turn on a beep every
minute for the first five minutes, power on into locked mode, and so
forth.  I am willing to send out my information via email, or
contribute what I know to the TELECOM Archives.  (It seems that it's
of too little general interest for publication in TELECOM Digest
itself.)

This message is being sent to flush out other Audiovox cellular
telephone users; there are some features I don't yet know how to
activate, and would like to compare notes with others who may have
tried something similar.  Of course, if someone has authoritative
information, that would be great too.


Bill Nickless  System Support Group  <[e-mail]>  [phone]

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

From: Seng-Poh Lee <[e-mail]>
Subject: Interesting Use of ANI at Ballys
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 10:36:07 -0400 (EDT)


Ballys/Holiday Matrix Health Clubs have a nationwide 800 number for
locating clubs near your vicinity.  When you call it, the system
determines your location via ANI, and then routes your call
automatically to the nearest club. It does this without announcing the
fact. You just dial the number, and the nearest club picks up.


Seng-Poh Lee    <[e-mail]>

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

From: [e-mail] (Martin Steinmann, NVES, Tel. x1244)
Subject: DXI Interface
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ascom Hasler AG
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 14:54:12 GMT


There is a DXI Interface defined by the SMDS Interest Group (SIG). Can
anyone tell me from where I could obtain the respective document?


Martin J. Steinmann
ascom Ltd., Switzerland

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

From: [e-mail] (Albert Pang)
Subject: Unitel Access Phone Number in Toronto?
Organization: INSL, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 04:23:38 GMT


I am an UNITEL subscriber in Montreal, PQ.  I will be travelling to
Toronto, Ont. this weekend.  I was wondering if I get the local access
number of UNITEL in Toronto, will I still be able to make long
distance phone call via UNITEL.  Can somebody give me the access
number of UNITEL in Toronto?


Thanks,

Albert Pang        <[e-mail]>
Information Networks & Systems Lab    McGill University
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


[Moderator's Note: Did you try calling Unitel and asking them?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Anthony Wallis)
Subject: Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls?
Organization: York University
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 20:01:59 -0400


Today I was logged on to a remote computer via modem for three hours.
A friend needed to contact me, and getting repeated busy signals,
asked an operator for an "emergency" interrupt.  The operator said
there was "static" on the line and did I "have a computer"?  Nothing
was done, apart from me getting some garbage once.  Can operators
constructively and in a technically competent way interrupt modem
calls?  Or are they "scared" to?

(Yeah, I know, get a second line.)


[e-mail] = Tony Wallis, York University, Toronto, Canada


[Moderator's Note: There is nothing different about a modem line than
any other from the operator's point of view. The operator can do an
emergency interuppt on most lines (there is a class of service in some
telcos which prevent even the operator from interuppting if the line
is set up that way), but the operator can only speak in a human voice,
thus is unable to communicate with a modem. In this case, the operator
make an intelligent decision about what she heard, and reached the
conclusion that regardless of how long she stayed on the line asking
for a human being to respond to her, it was not likely to occur. The
only thing that would occur, given enough persistence by the operator
would be the complete garbaging-out of the connection and the abandon-
ment by the computer operator (yourself) of the call. In other words,
whether or not you wished to acknowlege the emergency interuppt (which
by law you are supposed to do if the calling party claims an emergency
exists), you'd be the loser and the interuppter would be the winner.

So the general rule of thumb is 'operators cannot interuppt computer
lines'. Not without (as an end result) causing the whole connection to
get dropped by the person making the computer call from exasperation.
Had there been human beings on the line, they would have understood
the operator's inquiry and said 'yes' or 'no', but *willingly* given
up their connection had they chosen to do so or *willingly* refused to
do so. The poor guy with a computer/modem on the line would get no
choice, nor even be cognizant of the operator's presence on the line
other than seeing his 45 minute download getting garbaged-out in the
final minutes. So generally when the operator hears 'that static', she
knows enough to back off and tell the caller 'I cannot interuppt the
computer.'    PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 20:04:41 -0600
Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
Subject: CDMA Technology Texts


At the watering hole tonite, we were discussing the current TDMA and
CDMA technologies.  We decided that better technical information on
the relatively new CDMA cellular technology would be an asset to
further our understanding.  Would someone please recommend a good set
of reference texts that we could obtain to enlighten us?


Thanks in advance.

 Richard Nash    Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
 UUCP:           [e-mail]
 Amateur Radio:  ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Christopher Macsurak)
Subject: 700 Number Information Wanted
Organization: Stanford University, California
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 05:50:22 GMT


Because I am moving around so much, I am thinking of getting a (700)
number which sounds basically like a permanent-call-forward. That way
I can tell my friends and not have to change business cards so often.

I haven't really seen any (700) numbers though. Do these exist? How
convenient are they? I'd like to hear from anyone who uses them. Also,
I heard if you have AT&T's 700 number, and a person must then dial
10ATT0 before they can reach you (how are they supposed to know that).

An alternative would be to rent/purchase a voice mailbox -- which is
sort of a permanent number that I can check on every day.

Which is a better way to get a permanent number? I plan on being in
the San Francisco area for at least the next few years, with some
periods in New York City. Please e-mail me or post if you think others
may be interested.


Thanks a lot.

[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The '700 number program' you are referring to is
the AT&T Easy Reach service. AT&T is the only company offering the
service in quite the way they do. Because the 700 number space is
unique in the sense that all carriers get complete use of the entire
range of numbers, it is possible that two totally unrelated parties
could have the same 700-xxx-yyyy number, thus the requirement that the
caller fully qualify the number with the prepending of 10288 when
dialing unless the phone line is defaulted to AT&T as the long
distance carrier. I admit it is quite a nuisance. I signed up for it a
long time ago but rarely use it. And either the caller or yourself
have to pay 25 cents for *each minute* of conversation during the day
(less at night) even if it is a local call. The owner of an Easy Reach
number can forward calls to wherever he will he at, so in this respect
it makes it easy for your callers to reach you *provided they default
to AT&T or know they have to use 10288*.  Gotcha!

Perhaps a better solution would be 800 service from Cable and
Wireless, as this permits the caller to dial from any phone without
regard to the default carrier. C&W allows the owner to forward the 800
number to wherever he might be at, but the trade off is you pay for
each call (no option to let the caller pay the 25 cents per minute)
and you pay for the call-forwarding option. Still another option
(here comes today's commercial folks!) is to use a service like
'Telepassport', which while intended mainly to to be a '700 Easy Reach
like' service internationally, *can* do the same thing domestically in
the USA. Your caller would dial your 800 number on our switch; we'd
flip it back out to you at the number you told us to call, and for a
lot less money than C&W I might add.  For details on Telepassport,
contact me direct: [e-mail].  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #460
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #461

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Jul 93 21:28:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 461

Inside This Issue:                       Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (E. Rohwedder)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (John J. Butz)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (A. Schultz)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (John R. Levine)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (David Leibold)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Carl Moore)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (David G. Lewis)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Paolo Bellutta)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (David J. Greenberger)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Justin Greene)
    Introduction to WilTel (was Re: Information on Public Carriers) (R McGuire)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 19:06:36 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


Here is the rest of my story about trying to reach a fax machine at
the 13-digit number 011 +49 6131 XXX 4555:

I call the AT&T long distance operator at 00 and explain my problem.
She transfers me to her supervisor, who appears to understand what I
need and calls the operator in Germany. It rings for a while until a
busy signal comes back.

 Supervisor: "The operators must be busy."
 Me: "Oh, I do not think so -- it is 6:30 a.m. local time there."

Since this faxing business turns out much more involved than just
calling 00, giving them my number, and them putting me right on a
T1-pipe (which the service technician was able to do), I decide to
revise my fax (putting everything in that I might otherwise have sent
at a later time).

When I call 00 an hour later, there is no need to be transferred to a
supervisor. However, it takes a while for the operator to get set up.
Strangely, she also asks me for the town that I want to connect to in
Germany (which is Mainz). (I wonder whether the fact that the area
phone prefixes in Germany vary in length, and can be up to four digits
is confusing to US operators.) Again, nobody answers on the first try.
The second time we finally do get the international operator in
Germany. The AT&T operator spells the name of the city and the number
I want to reach. The German operator dials the number locally, then
reports back:

 "There is a fax machine answering."
 Me: "That's exactly what I want."

Finally, I get put through to Germany, hear the answer tone of the
phone and can start my fax.

While it was kind of fun (I have never needed to use operator
services), and also supposedly at direct dial rates (I will check my
next phone bill), this is also a major pain! Count the blessings of
international direct dialing to 12 digits and less!

It also seems that the international operators at Telekom are
understaffed (humans are expensive, machines are cheap -- too bad if
you need a human).


Ekkehard

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 09:51:14 EDT
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


[e-mail] writes:

>The bottom line is this:

>Local U.S. exchanges only have the capacity to store 12-digit numbers
>(i.e. in my case +49 6131 XXX 455). This turns out to be an illegal
>phone number in Germany, which causes a congest signal to be sent back
>to the US (the beep), which then is turned into a busy signal here.

Let's not blame AT&T or the local telcos for 13 digits in Germany,
they happen to be playing according to the rules.  For those of you
familiar with the CCITT (or whatever it's called these days), 12
digits plus a country specific international dialing prefix (011 for
IDDD and 01 for operator assisted here in the US) is the current world
standard for international dialing.  (Recommendation E.163)

Targeted for a 12/31/1996, 23:59 Universal time (I think)
implementation, the CCITT has recommended a new numbering plan, E.164
("for the ISDN era", whatever that means).  This dialing plan
specifies a 15 digit number that consists of a country code, a
national destionation code (city/area code) and a subscriber/line
number.

All equipment manufacturers and service providers are encouraged
by the CCITT to meet the above date for E.164 implementation.

Back to intl phone numbers > 12 digits......

I understand there are a few places in the world where an
international phone number > 12 digits is not uncommon.  In Germany,
the American military bases use this kind of numbering plan.  Used for
what?  I don't know, but AT&T CAN complete calls to these and other
numbers that don't follow the current CCITT numbering plan, by
operator assistance.  Since AT&T plans meet the target implementation
date, its quite likely that on January 1, 1997 your direct dial call
to the fax in Germany will go thru!


J "ADC" Butz        ER700 Sys Eng
[e-mail]    AT&T - CCS

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

Date: Fri,  9 Jul 93 19:06:44 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: AT&T


>Maybe this 13-digit problem is not yet so well known or widespread.

You are right it is a "new" problem.

CCITT (The UN body that sets world wide telecommunications standards,
I think they are now TSS-ITU) Recommendation E.164 "Numbering Plan for
the ISDN ERA" defines the maximum allowed length phone number
(consisting of a Country Code + National Number - CC+NN) as 15 digits.
[Note this does not include prefixes such as "011", 10XXX, etc.]

HOWEVER - E.165 defines 12/31/1996 as the date AFTER which all
"conforming" networks should be able to handle "E.164 format numbers".
Prior to 12/31/1996, E.163 defines a maximum length CC+NN of 12
digits!!!

What appears to be happening is that some countries are instituting
E.164 format numbers prior to 12/31/1996.  The technician was right --
there is no guarantee that "local", PBX, or even IXC equipment will
handle more than 12 digits before then.  [Actually there is probably
no guarantee after 12/31/1996, but I certainly wouldn't count on it
before then!!!]

I would guess that since CCITT set a specific date (12/31/1996) that
the US is not the only place where switching equipment (including
PBXs) would have problems with CC+NN of more than 12 digits.

>[Moderator's Note: But I have never heard of this before; that a
> number which requires thirteen digits to dial cannot be reached
> directly. We in the USA have had IDDD in many exchanges for
> twenty years, and in almost all exchanges for several years now.
> No one has yet raised this point???  PAT]

Like I said -- new problem.  No country has had CC+NN over 12 digits
before now.


Arnette Schultz   [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:55 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: I.E.C.C.


>Local U.S. exchanges only have the capacity to store 12-digit numbers

I read somewhere (probably right here in Telecom) that the CCITT has
long said that no number should be longer than 12 digits total.  But
due to the explosion of ever-longer numbers in places that use the
CCITT's, or whatever it's called now, quaint numbering plan, the
maximum is being increased to 15 digits.

>    +49 6131 XXX 4555  fails
>    +49 6131 XXX 450   works

This is probably a company's PBX, where the digits after the XXX are
decoded entirely in the PBX.  I'd expect the main number to be +49
6131 XXX 0.  You might tell the people you're calling that they should
assign shorter extension numbers or they won't be callable from the
U.S.  Alternatively, they could try to get a two-digit rather than
three-digit number from Telekom.

In most places outside North America the length isn't really a problem
because calls are routed incrementally and, except in the fanciest new
electronic exchanges, the whole number is never buffered in one place.
Here in North America, we use 11 digit numbers as the Lord told us to,
and numbers will only get longer when She changes Her mind sometime
around the year 2050.


Regards,

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


[Moderator's Note: I thought you were in charge of making those
decisions John; and now you say its your mother-in-law? :)   PAT]

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

Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 11:04:01 -0400


>[Moderator's Note: It is true that when direct dial is not possible
>for some reason, the AT&T operators will complete the call at direct
>dial rates, waiving the surcharge for operator assistance. But I have
>never heard of this before; that a number which requires thirteen
>digits to dial cannot be reached directly. We in the USA have had IDDD
>in many exchanges for twenty years, and in almost all exchanges for
>several years now. No one has yet raised this point???  PAT]

Actually, the international standard limit for international telephone
numbers (ie. the country code, and following digits needed to complete
a call) is 12, until the international limit expands to 15 in a few
years (referred to by CCITT, actuall ITU-TS, as "Time T").

Thus, the few countries having 13 digits are in violation of the
international digit length, thus requiring manual operator processing
in many cases. Some exchanges may be set up to handle more digits
already, or could be easily changed to do so. All this should be in
ITU recommendations like E.163 or E.164.


David Leibold   [e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:47:25 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject:  Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


Recently, I noticed the pattern of using __0 (where the "__" can be
any number of digits) as the main number, with __xx (or even __xxx?)
being the extension for the fax line.  In the message I am responding
to, I have noticed this pattern in:

     +49 6131 XXX 450 voice
     +49 6131 XXX 4555 fax

A complete telephone number (excluding the international access code
but including the country code) is 1 xxx xxx xxxx, in other words 11
digits only, in country code 1.

Also: You mention the Czech Republic (along with Germany and Austria)
as having some 13-digit telephone numbers, including the country code.
What about the Slovak Republic (i.e., the other part of the former
Czechoslovakia)?

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: AT&T
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 14:11:08 GMT


ITU-T (Formerly CCITT) Recommendation E.164 on telecommunications
numbering specifies that the maximum length of an international number
be 12 digits, consisting of a one, two, or three digit country code,
and a national significant number of any length such that the length
of the country code plus the national significant number not exeed 12
digits.  Therefore, in countries where the CC is two digits, a NSN of
11 or digits (such as that above) will cause the total length to
exceed 12 digits, which is not consistent with E.164 and therefore can
not be expected to be dialable across national boundaries.

The CCITT (now ITU-TSS) has recommended an expansion of international
numbers from 12 to 15 digits at what they call "Time T", defined as
December 31, 1996.  As of that date, all switches should be able to
handle international numbers of up to 15 digits in length.  Before
that time, 12 is the maximum.

I suspect that no one has yet raised this point because this point has
only recently appeared with the introduction of 11-digit national
significant numbers in Germany.  Frankly, I don't know why Telekom
(DBT) has assigned 11 digit NSNs, unless they're unable to expand the
codespace any other way (perhaps due to the capabilities, or lack
thereof, of the equipment in the eastern portion of the country?)
Anyone from Telekom or anyone in Germany able to shed any light on
this?

Disclaimer: I don't work on numbering for a living.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Paolo Bellutta)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: Oregon Health Sciences University
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 20:29:26 GMT


Well, when I dial my friends in Italy I dial 13 to 14 digits, and I
use AT&T as long distance company.  No problems.  I still get the
satellite link most of the time while calling back they get the cable
instead, but I have no problems in dialing international.  Not even
with the calling card from a payphone.

> in many exchanges for twenty years, and in almost all exchanges for
> several years now. No one has yet raised this point???  PAT]

It looks fishy to me too...


Paolo Bellutta -- [e-mail] - tel: [phone]
 BICC - OHSU - 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park rd. - Portland, OR


[Moderator's Note: But, as our other correspondents today point out,
this *is* a real condition which exists at the present time. Yet I
must wonder, how are *you* managing to call Italy doing it?  (Now more
suspicious ...) How about telling us the sequence of numbers you dial;
let's see if its *really* more than 12 or if there is some local code
on your end, etc that is being counted as well.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David J. Greenberger)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Young Israel of Cornell
Date: 9 Jul 93 21:41:34 GMT


[e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr) writes:

>  395-6701: Disconnected
>  1-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed
>  1-516-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed
>  10288-1-516-395-6701: Cannot be completed as dialed

That doesn't really show anything.  It merely indicates that you can't
dial a number in 516 from another number in 516 with the area code.
Try calling a number in a different area code with a 1.

In other words, even though in 212-land I must dial a 1 before an area
code, I would end up with the same results as you did, simply because
the phone system doesn't like redundant area codes.


 David J. Greenberger      [phone]      [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re:  Dialing "1" First
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 23:54:21 GMT


> Here in Maryland (C&P, 301), a leading 1 is required for a toll call,
> but if it is included on a non-toll call, the call goes through
> without any whining from the switch.  Dialing my office from home is a
> local call, but I can dial 1-301-428-5384 and the call goes through.

Does it go through as a local call or over your primary carrier?  I
often will dial 10xxx for a local call (for my own weird reasons) and
the call is billed to the long distance carrier.

> behavior.  Local calls *from* 202 to 301 or 703 do get denied if
> preceded by a 1, however.  Maybe the congresscritters NEED unnecessary
> regulation in their lives?

Some areas (like Colorado, have areas which are localish; you dial
1-xxx-xxxx to connect, but it is a metered service (local long
distance).  Anything out of you LATA (?) requires a 1.  They don't
have to tell you when the call will cost extra but they do ...


Justin

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

From: [e-mail] (Russ McGuire)
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 07:57:03 -0500
Subject: Introduction to WilTel (was Re: Information on Public Carriers)


Nadeem Haider ([e-mail]) writes:

> Can anyone recommend how I may go about finding information on
> public carriers?

> I need information (hardware required, procedures, etc..) on
> setting up communication links for a dedicated WAN.  I forsee using
> dedicated leased lines and would like to know who are the major
> players in the service provider game.

> Any information will be greatly appreciated.

I (almost) hate to turn this into an advertisement, but you asked the
question, and since we don't have AT&T's advertising budget, you
probably don't already know these things ...

WilTel is a full service telecommunications company that offers data,
voice, and video products and services nationwide.  WilTel owns and
operates a nationwide digital fiber-optic network, one of only four in
the United States, with access to more than 30,000 system miles.

Historically, we are an industry leader in private line services.  We
have also been known as the "carrier's carrier", providing bandwidth
on our network to virtually every other US carrier for their private
line and switched services.

Over the past several years, WilTel has established itself as a leader
in virtual data networking.  We provided the first public Frame Relay
service approximately six months before our competitors.  We are also
preparing to be among the first to offer ATM-based services.  Since
you are considering carriers to establish a WAN, I would strongly
recommend that you consider frame relay and ATM services.

Frame relay and ATM provide: logical connectivity to multiple remote
locations over a single physical interface; the dynamic allocation of
capacity to support simultaneous applications; the ability to
oversubscribe network interface connections to take advantage of the
intermittent nature of data transactions and reduce network
expenditures; automatic routing around network failures to reduce
expenditures on geographically diverse facilities, the ability to
sustain a burst above the committed information rate to improve
throughput and optimize response times even during busy hours; and the
consolidation of traffic over a single network to provide maximum
economies of scale and the simplification of network design,
management and operation. All this adds up to an improved network
price performance ratio.

Whether you continue to consider private lines as the appropriate
technology for your application, or you decide to pursue advanced
virtual data networking options, such as frame relay and ATM, I hope
you will consider WilTel as your carrier.  Our sales office which is
closest to you is:

    Orlando: 407-422-2761 or 800-864-4123

Some of our differentiators include:

    We are the only network provider with a nationwide fiber
    optic network that is focused on business applications (as
    opposed to our primary competitors who must dedicate enormous
    resources to support residential customers).

    We provide industry leading network service management tools
    via the WilView family of products.  This is particularly
    true for private line services where we offer a single,
    consistent X-Windows/Motif GUI tool for near-real-time
    circuit alarm monitoring, historical circuit performance
    (ESF) reporting, graphical mapping of actual circuit routing,
    trouble ticket entry and tracking, service order tracking,
    and circuit inventory.  All of this available via your
    current workstation/PC equipment, whether DOS, Windows, OS/2,
    Mac, NeXTstep, Sun, HP, DEC, RS/6000, etc.  Basically any
    device that can support X11R4 and TCP/IP.

    We can provide a full range of solutions.  As previously
    mentioned, we offer private line and frame relay services and
    will shortly offer ATM-based services. We are also the
    nation's leading distributor of Northern Telecom PBX and Key
    System equipment, as well as similar voice-based CPE from a
    variety of other vendors.  We are also a large distributor of
    data CPE from Synoptics, 3COM, and a wide variety of other
    vendors.  We also service the broadcast television
    networks for carrying regularly scheduled and special event
    television transmissions from around the country to the
    networks' mixing and uplink sites.  We have carried the last
    several Super Bowls and World Series (whats the plural for
    series???) as well as the most recent Democratic and
    Republican conventions across our fiber optic network.  We
    have also built a nationwide switch platform for
    business-oriented 1+ and 800 services.

Anyone wanting to know more about WilTel can e-mail me or phone WilTel
at 1-800-364-5113.


Russ McGuire             918-588-2836
WilTel, Inc.             PO Box 21348
[e-mail]  Tulsa, OK 74121


[Moderator's Note: Thanks for the lengthy description. I'm sure a lot
of readers -- myself included -- did not know that much about WilTel,
and I appreciate your getting us aquainted with it.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #461
******************************










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Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 17:20:35 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #462

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 10 Jul 93 17:20:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 462

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Cell Phone Fraud Arrest (Palm Beach Post via John S. Hickey)
    USTA Seeks Changes in Calling Card Regulations (Comm. Daily via Les Reeves)
    New Telecom Journal Needs Writers (Jane Fraser)
    How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada? (David B. Perrussel)
    "Please Dial the 12-Digit Number at the Tone..." (Paul Robinson)
    Yet Another Incident at a COCOT (Paul Robinson)
    Network Documentation; Change and Problem Management (Armin Schweizer)
    I Just Got Scammed (Vince Grove)
    Questions About Cable TV and Telephone Relationships (Thomas L. Atzenrath)
    Telecommunications Billing Analysis Programs: Are There Any? (Clif Baker)
    What Other Orange Card Abbreviations? (Carl Moore)
    Three Years and Four Months After Full Cutover (Carl Moore)
    Can Hear But Can't Talk on International Call (Gerrold T. Sithe)
    SLIP Information Needed (Todd W. Carter)
    TAP Spec For Beepers (Jerry Whiting)
    Help: Telco Line Problem With v.42 Modem (Bruce D. Nelson)
    Conversion From UTM to Geographical Coordinates (Samir Soliman)
    Some Additional Thoughts About Western Union (Jeffrey Jonas)
    Do We Have a Theme Song? (Paul Robinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: John S. Hickey <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cell Phone Fraud Arrest
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 11:46:52 -0700 (PDT)


A front page story in {The Palm Beach Post}, 12 June 1993 dateline
Miami, reports the arrest of seven men for cell phone fraud.

Secret Service agents seized 75 illegally modified cellular phones,
more than 700 cellular phone/serial number combinations, eight
personal computers and numerous software programs used to transfer
pirated numbers into cellular phones.

Undercover Secret Service agents bought either software diskettes to
clone cellular phones or cellular phones that already been cloned.

Agent Jim Bauer of the Secret Service said "Some are saying it is the
most significant cellular phone cases to date.  It certainly is the
largest in Florida".

The seven men arrested face a maximum of 15 years in prison and
$50,000 fine for each offense.

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 12:08:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: USTA Seeks Changes in Calling Card Regulations


The United State Telephone Association (USTA) has asked the FCC to
block calling card users who have unlisted phone numbers from using
their cards unless they provide written authorization allowing the
card issuer to release their billing name and address information to
interexchange carriers.  USTA claims that carriers are spending
millions of dollars and wading through tons of paperwork tracking such
information.

{Communications Daily}, "Calling card users with unlisted numbers
asked to disclose billing data," 7/9/93)


[Moderator's Note: Someone is not doing their homework here. Since the
beginning of divesture the FCC regulations have stated that having a
non-pub number does *not* forbid the telco from giving out name and
address data for billing purposes, and in fact local telcos are *required*
to give this data for that limited purpose -- even to companies like
Integratel -- on request. Even in the old days, a non-pub listing was
not an impediment to inter-telco billing. Why does USTA suddenly feel
they need another database (of signed authorizations from each individual)
rather than continuing to use existing procedures? Or is it their member
COCOT/AOS operators would love to get their hands on those AT&T customers
with the scrambled card numbers; heretofore difficult/impossible to
scam with high charges because they don't relate back to any actual
phone number as written?  FCC, please vote NO on this!   PAT]

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 08:26:36 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: New Telecom Journal Needs Writers


This item comes from John Lusa <[e-mail]>.

Ball State University's Center for Information and Communications
Sciences (CICS), Muncie, Indiana, is launching a refereed journal, the
ICS Journal.  The CICS is a graduate level school turning out
graduates in telecommunications, information sciences and networking
management.  The ICS Journal is soliciting original manuscripts from
industry, technology and academia with a length between eight and
fifteen double-spaced pages -- 2000 to 3500 words.  Student papers
will be accepted if the writers have an academic or industry sponsor.

Topics can cover a wide range of networking, communications and
information sciences issues:
   New Technologies
   Research studies
   Pilots/trials
   Student projects
   Systems integration
   International
   Beta test results
   Ergonomics and human factors
   Teaching/educational uses
   Regulation
   Video compression
   Strategic applications

The editorial objective of this new publication is to help key
management users keep abreast of changes in communications and
information sciences for use in their companies and operations.  For
more information you can contact the editor -- Professor Richard
Bellaver -- or his assistant -- Nicole -- at [phone].  By the
way, I'm the editorial consultant for the ICS Journal and will be one
of the referees.

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

From: [e-mail] (David B Perrussel)
Subject: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada?
Date: 10 Jul 1993 03:25:18 GMT
Organization: Penn State Engineering Computer Lab


I'm posting this for a friend ...

A friend in Canada wants to dial 1-800 numbers in the US from Canada
but most of the time he cannot. I know there used to be a number in
the US he could call to dial out 1-800 numbers but I forgot it. (I
don' t even know if it is still running.) Please e-mail me because I
don't use usenet/netnews that much. Thanks in advance.


Dave Perrussel    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Please tell your friend that he can call USA 800
numbers *if the owner of the number wants to be called from Canada* by
simply dialing the number in the usual way. If the call does not go
through, then the USA subscriber *does not want* to pay for calls from
Canadians. Certain carriers allow you to call the USA on your nickle,
*then* continue on the USA side to an 800 number. But you must pay to
get to the USA unless the owner of the 800 number has agreed to accept
calls from international points.   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 22:48:37 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: "Please Dial the 12-Digit Number at the Tone ..."
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


The problem that an international number longer than 12-digits cannot
be dialed is a real one, and is historical in nature.

I had the privilege of being in a switch room for a shift while we
were doing some work in our office and we had to move into the switch
room.  One of the books sitting on top of an AT&T dimension PBX switch
(about 6 1/2 feet tall and each of the bays was about 3 feet wide) was
a programming manual for the switch.  I think the manual is
pre-divestiture, e.g. 1980 or so, so it didn't have features for 10xxx
in the manual.

Being bored, I picked up the manual and read from it.  Some rather
interesting things I noted:

On a speed-dial or dedicated number dedicated to a trunk (such as a
"hot line" number which is dialed when a phone is picked up), a U.S.
number consists of a three, four or five digit intra-PBX number, a
seven digit local number, a ten-digit local number, a 1 + seven digit
toll number, or a 1 + ten digit toll number.

Of the same class, an international number may be up to 15 digits in
length; if we allow three digits for the 011 code, this means that the
switch can't handle an international number longer than 12 digits.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 07:22:32 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Yet Another Incident at a COCOT
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


The general temperature in the Washington, DC area has been hovering
at or near the 100 degree mark.  So when I was returning from a
computer store in Vienna, VA, I decided to call a cab instead of
walking some six blocks uphill.  I went to a pay phone in front of the
Safeway store there.  The bank of three phones are all COCOTs.  Often
times a cab company will put a sticker on phones indicating their
number.  No such luck, this time.  So I decided to dial 411 and get
the number of the cab company.  I picked up the phone, listened for
dial tone and heard something I *never* hear from telephone company
pay phones:

   "Please deposit 25 cents."

I was rather surprised.  (I had another incident with a COCOT in
Northern Virginia last week; I never tried calling directory
assistance from that phone.)  I don't mind paying for a phone call.  I
*do* mind being charged more than the telephone company.  So I went
inside and asked the store manager for the number, and she was nice
enough to write it down.  I then went outside, put a quarter in the
phone and called the cab company.

Some people claim that the reason COCOTs charge more for some things
is that they are unable to get the same service from the phone company
as it provides to itself.  I don't know if that's true; I do know that
C&P's pay phones don't charge to call local directory assistance.
Such a shame.

If these sort of rates keep up, I may just install a wats extender
similar to Patrick Townson's plan for overseas callers.  I dial a
1-800 number that I have terminating into one of the four phone lines
in my house.  When my phone answers, I punch in a code and the number
I'm at.  I hang up and my phone calls me back with dial tone allowing
me to make whatever calls I want. (Net cost would be for 20 seconds of
WATS time, since I have unlimited local service.)  Well, some of the
COCOTs try to defeat that by making their phones outgoing only.

But with the problems with these type phones it's making me mad enough
to want to go that route, if I had to make a lot of local calls while
traveling in the metro area.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Telepassport is a bit more involved than a 'WATS
extender' but the idea is similar. The reason COCOTS are frequently
one-way outgoing is because unlike Genuine Bell, the intelligence is
in the phone. Many COCOTS can be programmed remotely using a modem to
call them. The owners have problems with snoopy people who like to
play with their modem and computer at home to liberate the COCOT of
its incessant demands for more money.  (Gee, just like your Virtual
Moderator, eh? ... what's needed on Usenet is a COCOM -- Customer
Owned, Coin Operated Moderator. Deposit $3.75 to see your article in
the Digest with a customized, personalized note following. Or, as I
say to my erstwhile west coast affiliate from time to time, "Ride 'em
Cowboy! Yahoo!")  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Armin Schweizer)
Subject: Network Documentation, Change and Problem Management
Organization: Ciba-Geigy Ltd.,Basel,Switzerland
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 07:18:58 GMT


dear colleagues,

We are looking for improved capabilities for network documentation
plus change management plus problem management (troubleticketing)
tools for all type of networks.

-  who is offering such systems?
-  are you using such a system and have you (good) experience with it?
-  is there any tool integrating documentation of hierarchical networks as well
   as lan's and wan's into the same documentation system?
-  is the change management and problem tracking tool using this
   documentation database?
-  is the system fully graphic?
-  is there any system adding logical (layer 3 and/or 4) documentation
   to the pure physical layer doc?


Thanks and kind regards,

       Armin R. Schweizer, CIBA-GEIGY AG, R1045.P.06, WRZ
                  4002 Basel / Switzerland
              phone: -41-61-697'79'46

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

From: [e-mail] (Vince Grove)
Subject: I Just Got Scammed
Date: 10 Jul 93 19:19:51 GMT
Organization: Motorola Microcomputer Division, Woburn, MA


I seem to remember a scam described here some time ago. I received a
collect call from a New England Telephone service representative. I
was told the charges would be forwarded to NE Telephone. The service
rep claimed that my line was being overheard on other phone lines in
the area and they were checking it out.

How does this scam work?!


Vince Grove   [e-mail]


Moderator's Note: For starters, telco *never* calls anyone collect.
Most telcos accept collect calls from anywhere; they never place
collect calls.  PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 11:06:11 +0100
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Questions About Cable TV and Telephone Relationships


Dear Sirs,

as a member of the University of Wuppertal I should kindly ask
for your assistance in solving the following problem:

The development shows that data computer, telephone and cable
television melt together.

TV-cable-nets are used for computer transmission to reach every
household. This enables informations to enter and leave homes.
Telephone and to cable companies have chosen to cooperate in the
delivery of services.  "Interactive" television tasks are possible,
i.e. screen shopping services, where catalogue models parade their
wares at the viewer's command.

To my knowledge American firms are testing the possibility of
providing services by cable-information. There are cable-based
services including for example on-demand movie and restaurant reviews,
home shopping, bill paying etc.  (GTE Corp. experiments in Ceritos,
California, for example.)

I am very interested in informations (points at articles, books,
datas, or a contact person who can help me) regarding:

a) electronic shopping in general;

b) interactive service demands;

c) the most recent developments in fusion television and
   datanets;

Additional I need information about Comp-U-Card / Comp-U-Store.  I
need information in general and the adress from the service.  Where
can I get statistical data about the quantity of subscribers etc. ?


Thanking you in advance for your attention,

Thomas L
tzenrath

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

From: [e-mail] (Clif Baker)
Subject: Telecommunications Billing Analysis Programs: Are There Any?
Organization: Research Libraries Group, Inc.
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 14:56:36 GMT


Folks,

Please e-mail me if you can point me in the right direction[s].
Essentially I'm attempting to replace the warm body I once had with a
bit of automation.


Thanks!

Clif

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 14:20:31 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: What Other Orange Card Abbreviations?


I just got my latest Orange Card bill, which has calls made from
various areas in Indiana and Illinois on my trip there.  The only
threee-character abbreviations I saw for the point of origin were 800,
MAK, and BAL.  Darn.  (For those who don't know: MAK and BAL showed up
on earlier bills, for calls originating in Delaware and northeastern
Maryland, respectively.)

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 14:53:19 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Three Years and Four Months After Full Cutover


After an area code split, there may be some signs left over with the
old area code.  I was in Illinois last month, and while driving from
Danville toward Chicago on Illinois route 1, I entered Will County
(also entering the 708 area, from 815) and found two signs displaying
the 946 prefix; one sign had the 708 area code and the other had old
area code 312.

This happened three years and four months after the full cutover of
708.


[Moderator's Note: Riding north on the elevated train in Chicago until
recently one could read a sign painted on the side of a building (albiet
a bit faded over the years) telling one to do business at a certain
company on the north side; phone Edgewater 395. That would be 45 years
after the cutover. The company is long out of business and the
building with the sign has been abandoned (gutted and burned out) for
quite a few years. PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Gerrold T. Sithe)
Subject: Can Hear But Can't Talk on International Call
Date: 10 Jul 1993 19:03:13 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


     I just switched to MCI from ATT.  Now sometimes when I call
internationally I can hear the other party fine but they can't hear me
at all even though I can hear myself talking in the earpiece.

     I have two phones and a recording device connected, but I don't
know if the problem is due to my equipment, my local telco, the
foreign telco, or the long distance carrier.  I would blame the
carrier except the same thing happened on another line I have which
uses Sprint.

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 11:53:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: Todd W. Carter <[e-mail]>
Subject: SLIP Information Needed


I'm looking for some basic to intermediate information on using a SLIP
connection to the Internet.  Is software required to do FTP, gopher,
irc, etc., that I depended on from my host computer?

If so, what are some recommendations?  I've heard of slipdisk.zip.
Are there any others?  Is there a SLIP FAQ?  The books I've seen on
the Internet only give this topic a couple pages at most.


Thanks for the help,

Todd

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 00:52:44 PDT
From: Jerry Whiting <[e-mail]>
Subject: TAP Spec For Beepers


I'd like to write a simple terminal app to send messages to
alphanumeric pagers.  The local beeper companies are somewhat vague
about details but I've heard of a TAP spec.

Is there code (Basic, C, etc.) floating around to do such a thing?
Doesn't seem like I can do it from within ProComm+ (I can have it call
my digital beeper though).

What is and where can I get a copy of this rumored TAP spec?

Thanks in advance for any and all enlightenment.  Please respond via
email.


Jerry Whiting    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You might check the Telecom Archives files which
begin with the phrase 'ixo' and see if they are of any help. The
archives is accessible using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.   PAT]

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail] (Bruce D. Nelson (67890))
Subject: Help: Telco Line Problem With v.42 Modem
Date: 10 Jul 93 14:54:36 GMT
Organization: Eastman Kodak Company


Till about a week ago, the phone line I use with my US Robotics
v.32/42 modem connected flawlessly with any other modem I called,
locally or long distance. Now it refuses to connect at speeds > 2400
with many services and connects at 4400/14400 LAPM with some others.

I connected the modem to my voice line and it works ok. So I called
telco repair (Rochester Telephone). They "tested" the line and said it
was ok. They also said that the line wasn't guaranteed to carry data
calls.

Since there's no "trouble" from their position, they said they can't
do anything about the problem.

Do any of you know the "magic words" needed to get it fixed? Any
conjectures as to what might be wrong?


Thanks,

Bruce Nelson                            | Phone: [phone]
Rochester Distributed Computer Services | Internet: [e-mail]
Eastman Kodak Company                   | Rochester, NY 14652-3302

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 19:12:15 -0700
From: Samir Soliman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Conversion From UTM to Geographical Coordinates


Does anyone know how the conversion from UTM to geographical
coordinates is done?


Samir Soliman

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 17:59:11 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Jonas)
Subject: More Thoughts About Western Union


> [Moderator's Note: Western Union is desparately trying to stay in
> business. I can't blame them, but the handwriting is on the wall.

I forgot if I ever sent you the article telling how my grandfather was
a telegraph opertor for Western Union and taught himself how to use
the teletype.

I used to work across the street from the N.Y. Western Union building.
It still speaks of a magnificance long ago -- the tall vaulted entrance,
 the brass doors, the elevator banks.

My cousin is still poked in the ribs for letting her sentimentality
get in the way and not selling her W.U. stock in time.

> Just yesterday I received a telegram from someone ... a real, actual
> telegram.

How was it delivered -- by a person?  I thought there was no more
telegram delivery services.  Did he/she wear the funny uniform like
the doormen with the ropes on the shoulders and all?

The only time I ever received a telegram was at my bar-mitsvah from
family that could not attend.  It started something like "imph gurna
grnk".  Not being familiar with e-mail at the time, it took me a while
to notice that the message was after the routing codes and header
information.

> The message was important enough they wanted to contact me ASAP. I had
> to feel embarassed for the sender in a way.  :(  It was a much older
> person who contacted me by the way.  PAT]

A person "much" older than you.  Imagine that :-)


 Jeffrey Jonas   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: No, you did not send the article, and I hope you
will do so soon. Yes, the WUTCO Building in New York is a treasure; it
remains from an era most of you can only dream about and hope that it
will return some day. They don't deliver telegrams any longer. They
called me and said to pick up email from any agent close to me, so I went
to the Devon-Western currency exchange. The woman there retrieved it
from email, printed it on the printer and handed it to me. The 'much
older person' is a 66 year old cousin who was eager and proud to
announce that her grandchild had graduated from high school; a grand-
child who probably never heard of Western Union, :(  sniff ... once
the second largest company in the USA after AT&T. I have an article
around here somewhere taken from a feature story which appeared in the
{Chicago Tribune} in 1912 about a man being honored by WU as a long
time telegrapher employee of the company (that year) who was the
operator on duty here the night of the Great Fire in October, 1871
which I will print if I do more WU history anytime soon.   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 23:01:44 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Do We Have a Theme Song?
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


It just occurred to me that this newsgroup needs something to
distinguish it from all the others.  I just thought, as important as
telephony and telecommunications is, that maybe we need to adopt some
song as the "Theme Song" of TELECOM Digest.  But which one?  What's a
fairly "good" song about telephones?

I note that the regular use of fax machines is so new that I can't
think of one being referenced in a song.

Jim Croce's "Operator" is about a guy who ties up an operator for five
minutes trying to make up his mind whether to call some people.  Since
using an operator to place a call these days is rare, it's a little
dated, as would a song from the early 1900s, "Hello Central Give me No
Man's Land."

A group released the famous "Jenny/867-5309" which is simply about
some guy deciding to call his girlfriend.  It doesn't really say much
about telephones.  The same objection I think can be raised toward
Steely Dan's "Ricky Don't Lose That Number."

Glenn Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" isn't too bad, but it's about the
worries of someone who has to fix the equipment; it doesn't touch on
people who _use_ phone service.

It's sort of a tossup among several.  The Electric Light Orchestra
released a song which is, I believe called either "Telephone" or
"Hello".  But it's a rather sad song about someone trying to reach
someone who doesn't answer.

In the interim, e.g. until we get some other nominations, I'll put in
my vote for one.

To this end, I nominate the song by The Orlons ("Wah! The Watusi")
called "Don't hang up."


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Why me, Lord?  Why do I get this kind of email?  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #462
******************************










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Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 18:47:32 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #463

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 10 Jul 93 18:47:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 463

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Telecom in China (Cyrill Vatomsky)
    Re: Kerberized Cellular Phones (Andrew Marc Greene)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 ([e-mail])
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Steve Forrette)
    Re: 811 in California (was Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511) (J. Greene)
    Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices (Lauren Weinstein)
    Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices (Carl Moore)
    Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow (Rob Levandowski)
    Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: Telephone Gateway Information (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: Cellular to RS232 Interface (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: Value Added Voice Services (Seth B. Rothenberg)
    The Latest Word on the Privacy Mailing List (Dennis G. Rears)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Cyrill Vatomsky)
Subject: Re: Telecom in China
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 18:34:24 GMT


Laurence Chiu (uttsbbs![e-mail]) wrote:

> I just thought I would report some experiences I had calling Guangzhou
> (aka Canton) China. While there are not technical difficulties making
> the call (I use both MCI and AT&T) there are logistic difficulties
> related to the lack of telephones in private houses.

> My wife needs to call China occasionally to speak to her parents.
> Since they don't have a phone we need to call a phone center which is
> located near their house. This is basically a location with two
> phones, one for outgoing calls and one for incoming. There is an
> attendant 24 hrs/day and some helpers. We call the incoming number and
> tell the attendant we wish to speak to a certain party. They dispatch
> someone to the home and we call back later, usually 30 minutes or so.
> The dispatcher gets paid a nominal amount.

> While this works okay it's really expensive. Both AT&T and MCI
> charge $5.57 (+/- 1c) for the first minute and $1.62 for subsequent
> ones. We have to call minimally twice and the other night, we had to
> all four times since there was some confusion over times (daylight
> saving or not) and the ineptitude of the attendant who when asked if
> inlaws were there said no when they were. My inlaws could get a
> phone but 1) the cost would be 3000 RMB (about US$300) to install 2)
> there would be nobody to call apart from us!

In one of the May issues of the {Forbes Magazine} was the story about
a company that arbitrages phone calls. They allow a party from a
foreign country to call a special number in the US and hang up after
the first ring. Then the system automatically calls the number that
called and they get a US carrier and US rates. If you are interesated
I can find the article and give you the bibliographic reference.


Cyrill


[Moderator's Note: One such service I'm working with here is called
Telepassport, a product of US FIBER CORP. We're looking at the idea of
making the 'phone stations' in some countries our actual customer, and
letting them resell Telepassport. Re-origination, as we call it, is an
idea whose time has come. Surely it will force many PTT's to bring
their prices down a lot if they wish to compete.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kerberized Cellular Phones
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 14:25 -0400


Paul Robinson writes:

> Kerberos can't be used on mobile
> telephony because there is no trust at *all* that can be imposed on
> the system.  A user who calls into a system has *something* that can
> be trusted, either the terminal location (for a local terminal) or
> their "dotted quad" internet address they are at under TCP/IP, or the
> dial-in telephone number, in addition to their password.

Kerberos was designed for insecure systems.  (Just how insecure? The
root password for public Project Athena workstations is public
knowlege.)  Your (or your telephone's) password is what makes you
trusted (well, actually, it's your session key, which is transmitted
encrypted in a trapdoor function of your password); your IP (or other)
address is irrelevant to the security of the system.

Disclaimer: I haven't hacked on Kerberos or worked for Athena in
several years, so my memory may be foggy....


- Andrew Greene

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 17:56:42 EDT
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to use 511


[e-mail] (Brendan B. Boerner) writes:

> I was reading in the {Austin Chronicle} the other day that Cox
> Enterprises, Inc. (big paper chain, owns the {Austin American
> Statesman}) and BellSouth have announced an "agreement in principle"
> to form a joint company that will deliver information services to
> consumers who dial 511 (for a small fee of course).

[some things deleted]

> My questions are: Who controls the allocation of N11 numbers? And if
> presumably the allocation is controlled by a regulatory body and not
> the phone company, why in God's name would these guys even think of
> allocating such a number so phone companies/newspapers can make a
> buck?  Tell them to get a phone number like the rest of us ...

For convenience, I wouldn't mind dialing a three digit number for
services that I use on a regular basis. The phone company has had this
option for years, why not let other business use it? As far as who
controls it, I think it's all up to regulatory agencies within the
states to set rates caps and approve tarrif but it all comes down to
the BOC.

> Let's see:

> 111 - can phone equipment distinquish between this and a L.D. call?
> 211 - ?

211 used to be the way you made a long distance call in the U.S. before
everything got automated.

> 311 - ?
> 411 - Directory assistance
> 511 - Proposed information services
> 611 - ?

In many areas, 611 is still used to call repair service. Here in NET
land we dial 1-555-1611.

> 711 - ?

I recall there having been something for 711 years back but can't
remember it.

> 811 - ?
> 911 - Emergency services

> This means that there would be five, maybe six codes left over.  Hmmm,
> I wonder if we can think of a better use for 511.

What would you propose? I think that what they're using them for now,
and Bell South's proposal to use them for large business is perfectly
legitimate.


Tony


[Moderator's Note: For many years up until the early 1970's, the towns
of Lafayette and West Lafayette, IN had dial service via GTE, with
regular seven digit phone numbers, with one exception: Purdue University
was reached from anywhere in town by dialing 90. (Just nine-oh). That
got you the Purdue operator; if you knew the five digit extension you
wanted on the campus, you dialed 92 plus the five digits. Even though
Lafayette was surrounded by area code 317, it was not direct-dialable
until sometime in the early seventies, despite it having seven digit
numbers with the exception of Purdue. From elsewhere in the USA if you
wished to call Purdue University, you dialed your long distance oper-
ator and asked for 'Purdue University <five digit extension>. Your
long distance operator looked it up or called 'rate and route' to find
that indeed, Purdue was listed as its own thing, with the operator
instructed to 'mark the ticket 317 plus 156 plus ... operator's route
317 plus 156'. That brought the Purdue operator on the line directly,
either to connect to the extension or provide information and then
connect. Remember when all the military bases in the USA used to have
two or three digit dialing locally from the town where they were located
and long distance calls (even after DDD started) went through the long-
distance operator who connected with the military base operator direct?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Date: 10 Jul 1993 00:06:09 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Seth B
Rothenberg) writes:

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

>> I recently got the PacBell bill stuffer on "1 means ten digits
>> follow".  It looks like that's really gonna free up the number space.
>> People have complained about not knowing if a call is gonna cost them.
>> Maybe the telco can give a little warning beep as the call is being
>> handled.

> Maybe this could be done by requiring IXCs to play their standard tone
> whether the call is operator or not.  eg, you would dial 1-212-555-4320
> and hear " (chime!) AT & T" and then ringing. Or "(chime!) Thank you
> for using AT&T" and then ringing.

This would be a terrible idea!  There's the technical problem of
devices that are listening to the line for call progress tones
misinterpreting the extra sound as an answer (I have an old modem that
interprets the "Thank you for using AT&T" calling card confirmation as
a BUSY and hangs up the line immediately).  Also, since calls carried
over SS7 complete almost instantly now, some delay would have to be
added to play the sound.  Then there's just the aesthetic annoyance
factory - I think "(chime!) AT&T" would be even more annoying than the
network logos that all the TV networks recently began using in the
bottom corner of the screen for all their programs.  I'm paying for
the call, I know it's long distance, and I don't want the call slowed
down just to play an annoying message.  If I'm not sure that a call is
long distance, well that's what the operator is there for.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: If you're not sure if a call is long distance, well
that's what your wallet or checkbook are there for!  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: 811 in California (was Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511)
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 00:07:44 GMT


> It didn't make sense to have 800 numbers for out of state and 811
> in-state, so they just made all of us dial an extra four digits.  :-(

Not to mention that you could not dial the 811 or xxx-811-xxx from out
of state.  You had to have directory assistance translate it into a
POTS #, or you couldn't call, and most people didn't know it could be
done (nor were the operators forthcoming with the suggestion).

A side note, many smaller telco's use in-state only 800 service for
the business office and do not list a number that can be reached from
out of the area :-(.


Justin

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

Subject: Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 10:53:30 PDT
From: Lauren Weinstein <[e-mail]>


The current books have a notation at the start of the Pacific Bell
listings warning that 811 numbers are not reachable from outside
California and may not be reachable from some non-Pacific territories.
They suggest calling directory assistance for an alternate number if
necessary.  This seems rather bizarre actually, since the only numbers
that directory assistance should have are the same ones listed in the
book -- where you presumably would have gotten the 811 number in the
first place!  Alternate numbers are not generally listed in the book,
in any case.

There are fewer 811 numbers than in previous years.  The 800 numbers
definitely predominate this year, though 811 numbers are still
scattered throughout the Pacific Bell listing section.


 --Lauren--

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 10:52:59 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices


I don't have any examples in front of me, but don't some California
phone books supply the "actual" telephone numbers in case they need to
be called from a place where 811-xxxx cannot be used?


[Moderator's Note: See previous message. Not according to Lauren or
Steve they don't.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Gone Fishing)
Subject: Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow
Organization: Computer Interest Floor - University of Rochester, NY
Date: 10 Jul 93 22:23:50 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Rob
Knauerhase) writes:

>Greetings all,

>    Does anyone know of a switch that will take a four-wire input
> (where red/green are line one and black/yellow are line two) and
> select one of the pairs to connect to red/green output?  I have two
> lines in my apartment, and would like an easier way of switching the
> modem between them than moving the plug from one jack to another.
>  [...]

Well, if you just want to switch the modem for outgoing use... i.e.,
the modem isn't seeing any incoming use that you want to automatically
switch for, a good old DPDT switch from Radio Shack's bargain bin did
the job for me for many years. Dirt cheap too. Get a small experimentor's
box, wire up the switch inside and you're all set. I'd recommend getting
 a switch with screw terminals and three sets of base cord to spade lug
 cable if you want to do it neat and easy. Maybe $10 in parts, I'd guess.
 And unlike most RS stuff I've had occasion to use, there's not much to
 break down or go wrong.  :)


Rob Levandowski  Computer Interest Floor / University of Rochester

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

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 16:38:43 GMT


I made such a switch with 2 modular cords and a DPDT switch. If you
number the six contacts on the switch like this:

           ---------------------------
           |   1         3         5 |
           |                         |
           |   2         4         6 |
           ---------------------------

(3 & 4 are the "arms" of the switch.)

>From a 2 line jack, connect:
  red = 1, green = 2, yellow = 3, and 4 = black

If you have 2 single line jacks, use 3 cords and connect line 1's
red/green to 1/2, line 2's red/green to 5/6.  Tape up the yellow/black
pair on each.

>From the modem, red = 3, green = 4.  Tape up the yellow/black pair.

A center off switch can completely disconnect it.

All of this can be gotten at Radio Shack.  A DPDT toggle switch (you
may be able to find one with screw terminals if you can't solder), and
2 or three cords with a modular on one end and spade lugs on the
other.


Rich Greenberg Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside CA 619-631-5280 N6LRT
TinselTown, USA Play: [e-mail] 310-649-0238 I speak for
myself only.

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

Subject: Re: Telephone Gateway Information
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 10 Jul 93 10:05:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


In a message, J Van Zijll De Jong commented on Telephone Gateway
Information:

> Does anyone have any information on telephone gateways.  I am doing a
> fourth year project at Massey University New Zealand on home
> automation.  I am interested in being able to have remote operation of
> the home control system via the telephone.  I know that SMART HOUSE
> has a AT&T telephone gateway, but I have been unable to get any
> information on it.  Do you know of any other products avaiable that
> would be relevant to my project.

I used to have some equipment that allowed me remote control
capability of any appliance in my house. I just plugged an addressable
receiver box into each outlet and then could send pulses through the
house wiring to turn on/off appliances at will, dim lights etc. I
think the system called X10 and I think you can get a PC interface.
You could also dial in from any touch tone phone and activate
appliances. It may not be as hi-tech as the one you are looking for
but it is a start.


Laurence Chiu
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

Subject: Re: Cellular to RS232 Interface
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 10 Jul 93 10:05:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


In a message, [e-mail].i commented on Cellular to RS232:

> I've been looking round for a new phone and it looks to me like the
> easiest one to interface to a modem has *got* to be the Nokia 101 if
> anyone else is trying this.

Well I just bought a Nokia 121 and it has a modem interface (optional
extra of course). It looks like a cradle that the phone sits in, the
cradle having a cable terminating in a PCMCIA card that would slot
into any notebook having such a connector. Looks pretty neat but
expensive. I didn't think the 101 had this option.


Laurence Chiu     Walnut Creek, CA   [e-mail]
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Seth B Rothenberg)
Subject: Re: Value Added Voice Services
Date: 10 Jul 93 17:30:33 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


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

> Or, somebody could be standing a meter behind you listening to what
> you say.  Someone could be fifty meters away across a train terminal
> watching you through binoculars as you key in the card number and PIN.
> Welcome to the wonderful world of calling card fraud.

> For the most part, they monitor for "unusual" calling patterns.  I
> don't know what types of patterns AT&T monitors for, and even if I
> did, it's almost certainly proprietary information, but speaking
> *very* generally the kinds of things watched for are order-of-
> magnitude increases in usage

This has happened twice to my father's calling card.  He thinks that
once my brother got shoulder-surfed in NYC's Port Authority bus
terminal, and once my father himself got 'hit' in the airport in
Atlanta.  Both times, NYTel cut off the card the same day.  They did
not call first.  (Come to think of it, the technology exists that they
could have the caller patched through to an operator or investigator
in order to check with the customer ... or, to someone who can call
the police, but they don't seem to do this.  I am sure they did not
try to bill us for any of the extra calls, and they keep giving us
cards :-).


Seth

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

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 10:24:09 EDT
From: Dennis G. Rears <[e-mail]>
Subject: The Latest Word on the Privacy Mailing List


[Moderator's Note: I recently wrote to Dennis Rears asking for his
current address regards the mailing list he maintains.  PAT]

> Dennis, I have had inquiries from people who say they cannot reach you
> with mail for your digest. Could you send a note giving us all an
> update on where mail should be sent, etc?

And Dennis Rears replied in mail to me:

   To reach the Computer Privacy Digest the following addresses are
available:

    Submissions:    [e-mail]
    Admin:        [e-mail]

  You might also want to put out an announcement that the telecom-priv
mailing list no longer exists.  Recently I have been getting email
about telecom-priv.

If people can reach me at all they can always email <[e-mail]>.


Thanks,

dennis


[Moderator's Note: Thanks, and how about you, Lauren W? Care to
provide the address for your privacy journal in case readers wish to
subscribe?   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #463
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #464

TELECOM Digest     Sat, 10 Jul 93 20:22:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 464

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    SUMMARY: Costing Home Fiber Installation (Peter J. Scott)
    Answering Machine and Fax Marriages - Can They Work? (Eddie Corns)
    Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted ([e-mail])
    Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted (Robert B. Thompson)
    Re: DID Chip? (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Access to Toll Records (Justin Greene)
    Re: Access to Toll Records (Paul Houle)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Peter J. Scott)
Subject: SUMMARY: Costing Home Fiber Installation
Date: 10 Jul 1993 16:59:07 GMT
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA/Caltech
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I promised I would summarize the information I received on my request
regarding getting fiber-optic access at home (even in the boondocks)
for high-speed connectivity to the Internet so I could get X, audio,
and video connections to my work place.  Here's the result.  This is a
long post, but I received a lot of high-quality information, and I
know there are others out there very interested in this.

  From: [e-mail] (Bud Couch):

Ask about Switched 56 access as well. Usually, it's implemented using
4W DDS and the "bigger hammer",so that access charges are ridiculous
(2 pairs required).  However, if you're lucky, and your local CO is a
Northern Telecom DMS, and PacBell has set it up, you may be able to
get Switched 56 service via a technology called Datapath. This uses a
ping-pong transmission method at 144Kbps to provide up to 64 kBps.
Switched 56 is easily implemented on it, and, since it only requires a
single pair, the access charges are about half of the other major
technique.

  From: [e-mail]

Well, depending on what you are _doing_ with X, it may be that you
don't really need 56 kbps.  I have an NCD x terminal at home, with a
9600 baud modem.  I dial in using their Xremote software (which is the
basis for Low Bandwidth X, which is "under construction" by the X
Consortium).

  From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)

Can you get line of sight from the roof of your house (perhaps with an
antenna mast) to an existing network site?  If so, there are some
inexpensive wireless modems that can give you up to 2MB/sec at reason-
able cost up to five miles.

I'm currently using a pair of Wavelan wireless 2MB Ethernets which
cost about $600 each.  They are implemented as ISA or Microchannel
adapter cards, so I stuck them in old PCs with regular wired Ethernet
cards and use PCROUTE.  Works pretty well.  The standard omnidirec-
tional modems work up to 300 feet, and you're supposed to get up to
five miles line of sight with external yagi antennas which cost about
$400 each including lightning protectors.

  From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)

You should contact an INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER also called a
mid-level network operator or "regional network". There are about 50
of these; most are only active in a particular geographical area, and
many serve only "Research and Education".

Among the beter known providers of commercial connections are:

         Alternet (UUNET Technologies)
         PSI (Performance Systems International, I think)
         CERFnet

The biggest cost driver is carriage from your house to the network
provider's nearest router. If you are five males from a small town,
odds are that the network provider's point of presence is not within a
local call. (They tend to co-locate with either a large research park
or the LATA point-of-presence of a long-distance carrier.)

If you are fairly close to a POP (point of presence) the carriage may
be less than $100/month for a four-wire circuit that can run 56 Kbps.
The going rate for the Internet Service through that pipe is about
$1000/month. This is not totally out of reach for engineering consult-
ants working out of their home.

If you are within a local call of someone who has an internet
connection and is willing to share with you, you can get a couple of
IP addresses from their network number, and run a dial-up IP
connection over 14400 bps modems. With enough savvy, you can install
free software on a unix workstation on each end of the link. Or you
can buy a turnkey dial-up router to install at each end for $1995
each, which attaches to the ethernet at each end and dials up the link
when there's traffic.  This puts the cost well within the budget of
many "part-time work-at-home" engineers. And the prices are coming
down fast.

Going up the speed range, the price goes up fast. From 14400 bps to 56
kbps is not a big step: Each of them is worth "one phone connection".
The next faster is typically a T1 (1544 kbps) line, worth 24 phone
connections, and usually priced at about ten times the 56 kbps.  The
point at which they run a fiber is probably a T3 (43 million bits per
second) which is 28 T1's or 672 telephone connections' worth.  I
haven't priced it recently, but it isn't cheap.

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

   As someone who has actually *done* this, I should be able to give
you some good answers. First, it's going to be very expensive. Second,
you will probably be better off leasing circuits from the phone
company for this sort of thing. Here are some details:

   First, fiber is generally considered a high-bandwidth medium. A
pair of fibers (one for transmit, one for receive) is generally going
to be operated at 10Mbit (Ethernet speed) or faster. 100Mbit is also
common. Thus, you're looking at linked Ethernet segments, which is
much faster than the typical Internet link (DS0 - 56Kbit or T1 -
1.544Mbit). Current Internet links will run quite happily over copper
pairs leased to you by the local telco. The cost of leasing such a
circuit will likely be less over a reasonable period (say, five years)
than building your own fiber link. Lastly, most (if not all) Internet
service providers aren't going to know what to do with your fiber once
you get it there. So, you'd probably need to run it to your workplace.
This brings up the issues of job security, etc., and whether you could
profit from that piece of fiber if you were no longer employed there.

   So, if you still want to do it, here is what you will need to do:
First, establish a reasonable route for your fiber. You will want to
use existing utility poles wherever possible. This will save you
negotating with each and every property holder along the route, let
you avoid construction permits, etc. Next, establish which utility
handles pole space leasing in your area.  There may be various owners
of poles (power utility, telephone company, cable TV, municipal fire
alarm, etc.) but normally they will appoint one of them as the lease
agent for the entire area, no matter who owns the pole. You will then
have to contact the lease agent and discuss the feasibilty. You should
have gathered various pieces of necessary information, such as the
number of poles and their serial numbers (yes, they're serialized).
You will probably find that there is a per-pole rate which is quite
reasonable, an annual minimum, and some additional charges. Here in
NJ, the rate is under $5 per pole per year with a $100 minimum.
However, since many of the poles will have been installed with no idea
that you wanted space (in fact, some of them were a tight fit when
Cable TV came along), you may have to pay to have the other users of
the pole move their attachments up or down, and in some cases you may
have to pay for a new, taller, pole if the attachments can't be moved
(for example, because it would reduce necessary clearances or
spacing). This is all quite reasonably priced (again, in NJ it was
something like $20 per pole to relocate telco). I never priced new
poles. If any part of the run is underground, you'll need a separate
lease for the conduit space.

 So, now you have an idea how much renting poles will cost you. The
lease agent may charge you for a survey to determine the number of
 attachments to be moved, or poles to be replaced. My experience is
that you won't be charged if the agent thinks you are serious (serious
== likely to go through with the job). Then you have to price your
fiber. You'll want a good outdoor-grade fiber like AT&T 3DFX-xxx-HXM,
where xxx is the number of fibers. Be sure to allocate enough spare
fibers to cover damage (more on that later).

You'll also need to supply the "messenger strand" your fiber will
attach to, and the various hardware parts to attach all of that to the
poles. Also plan on getting some of the "FIBER - don't cut" tags. If
any portion of your run is underground, you will need a conduit liner
as well. Once you have your signed (and paid) lease agreement and your
fiber, you're about ready to start. However, first you'll need to post
a liability bond or acquire liability insurance. For my run in NJ,
this was a $1,000,000 bond or a $5,000,000 policy. This is to cover
things like your cable falling down and injuring someone, etc.

Now you need to get the cable up on the poles. This is gonna cost you.
You really can't do this yourself (unless you already do this for a
living) as it needs lots of specialized tools, and more than one
person. Your best bet is to contract with one of the existing pole
users (remember, that's usually the power utility, telco, Cable TV,
municipal fire alarm, etc.).  This is a *good* *thing* for a number
of reasons:

1) Since they do this for a living, they'll do it right, and you can
usually avoid any inspection by the lease agent if done this way.

2) Since they're on the same poles, they do a good job, typically.
They don't want their stuff damaging yours, or vice versa.

3) When the obligatory drunk takes down a pole you're on (provided you
set this up as part of your deal), the installer will fix your stuff
(or at least prevent it from becoming further damaged or a hazard)
while they're out fixing their stuff. Otherwise you're likely to get a
late night call from the police/fire department telling you to clear
your cable or lose it.

This brings up the need for spare cable, splicing equipment, etc.  If
you can't find anyone to do this, you can always get a commercial
electrical contractor to do it. I'd advise getting the detailed plans
showing all of the requirements from the lease agent, and telling your
contractor they won't get paid in full until the lease agent approves
their job. Stuff on poles is utterly foreign to most electricians and
the rules are very different from the ones they're used to.

The particulars of my run are a four-block distance in NJ, using a
cable with four fibers, partially underground and partially
pole-based. It took about a year of on-and-off negotiation to get this
set up. The installation contractor was the local Cable TV company,
and the poles were leased from NJ Bell Telephone. The cost breakdown
was about $1750 for installation, $2000 for the fiber itself
(terminations included), $300 for leases/relocation/etc. Then there
was $5000 for the Ethernet gear (prices have come down). And, let's
not forget the million dollar liability bond.

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

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Peter Scott, NASA/JPL/Caltech   ([e-mail])

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

From: Eddie Corns <[e-mail]>
Subject: Answering Machine and Fax Marriages - Can They Work?
Date: 10 Jul 93 12:09:37 GMT


Hi, I am posting this query on behalf of a friend trying to run a
small business.  He has currently one telephone line and an answering
machine.  He would like to also add a fax machine and wants to find
the most viable options.

Obvioulsy he can simply get a second phone line installed but he is
hoping for a cheaper solution because BT can charge up to 160 for that
(I think).

If he tries to put them on the same line I presume he needs some kind
of manager box that discriminates fax callers from others.  My limited
knowledge of telephony suggests this is done by the bleepy noise the
caller gives when connection is established.  I presume in order for
this setup to work either a) answering machine answers phone and
discriminator listens for signal and quickly turns on fax and cuts out
answering machine (before it gets to the tone which we are asked to
speak after) or b) discriminator answers call and if fax passes it
straight through to fax, if not actually makes answering machine start
ringing so that it will then answer as normal (caller will presumably
notice a slight glitch in ringing) or c) neither of the above.

Because he is a very small company he doesn't want to buy a
particularly expensive fax machine, in fact I have been trying to
persuade hime to use his Mac with appropriate modem/software which
seems like a very economical method to me.

Needless to say when he's actually in, he will answer the phone
himself.

Would anyone please suggest any DOs and DONTs here and any helpful
hints and even to satisfy my curiousity of how they can work together.


Eddie

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 22:39:56 EDT
Subject: Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted


[e-mail] (Dennis Mitchell) writes:

> I'm looking for a new answering machine, I've heard that one with the
> features I want exists, but I have no idea who makes it.

> My fiance works nights, and sleeps during the day.  When she's in bed,
> she unplugs the phone and lets her answering machine take all the
> calls.  Generally that's all right, but _sometimes_ there are calls
> that she needs to receive right away.

> We need to find an answering machine that will prevent the phone from
> ringing unless the caller enters a bypass code of some sort.  Can
> anyone offer a suggestion on where to look?

I have an AT&T 1523 Phone/Answerer/Dialer combo and it has a neat
feature call Priority Codes. When I really don't want to answer the
phone unless it's absolutely urgent (hangover recoveries mean even
Priority gets disabled!) the caller gets my outgoing message, taps in
the two digit (changeable, like all the codes on my machine) and the
phone starts beeping like mad for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, if
nobody picks up the phone it will prompt the caller to leave a message
anyhow.  Talk about the height of frustration. Heh heh.


Tony  [e-mail]

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

From: Robert B. Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Answering Machine Bypass Code Information Wanted
Date: 10 Jul 93 15:08:34 EST
Organization: Forsyth County, Winston-Salem  NC


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Dennis Mitchell) writes:

> I'm looking for a new answering machine, I've heard that one with the
> features I want exists, but I have no idea who makes it.

Home Automation Laboratories (1-800-HOMELAB) sells a device called
"Friends Only" that sounds like it should do what you need. It sits
between your CO demarc and the phones in your home. When an inbound
call arrives, the box answers it silently and prompts the caller for a
passcode. If the caller fails to enter the proper code he is
disconnected. If he enters the correct code, the box itself rings.
It's important to note that the box itself generates an electronic
ring, but does not generate ring current on the line; that is, the
only ring you'll get is from the box itself. Your phones will no long
ring at all. I think the device costs about $70.


Robert Bruce Thompson                [e-mail]
Forsyth County MIS Department        [phone] x3012
Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA    [phone] (FAX)

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: DID Chip?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 04:27:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Seth B
Rothenberg) writes:

> Having resolved that there's no cheaper substitute for DID service, I
> would like to ask if there is anyone who knows where I could find out
> if there is a chip that supports DID?  (I figure, if you can buy a
> telephone-on-a-chip at Radio Shack, maybe there's a chance you can
> buy DID-on-a-chip someplace ... it does not need to be as close as the
> Radio Shack up the street.)

Huh?

DID is a service delivered by the central office.  Basically, the
phone company sells you a whole heap of numbers for a price, and
prefaces each incoming call with the last few digits, either pulsed or
toned.

Since it's the numbers you're buying from their owner (phone company),
'tain't nuttin' you can do with any chip to get them elsewhere.


Fred R. Goldstein   [e-mail]
opinions are mine alone.  sharing requires permission

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: Access to Toll Records
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 93 21:17:35 GMT


> The credit info both of these came back with appeared to be the same
> thing an individual is entitled to when denied credit by a credit
> grantor.  It probably is and the person who ran the report could get
> a mongo fine if they don't have a signature on file giving permission
> to pull the info.

> Both programs used the figure of 100 dollars as what they paid for
> other information, including long-distance records.  There was no
> elaboration on what was meant by "records", but one would assume they
> meant individual call detail.  I have a problem understanding how
> this can be so.

> It does not seem possible that toll records are available to any
> entity, at any price, under the above scenario. What's going on here?

Well, it's like this. Money can buy anything and people are sheep. Your
phone records have three components, local calls, local long
distance,and long distance.  If your regional company handles the
billing for the long distance carrier then it's all there at the local
level, all you need is a good scam or a source (not quite so easy as
it sounds).

Personally, I'm kinda funny about privacy so I use a carrier that does
not bill through my local telco and I use 10xxx to access them so
anyone trying to access my records would get a headache trying to find
them.  I also use ATT, MCI & Sprint depending on how I feel.  If they
want all my records they are going to pay through the nose.  If you
want to make life really tuff ask the telco to put a code on your
account and no info will be released without it (yeah right).  It will
at least stop any amatuers from getting info.  I also have an 800
number which I give to family and old friends so that my number cannot
be obtained by pulling their tolls (though a pen register on the line
would give that number which would then have to be translated to my
pots number, etc. Privacy unfortunately in this day and age is very
very expensive.

Now that I have you sufficiently paranoid, rest secure that it isn't
all that easy to get info.  Most private people can't get it, nor
would they know what to do with it if they could.  Credit bureaus keep
a record of who requests full reports so fraudulent inquiries can be
tracked down (Of course you have to be in the habit of checking your
reports every now and then to know if an inquiry was made).  Telco
accounts can be notes in big capital letters not to release info,
though that won't stop a pro.  The show accomplished it purpose though
and got your attention didn't it :-)


-Anonymous ;-)

Justin

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1993 12:49:00
Subject: Re: Access to Toll Records


> Fourth, assume that criminal activity is not involved, and
> that no law-enforcement agencies are involved.

> It does not seem possible that toll records are available
> to any entity, at any price, under the above scenario.

        The fourth assumption is probably false.  Call-detail records
and other propreitary phone information can be very easily had from
crooked phone company employees.  Most private eyes have a good
working relationship with one, and you don't even necessarily need to
pay them money.

        I have a 'phriend' who wrote a kind of executive briefing on
fiber optics for a BOC employee.  He had met the BOC employee in
person previously, and the guy had asked him to tell him all about
optic fiber, and he did.  Anyway, the BOC guy wanted to print this out
and make photocopies to hand out to his subordinates.  In return my
phriend got some confidential information.  My phriend is rather proud
that he wrote training materials that were used [unofficially] at a
BOC!


 Origin: NETIS [phone]/432-0922 (HST/V32) (1:132/189)


[Moderator's Note: All of us probably have known at one time or
another a telco employee who was corrupt. All the telcos take the
violation of customer and company records as a very serious offense.
For the fifty or hundred dollar bribe a clerk might get for giving out
a non-pub number for example, the risks are just too great they will
be caught. *If you get caught*, consider this scenario: you are told
to go the Personnel Department. There you see your supervisor, a
couple guys from security, and your union steward waiting for you.
Security confronts you with the evidence, and your supervisor fires
you, collecting your keys, identification card and/or other company
property on the spot.  You were an excellent worker otherwise, and its
hard for your supervisor to say the words he has to say ... but he
says it, security walks you down to the front door and hands you your
final paycheck on the way out with any back pay or vacation pay you
have coming.

The union steward can't do much to help you under the circumstances;
he can grieve to the company on your behalf, but being a traitor to
company secrets and theft of records is hard to appeal. He's there to
see that you get your final pay and that the company does not screw
you around too much; but when security walks you to the front door,
puts your pay in your hands and tells you to never come on company
property again for any reason, that's it. You worked there twenty
years?  Tough; you are out ... on your ass!  *You* get to go home and
explain to your wife and kids why you no longer work for telco. Think
about it before you get seduced by some phreak looking for company
proprietary information.  Remember former Digest participant Randy
Barrow from three years ago?  Don't forget the example made of Randy
for other AT&T employees!  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #464
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #465

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 12 Jul 93 01:48:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 465

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Some More Historical Questions (Pat Turner)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (Robert L. McMillin)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (David Breneman)
    Re: I Just Got Scammed ([e-mail])
    Re: I Just Got Scammed (Jan Hinnerk Haul)
    Re: Power Crosses Phone Lines (was Why -48V on Local Loop?) (Al Varney)
    Re: Caller ID and Bell Canada (Tony Harminc)
    Re: GSM Security (Bruce Albrecht)
    Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System (Alan Boritz)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Dave Grabowski)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Roy M. Silvernail)
    The Day the Bell System Died (Reprint with comments by John C. Fowler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 22:06 EDT
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions


> In 1907, vacuum tubes were in their infancy, if available, so
> it almost sounds like they just ran an incredible current through that
> microphone and used water to keep it from doing a melt-down.  The
> audio in Tulsa must have been really fabulous after 100 miles of
> open-wire unequalized line.

Two things would have worked in their favor, however:

1) Open wire has a much lower loss than twisted pair

2) There wasn't a lot of RFI or PI (power influence) back then, that
   continues to plague long rural loops.  If powers lines did run near
   the cable (doubtful), there were no switching power supplies, ballasts,
   or cap banks to generate the dreaded triple odd harmonics.

100 miles isn't impressive.  If they could drive a speaker at that
distance, that would be something.  Of course, people would probably
still be impressed if someone listened to a set of headphones and
relayed the message to the public.


Patton Turner  KB4GRZ  FAA Telecommunication  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Organization: Surf City Software/TBFW Project
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 02:33:27 GMT


On Tue, 06 Jul 1993 16:38:30 -0500, the Moderator noted:

> Amazing technology? By the time grandpa left us he had seen in his
> lifetime: the invention of radio, television, talking movies, airplanes,
> automobiles, computers, countless other things; he saw the telephone
> and electricity come into very wide acceptance and use as well,
> bringing with widespread electrical distribution the use of refriger-
> ators, fans, household lighting, etc.  Can you imagine coming into a
> world with none of those things as a young person growing up and and
> having all of them in your daily life when you leave? Will we ever see
> another century like the 20th in terms of sheer variety of inventions
> and technological changes?  Of course *I* remember when there were no
> computers and television was only something that a few very rich
> people had in their houses and phones were black instruments with a
> round dial if you lived in a place where the exchange was 'modern'. I
> suppose given life-expectancy rates I will be around until 2030 or so,
> and many of you will be around until 2070. Given the changes in the
> past century, doesn't it blow your mind to think of what technology
> will be like when *you* depart?  I know it excites me.   PAT]

Is it so exciting?  It seems that what technology giveth with the one
hand, it taketh away with the other.  Television brought entertainment
and the immediacy of distant images; but it's also given us reduced
attention spans, has been linked to rising crime rates, oversimplifies
the events it does manage to show us, and invites us into ill-considered
foreign military adventures.  Computers make possible this very message,
the Internet through which it passes, and our whole far-flung
communication system; yet the widespread application of computers has
resulted in the most significant social upheaval since the Industrial
Revolution.  Like that distant time, it is not entirely clear what
those on the bleeding edge will do after the revolution is over.

Remember the Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Breneman)
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Date: 11 Jul 93 19:33:16 GMT


[e-mail] (Martin McCormick) writes:


>     The account of this hookup said that the governor spoke into a
> water-cooled microphone in Oklahoma City and the signal was audible in
> Tulsa, about 100 Miles to the Northeast.

>     In 1907, vacuum tubes were in their infancy, if available, so
> it almost sounds like they just ran an incredible current through that
> microphone and used water to keep it from doing a melt-down.  The
> audio in Tulsa must have been really fabulous after 100 miles of
> open-wire unequalized line.

> [Moderator's Note: Yours is the second time I've heard that story, and
> it is hard to imagine how it was done.

I think the key is "water-cooled" microphone.  Even in the early days
of radio, the signal was generated by feeding the output of an
alternator (which generated the carrier signal) *through* a microphone
and on to the antenna.  Much research was devoted to designing
microphones which could modulate greater and greater currents.  It was
DeForest's invention of the Audion which allowed the microphone to
modulate a small current, which was fed to the transmitter tube which
used that small current to modulate the big current coming from the
alternator.  It makes perfect sense that this speech could have been
"transmitted" by connecting a high-current microphone to a large bank
of *telegraph* batteries (much more voltage than telephone batteries)
and using a chalk-cylinder amplifier at the receiving end - there were
*mechanical* amplifiers long before electronic ones (used for "loud
speaking" phonographs in the 1890's).  It would be quite a treat if
this pioneering technological stunt could be repeated on Oklahoma's
centennial.


David Breneman          Email: [e-mail]
System Administrator,   Software Engineering Services
Digital Systems International, Inc.     Voice: 206 881-7544  Fax: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 18:38:54 EDT
Subject: Re: I Just Got Scammed


[e-mail] (Vince Grove) writes:

> I seem to remember a scam described here some time ago. I received a
> collect call from a New England Telephone service representative. I
> was told the charges would be forwarded to NE Telephone. The service
> rep claimed that my line was being overheard on other phone lines in
> the area and they were checking it out.

> How does this scam work?!

I don't know but New England Telephone NEVER calls collect. Why should
they, they own the system. But I suppose someone could do it to you
with the NET voice system. If you're dumb enough to accept the call
then you deserved to get scammed.

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

From: Jan Hinnerk Haul <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 20:15:33 +0200
Subject: Re: I Just Got Scammed


In comp.dcom.telecom TELECOM Moderator notes:

> Moderator's Note: For starters, telco *never* calls anyone collect.
> Most telcos accept collect calls from anywhere; they never place
> collect calls.  PAT]

So, why do the operators connect such calls?  They know who pretends
to be calling, and they screen out calls like "Needa Ride", so why
don't they screen out calls from "Police", "Telco" etc?


Regards,

Jan H. Haul        Tel. +49 40 - 890 57 57        Disc.: Not even *my*
Hamburg, Germany    Fax  +49 40 - 890 51 57        opinion


[Moderator's Note: I doubt it was an operator who called him! If I
were to call you now and claim to be an AT&T operator in the United
States with a collect call for you, wouldn't you be hard pressed to
know the difference, particularly if it was a female who called?  I
think someone called our correspondent hoping he would accept the
collect call but maybe reveal his calling card number in the process.
You can accept collect calls that way you know; when the operator says
there is a collect call, tell her you wish to put it on your AT&T
Calling Card. She'll ask for the Calling Card number and PIN, but of
course you be certain to tell her to split the connection before you
start rattling off the number so the caller does not hear the number,
especially the PIN part.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 22:03:12 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Power Crosses Phone Lines (was Why -48V on Local Loop?)
Organization: AT&T


In article <[e-mail]> Andy Rabagliati <andyr@wizzy.
com> writes:

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

>> The heat coils were in place to detect a real concern of the time --
>> 120V AC power lines falling onto the telephone lines that were on the
>> same or nearby poles.

> In the UK, any crossing of power lines over phone lines is treated
> with great concern. Big netting arrangements are built, so that if the
> power cables break they will still not touch phone lines.

   It's not just where the lines cross, although that was once a major
concern -- now a minor issue due to the removal of most bare overhead
telephone wire.  Telephone training on the installation of bare wire
included diagrams of how wire under strain could flip itself up or
over onto adjacent power lines.  And there used to be lots of complex
rules about whether the telephone lines ran over or under a particular
set of power lines.

   In the USA, many individual pairs of overhead wires still run below
120/240 volt electrical service lines.  My father's farm receives
electrical service from one side of the road and telephone service
from open wire on the other side of the road.  At the transformer
stepping down the voltage to 120/240 volts, the telephone wires are
run as a small cable a few feet below the electrical wires.  (The
telephone cable would have to have an insulation break in order for
120V to short to the telephone wires.  However, both electrical and
telephone insulation is cracked and missing entirely on these one
wires.)


Al Varney

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 00:03:39 EDT
From: Tony @ Brownvm <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Caller ID and Bell Canada


[e-mail] (Mark Brader) wrote:

>> Incidentally, with Bell Canada, if you have Call Return, you are told
>> the number that last called you, and given the *option* of returning
>> the call.  If Call Block was used on that call, then you are told that
>> the number "cannot be given out", and then given the option of
>> returning the call anyway. ...

> And someone asked me in email what the phone bill would show if you
> decided to return the call anyway, and it did turn out to be long
> distance.  I don't know, and I don't have any out-of-town friends with
> Call Block to try it with.  Does anyone else here know?

A billing insert came around two or three months ago that explains
this.  Evidently Call Return will refuse to return a billable call
that is ID blocked, precisely so that the number will not show up on
your bill.

This is Bell Canada's way of doing it -- other telcos may well vary.


Tony Harminc

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 01:06:47 CST
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Albrecht)
Subject: Re: GSM Security


In <[e-mail]>, Vangelis Kontogiannis writes:

> What I would like to ask our (European) readers is, given the digital
> encryption in GSM, are fraud schemes of the type often mentioned in
> this list (see #435) possible? Any data on the subject?  Remember, in
> GSM subscription data is recorded in a credit-card sized SIM
> (Subscriber Information Module) that plugs into the GSM phone; the
> subscriber is uniquely identified by his IMSI (International Mobile
> Subscriber Identity).

There are also plug-in SIMs (Siemens and Motorola make them), which
are just a bit larger than the chip contacts, about the size of the
thumb from the tip to the first joint.

As far as fraud is concerned, someone with enough knowledge of the GSM
standards might be able to make their own SIMs, but it probably
wouldn't be easy.  They'd also have to know the proper encryption
algorithms, which are probably A3/A8 or a variant, in order to
convinced the network that the IMSI is valid.  The SIMs themselves
contain data in an EEROM, but the data stored in a file system that
generally makes the files containing serial number information read-only.


[e-mail]

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

Date: 11 Jul 93 07:03:01 EDT
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System


[e-mail] (Paul Robinson) writes:

> There has been considerable flack placed upon the White House for
> deciding to contact two switch bidders -- Northern Telecom and AT&T --
> and deciding to place an order consisting of Centrex service from C&P
> Telephone and ordering a switch from AT&T, without putting this
> contract out for bids.

Sounds like another "Travel Office Scandal" all over again.  Seems
that the Clinton administration just loves to embarass itself whenever
it gets a chance.  There most certainly are secure (by government
standards), reliable, and technically superior alternatives to
"Mother," but some public sector officials always feel that they're
above the (competitive bidding) laws.  Hmmm, history (sort of)
repeating itself ... ;)


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]

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

Date: 11 Jul 93 10:49:17 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


> In the interim, e.g. until we get some other nominations

I nominate Mars Lasar's "Cellular City" from his Eleventh Hour CD.  It
includes sampled DTMF tones, ringback and intercepts.  The song came
onto our office music system as I was cutting over to a new key system.
At first I thought that I had wired the system wrong and it had started
speed dialing itself :-).


Brian Vita      CSS, Inc.       Ci$70702,2233

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Grabowski)
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 01:54:41 GMT


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

> It just occurred to me that this newsgroup needs something to
> distinguish it from all the others.  I just thought, as important as
> telephony and telecommunications is, that maybe we need to adopt some
> song as the "Theme Song" of TELECOM Digest.  But which one?  What's a
> fairly "good" song about telephones?

> [Moderator's Note: Why me, Lord?  Why do I get this kind of email?  PAT]

I suppose another question could be, why did you put it in the Digest?
Another question could be, why am I responding to this? :) I'm bored ...

Back when Bell first broke up, a radio station in NYC (and I'm sure
other ones around the country) had a spoof song ... the lyrics were
something like ... "Ma Bell ... Breaking up is hard to do."


Dave   [e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
From: [e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 13:01:55 CST
Organization: The Villa CyberSpace, executive headquarters


In comp.dcom.telecom, [e-mail] writes:

> It just occurred to me that this newsgroup needs something to
> distinguish it from all the others.  I just thought, as important as
> telephony and telecommunications is, that maybe we need to adopt some
> song as the "Theme Song" of TELECOM Digest.

> It's sort of a tossup among several.  The Electric Light Orchestra
> released a song which is, I believe called either "Telephone" or
> "Hello".  But it's a rather sad song about someone trying to reach
> someone who doesn't answer.

That one's called "Telephone line".

My vote goes to the Sugarloaf comeback song from 1974 ... "Don't call
us, we'll call you".  It's even got some touch-tones!

> [Moderator's Note: Why me, Lord?  Why do I get this kind of email?  PAT]

Just cuz we like you, Virtual PAT!


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

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

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 14:18:35 -0600
From: John C. Fowler <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


Paul Robinson writes:

> I just thought, as important as telephony and telecommunications is, that
> maybe we need to adopt some song as the "Theme Song" of TELECOM Digest.
> But which one?  What's a fairly "good" song about telephones?

Oh, come on, Paul!  Surely you know that TELECOM Digest already has a
theme song!  Check out the file lauren.song in the TELECOM Archives!  :-)


John C. Fowler, [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: To save him a trip to the archives (anonymous ftp
to lcs.mit.edu) -- although I wish everyone would visit the archives
now and then -- I've pulled the file in particular. Since today marks
the tenth anniversary of when this was first printed, I thought it
would be fun to do again. So here, dear readers, is "The Day The Bell
System Died", a song by Lauren Weinstein which first appeared here in
TELECOM Digest on July 12, 1983.  Enjoy!   PAT]

  12-Jul-83 09:14:32-PDT,4930;000000000001
  Return-path: <@LBL-CSAM:vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM>
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  Date: Tuesday, 12-Jul-83 01:18:19-PDT
  From: Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM>
  Subject: "The Day Bell System Died"
  Return-Path: <vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM>
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Greetings.  With the massive changes now taking place in the
telecommunications industry, we're all being inundated with
seemingly endless news items and points of information regarding
the various effects now beginning to take place.  However, one
important element has been missing: a song!  Since the great
Tom Lehrer has retired from the composing world, I will now
attempt to fill this void with my own light-hearted, non-serious
look at a possible future of telecommunications.  This work is
entirely satirical, and none of its lyrics are meant to be
interpreted in a non-satirical manner.  The song should be sung
to the tune of Don Mclean's classic "American Pie".
I call my version "The Day Bell System Died"...

 --Lauren--

 ************************************************************************

           *==================================*
           * Notice: This is a satirical work *
           *==================================*


                    "The Day Bell System Died"


              Lyrics Copyright (C) 1983 by Lauren Weinstein

                      (To the tune of "American Pie")

             (With apologies to Don McLean)


  ARPA: vortex!lauren@LBL-CSAM
  UUCP: {decvax, ihnp4, harpo, ucbvax!lbl-csam, randvax}!vortex!lauren

 *************************************************************************

Long, long, time ago,
I can still remember,
When the local calls were "free".
And I knew if I paid my bill,
And never wished them any ill,
That the phone company would let me be...

But Uncle Sam said he knew better,
Split 'em up, for all and ever!
We'll foster competition:
It's good capital-ism!

I can't remember if I cried,
When my phone bill first tripled in size.
But something touched me deep inside,
The day... Bell System... died.

And we were singing...

Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die?
We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI,
"Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry.
Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die?
Ma Bell why did you have to die?

Is your office Step by Step,
Or have you gotten some Crossbar yet?
Everybody used to ask...
Oh, is TSPS coming soon?
IDDD will be a boon!
And, I hope to get a Touch-Tone phone, real soon...

The color phones are really neat,
And direct dialing can't be beat!
My area code is "low":
The prestige way to go!

Oh, they just raised phone booths to a dime!
Well, I suppose it's about time.
I remember how the payphones chimed,
The day... Bell System... died.

And we were singing...

Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die?
We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI,
"Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry.
Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die?
Ma Bell why did you have to die?

Back then we were all at one rate,
Phone installs didn't cause debate,
About who'd put which wire where...
Installers came right out to you,
No "phone stores" with their ballyhoo,
And 411 was free, seemed very fair!

But FCC wanted it seems,
To let others skim long-distance creams,
No matter 'bout the locals,
They're mostly all just yokels!

And so one day it came to pass,
That the great Bell System did collapse,
In rubble now, we all do mass,
The day... Bell System... died.

So bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die?
We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI,
"Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry.
Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die?
Ma Bell why did you have to die?

I drove on out to Murray Hill,
To see Bell Labs, some time to kill,
But the sign there said the Labs were gone.
I went back to my old CO,
Where I'd had my phone lines, years ago,
But it was empty, dark, and ever so forlorn...

No relays pulsed,
No data crooned,
No MF tones did play their tunes,
There wasn't a word spoken,
All carrier paths were broken...

And so that's how it all occurred,
Microwave horns just nests for birds,
Everything became so absurd,
The day... Bell System... died.

So bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die?
We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI,
"Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry.
Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die?
Ma Bell why did you have to die?

We were singing:

Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die?
We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI,
"Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry.
Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die?

<End>

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

[Moderator's Note: Thank you again Lauren for the many instances of
pleasure this song has given us in the Digest!  For our newer readers,
I would note that Lauren is a charter member of the Digest mailing
list; he has been part of the group since opening day in 1981.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #465
******************************










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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 03:42:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #466

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 12 Jul 93 03:42:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 466

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Rob Boudrie)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (John R. Levine)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Raj Sanmugam)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Eric Varsanyi)
    "It's the law" (Garrett Wollman)
    Re: Kerberized Cellular Phones (Andrew R. Ghali)
    Re: Access to Toll Records (Alan Westrope)
    Re: Access to Toll Records (Daniel Burstein)
    Who Was Randy Barrow? (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: Collect Calls and Call Forwarding (Douglas W. Martin)
    Re: Future of ISDN (Arthur Marsh)
    Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number (Joe Pace)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Tad Cook)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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] (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 21:44:27 GMT


> I beleive more than 15% of a provider's cost goes toward fraud.

This is hard to quantify, and I suspect it does not consider a
few things:

Fraud costs are NOT the sum total of the charges that would rightfully
be owed for the unpaid calls.

The fraud costs are:

  Costs of calls which would have otherwise been made with a toll
  paid to the cellular provider in the absence of fraud.  (Many
  such calls probably would NOT have been made legitimately if
  that were the only option.)

  Costs of legitimate calls which could not be made because the
  bandwidth in a cell was clogged with fradulent calls.


Plus indirect costs:

  Cost of anti-fraud program;

  Cost of collection and prosecution;

  Note: These costs are debatable with no clear answer.  When totalling
        the amount burgularly costs the US, do we include the cost
        of every door lock and burgular alarm?


Plus very indirect costs:

  Cost of business lost because potential customers are afraid of
  being defrauded.

  Workplace productivity lost while people discuss this issue on
  Usenet.

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

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 10:55 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: I.E.C.C.


>> Judges *make* law.  It's the law.

> They don't make law.

It's a floor wax!  It's a breath mint!  No, it's both!

Seriously, the Congress, the executive, and judges make law.  It's
part of the deliberate tension among the three branches of the
government.  In many cases, the Congress will punt lawmaking to other
branches.  For example, the copyright law declares that there is
something called "fair use" but doesn't say what it is, letting the
precise definition be hammered out in case law.  (This isn't just
buck-passing -- it often makes sense when they reasonably can't
foresee all of a law's applications; under the older more specific
copyright law software cases were being decided under a 1909 precedent
involving player piano rolls.)  Also, a lot of the civil law (lawsuits
as opposed to than criminal prosecution) is based on common law
precedents going back to medieval England.

The executive gets involved by making regulations that implement
various laws.  That's most of what's in the Federal Register.

And the courts get involved at the other end by interpreting the
Constitution to forbid or require various laws.  There are also
various creative readings of laws either to cover an area (depending
on how you look at it) that the congress didn't intend to cover, or
that they would have covered had they been aware of it at the time.
This is where most of the complaints about activist judges arise.  For
example, one of this year's hot topics is the use of the RICO law that
was intended to aid prosecution of organized crime to attack groups
like Operation Rescue.

Thus endeth the civics lesson.  So, anyway, does anyone know the
actual issues in the cellular fraud case in question and on what the
judge based his decision?


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Raj Sanmugam)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Communication Inc.
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 21:34:11 GMT


Historically, when 25% of the subscribers in Holland refused to pay
their bills an authentication scheme was introduced, all the mobiles
were re-called and upgraded with the necessary changes and fraud was
reduced to a manageable level.

So, while Steve's concerns are understandable I would agree with the
Moderator that something could be worked out between the carriers and
the mobile manufacturers. I have heard figures nearing a billion in
telecom fraud.

Moreover, most mobile manufacturers have already developed dual mode
phones which has authentication schemes. So, upgrading the analog
phones should not cost that much more as it would be cheaper to reuse
the technology.


Raj

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

From: [e-mail] (Eric Varsanyi)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Cray Computer Corporation
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 06:34:40 GMT


This is pretty sad. I called Cellular One (my carrier here in CO) and
asked about LA. My prefix (a small one in Colorado Springs) is
completely blocked in LA. They offered to pay ALL my roaming charges
(setup and calls) with PacTel Cellular on a credit card arrangement (I
assume they would just credit my account). Seems like a good deal for
me anyway. He told me that it was cheaper for them to give me free
service than keep my prefix open and be defrauded. Scary.

I asked about other markets, NY is the same as LA but at this point
those are the only two that are roaming blocked from certain prefixes
(from my cellular anyway).

When I asked what the solution was he said they would keep giving away
free calls until the digital standard took over.

Based on this data I'm thinking that the carriers are going to anything
they can to switch to a decent system ASAP, even if it means killing
the installed base.


Eric Varsanyi    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: "It's the Law"
Organization: University of Vermont, EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 23:42:54 GMT


(Sorry for extending this overly-long thread...)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Andrew Watts) writes:

> Legislation is law. And it's made by politicians. Judges interpret the
> law as they see it, and set legal precidents. They don't make law.

Legislation, when passed according to the established procedures, is
statutory law.  Statutes, when interpreted by government agencies,
turn into regulatory law.  Statutes, Regulations, and the
Constitution, when interpreted by courts, turn into Common Law (except
in Louisiana).

This distinction can cause some confusion to people who watch, for
example, the US Supreme Court.  When the Constitution is silent or
unspecific about some issue, the justices can and do rely on our
pre-Revolutionary heritage of British common law, a significant amount
of which is still in effect here (except in Louisiana).

In any event, the decisions of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in
New York are no less law than statutes passed by Congress.  (Except,
of course, that the Law of the Land as the Second Circuit sees it does
not necessarily apply in the Ninth Circuit.)


Disclaimer: my father is Deputy in Charge at the Reno divisional
office of the US District Court for the District of Nevada.

Garrett A. Wollman   [e-mail]
uvm-gen!wollman      UVM disagrees.

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 01:13:48 EDT
From: Andrew R. Ghali <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Kerberized Cellular Phones


In article <[e-mail]>, Andrew_Marc_Greene@
frankston.com writes:

> Kerberos was designed for insecure systems.  (Just how insecure? The
> root password for public Project Athena workstations is public
> knowlege.)  Your (or your telephone's) password is what makes you
> trusted (well, actually, it's your session key, which is transmitted
> encrypted in a trapdoor function of your password); your IP (or other)
> address is irrelevant to the security of the system.

I from my experience with AFS and Kerberos tickets here (which is
slightly tangental) Kerberos-style (actually, just the query/challenge
part) authentication seems like a workable system.  Tickets would be
tougher to manage, especially if you turn the phone off, and hence
unnecessary.

The abbreviated query/challenge system should go something like this:

Phone: "Hi, I'm NNN-NXX-XXXX, I'd like to make a call"
Cell:  "Oh yeah, prove to me that you are NNN-NXX-XXXX.  Here
        is a session key encoded using your ESN, decode it,
        encode the number you want to call with it and send
        it back"
Phone: "OK, here is the number I want to call encoded with the
        session key"
Cell:  "Looks good, here's your call, encoded with the current
        session key.  Enjoy."

Sorry for the simplicity/layman's terms -- the official Kerberos
documentation is much more detailed and tougher to read and provides
more functionality.  Note, however, that this allows a unique "session
key" that can be used to encode the digital conversation as a
"freebie."  Note that the ESN is never transmitted -- you have to pry
it out of the physical phone, and that the entire algorithm could be
implemented in the firmware of phone quite simply.  On the land end,
the phone's number has to be translated to the "home" system if
roaming, which then has to contacted by the local system, and then the
challenge is performed by the home system.

It doesn't seem that this system would be too hard to implement by a
new cellular carrier, who could offer better security (digital
encryption of the conversation) at a lower rate because he won't have
to deal with the fraud problem.  Or am I just being naive?


Andrew

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

From: [e-mail] (Alan Westrope)
Subject: Re: Access to Toll Records
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 02:00:00 GMT


[e-mail] recently wrote:

> Two programs aired on PBS in 1992, "Nova" and "Adam Smith" dealt with
> privacy and access to personal information.  In both programs, the
> example of viewing then V.P. Dan Quayle's credit report was used.

> In the Adam Smith program, a person named Jeffery Rothfeder used his
> "computer" to access Quayle's credit report.

>   What's going on here?

If you really want to learn how Rothfeder accomplished this (along
with other interesting stuff), you should read his book:

AUTHOR :       Rothfeder, Jeffrey.
TITLE  :       Privacy for sale :  how computerization has made everyone's
                   private life an open secret

                 New York :  Simon & Schuster,  c1992.
                 224 p. ;  25 cm.
                 Includes bibliographical references and index.

Briefly, most of it was accomplished by getting in contact with people
of dubious ethics who used social engineering, payola, etc., rather
than by the hacker/cracker/phreak/telecom-wizard stereotypes that the
media loves to sensationalize.  I found the book enjoyable,
informative and, of course, frightening, although I doubt that its
revelations would come as a surprise to most Digest readers.


Alan Westrope  [e-mail]  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Daniel Burstein)
Subject: Re: Access to Toll Records
Date: 11 Jul 1993 08:26:47 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


There is (or at least may be) another route to accessing a person's
long distance telephone ("toll") records.

Earlier discussions in the TELECOM Digest claim that under the consent
decree that broke up AT&T and gave more or less equal access to all
inter-exchange carriers, an interesting aside was developed.

Apparently (and I haven't independently verified this) any long
distance carrier has access to the long distance calling records of
any customer. This way the carrier can make marketing decisions and
direction.

Note that this allows carrier xyz to get your records, even though
you're hooked up to abc.

-If- this is true, then the number of people with access to your
records goes up dramatically.

BTW, what you consider to be -your- phone records are actually the
telco business records, and they have -tremendous- options in
releasing them to whomever they wish (i.e. the local gendarmes do
-NOT- need a warrant to get your records. the telco -may- demand a
warrant, but they can just as easily hand them over without legal
restriction. but that's a story for another day or for alt.privacy or
comp.risks ...)


[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You are largely correct, but I think most telcos do
require legal service be made upon them before releasing records about
their customers to government authorities. And although various carriers
can get the toll records of customers billed via the local telco (they
cannot, obviously, demand that a carrier doing its own billing turn
over its records for marketing purposes), I believe there are criminal
penalties involved with the misuse of the information or its resale as
it might tend to identify any one customer to unauthorized parties.

This is much the way the credit bureaus are governed. Anyone who is a
subscriber can use their computer and modem to pull credit bureau
files for *legitimate business reasons*. But pulling a file merely to
satisfy your own curiosity, or because you are running your own thing
on the side (selling bureau reports) is illegal, as is (assuming you
are otherwise authorized to pull credit bureau files) pulling your own
personal bureau file at any time. Many Trans-Union subscribers have a
large wall poster hanging right above the bureau machine: a picture of
Uncle Sam with his top hat and striped clothing, a frown on his face
and fingers covering his lips. The caption says "Uncle Sam wants you
to keep the trust; don't divulge privileged information; don't abuse
credit bureau files." I think the long distance carriers are under many
of the same constraints: They get the information they need in order
to conduct their business; if they were to start selling lists of
the phone calls people made to the general public or other businesses
they would get in a lot of trouble.   PAT]

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

Date: 11 Jul 93 10:49:12 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Who Was Randy Barrow?


> Remember former Digest participant Randy Barrow from three years ago?
> Don't forget the example made of Randy for other AT&T employees!

For those of us new to the Digest, how about a brief recap?


Brian Vita              CSS, Inc.


[Moderator's Note: Very briefly, Randy was a customer service represen-
tative for AT&T here in the Chicago area, and a regular reader of this
Digest. He wrote articles frequently. We had a thread going about a
telemarketing firm here in Chicago which, while doing nothing illegal,
was still a sleazy outfit. Randy used his position to pull the files
on that customer and report the details of their calling patterns here.
He did *not* reveal what they were paying for service, or even the
exact places they called. He merely reported their calling trends over
the few months prior, ie 'they make a lot of calls to the east coast
in the morning, and start calling the west coast later in the day ...';
that sort of thing. AT&T Security found out he had passed along even
that limited information on the customer and the company fired him.
His union steward grieved, and the appeals went on for several months
but the company prevailed. It was reported here in detail at the time.

Unlike Randy (or other employees of AT&T) I have no agreements with
the company to remain silent about things I hear ... Randy and others do
as a condition of their employment. He was out on the street a day or
two after his article appeared here. The information was really blaise
as that stuff goes, and it was very unfortunate. At the time I quoted
a security guy (we have many among our mailing list readers) who said
'AT&T employees need to be shown an example of how the company responds
when proprietary information like customer records are revealed to
outsiders ..."  Randy made a good example alright. :(   I still feel
badly they canned him for such relatively innocent comments.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 08:20:36 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Douglas W. Martin)
Subject: Re: Collect Calls and Call Forwarding


     If I have calls forwarded from my home, 223-xxxx to my work
number, 553-xxxx, and my home number gets a collect call, which number
is billed?  I cannot accept collect calls at work, but am expecting to
need to receive some collect calls during the day.  It would seem that
if the calling party calls collect to my home number, and the call is
forwarded, that the home number would be billed.  At least, this is
what I want to happen.  What actually happens in this case?


Doug Martin   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The number the operator or automated equipment at
the point of call origination *thought it was reaching*, i.e. the
number being forwarded is where the bill goes. The person at the
number where calls are being forwarded might get confused by hearing
an operator ask if he will accept the charges. He can say yes, but he
still won't be billed. So you are correct; your home number would be
billed. Explain this to your company PBX operator, etc.  PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1993 23:47:40 +1000
From: [e-mail] (Arthur Marsh)
Subject: Re: Future of ISDN
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Camelot Swamp bulletin board, Hawthorndene Sth Australia


Martin McCormick <[e-mail]> wrote:

> I remember hearing a telecommunications-related program on
> Radio Australia during the mid eighties that discussed ISDN

One Radio Australia broadcast that I remember was an interview where
the then Telecom head honcho, Mel Ward, suggesting that ISDN Basic
Rate would be ideal for people working from home. Not at the rates
currently charged, though.


Origin: Camelot Swamp MJCNA, Hawthorndene, Sth Australia (8:7000/8)
Camelot Swamp bbs, data: [phone] reply to [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Joe Pace)
Subject: Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number
Organization: US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 16:53:51 GMT


I tried calling 800-235-1414 from our Intecom PBX and rather than
reporting my phone number it gave the POTS number of the Pacific Bell
circuit the call went out on.  Do some PBX's forward the internal
numbers to phone company switches, or is this not possible using
conventional phone lines?


Joe Pace                          UNIX/Networking Analyst
US Army Corps of Engineers                 [e-mail]
Sacramento District                 [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 10:21:56 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Tad Cook)


[e-mail] (Lee S. Parks) writes:

> Well believe it or not, right in the heart of lower Manhattan is a
> step-by-step exchange in the Broad Street CO.  It services 212-820 and
> I'm sure what other prefixes.  If you have DID (as my office does) in
> 212-820 it takes over 20 seconds to complete the call.  NY Tel gives
> conflicting dates as to when this old switch will be replaced.

Is it REALLY an old stepper?  I did a search for 212-820 in the NPA
shareware program that has been discussed before on this forum, and
discovered that the Broad Street CO is the southernmost exchange in
Manhatten.  Here are the other prefixes that are in the same building:

208   383   509   635   806
232   422   510   668   809
248   425   511   701   825
269   440   514   709   855
344   480   530   742   902
352   482   558   747   908
357   483   607   770   943
361   487   612   785   952
363   495   623   797   968

How could this HUGE exchange, with a potential capacity of perhaps
460,000 lines, in area with probably more phones per acre than
anywhere else in the country, be served by an old stepper?  Or is
there more than one switch in that building?


[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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #466
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #467

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 12 Jul 93 21:29:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 467

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    CFP 2nd Feature Interaction Workshop (H. Velthuijsen)
    Mitel Announces Largest Individual Sale in Company History (Paul Robinson)
    Has Power Company Broken Telco Monopoly on "Last Mile" (Robert Monaghan)
    Re: Italian Numbering Plan (Luca Parisi)
    End User Common Line Charges (EUCL) (Bob Schwartz)
    The Last A/B Phone Booths in the United Kingdom? (Peter Ilieve via N Allen)
    Escort Digital Cordless Telephone (David I. Dalva)
    Re: Electronics Now Telephone Projects (Ray Normandeau)
    Telecomic - Teenage Phun? (David Leibold)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 13:27:43 +0000 (GMT)
From: [e-mail] (Velthuijsen H.)
Subject: CFP 2nd Feature Interaction Workshop
Organization: PTT Research, The Netherlands


          CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

  Second International Workshop on Feature Interactions
      in Telecommunications Software Systems

        Amsterdam, The Netherlands
              May 9-10, 1994


               DESCRIPTION

    This workshop is the second in a series, whose mission is to encourage
    researchers from a variety of computer  science specialties  (software
    engineering,  protocol  engineering,  distributed   artificial  intel-
    ligence, formal techniques, software testing, and distributed systems,
    among  others) to  apply their techniques to  the  feature interaction
    problem  that arises  in  building telecommunications software systems
    (see the  back page  for a description  of the  problem).   We welcome
    papers on avoiding,  detecting, and/or  resolving feature interactions
    using either  analytical or  structural  approaches.   Submissions are
    encouraged in (but are not limited to) the following topic areas:
      - Classification of feature interactions.
      - Modeling, reasoning, and testing techniques for detecting feature
        interactions.
      - Software platforms and architecture designs  to aid in avoiding,
        detecting, and resolving feature interactions.
      - Tools and methodologies for promoting software compatibility and
        extensibility.
      - Mechanisms for managing feature interactions throughout the
        service life-cyle.
      - Management of feature interactions in PCS, ISDN, and Broadband
        services, as well as IN services.
      - Management of feature interactions in various of the operations
        support functions such as Service Negotiation, Service Management,
        and Service Assurance.
      - Feature Interactions and their potential impact on system Security
        and Safety.
      - Environments and automated tools for related problems in other
        software systems.
      - Management of Feature Interactions in various proposed
        architectures such as TMN, INA, ROSA, CASSIOPEIA, SERENITE, or
        PLATINA.


                  FORMAT

    We hope  to promote  a dialogue  among  researchers in various related
    areas, as  well  as the  designers  and builders of telecommunications
    software.  To this  end,  the  workshop will  have sessions for  paper
    presentations, including relatively  long discussion  periods.   Panel
    discussions and tool demonstrations are also planned.


                ATTENDANCE

    Workshop attendance will be limited to 90  people. Attendance will  be
    by invitation only. Prospective attendees are asked to submit either a
    paper (maximum  5000 words)  or  a  single page description  of  their
    interests and  how they  relate  to the  workshop. About  16-20 of the
    attendees will be asked to  present talks. We will strive for an equal
    mix of  theoretical results and practical experiences. Papers  will be
    published in a conference proceedings.


                   SUBMISSIONS

    Please  send five  copies  of  your  full original  paper  or interest
    description to:

    Wiet Bouma
    PTT Research, Dr. Neher Laboratories
    PO Box 421               or      St. Paulusstraat 4
    2260 AK Leidschendam             2264 XZ Leidschendam
    The Netherlands                  The Netherlands
    E-mail: [e-mail]
    Tel:    [phone]
    FAX:    [phone]

                 IMPORTANT DATES:

    November 15, 1993:  Submission of contributions.
     January 15, 1993:  Notification of acceptance.
    February 15, 1993:  Submission of camera-ready versions.


             WORKSHOP CO-CHAIRPERSONS

    Wiet Bouma & Hugo Velthuijsen (PTT, The Netherlands)


                PROGRAM COMMITTEE

    Chair: E. Jane Cameron (Bellcore, USA)

    Jan Bergstra           (CWI and University of Amsterdam,
                            The Netherlands)
    Ralph Blumenthal       (Bellcore, USA)
    Kong Eng Cheng         (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,
                            Australia)
    Bernie Cohen           (City University of London, UK)
    Fulvio Faraci          (CSELT, Italy)
    Robert France          (Florida Atlantic University, USA)
    Steve German           (GTE, USA)
    David Gill             (MITRE, USA)
    Richard Kemmerer       (UCSB, USA)
    Eric Kuisch            (PTT Research, The Netherlands)
    Victor Lesser          (University of Massachusetts, USA)
    Yow-Jian Lin           (Bellcore, USA)
    Luigi Logrippo         (University of Ottawa, Canada)
    Robert Milner          (BNR, UK)
    Leo Motus              (Tallinn Technical University, Estonia)
    Jacques Muller         (CNET, France)
    Jan-Olof Nordenstam    (ELLEMTEL, Sweden)
    Stott Parker           (UCLA, USA)
    Henrikas Pranevitchius (Kaunas University of Technology,
                            Lithuania)
    Lynne Presley          (Bellcore, USA)
    Jean-Bernard Stefani   (CNET, France)
    Greg Utas              (BNR, Canada)
    Yasushi Wakahara       (KDD R&D Laboratories, Japan)
    Ron Wojcik             (BellSouth, USA)
    Pamela Zave            (AT&T Bell Laboratories, USA)


                WORKSHOP STATEMENT

    The feature interaction problem has been a major obstacle to the rapid
    deployment of new telephone  services.  Telecommunications software is
    huge, real-time,  and  distributed;  adding new features  to  a  tele-
    communication  system, like  adding  new functionalities to any  large
    software system, can be very difficult.  Each new feature may interact
    with  many  existing  features,  causing customer  annoyance or  total
    system breakdown.  Traditionally, interactions were  detected  and re-
    solved  on a feature by feature basis by experts who are knowledgeable
    on all existing features.  As the number of features grows  to satisfy
    diverse needs of customers, managing feature interactions in  a single
    administrative domain is approaching incomprehensible  complexity.  In
    a future marketplace  where features  deployed  in the network may  be
    developed  by different operating companies  and their associated ven-
    dors, the traditional approach is no longer feasible.  How  to detect,
    resolve, or even prevent the occurrence of feature interactions  in an
    open network becomes an important research issue.

    The feature  interaction problem is not unique  to  telecommunications
    software; similar problems are encountered in any  long-lived software
    system that  requires frequent  changes  and  additions  to  its func-
    tionality.  Techniques in  many related areas  appear to be applicable
    to the management of feature interactions.  Software methodologies for
    extensibility and  compatibility, for  example,  could  be useful  for
    providing  a structured  design that can  prevent many feature  inter-
    actions from occurring.  Formal specification, verification, and  tes-
    ting  techniques,  being  widely  used  in  protocol  engineering  and
    software  engineering, contribute a  lot  to  the  detection of inter-
    actions.  Several causes of the problem, such as aliasing, timing, and
    the distribution  of software  components, are similar  to  issues  in
    distributed  systems.   Cooperative   problem  solving,  a   promising
    approach for resolving interactions at run time, resembles distributed
    planning and  resolution of conflicting subgoals among multiple agents
    in the area of distributed artificial intelligence. This workshop aims
    to  provide  an  opportunity  for  participants  to  share  ideas  and
    experiences  in their  respective fields, and to apply their expertise
    to the feature interaction problem.


Hugo Velthuijsen
PTT Research                            Phone: [phone]
P.O. box 421                            Fax:   [phone]
2260 AK Leidschendam, The Netherlands   Email: [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 04:59:50 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Mitel Announces Largest Individual Sale in Company History
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Copied from the Mitel List <[e-mail]>

MITEL ANNOUNCES LARGEST INDIVIDUAL SALE IN COMPANY HISTORY FOR
SUPPLY OF 175 GX5000 SYSTEMS TO CHINA

KANATA, ONTARIO, July 8, 1993 - Mitel Corporation announced today that
its Public Switching Division, in association with Mitsui and Co.
(Canada) Ltd., has signed the first in a series of contracts for the
supply of 175 GX5000 public switching systems over the next two years
valued at a total of $24.0 million (Cdn).  This series of contracts
represents the largest individual sale in the Company's history.  The
contract has been signed with the Hunan Province Countryside Telephone
Exchange Bureau.

An initial shipment of 73,000 lines will be completed by March of
1994.  All of the systems will be manufactured at the Company's
facility in Kanata, Ontario.

This contract, enables Mitel to successfully enter the largest public
switching market in the Far East, a market with an expected growth
rate of 75 million public switching central office lines by the year
2000.  In April of this year, Mitel created a separate sales
organization to focus on the Asian market.

John Millard, Mitel's President and Chief Executive Officer,
commented, "This is an extremely exciting opportunity for Mitel.
China's economic growth rate and its emphasis on developing the
country's telecommunications capabililities make this area a major
priority for Mitel.  In fact, the Company is currently holding
discussions with representatives from a number of other telephone
companies within China for future business."

During the first year of the contract, Mitel will establish an
in-country maintenance and training facility for servicing its
hardware.

Mitel's Public Switching Division began operations in 1988.  To date,
it has installed GX5000 systems in over 15 countries around the world
including the rural telephone market in North America.

Mitel is an international manufacturer of business telecommunications
systems, public switching systems, semiconductor and PC communications
products, network enhancement and gateway products, and systems
development software components.  The Company, which had revenues of
$423 million (Cdn) for its 1993 fiscal year, has sold in excess of
168,000 PBX systems in over 80 countries, more than any other PBX
manufacturer.

Contact:  Bonnie Perrigard
          Director, Public & Investor Relations
          Mitel Corporation
          [phone] ext. 1125

          Rob Dietrich
          VP, Government & Public Relations
          Mitel Corporation
          [phone] ext. 4070

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

Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 11:39:31 CST
From: Robert Monaghan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Has Power Company Broken Telco Monopoly on the "Last Mile"?


Just when I was convinced that the means of bringing datacom to the
consumer would be an inevitable battle between two corporate monopoly
giants -- the BOCs and the Cable Industry -- another monopoly joins in --
the Power Company!

Here are some details from a blurb in "ISCET Update" of June 1993 p. 8
(for non-certified electronics technicians, that is the International
Society of CETs):

"Spread Sprectrum Carrier"

   The Spread Spectrum Carrier by Intellon Corporation has provided
General Electric Meter and Control with technology that enables
electric meters to send and receive data over the same AC power lines
that provide electricity. Spread Spectrum Carrier was developed to
provide low cost, high-speed, high-reliability communications over
noisy power lines and radio frequencies.

   GE's UCNet system will provide a two-way communication between
utilities and customers.  The system will implement programs for
real-time pricing, load control and curtailment, and interruptable
rates.

   The powerline communications standard for the Electronic Industries
Assoc.'s Consumer Electronics Bus (CEBus) will ensure that compatible
end-use equipment will be available from a number of vendors.
Eventually utilities will be able to link with their customers and
provide them with choices about energy use.  Refrigerator defrosting,
and drying cycles of the dishwasher and clothes dryer would trigger
these functions automatically when energy costs are low."

    Given that virtually every consumer in America is somehow wired up
to some power grid system, and that GE is one of the largest
corporations in America (1% of the GDP in sales), it follows that they
have the technology and clout to do a lot more with this high-speed,
high-reliability networking system than just read our electric meters.
Many of the low end automatic alarm, Point of Sale credit card
validation, etc could conceivably be drained off of the other
potential suppliers (ISDN D-channel, X.25 packet networks). Other
services, such as stock quotations and EFS/ATM machine private line
replacements, also come to mind.  The silicon-based spread spectrum
technology may also get so cheap, if it can be economically inserted
into your consumer electric meter, as to greatly expand the potential
for this technology too.  If the transmitter power is below FCC
minimums (e.g., 15 milliwatts with a given antenna length) we might
also see some alternative broad-band telecom uses developing as well.

 An equally intriguing possibility is a computer network run over the
powerline using spread spectrum, linked to anybody this side of the
nearest transformer, and using such a cheap chipset as a replacement
LAN card/NIC/cabling.


Regards,

BoB Monaghan [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Italian Numbering Plan
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 1:04:19 CEST
From: Luca Parisi <ax433![e-mail]>


Paolo Bellutta <[e-mail]> reported:

 >  Well, when I dial my friends in Italy I dial 13 to 14 digits, and I
 >  use AT&T as long distance company.

And Pat, the Moderator, replied:

 >  let's see if its *really* more than 12 or if there is some local
 >  code on your end, etc that is being counted as well.  PAT]

I must reinforce Pat's guessing. It is most likely that Paolo included
in the figure he quoted all the digits he dialed, while we are talking
of the CC+NN part of the number only (that is, starting from 39+).

The current Numbering Plan in Italy is best described as a complete
mess, but is states clearly that "The maximum lenght of a National
Number is 9 (nine) digits". Given that the CC is two digits long, this
accounts for up to 11 digits.

The awful part of it is that the maximum lenght is specified, but the
minimum is not. Therefore, in Rome there are valid telephone numbers
of 4 digits (Railroad Information, e.g. is 4775) as well as
residential users with numbers of 6-7-8 digits. The areacode for Rome
is "6", but there are areacodes of up to 3 digits (half of them
unused).

On T-time we should switch to a closed, 10-digits numbering plan.


Luca Parisi  <[e-mail]>  Rome, Italy.

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

Subject: End User Common Line Charges (EUCL).
From: [e-mail] (Bob Schwartz)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 15:21:30 PDT
Organization: Bill Correctors, Inc., Marin County, California


I'm looking for anyone who knows about End User Common Line Charges
(EUCL's) for an ongoing project. Does anyone have a good working
understanding of them: When they should or should not be applied?  Has
anyone ever been able to have one removed?  Please contact me at
[phone] or [e-mail].


Bob Schwartz                                       [e-mail]
Bill Correctors, Inc.   [phone]   Marin County, California

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 18:10:38 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: The Last A/B Phone Booths in the United Kingdom?
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I found the following article by Peter Ilieve in the uk.telecom newsgroup.

  From: [e-mail] (Peter Ilieve)
  Subject: Old phone box trivia
  Organization: Memex Information Systems Ltd, East Kilbrde, Scotland
  Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 12:40:30 GMT

Iseem to remember a query here some time ago about old button A/B
phone boxes.  I think I even posted something saying I knew there was
recently one still on Rum but I can't find any trace of that now.
This Sunday's Sunday Times Scotland has a piece about an old button
A/B box on the island of Muck. It mentions that there are 5 in total,
on Muck, Rum, Soay, Canna and Papa Stoer (all islands). They are now
being phased out, because they only accept the old 10p pieces and
these are no longer legal tender (or won't be soon).

The main part of the story is about a local woman who keeps a big jar
of old 10p coins and has put a note in the box to say she has them.
The photo shows a bell push mounted on the panel above the phone so
this box may have some sort of party line arrangement like the one on
Rum.  The Rum box had something, it might even have been a crank
handle, for getting dial tone and had a note warning you that if you
heard some buzzing noise you should get off the line soon as it meant
someone else was wanting to use it.

So now you know. If you want to use one of these relics get on the
ferry fast, it says you have less than a month left :-)

A second order trivia question is which Soay has the box, there are
several.


Peter Ilieve        [e-mail]

                       -----------

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

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

From: [e-mail] (David I. Dalva)
Subject: Escort Digital Cordless Telephone
Date: 12 Jul 1993 22:14:54 GMT
Organization: Trusted Information Systems, Inc.


Has anybody here had any experience with the new Escort (Cincinnati
Microwave) digital cordless telephone that lists for $399?  How does
it compare to the Tropez?


Dave

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

Subject: Re: Electronics Now Telephone Projects
From: [e-mail] (Ray Normandeau)
Date: 12 Jul 93 18:01:00 GMT
Organization: Invention Factory's BBS - New York City, NY - 212-274-8298v.32bis
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ray Normandeau)


> The other project is a phone line selector, with four phone lines
> input, going to a single line output (such as an answering machine,
> etc). This is not to be confused with devices to decode a distinctive
> ringing cadence; this device just picks up the first call on the
> incoming lines.

This should also be terrific to connect a fax machine to a PC fax card
so that a fax machine can more easily be used as a scanner.

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

Subject: Telecomic - Teenage Phun?
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 01:19:04 -0400


The 10 July 1993 episode of the Walnut Cove comic (seen in {The
Toronto Star} among other newspapers) had a storyline in which the
family phone bill was reviewed, and it turned out that the family son
(Thurman) was making a number of billable calls to other "girls". The
punchline was "Strange that so many of them live in the 900 area
code..."


David Leibold


[Mpderator's Note: A nice joke, but are you just now getting it in the
papers up there?  We had that one some time ago here in the Digest,
and it has been done with variations in other comic strips a few times
over the past few years.  Funny though!  :)    PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #467
******************************










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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 22:56:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #468

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 12 Jul 93 22:56:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 468

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Conference With Dorothy Denning: Encrypting Voice and Data (Matthew Lucas)
    Impairment Levels on T1 Carriers (Albert Chau)
    NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted (Curtis Bohl)
    MCI Outage (Tad Cook)
    SS7 via PC Card Information Wanted (Robert P. Jaksa)
    "Oh No! Not This Confused Again ..." (Paul Robinson)
    International Twist on Adult Group Chat (Greg Trotter)
    Motorola Cellular Pinout Wanted (Timothy Hu)
    PRIVACY Forum Information (Lauren Weinstein)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 16:26:13 -0500
From: Matthew Lucas <[e-mail]>
Subject: Conference With Dorothy Denning: Encrypting Voice and Data


Conference Announcement:

         A TeleStrategies Conference with Dr. Dorothy Denning

         Encrypting Voice and Data: Strategies for the Future

                          Aug. 3-4, 1993
                          Washington, DC

Tuesday, August 3, 1993

8:30-9:00 Registration

9:00-10:30
CRYPTOGRAPHY OVERVIEW

The basic concepts of cryptography and encryption, including
single-key and publickey, authentication, digital signatures, key
negotiation or distribution, and cryptanalysis (code breaking) will be
introduced along with the Data Encryption Standard (DES), the RSA
public-key system, and the Digital Signature Standard (DSS). The
speaker will also discuss the need for encryption and the role of
encryption in telephony and communications networks.

Dr. Dorothy E. Denning, Professor and Chair of Computer Science,
    Georgetown University

10:30-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-11:45
SURVEY OF ENCRYPTION PRODUCTS

The speaker will survey commercial hardware and software products that
contain encryption capabilities, including the types of products that
are available, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and the major
vendors.

Jim Bidzos, President, RSA Data Security, Inc.

11:45-12:30
CELLULAR ENCRYPTION

Cellular calls are especially vulnerable to eavesdropping. PrivaFone's
approach, which is interoperable on cellular and land lines, will be
described. Digital cellular standards that provide voice privacy and
authentication for TDMA or CDMA technologies also will be discussed.

Dr. Ming Lee, President, Synacomm Technology
Charles Wistar, President, PrivaFone Corp.

12:30-1:45 Hosted Lunch

1:45-2:30
THE CLIPPER AND CAPSTONE CHIPS

The Clipper and Capstone Chips are part of a new U.S. technology
initiative to provide secure communications and legitimate law
enforcement access through a key escrow system. The speakers will
describe the initiative, the security functions provided by the chips,
and the use of the Clipper Chip in the AT&T Telephone Security Device.

William M. Agee, Manager, Secure Communication Systems - Government, AT&T
Raymond G. Kammer, Acting Director, National Institute of Standards
     and Technology

2:30-3:00
BUSINESS CONCERNS WITH ENCRYPTION

The speaker will give a snapshot of one computer security program and
discuss business concerns with encryption, including practical needs
and requirements, organizational constraints, operational concerns,
security of the process, and balancing concerns and practical use.

Randolph N. Sanovic, Manager of Computer Security Planning, Mobil Corp.

3:00-3:15 Coffee Break

3:15-4:00
USING CRYPTOGRAPHY TO ARCHITECT DISTRIBUTED OPEN SYSTEMS
SECURITY: A CASE STUDY

Securing networks and computers in a distributed environment presents
several new challenges. The speaker will describe Bell Atlantic's
enterprise-wide approach to architecting security in such an
environment, showing how encryption fits into the design.

Ravi Ganesan, Specialist, Security Research and Planning, Bell Atlantic

4:00-5:00
ENCRYPTION IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND ELECTRONIC MAIL

Encryption is becoming an integral tool for building secure
applications.  The speakers will discuss the use of encryption and
digital signatures in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Internet
Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM).

Michael S. Baum J.D., Principal, Independent Monitoring
Dr. Stephen D. Crocker, Vice President, Trusted Information Systems, Inc.

5:00-6:00 Reception


Wednesday, August 4, 1993

8:30-10:30
CRYPTOGRAPHY POLICY IN THE U.S.

The speakers will discuss the Clipper and Capstone chips, law
enforcement needs and the Digital Telephony proposal, export and
import of encryption products, international markets, industry growth
and competitiveness, and individual privacy. They will also report on
the national policy review in progress.

Dr. Willis H. Ware, Chair, Computer Systems Security and Privacy
     Advisory Board (Moderator)
Jerry Berman, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Clinton C. Brooks, Special Assistant to Director, National Security Agency
Alan R. McDonald, Special Assistant (Legal) to the Assistant Director,
     Technical Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Ilene Rosenthal, General Counsel, Software Publishers Association

10:30-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-11:30 CRYPTOGRAPHY IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

In the European Community, government controls on cryptography differ
across countries and affect achievement of secure open systems and,
consequently, achievement of the Open Market and transborder
electronic trading. The speaker will summarize the current situation
in Europe, describe some of the initiatives to address the issues, and
comment on the recent initiatives in the US.

Christopher E. Sundt, Business Strategy Manager, ICL Secure Systems

11:30-12:15
THE FUTURE OF CRYPTOGRAPHY IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Several fast-moving trends in telecommunications demand cryptographic
solutions, including wireless transmission, multi-media conferencing,
and electronic commerce.  As broadcast and multiple access
technologies are used increasingly for information transmission, and
everyday business is carried out in "cyberspace," structures that
ensure privacy, authenticity, and (often) anonymity must become part
of the natural landscape.

Dr. David P. Maher, Chief Scientist for AT&T Secure Communications
     Systems, AT&T

For complete information call TeleStrategies Inc. at [phone].

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

From: [e-mail] (Albert Chau)
Subject: Impairment Levels on T1 Carriers
Organization: MPR Teltech Ltd., Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 18:02:00 GMT


Does anybody know of any studies that investigated the performance of
T1 carriers?  I'd like to know what are typical BERs, frequency of
slips, jitter induced errors, etc.

Thanks for any help.


Albert  ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs)
Subject: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted
Organization: University of Missouri
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 13:40:28 CDT


I'm a recent subscriber to TELECOM Digest.  Can someone point me to
this shareware program for searching for telephone prefixes?


Curtis Bohl                      Computer Programmer/Analyst
[e-mail]           4-H Youth Development
Alternate: [e-mail]                   Programs


[Moderator's Note: They're around, although I don't have one in the
Telecom Archives. What we do have in the archives is a very detailed
listing of all city and country codes from around the world broken
down by zones. We also have a complete NPA/exchange list for Canada.
I've never put one there for the USA because of the sheer volume of
data and the limitations on the archives. We do have simple programs
in the archives for all USA area codes however. To visit the archives
use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu, then 'cd telecom-archives'.   PAT]

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

Subject: MCI Outage
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 19:39:34 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Tad Cook)


I have been getting All Trunks Busy, or sometimes no response at all,
when dialing the 800 number for MCI Mail.  I tried making a few
regular toll calls via MCI, and get the same response.

Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served by
MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affecting
Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.


[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

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

From: [e-mail] (MCI)
Subject: SS7 via PC Card Information Wanted
Date: 12 Jul 1993 15:27:07 GMT
Organization: C.L.A.S.S. Cooperative Library Agency for Systems and Services


Please send me any information about vendors/products that provide SS7
via a PC (IBM capatible) card.


Thanks,

 Robert P. Jaksa               MCI Telecommunications
 Internet: [e-mail]  Systems Eng., 0697/107
 2400 N. Glenville Dr.         Richardson, TX  75082

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 09:25:06 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: "Oh no! Not This Confused Again ..."
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


> Ball State University's Center for Information and Communications
> Sciences (CICS), Muncie, Indiana, is launching a refereed
> journal, the ICS Journal.

Haven't we had enough trouble with the dual-use of the term 'ATM
network'?

There is a terminal operating system sold by IBM for use in
full-screen and other applications on IBM Mainframes.  This system is
called Customer Information Control System, but everyone calls it
"CICS".  IBM has been selling this program for over 20 years.  It's
used for medium to high-volumes of transactions.

Just what we need, another duplicate use of the same acronym in the
same industry for two different things.

This is almost as bad as Snyder's Potato Chips.  Here's that story:

Imagine if you will that there were two companies called AT&T or MCI,
that went into the telephone business selling service under the
identical name.  Well, there are two companies selling "Snyder's
Potato Chips."

"Snyder's of Hanover, PA, Inc." and "Snyders, Inc. of Berlin, PA" Both
companies indicate in explicit terms that they are totally unrelated
to and will have nothing to do with the other slime. :) Both sell
potato chips under the name "Snyder's".

This is the kind of confusing situation we need to avoid.


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: For quite a few years here in Chicago there was a
'Regency Hotel' in no way connected with the Hyatt chain; it was here
long before the Hyatt people started any hotel properties in our town.
The best way to describe the place was that it was a flophouse hotel,
serving a transient, lower class type of tenant in rooms which cost
(at the time) about $5 per night. All residents on a floor shared
common bathroom/shower facilities, etc. When the Regency Hyatt House
opened here, their telephone directory listing "Regency Hyatt" came
after the listing for "Regency Hotel". To complicate matters further
the flophouse people saw a distinct advantage in having the directory
assistance operators confused, so they added an additional item in
the directory in subsequent years called "Regency Hotel Reservations
Office". Time and time and time again, people from out of town coming
to Chicago (vacation, business, etc) would call to make reservations
at the Regency Hyatt House; the directory assistance operators would
try to be helpful and say to the caller, "...they have a number for
reservations, is that what you want?" and of course the caller would
say yes it was. They would call the number given by the operator which
got them the Regency Hotel (flophouse) instead of the Regency Hyatt
House Hotel.

The Regency Hotel clerks would cheerfully make a reservation for the
out of town guest and inform them that it had to be guarenteed with a
credit card charge to which the caller would of course agree.  They
were perfectly honest about it; gave the address for *their hotel* and
in fact set aside rooms as required. Of course when the visitor got to
town and told the cab driver to take them to the 'Regency Hotel', they
wound up at the one on Michigan Avenue, not the flophouse on Ohio
Street. And of course, there was no reservation waiting for them.
After sorting out the confusion, they found they were booked at the
flophouse hotel.

Since the flophouse hotel had given the guest the address and had
never claimed to be anything else, their contention was they accepted
a reservation in good faith, it was guarenteed and they were unable to
refund the deposit. They were sued a few times and never lost once.
They'd tell the guest, "if the phone company gave you the wrong phone
number to call, then sue the phone company."  The Hyatt people tried
to stop the Regency Hotel from 'stealing their reservations' and for
that matter from using the same name; but the flophouse owners said
this was nonsense. They were in business for years before the *nice*
Regency opened, and they were incorporated, had business licenses,
etc. "Maybe we should sue you to make *you* quit using the name of
our hotel," was their reply. Finally the Regency Hyatt House paid the
Regency Hotel some unspecified sum of money to change their name to
something totally different.  PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 02:19 CDT
Subject: International Twist on Adult Group Chat
From: [e-mail] (Greg Trotter)
Organization: Gallifrey - Home of the Timelords


I wasn't paying much attention when yet another ad for what sounded
like an adult 900 chat service came on. They did have my full
attention when the number they read off started with '011-' indicating
an international call.

>From what I was able to pick up and write down, the number was
011-5695-5695.  That's their punctuation ... 56 is the country code for
Chile. There was no detail saying how much it would cost ... naturally,
since it's not a 900 number, and your tolls may vary depending on your
carrier.

I'd guess that the South American company is collecting a termination
fee from the carrier(s) ... what I believe we would call a "Nevada
Plan." I thought that that was an interesting twist on the market.


Greg Trotter    Norman, Oklahoma
Internet: [e-mail]
Fidonet: 1:147/63 Treknet: 87:6012/8009      I don't even represent me.


[Moderator's Note: There are a lot of those around. The information
provider is given a commission by the long distance carrier who in
turn profits from the additional traffic which otherwise would not
have been generated.  We've discussed this in detail in recent months
here.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Timothy Hu)
Subject: Motorola Cellular Pinout Wanted
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Boulder CO
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 21:21:04 GMT


Can someone point me to a source of information where I can get the
pinout of the contacts on the back of a Motorola America Series 875
Cellular phone?


Cheers,

Timothy Hu [e-mail]     | The intelligence (or lack of) expressed
Interactive Systems Corporation  | above does not necessarily reflect
Resource Solutions International | that of anyone else.

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 18:56 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lauren Weinstein)
Subject: PRIVACY Forum Information


Pat,

Here's the current information blurb (as you requested) regarding
the PRIVACY Forum.  Subscription, archive, etc. details are all
included.

  --Lauren--


>>> What is the Internet PRIVACY Forum? <<<

The Internet PRIVACY Forum is a moderated digest for the discussion and
analysis of issues relating to the general topic of privacy (both personal
and collective) in the "information age" of the 1990's and beyond.  Topics
include a wide range of telecommunications, information/database collection
and sharing, and related issues, as pertains to the privacy concerns of
individuals, groups, businesses, government, and society at large.  The
manners in which both the legitimate and the controversial concerns of
business and government interact with privacy considerations are also topics
for the digest.  The PRIVACY Forum digest is supported in part by the ACM
(Association for Computing Machinery) Committee on Computers and Public
Policy.

Except when unusual events warrant exceptions, digest publication is
limited to no more than one or two reasonably-sized digests per week.  Given
the size of the Internet, this may often necessitate that only a small
percentage of overall submissions may ultimately be presented in the digest.
Submission volume also makes it impossible for unpublished submissions to be
routinely acknowledged.  Other mailing lists, with less stringent submission
policies, may be more appropriate for readers who prefer a higher volume of
messages regarding these issues.

The goal of PRIVACY Forum is to present a high quality electronic
publication which can act as a significant resource to both individuals and
organizations who are interested in these issues.  The digest is best viewed
as similar in focus to a journal or other specialized publication.  The
moderator will choose submissions for inclusion based on their relevance and
content.

The PRIVACY Forum is moderated by Lauren Weinstein of Vortex Technology
([e-mail]), in Topanga, California, U.S.A.  He has been active
regarding a wide range of issues involving technology and society in the
ARPANET/Internet community since the early 1970's.  The Forum also has an
"advisory committee" consisting of three individuals who have offered to act
as a "sounding board" to help with any questions of policy which might arise
in the course of the Forum's operations.  These persons are Peter Neumann of
SRI International (the moderator of the excellent and renowned Internet
RISKS Forum digest), Marc Rotenburg of Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility (a most clear and articulate spokesman for sanity in
technology), and Willis Ware of RAND (one of the U.S.A.'s most distinguished
champions of privacy issues).

The names and e-mail addresses of subscribers to the PRIVACY Forum
mailing list are private (naturally).

For information regarding the availability of the PRIVACY Forum
digest via FAX, please send an inquiry to [e-mail],
call [phone], or FAX to [phone].

Following is information regarding operational procedures for the
PRIVACY Forum.

How to submit items to the PRIVACY Forum:

Messages being submitted for possible inclusion in the PRIVACY Forum digest
should be mailed to the Internet address:

   [e-mail]

All messages sent to [e-mail] which are not obviously only
meant for the moderator or are not marked for non-publication will be
assumed to be submitted for the digest.

How to subscribe/unsubscribe to/from PRIVACY Forum:

Individual subscriptions for the PRIVACY Forum are controlled through an
automated list server ("listserv") system.

To subscribe, send a message to:

   [e-mail]

       or:

   [e-mail]

with a line in the BODY of the message of the form:

   subscribe privacy <your full name>

where <your full name> is your actual name, not your e-mail address
(your e-mail address is determined automatically by listserv).  Also
please note that the subscribe command must be in the BODY of your
message, not in the "Subject:" field; the "Subject:" field of all
messages to listserv is ignored.

Example:

   subscribe privacy Dr. Sidney Schaefer

Please note that the "subscribe" command is used to create your own
individual subscription to the PRIVACY Forum mailing list.  Site
managers who wish to establish site-wide local redistribution mailing
lists for PRIVACY Forum should contact a human at:

   [e-mail]

and provide the requested local redistribution mailing list address
and any other details.  Individuals who wish to subscribe directly to
PRIVACY Forum (not to a local redistribution mailing list) should
*not* contact "[e-mail]" unless they are having problems
with the automatic listserv "subscribe" command.

To unsubscribe from the PRIVACY Forum mailing list, follow the same
procedure as above for individual subscriptions, but send the command:

   unsubscribe privacy

in the BODY of your message instead of the "subscribe" command.  Once
again, this only applies to individual subscriptions, other
unsubscription requests (e.g. to remove local redistribution mailing
lists from the PRIVACY Forum master list) should be done by sending
the address you want to unsubscribe to a human at:

   [e-mail]

To remove yourself from a local redistribution mailing list, please
contact your appropriate local mailing list manager.

Access to Archival Materials:

>> FTP <<

The PRIVACY Forum archive, including all issues of the digest and all
related materials, is available via anonymous FTP from site
"ftp.vortex.com", in the "/privacy" directory.  Use the FTP login
"ftp" or "anonymous", and enter your e-mail address as the password.
The typical "README" and "INDEX" files are available to guide you
through the files available for FTP access.


>> E-MAIL/LISTSERV <<

All of the PRIVACY Forum materials are also available by e-mail via
the listserv system.  To receive an index of available materials,
follow the same command procedure described earlier for listserv
requests, but send the command:

   index privacy

in the BODY of your message.

To retrieve a particular item from the archive, send the command:

   get privacy <file>

in the BODY of your message, where <file> is replaced by the name
of the particular item of interest.

For example, to retrieve the first PRIVACY Forum digest:

   get privacy priv.01.01

Please note that only the first command in any message you send to
the listserv system will be processed.  Any subsequent commands
in a single message will be ignored.

For more information regarding the listserv system, follow the same
command procedure described above, but send the command:

   help

in the BODY of your message.


>> GOPHER <<

All PRIVACY Forum materials can also be obtained through the Internet
Gopher system via a gopher server on site "gopher.vortex.com".

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #468
******************************










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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 00:06:14 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #469

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 00:06:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 469

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    New NE Cell Developments (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Ring Generator Schematic Needed (Ralph Hires)
    Article Excerpts: Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1 (Carl Moore)
    Calling Number Announcement Numbers (David Leeibold)
    What Was That? (Michael Covington)
    Re: 900 Number Portability? (Will Martin)
    Press 1 for a Sexy Surprise! (Phillip Dampier)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12 Jul 1993 17:10:29
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: New NE Cell Developments


A number of "new" enhancements to cellular service in the Northeast:

1. Metro Mobile/CT (which tries to get away from its poor image of
recent years by calling itself Bell Atlantic Mobile), has just added
call- delivery to ComCast/NJ,DE, and PA. Metro Mobile CT (and I think
Western Mass) customers can now get calls in all of South Jersey
(except Ocean County Cellular, and maybe not Atlantic City and
Vineland), as well as the Metrophone 00029 service area of Metro
Philly, and all the way down into Wilmington and along the Delmarva
Peninsula to Dover on the 00123 DE system.

This brings auto call delivery for CT customers to include: Rhode
Island and Western Mass (always had it), Boston (00007), New York
Metro (00025), ComCast/South Jersey (00173-New Brunswick,
00575-Trenton, 01487-Flemington), Philly (00029), and DE (00123). Call
delivery is activated by hitting *28, and deactivated by *29. Note
that in all the ComCast areas, you WILL pay a daily roam charge, and
ComCast bills for "ringtime", so if you let your phone ring for more
than 40 secs, you will likely be billed the $3 daily and $.99 per
minute charge even if you don't answer the phone!

All your features should work (thanks to all the switches being
Motorolas, so it was pretty easy for them to set this all up - wonder
why it took so long), BUT, as of yet, calls will NOT go back to
Voicemail or No-Answer- Transfer, which is a real drawback. Callers
will get a ComCast "Out of Area" recording if your phone is off or you
do not answer. Additionally, as with all the other Motorola-based auto
call delivery systems here, if you register in ComCast, and then turn
your phone off, your calls will CONTINUE to be re-routed to ComCast
indefinitely! There is no timeout period after which calls go back to
CT (or whatever your EMX-based home system is).

So let's say you are driving from CT to DC, and you are last last
active in ComCast/DE, once you hit the DC/Batimore (00013) system, you
can NOT force calls back to CT for VM or NAT purposes. Moreover, you
can not use Nationlink (see below), thus any EMX-based customer who
roams into and then out of an auto-call delivery system will NOT be
able to have calls redirected via Nationlink!. (Ie, a Boston customer
goes to Western Mass [auto call delivery] and then to Vermont
[Nationlink] - no luck! Nationlink won't kick in!)

Oh, and I forgot, Metro finally got Nationlink, where (if the above
does not apply) you can hit *31 to have calls forwarded to you in a
visited system, *32 to have callers given the roam port number of
where you are, or *30 to cancel the whole thing and have calls handled
at your local switch, generally for VM or NAT purposes. Metro does not
charge "home" airtime for Nationlink, so its similar in function and
pricing to (in my opinion) the more reliable Follow Me Slowly ... err
... Roaming ... on the B side. Some A companies, like Cell One/Boston,
charge home and of course roamer airtime for Nationlink calls, meaning
that during the daytime you can pay as much as $1.70 per minute to
receive a call over Nationlink! :(

2. SNET Cellular just added Albany and Orange County,NY to its
auto-call delivery system. You are basically covered from NYC up to
Albany, except for some hick B system adminstered by NYNEX in Columbia
County (01516?).  They don't have call delivery with anyone (not even
NYNEX), and no FMR.

I don't know about SNET waiving the roam surcharge there, but they do
this for Boston/RI, New York, and Pittsfield. If you have Roam USA
with SNET, you don't have to worry about this since you pay a flat
$.75 per minute and no dialy fee wherever you roam on the B side.

I suspect that they will be adding Philly and NJ soon - if your phone
is active there, calls are not delivered yet, but it does recognize
you are there and does other minor odd things.

3. NYNEX/NY adopted a uniform roaming policy for its auto call
delivery system: $.75 per minute, plus toll, no daily charge, for
INCOMING calls.  (See recent ads in the _New York Times_, DON'T rely
on what their inept cust. svc. tells you!).

You can now get calls in: Eastern Mass (Boston)/Southern NH 00018,
Rhode Island (00028), Connecticut/Western Mass (00088), Pittsfield
(00068?), Albany (00068), Orange County-Poughkeepsie and Mid Hudson
regions (00404/00486), New York (of course) and Northern New Jersey
(00022) (does this include Western NJ, near PA?), all of southern NJ,
INCLUDING Atlantic City, Ocean County, and Vineland and the Philly
Metro/NE PA system (all in 00008), all of the DC/Anapolis/Baltimore
system (00028).

This is *significantly* more than the "A" side in NY offers, and at a
lower rate for incoming calls. Note that there may be no daily charge
for outgoing calls in some of the above systems (like CT), but that
policy is not universal throughout the entire auto call delivery area.

4. In an effort to catch up, it SEEMS like Cell One/Boston is getting
ready for auto call delivery with NY - NY's "Do Not Disturb" feature
codes *35/*350 now get confirmation tones in Boston, which until a few
weeks ago just got a reorder signal. NY doesn't seem to know about
this (or want to talk about it), but they have said they are anxious
to get a system in place with Boston, and the implementation of
*35/*350 is generally a good indicator of future linkages from
previous experience.

5. The B side auto call delivery system continues to be very slow at
returning calls from visited systems after the mobile customer has
turned his phone off. It frequently takes *four hours* before calls
will go back to voicemail, and there is NOTHING (no code or feature)
that a customer can hit to send the call back to VM sooner. The "A"
side has the *28/*29 or *30/*350 feature to allow calls too be forced
back to VM or NAT, but the "B" has nothing (I guess the Autoplex
switch has trouble with this or something, or maybe NYNEX is just
lazy...:/ ). Cust. Svc says that they are working on the problem, but
have no idea when it will be fixed.  Good job, eh?

(Of course the real culprit here isn't usually inept NYNEX, it is the
DOJ and MCI, et. al., who have made a big deal about BOC-owned cell
cos handling interlata traffic for the return call from the visited
switch to the home switch for VM and NAT treatment. So we have to wait
for IS-41 Rev.X or who- knows-what before this problem is fixed on
both the A and B sides, when in fact without these IMHO burdensome DOJ
regs. cell cos. could fix the problem in about a minute or so [ok, a
few days for NYNEX...:) ] McCaw recently said it was working on an
enhancement for the NACN which will be implemented in a few months
which will allow for this, so I'm interested to see if other delivery
systems outside of the NACN will work this out in a similar
timeframe.)

Anyhow, I think that's about enough for now! Sorry about the legnth; a
lot has happened since my last post.


Doug    [e-mail] // [e-mail]

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

From: cinpmx!bears![e-mail]
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 13:07:30 EDT
Subject: Ring Generator Schematic Needed
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I purchased the recently cited (V13 #V458) issue of Electronics Now!,
hoping to find a ring generator circuit in the phone line simulator.
Alas, the ring generator module depicted is a 'black box' not
documented in the article.

I'm looking for some circuit(s) that can perform the following
functions (this is essentially a simplified line card for a PBX or
telco switch):

12VDC + ------[power supply]
~500mA        + +      +
    12VDC    | | 48VDC | 90VAC
        | |      ?

Audio in >------o-+-----+
        |circuit|
Audio out <-----o    o----> TIP
        |    |        (telephone)
Off-hook<-------o    o----> RING
____        |    |
Ring   >--------o-------+


TIP and RING are at 48VDC when telephone is on-hook, 12VDC when off-hook.

Audio in is the mike-level output to the telephone.  (Dialtone and
call progress tones can also be presented through this interface.)

Audio out is the mike-level signal from the telephone line.

Off-hook output triggered when handset is picked up.  (Off-hook will
also pulse when the phone is pulse dialed).

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

Ring input sends 90VAC, 20hz to telephone, except when Off-hook is
active.  (Some inexpensive phones use piezo buzzers for ringers that
trigger regardless of the telephone instrument switchook, with the
potential for hearing damage.)

The goal of this is to build a mini-PBX/intercom that is controlled by
an old PC with some audio and digital I/O boards that I have sitting
around.  Since I'm trying to do this on the cheap, I'll happily settle
for circuits with functional limitations, such as only driving one
Ringer (REN 1.0A).


Ralph Hyre ([e-mail])

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 17:09:09 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Article Excerpts: Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1


I have picked up a copy of "The Numbering Crisis in World Zone 1" by
Brian Hayes.  It comes under "The Information Age" in the publication
"The Sciences", November-December 1992.  (Brian Hayes is editor-at-
large of American Scientist.)

I don't recall if the article has already been in the Digest.

The article points out that a Strowger step-by-step switch allows
little flexibility in resolving ambiguities.  In an example, it
mentions that once you are able to dial between central offices, a
step-by-switch would not be able to distinguish between your sister
across the street on 5552 and your uncle across the river on KLondike
5-2345.  (It does not say that some places were able to retain
four-digit local calls within an exchange by restricting the numbers
which could be used.)  In the example, if the system established a
tentative route to 5552, there would be no way to make the connection
to KLondike 5-2345.

"By 1950 seven-digit dialing had spread to much of the U.S. (though
not to my grandmother's house).  A telephone connected to the network
had the theoretical potential of reaching five million other
telephones.  At the time there were fewer than fifty million
telephones in the nation.  [from CGM: what about Canada and the
Caribbean?]  Thus all that was needed, in order to allow a subscriber
to reach out and touch everybody, was a factor-of-10 increase in the
numbering capacity."  In other words, you'd need just one extra digit.
A "conservative" scheme was adopted -- the 3-digit area code.  It says
that the original area-code proposal was published in 1947, with 86
assigned codes, "with another fifty or so held in reserve for growth".
There were 136 available codes since there was to be no N11, N10, or
N00 codes.  Some N11 codes were reserved for the phone company (it
lists 411 for directory assistance -- no reference to "information" --
611 for repair, 811 for the business office; later 911 added for
emergency services).  N00 was "designated service access codes", and
it mentions toll-free 800.  N10 was given to the Telex network.  The
N0X/N1X format came about so that extra digits were only needed for
dialing long distance.

"Direct distance dialing with ten-digit numbers first went into
service in 1951, in Englewood, New Jersey."  The scheme given for
local and long- distance is 7D for local and NPA+7D for long distance
(no comment offered about long-distance-within-area-code); with the
possible exception of long-distance-within-area-code, this is what New
Jersey had until 201 area needed N0X/N1X prefixes.  This does not work
with step-by-step switch, because it's necessary to remember the 1st
digit while making a switching decision based on the 2nd digit; 2
solutions were tried for this problem, and what came out was 1 before
area code.  It's noted that if 1+ (the "+" only indicates that more
digits follow) had been there from the outset, area codes wouldn't
have to be restricted to N0X/N1X.  [No comment about 1+7D for long
distance within area code; isn't that also getting from step-by-step
switch?]

To account for number shortages, say in New York, Los Angeles, and
Chicago:


1. expand prefixes from NNN to NNX.  [from another source, I heard that
   there are many NN1 prefixes in Cincinnati area because that 1 was added
   to standardize phone number lengths]
2. expand prefixes from NNX to NXX.  [this is discussed in the archive
   file history.of.area.splits]
3. SPLIT THE AREA CODE!

"By the late 1980s it had become apparent that all 136 of the
available NPA codes would soon be allocated.  Growth in demand was not
abating.  Where could more numbers be found?  A stopgap was to recover
some of the N10 codes that had been assigned to the Telex network.
They all were returned except 610, which is still used by the Canadian
Telex system, and 710, whose function is now listed as Government
Special Services.  NPA codes 310, 410, and 510 are already in service,
and they will soon be joined by 210 and 810.  At that point World Zone
1 will have only one NPA code left: 910."  [ 810 is announced, not yet
in use, in Michigan; and at the beginning of this year, you saw the
notes for 610 in Pa. and 910 in NC. ]

For the NXX area codes, it mentions 2 possible sets of dialing
instructions:

  continue requiring 1+ on "ten-digit" call but forbid 1+ on "seven-digit"
    call (does not discuss 7D vs. 1+NPA+7D for long distance within NPA)

  Bellcore approach is to require 10D for all calls, even local; this gets
    rid of 1+ [ this approach shows up in the Orange Card instructions
    and also in the instructions for the airplane phone ]

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

Subject: Calling Number Announcement Numbers
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 22:47:23 -0400
Reply-to: [e-mail]


Since this comes up in the Digest on occasion, and since I have a bit
of time on hand, I am willing to collect a list of ANAC or auto number
identifiers.  When such numbers are dialed, these will read back the
calling number in synthesised voice. An example in Florida (Southern
Bell) is 200 222.2222 or in New York City it has been 958.

I have some data on hand already, but would be interested in getting a
comprehensive list set up. Numbers for outside North America would be
quite welcome as well.

Please mail contributions to [e-mail] (the .io.org
address may not work from everywhere yet).


David Leibold


[Moderator's Note: Please submit these direct to David. Do *not* send
your message here. David will summarize when his list is complete.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Covington)
Subject: What Was That?
Organization: AI Programs, University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 03:57:20 GMT


I recently put in a Hayes Optima 144 modem (usually used at 9600 baud)
and settled in for a lot of working at home during the summer.

Twice now the following has happened: the modem loses carrier and,
when it hangs up (which is apparently quite a few seconds after the
line goes dead), my phone rings briefly (less than 1 normal ring).  I
pick up the phone and hear a dial tone.

Once, it _may_ have been an emergency interrupt from an operator.
(Our doctor was trying to reach us and I didn't know it; he did reach
us later but did not mention any telephonic difficulties.)  But
wouldn't they let it ring until I actually answered?

Or what was it?  Aliens?  UFOs? :)


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

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 14:05:59 CDT
From: Will Martin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 900 Number Portability?


Jeff Jonas <[e-mail]> wrote:

> What brought this to mind is a catalogue I got with an errata slip
> that reads:

>"Due to sudden changes in regulations within the telephone industry,
>the telephone numbers shown are incorrect ..."

> I do not understand - what would cause somebody to change their 900
> number?  If 900 numbers are now portable (as 800 numbers), then they
> could switch carriers and keep the existing numbers.

> [Moderator's Note: It is anyone's guess what the catalog meant by
> 'sudden changes in regulations within the telephone industry'. If this
> was a sex-catalog you were reading, it might be they could no longer
> bill via 900. Also, at one point, all of AT&T's 900 numbers were org-
> anized by the cost of the call. For example, calls to 900-410-xxxx
> cost so much; calls to 900-234-xxxx cost so much, etc. What prefix you
> got on depended on what you wanted to charge. You changed your price
> and the phone number had to change. Maybe that is not the case any
> longer.  How about telling us the *original* numbers which are now
> wrong and the *now correct* numbers printed in the errata. Maybe we
> can piece together the facts from the actual numbers; figure out which
> carrier operates what, etc.  PAT]

Heck, Pat, I'm not proud! I'll admit to getting the same catalog! :-)
It's the "Adam & Eve" catalog of porn, sex toys, and related junk ...
(These people claim they mail out catalogs to three million customers! I'm
sure there are a lot more Telecom'ers out there who get these and
won't admit it ... :-)

Anyway, I usually pitch the 900-sex-call literature as soon as I get
it, because I have no intention to waste my money on something as
worthless as aural simulated sex, especially when the person on the
other end is probably someone I'd have no interest in ever meeting in
real life, and who may even be a person pretending to be of a sex they
really aren't. (I refer here to that case in Nevada of the guy who
sued his employer for unjustified firing or something like that; he
was a male who worked as a sex-line partner, pretending to be
female ...) However, in this case, I happened to get *two* of these
catalogs, and hadn't opened the other one, so I still have the errata
sheet Jeff referred to.

All the 900 numbers are changed to other 900 numbers, so it isn't a
case of switching from 900 to 800-with-callback or the like. Also, the
text states that the service and price for each is the same as before,
so it isn't a case of changing the number due to a rate alteration.
But then the first example shown says the rate DOES change. Hmmm ...

Here are the old numbers, their new replacements, the charge, and a
brief description (the errata sheet is pretty poorly printed and the
old numbers are lined through, so I may make an error but will try to
be as accurate as possible):

OLD NUMBER    NEW NUMBER    CHARGE        DESCRIPTION

900-903-CHIC    900-568-5555    $3.50 / min.    "Confess Your Darkest
        2442                                     Secrets"
   (This one was "$14.95 per call" before; no time limit stated.)

900-454-6789    900-847-3825    $2 / min    "Hear Christy Canyon's
                                                 Intimate Fantasies"

900-903-4EVE    900-646-5555    $2.49 / min    "Dial-A-Date" personal ads

900-454-4EVE    900-535-7777    $2 / min    "Men Seeking Women" ads

900-896-SUSI    900-646-7825    $2.99 / min    "Romantic Fantasies"

900-288-4GUY    900-847-5555    blurred        "Man to Man" gay male "1
                             on 1 connection with real guys in your area"

All of these have fine print indicating "123 Communications" as the
sponsoring company, and the errata sheet is "signed" with the name
"Leila Maxwell for 123 Communications". On the ones I can read, the
address of "PO Box 1550, Madison Square Station, NY, NY 10159" is
given, but there's a too-blurred-to-make out different address on the
"Christy Canyon" one. [She's a large-breasted porn star, if anyone out
there didn't know already... :-)]

Here's a technical question: How do they run this business about
getting connected "1-on-1 with someone in your area"? How do they know
there IS someone else in "your area" calling at the same time? How do
they define "your area"?

Well, here's the data ... Have at it!


Regards, Will


[Moderator's Note: We have a file in the Telecom Archives which says
what carrier is assigned to which 900 prefix. If someone wants to go
to the trouble to correlate the above numbers with that list and see
who the carriers were before (and are now), it might produce some
interesting results.  "One on one with someone in your area" simply
means they ask each caller accessing that feature to punch in his area
code (or they get it from the ANI possibly). Then instead of matching
calls waiting in the queue with each other, they only match calls with
the same area code. I'd think they must get a lot of calls in the one
on one queue if the operator can guarentee a match that precisely. Of
course a lot of them can't and don't care. They got your money, that's
what counts!  :(   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Phillip Dampier)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 00:31:06 -0500
Subject: Press 1 for a Sexy Surprise!


Back in early May, my voicemail spent several minutes recording a
"delightful" conversation between two eager sisters who apparently
wanted to do each other all over my phone line.

Yes, Teleslime no longer waits for you to call, it calls you! This
"Overland, Kansas" special dials your number and then taunts you
repeatedly to "press one for a sexy surprise."

Unfortunately, after minutes of this begathon, my voicemail alerts the
caller that their time is almost up by, you guessed it, by generating
a touchtone followed by a warning.

Predictably, I was treated to several moments of the eager sisters
before my voicemail times out.

On the day this happens (Saturday morning at the same time the
cartoons are on), I call Rochester Telephone (a telco that is open on
Saturdays ... beg for it RBOC sufferers) and yell and scream about the
latest trend in dial-a-smut lines calling at a time when any child
could press one and be treated to quite an education.

Rochester Tel is sympathetic and notes in my records that a subsequent
call would likely be coming from me when the bill came.

Well, the bill came all right.

The "sexy surprise" is a bill from OVERLAND KS for an 11 (!) minute
call costing a sexually significant $35.00!!!

The local prostitutes here can't get $35 for 11 minutes of action.
They are in the wrong business.  Teleslime will do you $35.00 worth
with nary a blink of the eye.

I called Rochester Tel and they promptly removed the charge.  I call
the media whores at the NY State Department of Consumer Protection who
can't wait for the collection agency to pound on my door so they can
drop a lead weight on them and get free press.  I even gave ole
"family values" himself, Al "Senator Pothole" D'Amato copies of the
relevent goodies so he can rant and rave about the moral depravity of
the sleaze who calls home when Bugs Bunny is on.

We're now waiting for the inevitable collection agency to contact me.
Anyone else who is in the same boat, please share your horror stories.

Further updates as warranted.


[Moderator's Note: Overland Park, Kansas is the corporate office for
Sprint, or at least it was. Sprint's information and entertainment
services used to be billed as 'Entertainment, Kansas'. So Sprint is
who you want to talk to about this. When this sort of thing has been
reported here in the past (of a sex-IP allegedly making outbound calls
without an invitation or prior business arrangement with the called
party) I have suggested that either a prankster was responsible for
giving out your number as the place to return the call collect, *or*
that a mechanical failure occurred.

By mechanical failure I mean the outbound dialer dialed what it was
supposed to and either the local exchange misunderstood or the long
distance carrier misunderstood. Has no one here but me ever dialed
*what you knew for a fact was the correct number* and still wound up
getting a wrong number because of an error in the central office? For
example the outbound dialer could be set to go quite fast and 99 times
out of a hundred the CO picks up on it but one time out of a hundred
the CO mistranslates. I can set the dialing speed on my modem to be
quite fast -- so fast it is virtually just a blur when I hear it with
my ears -- and the CO will properly handle it. Other times the CO will
incorrectly register it that fast. I slow down my modem dialing speed
a little, and all is well. Or maybe it was an error by the intake
operator at the IP, i.e. 'can we call you collect; what is your
number?'; the person says 1234 and the operator writes down 1243. 1243
gets the call, 1234 waits by the phone disappointed. 1243 gets the
bill cause the operator wrote that down in error, etc etc etc etc.

So a couple old biddies in town get these calls in error, and suddenly
we have an urban legend going around about how sex-IPs make
unsolicited calls so little kids will run up the phone bill while
getting an earful. I still maintain sex-IPs do not make unsolicited
calls. The risks involved due to the nature of the program content are
simply too great. *Anyone* should know that.

So I again issue the 'Patrick Challenge': find for me an actual case
of this happening -- a sex-IP who has a bunch of operators or
computers or whatever sitting there dialing people at random to get
them to 'push 1' or accept a collect call, etc. I don't want newspaper
accounts; I don't want what some ignoramus on the television had to
say about it. I want the name of an IP, and a documented example of
him going through an entire exchange (the most logical way to do it I
would think) one number after another making unsolicited sex calls.  A
report from a state prosecuting authority with docket number will also
be adequate. Since Mr. Dampier got the bill, we have to assume the
dialer was correctly understood by the telco and long distance carrier
which handled the call. Maybe the intake operator wrote it down wrong.
Among Sprint's other faults, they do not place sex calls to people who
don't want them. I'm sure the charge will be credited and nothing more
said about it.  And by the way Mr. Dampier, Illinois Bell customer
service is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #469
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #470

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 17:41:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 470

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Summer School on Telecommunications (Vesa Ruokonen)
    International Workshop on Intelligent Networks (Vesa Ruokonen)
    Community Networking Conference (Tyson MacAulay)
    Question about "Dark Fiber" (Paul Robinson)
    Followup on Introduction to WilTel (Brian Hess)

                     ----------------------
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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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] (Vesa Ruokonen)
Subject: Summer School on Telecommunications
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 21:21:40 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland


SUMMER SCHOOL ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Lappeenranta 9.-13.8.1993


The Second Summer School on Telecommunications will be arranged in
Lappeenranta University of Technology 9. - 13. 8. 1993.  The summer
school consists of four seminars and one international workshop. The
seminars will be arranged in Kareltek, E-building, Laserkatu 6,
Skinnarila.  The workshop takes place in the University main building,
auditorium 2. The Seminars start at 10.15 am each day, and the
Workshop starts at 9.15 am. The language used in the presentations is
English. The admission is free, the summer school is sponsored by
Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland.  Because of
limited space in seminars, please inform your visit schedule to Ms.
Ansa Laakkonen Tel. [phone], fax [phone].


PROGRAM:

Monday 9.8.     SEMINAR ON HIGH SPEED NETWORKS
                Chairman Prof. Jarmo Harju
                10.15   Opening speech, Director Olli Martikainen,
                        Telecom Finland
                10.30   Overview of high speed network technologies,
                        prof. Peter Martini, University of Paderborn,
                        Germany
                11.30   On traffic theoretic problems in ATM
                        networks, Ph.D. Jorma Virtamo, Technical
                        Research Centre of Finland
                12.30 - 13.30 Lunch
                13.30   Implementation of FSR - a new high speed data
                        bus solution , Senior Research Scientist
                        Pertti Raatikainen, Technical Research Centre
                        of Finland
                14.00   Performance of FSR, prof. Jarmo Harju,
                        Lappeenranta University of Technology
                15 - 18 Tour in the fortress and harbour of the city
                18 - 21 Rantasauna by the lake Saimaa

Tuesday 10.8.   INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INTELLIGENT NETWORKS
                Chairman Director Olli Martikainen, Telecom Finland
                9.15    Detailed program to be announced later

Wednesday 11.8. SEMINAR ON ASN.1 LANGUAGE AND TOOLS
                10.15   Lectures on ASN.1 (Basics and new features of
                        the language), R&D Manager Ari Ahtiainen,
                        Nokia Research Centre
                11.30 - 12.30 Lunch
                12.30   Lectures on the ASN.1 tool CASN, Ari
                        Ahtiainen
                14.00   Coffee
                14.15 - 16.00 Demonstrations and practical exercises
                        with CASN, Ari Ahtianen and Dipl. Eng. Markku
                        Turunen, Nokia Research Centre

Thursday 12.8.  SEMINAR ON PROTOCOL SOFTWARE TOOLS
                Chairman Assistant prof. Jukka Paakki
                10.15   A Case Study on the application of protocol
                        software tools, Mr. Kari Grano, University
                        of Jyvaskyla
                11.00   Guidelines to a new integrated language and
                        environment for protocol engineering,
                        Mr. Kari Arvonen, Lappeenranta University
                        of Technology
                11.30 - 12.30 Lunch
                12.30   Overview of Erlang language and tools, Mr.
                        Mike Williams, Ellemtel Computer Science
                        Laboratory, Sweden
                13.30   Improving the telecommunications software
                        process, Mr. Esa Kettunen, Nokia
                        Telecommunications
                14.15   Coffee
                15 - 18 Rantasauna

Friday 13.8.    SEMINAR ON RADIO AND MOBILE NETWORKS
                Chairman Prof. Veikko Hara, Technical Research Centre
                        of Finland
                10.15   Title to be announced later, Mr.Jaakko
                        Lahteenmaki, Technical Research Centre
                        of Finland
                11.00   DECT and the implementation of its call
                        control procedures, Mr. Jari Vanttinen,
                        Lappeenranta University of Technology
                11.30 - 12.30 Lunch
                12.30   Title to be announced later, prof. Veikko
                        Hara
                13.30   Parallel simulation and its application to
                        mobile network design, M.Sc. Matti Salmi,
                        Lappeenranta University of Technology
                14.15   Coffee and close of the Summer School


Olli Martikainen, Telecom Finland
Jarmo Harju, Lappeenranta University of Technology


 [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Vesa Ruokonen)
Subject: International Workshop on Intelligent Networks
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 21:24:18 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland


                   WORKSHOP ON INTELLIGENT NETWORKS

                 Lappeenranta University of Technology
                       Tuesday 10th August 1993


Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland are hosting
the International Workshop on Intelligent Networks in Lappeenranta,
Finland, 10th August, 1993.  The admission to the Workshop is free.
Because of limited space, please send your registrations not later
than July 23 to Ms. Ansa Laakkonen, PO.BOX 106, SF-00511 Helsinki,
Finland, Tel. [phone], Fax. [phone].

PROGRAM:

9.00       OLLI MARTIKAINEN, Telecom Finland
           Opening
9.15       LENNART SODERBERG, Ericsson Telecom
           Ericsson Intelligent Network Approach
9.45       KARI LAUTANALA, KARI VEIJALAINEN, Nokia Telecom
           Intelligent Network Architectures and Services with
           the DX200 Switching System
10.15 -          Coffee Break
10.45      JAMES AITKEN, Logica Space and Communications Ltd
           An Approach to Resolving Feature Interaction in Advanced
           Intelligent Network Services
11.15      JOAO MOREIRA, Telefones de Lisboa e Porto, S.A.
           Intelligent Networks and Multimedia
11.45      TAPANI KARTTUNEN, Telecom Finland
           Service Creation Process
12.15 -          Lunch
13.15      CARLA CAPELLMANN, HEINZ DIBOLD, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom
           The Object Oriented Petri Net Method for the Specification
           of IN Services
13.45      JORGEN NORGAARD, Tele Danmark Research
           An IBC Service Architecture
14.15      MARIA JANILCE B. ALMEIDA, CARLOS A. HEUSER,
           LIANE M.R. TAROUCO, Federal University of Rio Grande do SUL
           An Integrated and Intelligent Environment for Protocol
           Specification
14.45 -          Coffee Break
15.15      PEKKA LEHTINEN, Nokia Telecom
           Performance and Overload Modelling of SCP and SSPs of an IN
15.35      KIMMO RAATIKAINEN, Helsinki University
           A Framework for Evaluating the Performance of IN Services
15.55      JUKKA AIRAKSINEN, OLLI MARTIKAINEN, JARKKO SONNINEN,
           HARRI TOHOHOEN, Telecom Finland
           UPT Service Management
16.15      TIMO METSAPORTTI, ITF Oy, SEPPO NOPPARI, Telecom Finland
           Alarm Management in Telecommunication Networks, Case Study

16.45 -    Poster Demonstrations
           VALERI NAOUMOV, KONSTANTIN SAMUYLOV, PFU Moscow
           Portable SS#7 Implementation
           JORMA JAAKKOLA, HARRI TOHONEN, Telecom Finland
           IN Pilot System

18.45      Evening Program: Cruising Tour at Lake Saimaa
           starting from Lappeenranta Harbour


 [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Tyson MacAulay)
Subject: Community Networking Conference
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 8:31:05 EDT



                          INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

                             COMMUNITY NETWORKING:
                  THE INTERNATIONAL FREE-NET CONFERENCE

                              AUGUST 17-19, 1993
                             CARLETON UNIVERSITY
                                OTTAWA, CANADA

Community computing networks offer an open door into the Information
Society.  Electronic highways, interactive computer mediated
communications, multimedia, cyberspace? ... the real question is, how
do ordinary people get connected?  This is not a trivial problem.
Free-Nets offer one solution.  From its start in the 1980's, the
Cleveland Free-Net has inspired many other projects.  The concept has
become an international phenomenon with Free-Nets operating in United
States, Finland, New Zealand and Canada.  Where do we go from here?

The National Capital FreeNet,Ottawa, in association with Industry and
Science Canada, is sponsoring an international conference on community
networking August 17 to 19, 1993.  The conference will bring people
interested in community networking face-to-face to discuss four
themes:

1. HOW TO START AND RUN A FREE-NET; THE ORGANIZATION OF FREE-NETS
   * What do we mean by community computer networking?
   * How to start a Free-Net
   * How to fund your Free-Net.
   * Increasing awareness about the purpose and possibilities of
         community computing networks.
   * Identifying key issues and possible responses for communities
         and governments in the growth of community computing networks.

2. THE SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY OF FREE-NETS
   * Managing FreePort software
   * Super users and trusted users; coordinating hands-on system
         development
   * Menu structure and page design
   * Security
   * Internet access
   * Software and interface standards
   * Programming for bilingual text
   * Getting the most out of Free-Net; turning members into power users
   * The next generation; what should the face of Free-Nets and other
         networks look like?

3. SUSTAINING COMMUNITY; THE USE AND IMPACT OF FREE-NETS
   * How do we use community computer networks as tools for
        community development?
   * Local / global? - how much internet to give members?
   * Censorship, privacy, copyright and other legal issues
   * Social issues: language, gender and cultural issues, access for the
         differently abled; how do we deepen participation in the life of the
         community?
   * Free-Net and the arts
   * Relating to governments, providing government information
   * Understanding Free-Net as a communications medium, not an
         information medium
   * For business and profit; commercial uses and relations
   * Deschooling society; learning and community networks
   * How to moderate online discussions; critical skills for information
          providers in building community

4. INTRODUCING COHERENCE INTO THE COMMUNITY NETWORK MOVEMENT.
   * Action planning; where does community networking go from here?
   * What are the necessary local, national and global links among
         Community networks?
   * Finding out who is active in the development of a network of
         community computing networks.
   * Creating learning spaces for people interested in starting and
         running community computing networks.
   * Other models for community networks and bulletin boards
   * CA*net and CANARIE relations with Free-Nets
   * Public access to high-speed networks; future telecommunications
        tariffs and policy
   * The equity issue of rural access from outside your free dialing zone
   * Impact research and evaluation; understanding the role of Free-nets in
        social change


WHO SHOULD ATTEND?...ARE YOU:
   * Active or interested in organizing FreeNets?
   * Operating  a FreeNet or other community bulletin board?
   * Interested in the social, economic, physical, and philosophical
               impacts of community networking?
   * Already a computer network user or planning to be?
   * Involved in community, government or public interest groups
              that want access to computer mediated communications and
              networks?
   * An information provider or service agent?
   * A private industry executive or professional from the
              Information Sector with an interest in broadening the base
              of information technology use?

The agenda of the conference is action oriented.  Following panel
presentations by experts on the four themes, every conference
participant will have the opportunity to participate in working group
discussions to develop "action agendas" addressing key issues in the
development of Free-Nets.  The subtopics listed above are suggested as
ideas for discussion, not as definitive lists of concerns. The action
agendas developed by the working groups will be presented to all
conference participants in a plenary session and a conference summary
will be posted on FreeNet.

Conference registration begins at 6:00pm, Tuesday, August 17, at the
Carleton Tour and Conference Centre, University Commons Building,
followed by a barbecue at 7:00pm.  The official opening is 9:00am,
Wednesday, August 18.

Further information on program may be obtained from:
         Garth Graham:  [e-mail]
                                 613-253-3497

COST:
Send cheque or money order for $86.25 CAD (including 15% GST/PST) to:
        National Capital FreeNet,
        International Freenet Conference
        Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive
        Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6

Accommodation is available at University residences for $27.95 / per
night (Plus GST/PST of 15%).  This includes breakfast.


                              COMMUNITY NETWORKING:
                     THE INTERNATIONAL FREE-NET CONFERENCE

   AUGUST 17-19 1993 * CARLETON UNIVERSITY * OTTAWA, CANADA


                   PARTICIPANT REGISTRATION FORM
              _________________________________

Name: ....................................................................

Organization: ............................................................

Email address: ...........................................................

Postal address: ..........................................................

 ............................................ Postal code: ...............

Telephone:  ........................ Fax:  ...............................

I require university residence accommodation for the dates of: ..........


                          Please return this form to:

                      International Free-Net Conference
                        Email:  [e-mail]
                        Fax: [phone]
                        Phone:  [phone]
                        Write:  National Capital FreeNet,
                                   International Free-Net Conference
                                   Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive
                                   Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 5B6



    Garth Graham                    [e-mail]
 <<< NGL/CANIS (Community Access Network Information Services) >>>
    Box 86, Ashton, Ont., K0A 1B0                613-253-3497

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 01:41:10 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Question about "Dark Fiber"
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Gordon Cook <[e-mail]>, in the Internet Privatization list
<[e-mail]> asked a question about "dark fiber" by explaining
what it is then asking what is going on.  The posting he made
explained why the issue of "Dark Fiber" is being taken so seriously by
the phone companies and the information providers.  I didn't really
understand the issue until I read his post.  Here's the quote:

The following is a direct quote from George Gilder's long article in
the December 7, 1992 Forbes ASAP.  Can anyone offer any pointers as to
the current status of this court action?

The 'Dark Fiber' Case

"That need has driven EDS into an active role as an ex parte pleader
in Federal Case 911416, currently bogging down in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as the so-called "dark
fiber" case.  On the surface, the case -- known as Southwestern Bell
et al. v. the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S.
Department of Justice -- pits four regional Bell operating companies
against the FCC.  But the legal maneuvers actually reflect a rising
conflict between the Bells and several large corporate clients over
the future of communications.

Beyond all the legal posturing, the question at issue is whether fiber
networks should be dumb and dark and cheap, the way EDS and other
customers like them, or whether they should be bright and smart and
"strategically" priced, the way the telephone companies want them.

On the side of intelligence and light are the phone companies --
Southwestern Bell, U.S. West, Bell South and Bell Atlantic.  The
forces of darkness include key officials at the FCC and such companies
as Shell Oil, the information services arm of McDonnell Douglas and
long-distance network provider Wiltel, as well as EDS.  Most of the
four-year course of the struggle has passed unnoticed by the media.

In the fall of 1990, the FCC ruled that the phone companies would have
to offer dark fiber to all comers under the rules of common carriage.
Rather than accept this new burden, the phone companies petitioned to
withdraw from the business entirely under what is called a Rule 214
application.  Since the FCC has not acted on this petition, the Bells
are preparing to go to court to force the issue.  Their corporate
customers are ready to litigate as well.

It is safe to say that none of the participants fully comprehend the
significance of their courthouse confrontation.  To the Bells, after
all is said and done, the key problem is probably the price.  Under
the existing tariff, they are required to offer this service to anyone
who wants it for an average price of approximately $150 per strand of
fiber per mile per month.  As an offering that competes with their T-3
45-megabit-per-second lines and other forthcoming marvels, dark fiber
threatens to gobble up their future as vendors of broadband
communications to offices, even as cable TV preempts them as broadband
providers to homes.  Since the Bells' profits on data are growing some
10 times as fast as their profits on voice telephony, they see dark
fiber as a menace to their most promising markets."

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 13:41:49 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Brian Hess)
Subject: Followup on Introduction to WilTel


[Moderator's Note: The Digest recently published a short article
introducing WilTel to our readers; many had not known of the company
prior to the message. Mr. Hess writes with a followup.   PAT]


"WilTel" stands for "Williams Telecommunications", which is a spin-off
of the Williams Energy Company.

According to a WilTel R&D guy I talked to, the origin of WilTel was in
unused pipeline capacity -- someone figured that they could just clean
out an old pipeline, fill it with cable, and use existing rights-of-way
 for a brand new business!


Brian Hess  Active Ingredients, Inc.  [e-mail]  (or [e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: Well, you know Sprint had the same kind of origin
back in the middle 1970's. The Southern Pacific Railroad upgraded their
telecommunications facilities greatly, and wound up with lots of unused
capacity. Railroads years ago used to run their own telephone lines on
poles along side the tracks, with 'call boxes' every five or ten miles
for use by railroad employees. In addition, they connected their depots
and terminals together using their own lines strung along the right-of-
way. When Southern Pacific did their upgrade, they decided to sell the
excess capacity to other businesses needing (presumably) better and
cheaper service than what those businesses were getting from Ma Bell
at the time.

<S>outhern <P>acific <R>ailroad <I>internal <N>etwork <T>elecommunications
Sservice was the name of the entity. Like <M>icrowave <C>ommunications,
 <I>ncorporated which started in 1968 as a small carrier handling specific
 business calls between Chicago and St. Louis, Sprint was originally just
 for businesses. You had to dial into their switch using straight seven-
 digit numbers, etc. They started serving residential customers sometime
 in the early 1980's. Sprint started mainly to copy what they saw MCI
doing and making a profit at. By the year 2000, I hope another player
of some significance will be PAT; ah, but that others had the faith in
me that I have in myself! It is tough going.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #470
******************************










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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 18:51:00 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #471

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 18:51:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 471

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Dialing Plan Questions (Bill Hofmann)
    Phone Numbers of PTTs in ex-USSR (Alfredo Cotroneo)
    New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Bart Z. Lederman)
    What Happens When ANI is NOT Delivered? (Colin Tuttle)
    The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System (Patrick Goebel)
    Nokia P4000 Programming Info Wanted (Mike Riddle)
    Information Needed on Using US Phones in Germany (Mark Skelton)
    GSM Comes to New Zealand (Ross Douglas Alexander)
    ADAD Suggestions Please (Gilles Lehoux)
    New England/Mid Atlantic Paging (Douglas Scott Reuben)
    Stand-By Line From U.S. West (John C. Fowler)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Bryan Reece)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 11:12:15 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Bill Hofmann)
Subject: Dialing Plan Questions


Folks, I'm looking for some information.  In fact, a large amount of
information.  I've been doing a bunch of this research by writing PTTs
in many of these countries, but, bureacracies being what they are, not
many places have responded.

Here's why:
    My company is developing software (currently for the Macintosh)
    which will automate dialing for travelling computer users.  To do
    this, we need to be aware of a fair amount of information about
    dialing plans in many countries.

Here's what I need:
    * City code minimum and maximum length
        lists of city/city codes are appreciated
    * Local number minimum and maximum length
    * Fully qualified number minimum and maximum length
        (LD access code + city code + number)
    * long distance and international direct dial access codes
        (if > 1, by company) e.g.: 0, 00
    * long distance and international "charge" access codes
        (in the US, we can enter an access code + number +
         account number and have the call billed to our account)
        How are these calls made?
    * Is there a "dial home", "<country> Direct" type service?
        How are these calls made?
    * What countries can (or cannot, whichever is shortest) be
        direct dialed?
    * Can a user dial a "fully qualified" number?
        That is, if I'm in Paris, can I dial 16,1-xxxx-xxxx (no)
        or if I'm in London, can I dial 071-xxx-xxxx (yes)
        Note, it may not be *required*, but is it possible?
    * Is the phone system mostly pulse dial?
    * Are there any anomalies in dialing?
        e.g., only some cities have automatic exchanges
    * How long will this information be valid?
        e.g., Norway just changed its numbering plan, UK will,
        Australia is in the process.

Below are the countries I need the information for most of all (info
about other countries is welcome, in particular about dialing
fully-qualified numbers and about "charge" services).

Please email information to [e-mail].

BTW, if any of you are Macintosh users who travel frequently and use
your modems constantly, and you'd like to beta test this product,
please email me.  Tell me what you do with the modem, what Mac you
have, and where you travel.

If anyone can suggest a good source for this information besides the
PTTs or local consulates, I'd be happy to hunt it up.

Countries where information is needed:

    Armenia (7), Azerbaijan (7), Belarus (7), Georgia (7),
    Kazakhstan (7), Kyrgystan (7), Russia (7), Tajikistan (7),
    Turkmenistan (7), Ukraine (7), Uzbekistan (7),
    Egypt (20), South Africa (27), Netherlands (31), Belgium (32),
    Balearic Islands (34), Canary Islands (34), Ceuta (34),
    Melilla (34), Spain (34), Bosnia and Hercegovina (38),
    Croatia (38), Macedonia (38), Serbia and
    Montenegro (38), Slovenia (38), Yugoslavia (38), Italy (39),
    San Marino (39), Vatican City (39), Romania (40),
    Liechtenstein (41), Switzerland (41), Czech Republic (42),
    Slovakia (42), Austria (43), Poland (48), Peru (51),
    Cuba (53), Brazil (55), Easter Island (56),
    Pitcairn Island (56), Venezuela (58), Malaysia (60),
    Indonesia (62), Timor (62), Philippines (63), Thailand (66),
    Republic of Korea (82), Vietnam (84), China (86),
    Tibet (86), Turkey (90), India (91), Pakistan (92),
    Afghanistan (93), Sri Lanka (94), Myanmar (Burma) (95),
    Iran (98), Algeria (213), Tunisia (216), Libya (218),
    Senegal (221), Mauritania (222), Mali (223), Guinea (224),
    Cote d'Ivoire (225), Burkina Faso (226), Niger (227),
    Togo (228), Benin (229), Mauritius (230),
    Liberia (231), Sierra Leone (232), Nigeria (234), Chad (235),
    Central African Republic (236), Cape Verde Islands (238),
    Sao Tome and Principe (239), Equatorial Guinea (240),
    Zaire (243), Angola (244), Guinea Bissau (245),
    Seychelles (248), Sudan (249), Rwanda (250), Ethiopia (251),
    Somalia (252), Djibouti (253), Kenya (254),
    Tanzania (255), Burundi (257), Reunion Island (262),
    Zimbabwe (263), Namibia (264), Lesotho (266), Botswana (267),
    Swaziland (268), Comoros (269), Saint Helena (290),
    Aruba (297), Faeroe Islands (298), Greenland (299),
    Azores (351), Madeira Islands (351), Portugal (351),
    Ireland (353), Cyprus (357), Finland (358),
    Malawi (365), Lithuania (370), Latvia (371), Estonia (372),
    Moldova (373), Belize (501), Guatemala (502), El
    Salvador (503), Honduras (504), Nicaragua (505), Costa
    Rica (506), Panama (507), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (508),
    Haiti (509), Guadeloupe (590), Bolivia (591),
    Ecuador (593), French Guiana (594), Paraguay (595),
    French Antilles (596), Martinique (596), Saint Barthelemy (596),
    Saint Martin (596), Suriname (597), Uruguay (598),
    Netherlands Antilles (599), Saipan/N. Mariana (670),
    Antarctica (Casey Base) (672), Antarctica (Scott Base) (672),
    Brunei (673), Nauru (674), Admiralty Island (675),
    Bougainville (675), New Britain (675), New
    Ireland (675), Papua New Guinea (675), Tonga (676),
    Solomon Islands (677), Vanuatu (678), Palau (680), Cook
    Islands (682), Niue Island (683), American Samoa (684),
    Kiribati (686), Tuvalu (688), Moorea (689), Tahiti (689),
    Marshall Islands (692), DPR Korea (850), Hong
    Kong (852), Kampuchea (855), Laos (856), Bangladesh (880),
    Maldives (960), Lebanon (961), Jordan (962),
    Syria (963), Iraq (964), Kuwait (965), Saudi Arabia (966),
    Yemen Arab Republic (967), Oman (968), Yemen Arab
    Republic (PDRY) (969), United Arab Emirates (971), Gaza
    Strip (972), Israel (972), West Bank (972), Bhutan (975),
    Mongolia (976), Nepal (977)


-Bill Hofmann    Fresh Software    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You can get some information on city codes for the
above countries by referring to the Telecom Archives directory called
'country.codes'. I'm afraid the archives doesn't have all that you are
seeking but some of it might help you. Use anonymous ftp.lcs.mit.edu,
then when logged in 'cd telecom-archives/country.codes'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Alfredo Cotroneo)
Subject: Phone Numbers of PTTs in ex-USSR
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 09:50:19 GMT


I am trying to get in contact with PTT officials in Ukraine and
Georgia.  Does anybody have a listing of phone/fax/telex numbers of
PTT offices in the newly created Administrations of countries
previously part of the USSR?

I am particularly interested in reaching people responsible for HF
(High Frequency/Shortwave) operations originating from their
respective countries. Needless to say that directory assistance thru
the operator, is very difficult.

I need to get in touch with the equivalent of the FCC in each of the
CIS countries.  Thanks for any help in this direction.


Alfredo   [e-mail] (preferred)

 Alfredo E. Cotroneo, Bull HN Italia, I-20010 Pregnana Mil.
 work:     [e-mail]
 personal: [e-mail]
 phone:    [phone] / 8427 | fax: 8289

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 08:46:07 EDT
From: Bart Z. Lederman <[e-mail]>
Subject: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?


    Another aspect of the "no radios can receive telephone calls"
 legislation fiasco has just occurred to me.

    According to the May 1993 issue of {Popular Communications},
 the FCC plans to expand the upper end of the AM Broadcast band to
 1700 kHz.  They've already started warning services that use this
 band (such as the Traveller's Information Service stations now on
 1610 kHz and various navigation beacons) to move.  And since few
 receivers currently tune this range (unless you have a REALLY old
 radio that reaches up into the archaic "police" band), the FCC
 will undoubtedly pass some rule requiring manufacturers to make
 receivers that include these frequencies.

    But this frequency band was recently used for cordless
 telephones (before 46-49 MHz became available), and I'm sure a
 lot of those units are still in use.

    Anyone care to speculate on what is going to happen when the
 FCC has two rules in place: one which requires manufacturers to
 build receivers that cover these frequencies, and one which
 prohibits them from building receivers which cover these
 frequencies because they could be used to listen in on telephone
 calls?

    Anyone want to quote odds on the FCC levying fines on the same
 company twice: once for not making the receivers, and then again
 for making them?  (Ah, now I understand!  It's a conspiracy to
 make the Japanese pay for reducing our national debt!)


 Bart Z. Lederman    System Resources Corp.


[Moderator's Note: I think the old-style cordless phones, like the
highway road conditions announcement service are going to be booted
out of that frequency range. Others having to leave include the radio
signal beacons on the Great Lakes which operate at 1630 KC; that is,
if the broadcast band does get expanded. I don't think it is an
absolutely done deal yet by any means. And bear in mind by the time
all this comes to pass -- if it does -- in the next few years, the
cordless phones operating around 1700 will be another two or three
years older, with very few still in usable, working condition. There
won't need to be any extensive modifications to new radios built for
public use. Any AM radio on the market now tunes to 1630 without any
hassle and it is easy enough to warp them a little so they reach 1700
without any hassle.

As kids, we used to take old tube-style radios and divert the
intermediate frequency, sending it out a short piece of wire which
served as the transmitting antenna. By cranking it up and optimizing
the way we tuned it and cut the wire, we could get a quarter or
sometimes a half-watt out of those suckers ... and let everyone for
two blocks around us who tuned to 1615 or 1620 KC listen to our pirate
radio station. :) Better though, we found was to attach the antenna
wire to one side of a telephone pair. It didn't affect the phone at
all and that mile or so of wire back to the CO on overhead poles made
for great transmission of our signal we thought. RF can travel along
on one wire (of the pair) with a phone conversation just fine. Doing
it that way, we could get several blocks away and by listening closely
to the radio pick our signal out of the hash, just barely; or stand
right next to a telephone pole and our signal would boom out of the
little pocket radio we carried along for testing on our walks.  PAT]

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

Subject: What Happens When ANI is NOT Delivered?
From: [e-mail] (Colin Tuttle)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 13:19:38 CDT
Organization: The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, Ok


There has been some talk recently about the 800 number that returns
ANI and is an ad for the 1-900-STOPPER service.  My question is what
about phone numbers that don't return ANI?

We have numerous 800 numbers that come in on our T-1 line from within
the State of Oklahoma.  Every month we get many that are listed on the
bill as the area code, prefix, and then 0000 as the suffix.  Obviously
the true number is not reported to our long distance carrier.  Many of
these are from small phone companies (non S.W. Bell) in rural areas of
the state.

Now, I wonder what would happen if one of these people called the 800
number that demonstrated ANI.  Would it give the area code, prefix and
then 0000 as the last four digits?

Now, more importantly what would happen if these people called the 900
number advertised ... or any 900 number, for that matter.  Since the IP
doesn't receive the actual phone number of the caller, would the caller
be connected, or would they be connected and then not be charged?

There must be many areas of the country that have this situation.  Do
they get free 900 service, or are they barred from using these
"services?"


[e-mail] (Colin Tuttle)
The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, OK -- [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Patrick Goebel)
Subject: The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System
Organization: Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 07:49:47 GMT


I am involved with a number of international business ventures and
I would like to investigate the possibility of a state-of-the-art
personal cellular telecomputing system to keep track of transactions.
Since I have very little knowledge about the current state of cellular
communications, please forgive the vague description of my needs.  Any
pointers you can offer would be greatly appreciated.  Assume for the
moment that money is no object.

At the heart of the system would be a high-powered workstation with a
cellular phone link to the rest of the planet and perhaps a leased
line link to sites closer to home.  The workstation would support a
database of all transactions including voice and FAX.  It would run 24
hours a day (equipped with at least one UPS) and would probably be
under the supervision of a systems guru type.

The workstation and its database software would have to be accessible
under three basic scenarios:

(1) WHILE SITTING AT THE CONSOLE.  For this I would require an
intuitive interface for accessing and modifying data in the database.
Sending and receiving FAXes should be as simple as clicking a few
graphical buttons.  Video conferencing would be a nice plus.

(2) WHILE TRAVELING INTERNATIONALLY.  I envision carrying with me a
compact notebook computer with built-in modem and cellular phone.
Access to the home-base workstation needs to be fast (at least
9600-baud), reliable (wouldn't want to keep them waiting in the middle
of a business meeting) and provide the same (or equally intuitive)
interface to the database as seen at the workstation's console.

(3) WHILE CYCLING.  Yes, you read correctly.  I spend a good part of
my day riding a bicycle and working out in a gym.  I envision a
cellular phone/palmtop system that would fit in my jersey pocket or
within a water bottle cage.  For simple phone calls, I would want a
headset and voice-activated microphone.  Some form of handlebar
mounted speed dialing system would also be essential.  For more
involved interactions with the home computer, I would dismount the
bike and work on the palmtop.  This unit should provide some simple
interface to the home database so that recently received FAXes could
be read (if only a few lines at a time) and simple database operations
could be performed.

Please keep in mind that money is currently not an issue, so anything
goes.  If you have any ideas how I might go about putting together
such a system, please give me a shout.


Many thanks!

Patrick Goebel                    E-MAIL: [e-mail]
Network Administrator             VOICE:  [phone]
CASBS, 202 Junipero Serra Blvd.   FAX:    [phone]
Stanford, CA 94305                BEEPER: Temporarily Out of Order...

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 09:49:12 CST
From: [e-mail] (Mike Riddle)
Subject: Nokia P4000 Programming Info Wanted
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


The subject just about says it all: does anyone have information on
programming the Nokia P4000 hand portable cellphone?


Thanks in advance.

[e-mail]   Nebraska Inns of Court
                              [phone] (Data)
Sysop of 1:285/27@Fidonet    3/12/24/9600 V.32/V.42bis

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 16:48:19 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Mark Skelton)
Subject: Information Needed on Using US Phones in Germany


Does anyone have any information about the compatibility/legality of
using U.S. telephones, modems and FAX machines in Germany.  I remember
years back when you couldn't buy anything except a Ma Bell phone in
the U.S. and thought the German PTT was still the same. I have a
German telephone (pulse) which works great here in the U.S., but it
didn't have an RJ-11 or RJ-45 type jack.  I know nothing about the
ring voltage and such other things.


Thanks,

Mark  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ross Douglas Alexander)
Subject: GSM Comes to New Zealand
Organization: Computer Science Dept. University of Auckland
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 22:35:43 GMT


On the 11 of July BellSouth introduced GSM into New Zeland.  I think
at this point it only covers the Auckland Metropolitan area (but don't
quote me on that).  BellSouth is the second cellular carrier in NZ and
the third major telephone company.

Bell Atlantic and Ameritech own 49% of Telecom (it has a cellular
system).  MCI has a stake in Clear (our second long distance carrier)
and BellSouth has how set up a second cellular system.

The competetion has done wonders for toll prices (down, down, down)
but because the government owns 51% of Telecom all local calls are
free.  With this is a inflation based limit on local line rental
(which is at 1-2%).  So local rental is about NZ$35 (or US$20) per
month with free calls which cover the entire Auckland Metropolitan
area.  I don't know how this compares with the US.  Here we also have
some cross subsidisation from business (which does pay for local
calls) to home and from urban to rural areas.

Just some thoughts.  'Australian Communications' (an execelent mag,
even from Oz) has expressed many doubts about GSM, especially with
regard to the growing support for CDMA and the problems with GSM's
very tight timing requirements.  It will be interesting to see how it
does.


| Ross Alexander    Computer Science   Auckland University

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

From: [e-mail] (Optimal Simulation)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 13:42:00 -0500
Subject: ADAD Suggestions Please
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Hello,

I am a member of a nonprofit genealogical association. Every once in a
while our club secretary must call every member to tell them where and
when the next meeting will be held and things like that.  At one point
we tried a telephone "tree" where one personne calls five others and
those five each call five others and so on. But, the chain is easily
broken. So ...

I've started investigating into a way to use my computer and modem and
possibly a cassette recorder to automate this task. I've learned that
what I'm looking for is called an Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device
(ADAD).

The ADAD I'm looking for must perform the following.

  1 - Dial up the next club member on the list
  2 - If no one answers, go to 1
  3 - If someone answers, play the recorded message.
  4 - Goto 1

Does anyone have any information on such things as :

  - Hardware
  - Software

I think the best would be a simple system, no frills, cheap, that we
could assemble ourselves from parts commonly available.

I have been told that Bell Canada has restrictions on ADADs.  I don't
think they apply to us since our members would be aware of the system
and consent to being called by it.  I guess I'll call Bell Canada
eventually, just to make sure.


Gilles Lehoux   Mechanical Engineer
E-mail : [e-mail]   <- preferred
         [e-mail]
S-mail : 294 Fere street, Saint-Eustache (Quebec), J7R 2V2, Canada
V-mail : Telephone [phone]
Organization : Computer Aided Engineering contracts & misc.


[Moderator's Note: You might want to investigate some software/hardware
sold in the USA under the name 'BigMouth'. Not only does it make outbound
calls in the manner you specify, but it also serves as a fine single-
line voicemail service. It runs on a 386 or better with 640 K of RAM
and maybe 60-100K hard drive to store phrases and mailbox messages.  PAT]

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

Date: 13 Jul 1993 17:01:52
From: Douglas Scott Reuben <[e-mail]>
Subject: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging


I've finally given in an decided to supplement my carphone with a
pager.

I'd like to get a NYC number (917 I guess, although Westchester/914
would be good too), annd have numeric paging from DC to Boston, AND
Western Mass, Vermont, NH, and eastern PA (Allentown, Lancaster, as
far west as Harrisburg.)

Do I need to go with SkyTel or one of those nationwide guys, or can I
just get "regional" service and bunch a few regions together? (IE,
bundle mid-Atlantic with New England with Vermont/NH, etc.)

Any reccommendations on pagers or companies? Any frequencies better
than others? I intend to be outside most of the time, so reaching me
in the subway or whatever isn't an important consideration. Would a
400MHz pager work better in the more rural areas than 900? Or is there
little difference? (I'm much more familiar with lower-powered cellular
service, so I am not sure if frequency is an important consideration
for pagers.

If anyone can offer any help, I'd appreciate hearing from you!


Thanks,

-Doug      [e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 01:29 GMT
From: John C. Fowler <[e-mail]>
Subject: Stand-By Line From U.S. West


There was an advertisement in the newspaper today for a service I'd
never heard of.  Here's the ad:

WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE STANDING BY, A PHONE LINE OR A CUSTOMER?

Introducing Stand-By (sm) Line from U.S. West

Now your business can have all the advantages of another line without
the usual expense.  With Stand-By Line, the monthly rate is about half
the cost of a regular line.  After that, you're only charged about a
nickel for each minute you use.  So it's a good way to manage phone
costs while keeping up with a growing business.  Stand-By Line is
ideal for a fax, modem, or credit card verification, and for overflow
customer calls during busy times.  So call the Small Business Group at
U.S. West today.  We'll be standing by.  [end of ad]

My question is: what is this?  Is it just a regular phone line with a
different pricing scheme?  Given that they're advocating using it for
incoming calls, does the per-minute charge apply to those as well?  We
got CLASS features recently: is there something about this deal that
requires CLASS?

I'm not a business: just a curious consumer.


John C. Fowler, [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 01:15
From: [e-mail] (bryan reece)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511


In comp.dcom.telecom Carl Moore <[e-mail]> writes:

>There was a note in the Digest recently about 711 being used for
>self-ring in area 412 in western Pennsylvania.  Anyone else ever hear
>anything regarding any usage of 711?

In Durham, NC, (919 286) the local carrier uses 711 to read back the
number of the calling telephone (like 311 in most other areas does).


Bryan Reece  <[e-mail]>  PGP key ID=72D873

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #471
******************************










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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 19:48:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #472

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 19:48:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 472

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Conversion From UTM to Geographical Coordinates (Dale Chayes)
    Re: Answering Machine and Fax Marriages - Can They Work? (Joel Snyder)
    Re: Beep at Start of International Calls (Miguel Cruz)
    What's Going on With Payphone 2000? (Miguel Cruz)
    Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (Miguel Cruz)
    Caller ID (Miscellaneous Topics) (Herb Weiner)
    Addresses of Companies Offering Callback Service? (Tony Lim)
    Transcontinental Propagation Delay (Jonathan Edwards)
    Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom (Robert L. McMillin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dale Chayes)
Subject: Re: Conversion From UTM to Geographical Coordinates
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 16:53:38 GMT


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

> Does anyone know how the conversion from UTM to geographical
> coordinates is done?

There is a USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) software package that does
various kinds of map conversions. It does UTM to and from geodetic
coordinate systems (and lots of other stuff.) The compressed tar
archive is 99 kbytes. I can (probably) put it out for anonymous ftp if
there is interest. In the mean time, I'll check and see if its
distributable.

>From the README file:

For more complete desription of 'proj' see:
        "Cartographic Projection Procedures for the UNIX
        Environment---A User's Manual" by G.I.Evenden,
        USGS Open-File Report 90-284.

        A copy can be obtained from:
                USGS Books and Reports Sales
                Federal Center, Box 25425
                Denver, CO  80225
                [phone]
                FTS 776-7476
        or from the author.

Here is the 'man' page:

    PROJ(1)                  USER COMMANDS                    PROJ(1)

NAME
     proj - forward cartographic projection filter
     invproj - inverse cartographic projection filter

SYNOPSIS
     proj [ -bcefimorstTwW [ args ] ] [ +args ] file[s]
     invproj [ -bcefimorstTwW [ args ] ] [ +args ] file[s]

DESCRIPTION
     Proj and invproj  perform  respective  forward  and  inverse
     transformation  of  cartographic  data  to or from cartesian
     data with a wide range of selectable projection functions.

     The following control parameters can appear in any order:

     -b   Special option for binary  coordinate  data  input  and
          output  through  standard  input  and  standard output.
          Data is assumed to be in system  type  double  floating
          point  words.  This option is to be used when proj is a
          son process and allows bypassing formatting operations.

     -i   Selects binary input only (see -b option).

     -o   Selects binary output only (see -b option).

     -ta  A specifies a character employed as the first character
          to  denote  a control line to be passed through without
          processing.  This  option  applicable  to  ascii  input
          only.  (# is the default value).

     -e string
          String is an arbitrary string to be output if an  error
          is  detected  during data transformations.  The default
          value is: *\t*.  Note that if the -b, -i or -o  options
          both return values.

     -c file
          File is the source file name  of  additional  +  option
          control data for the projection procedures.

     -r   This options reverses the order of the  expected  input
          from longitude-latitude or x-y to latitude-longitude or
          y-x.

     -s   This options reverses the order of the output from  x-y
          or longitude-latitude to y-x or latitude-longitude.

     -m mult
          The cartesian data may be scaled by the mult parameter.
          When  processing  data in a forward projection mode the
          cartesian output values are multiplied by  mult  other-
          wise the input cartesian values are divided by mult be-
          fore inverse projection.  If the first  two  characters
          of  mult are 1/ or 1: then the reciprocal value of mult
          is employed.

     -f format
          Format is a printf format string to control the form of
          the output values.  For inverse projections, the output
          will be in degrees when this option is employed.  If  a
          format  is  specified for inverse projection the output
          data will be in decimal degrees.  The default format is
          %.2f for forward projection and DMS for inverse.

     -[w|W]n
          N is the number of significant fractional digits to em-
          ploy  for seconds output (when the option is not speci-
          fied, -w3 is assumed).  When -W is employed the  fields
          will be constant width with leading zeroes.

     -T ulow,uhi,vlow,vhi,res[,umax,vmax]
          This option creates a set of bivariate Chebyshev  poly-
          nomial  coefficients that approximate the selected car-
          tographic projection on stdout. The values low  and  hi
          denote the range of the input where the u or v prefixes
          apply to respective longitude-x or latitude-y depending
          upon whether a forward or inverse projection is select-
          ed.  Res is an integer number specifying the  power  of
          10  precision of the approximation.  For example, a res
          of -3 specifies an approximation accuracy  better  than
          .001.  Umax, and vmax specify maximum degree of the po-
          lynomials (default: 15).  See also: fproj(1).

     The +args run-line arguments are associated with cartograph-
     ic  parameters  and  usage  varies with projection and for a
     complete description see Cartographic Projection  Procedures
     for  the  UNIX Environment-A User's Manual ) They may be ei-
     ther entered on the run line where they must be preceeded by
     the  +  symbol  or specified in the file reference by the -c
     option where the + prefix is optional.  The options are pro-
     cessed  in left to right order from the run line followed by
     processing the entries in the -c file.  Reentry of an option
     is  ignored  with  the  first  occurance  assumed  to be the
     desired value.

     One or more files (processed in left to right order) specify
     the  source of data to be transformed.  A - will specify the
     location of processing standard  input.   If  no  files  are
     specified,  the input is assumed to be from stdin. For ASCII
     input data the two data values must  be  in  the  first  two
     white  space separated fields and when both input and output
     are ASCII all trailing portions of the input  line  are  ap-
     pended to the output line.

     Input geographic data (longitude and latitude)  must  be  in
     DMS  format  and  input cartesian data must be in units con-
     sistent with the ellipsoid major axis or sphere  radius  un-
     its.   Output  geographic coordinates will be in DMS (if the
     -w switch is not employed) and precise to 0.001" with trail-
     ing, zero-valued minute-second fields deleted.

EXAMPLE
     The following script
           proj +proj=utm +lon_0=112w -r <<EOF
           45d15'33.1"   111.5W
           45d15.551666667N   -111d30
           +45.25919444444    111d30'000w
           EOF
     will perform UTM forward projection with a standard UTM cen-
     tral meridian nearest longitude 112W.  The geographic values
     of this example are equivalent  and  meant  as  examples  of
     various forms of DMS input.  The x-y output data will appear
     as three lines of:
           460769.27     5011648.45

SEE ALSO
     Cartographic   Projection   Procedures    for    the    UNIX
     Environment-A  User's  Manual, (Evenden, 1990, Open-file re-
     port 90-xxx).
     Map Projections Used by the U. S. Geological Survey (Snyder,
     1984, USGS Bulletin 1532).
     Map Projections-A Working Manual (Synder, 1988,  USGS  Prof.
     Paper 1395).
     An Album of Map Projections (Snyder &  Voxland,  1989,  USGS
     Prof. Paper 1453).

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

From: [e-mail] (Joel M-for-Vnews Snyder)
Subject: Re: Answering Machine and Fax Marriages - Can They Work?
Date: 13 Jul 1993 16:59:21 GMT
Organization: Opus One
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, Eddie Corns <eddie@
festival.edinburgh.ac.uk> writes:

> Hi, I am posting this query on behalf of a friend trying to run a
> small business.  He has currently one telephone line and an answering
> machine.  He would like to also add a fax machine and wants to find
> the most viable options.

> If he tries to put them on the same line I presume he needs some kind
> of manager box that discriminates fax callers from others.  My limited
> knowledge of telephony suggests this is done by the bleepy noise the
> caller gives when connection is established.  [some text deleted]

There are two main ways to do this.  A lot of the choice depends on
what kind of FAX traffic he's expecting.  If, like most small
businesses, he thinks that random people may call him up and expect to
FAX things to him without any notice, then this post is appropriate.
Of the two ways, one of them works 100% all of the time, and leads to
happy customers.  The other one works only some of the time, which is
no way to run a business.

The basic problem with modem calls (a FAX call is essentially a modem
call) is that the calling modem expects the answering modem to make a
noise of some sort.  If the calling modem made a noise, that would
make things a whole lot easier for budget-minded folks.  Anyway, some
FAX machines will actually make a noise on calling called a "CNG"
tone.  But this tone only comes with auto-dial calls.  Since most
impromptu FAXes are not autodialed, but are manually dialed (i.e., you
punch in the number as it's going over the line), you cannot count on
getting a CNG tone.

It is for these reasons that all of the solutions which are based on a
"magic" box that you buy that automatically discriminates FAX from
voice (and even from modem) calls only work some of the time.  It's
just not possible to tell, without making any noise, what kind of
thing (person, FAX, modem) is calling you.

However, all is not lost.  You can do this by MAKING the guy at the
other end tell you.  One way is by having two phone lines (that's
expensive, or relatively more so).  Another way is by having something
called Distinctive Ringing (your telephone company may have another
name for it).  With distinctive ringing, you get a single telephone
line, but that line has multiple numbers.  When someone calls number
#1, the line rings normally.  When someone calls number two, the line
rings with two short rings instead of one long one.  Some phone
companies offer up to four numbers on a single line, all with
distinctive ringing cadences.

Distinctive ringing costs $5/additional number in my calling area, per
month.  Installation is low, about $15.

There are boxes which can reliably determine which number has been
dialed and then route the call accordingly -- as long as you have
distinctive ringing.  Let's say you have two phone numbers, one for
voice and one for data, using distinctive ringing on the same line.
You plug the telephone line into one of these box's "IN" port.  Then,
you plug your answering machine/voice telephone into the "LINE 1" out
port.  And plug your FAX machine into the "LINE 2" out port.  It works
beautifully.  If you don't believe me, try and send me a FAX, and see
if I answer the phone.

Boxes.  I have heard of three boxes.  The one I buy for my clients and
use regularly is the Autoline Plus from ITS Communications
(800-333-0802) is available for $150, and supports three devices.  The
Ring Director is available from Hello Direct (800-444-3556) and does
the same thing for $100, but only supports two devices.  I saw a box
in the J&R Catalog as well for about $80.


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] (Miguel Cruz)
Subject: Re: Beep at Start of International Calls
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 19:06:04 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Liron Lightwood <r.lightwood@
trl.oz.au> writes:

>> Almost certainly the beep on calls from abroad is a "bug not a feature".
>> I suspect it's a very short burst of the 2600 Hz that is still used on
>> MF trunks as a supervisory signal.

> I have noticed this beep whenever dialing international calls from
> here in Australia.  Does this beep always occur in other countries
> too?

At least here in Australia, the beeps (three little pips) are there to
tell the people you are calling that you are paying a lot of money for
that call, so they darn well better talk fast and not waste your time.

They last about two seconds and since people can't really talk through
them (they're pretty loud), we figure that Telecom Australia must make
some number of millions of dollars a year by having them (they bill by
the second).

The competing carrier, Optus, doesn't have them and nobody seems to
miss them much. If you're calling your relatives, they already know
where you live and they're not likely to be terribly enlightened by
these beeps.  If you're making a business call you probably aren't
that concerned with getting that extra note of urgency.

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

From: [e-mail] (Miguel Cruz)
Subject: What's Going on With Payphone 2000?
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 19:06:04 GMT


The last time I was in the USA, I noticed at several airports these
AT&T Payphone 2000 things with 24x80 screens and full keyboards.
Pretty excited by this (we just got call waiting in Australia), I
punched in my Sprint card number (Sprint was the only US company
willing to give me a calling card when I didn't have phone service, or
even reside, in the US -- MCI and AT&T laughed at me) and it was
rejected -- apparently they only take AT&T cards even though for some
reason I thought they were interchangeable. So I called a friend from
a different phone and asked for her AT&T card number and tried that,
only to find that the data terminal functions of the Payphone 2000 are
in fact fictional (presumably to begin working sometime around the
year 2000). Does anyone know what the story is with these? They seem
like a fairly expensive investment to be dropping in airports (I saw
them in four or five big cities in the space of a couple weeks)
without getting extra revenue from them ... and I don't see what would
be stopping them from working -- either the thing has the proper
hardware to do data communications (modem calls) or it doesn't.


[Moderator's Note: Payphone 2000 was halted when the Judge got in a
snit about it. Other companies had claimed it was unfair that AT&T had
this nice product out on the market and they didn't, so they told the
judge to make AT&T stop. He did; the rest of us do without until the
competitors can catch up with AT&T or the competitors run out of
stalling tactics and legal technicalities.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Miguel Cruz)
Subject: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 19:06:04 GMT


 Often I see ads in US magazines and newspapers where only 800 numbers
are provided. Near as I can tell, there is NO WAY whatsoever to call
these numbers from Australia. Why is this? I would be perfectly
willing to pay Sprint or MCI or AT&T or whomever normal international
rates, but their operators will not complete the calls for me. Best
luck I've had is with MCI, whose customer service people (after being
transferred to there from the MCI USA Direct number) will occasionally
become eventually exasperated with me and connect the call for free.
But this seems like a really silly limitation. Why won't, say, Sprint,
let me pay them the normal Australia -> USA rate and connect me to an
800 number? Surely it doesn't cost them any more, probably it's
cheaper for them.


Miguel Cruz   National Computer Hotline
Sydney, Australia  Fax: [phone]   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
outside the USA for whatever reason. If the company is unable to sell
to you (customs, tax or legal considerations) or finds it uneconomical
to sell to you, they see no reason to talk to you and prefer not to,
atleast if they are paying for the call, or some portion of it.  If
they find it in their best interest to pay for calls from international
 points (or even split the charges with an international caller) they
will have their 800 number configured to do that. I'm not saying all
USA companies operate in a sensible manner in this regard (I've seen
some who sent advertisements overseas showing *only* their domestic
800 number -- talk about a waste of advertising money!), but I am
saying that 800 service is designed to permit the receiver of the call
to receive (and pay for) only those calls he wants, regardless of how
stupid that decision may be.  PAT]

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

Subject: Caller ID (Miscellaneous Topics)
Organization: Kitchen Wisdom Publishing Company, Portland, Oregon, USA
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 12:08:50 PDT
From: Herb Weiner <[e-mail]>


I have Caller ID service provided by US West Communications in
Portland, Oregon.  The following are some miscellaneous questions and
observations:

1. What is the source for the database of names delivered to the
   Caller ID display unit?  It seems reasonable that this database
   would be copied from (or generated based on) either the white
   pages directory listings or the customer billing information.
   However, based on the following two discrepancies, this appears
   not to be the case:

   a. The name displayed for one frequent caller is COMPLETELY
      wrong.  (There isn't even a single letter in common between
      the displayed name and the correct name.)  The caller has
      had that phone number more than six months.  I do not know
      if the displayed name belongs to a previous owner of that
      phone number, but the most recent white pages (Dec 1992)
      do not have a listing for the displayed name and number.

   b. Another frequent caller (George) has his name displayed as
      GEROGE (a simple transposition).

   I called up telephone repair service to report the first problem.
   The agent who took the report didn't understand the problem (she
   thought the problem was related to my phone number, and was
   reluctant to include the caller's phone number in the report).
   She said she'd turn in a trouble report, but the problem was
   not fixed.

   A week later, I called up US West's toll free number [phone]
   to report the problem.  The agent I spoke with (Doug) understood
   the problem, but didn't know how to report it.  He did not know
   the source of the database or why the information would be wrong.
   He promised to investigate, however.  I called back the next day
   and spoke to Doug again.  He said he had located the appropriate
   phone number for reporting the problem, and would submit the
   problem report.  He told me to allow four business days for the
   problem to be corrected.  However, he would not give me the phone
   number, and told me that any further problems I discovered should
   be reported directly to him.  (I hope he doesn't leave, otherwise
   I'll have to train a new agent.)  Anyway, five full business days
   later, the problem still has not been corrected.

   Can I claim credit on my bill for my malfunctioning caller ID service
   that has not yet been repaired? :-)

   I'm saving the second problem (GEROGE) in case I need to perform
   additional experiments in the future.

2. Call Rejection (*60) allows me to reject calls from up to 15 numbers.
   (So far, I've added two numbers to my Reject list.  Both of these
   are people I don't know, who previously had mistakenly reached
   my number frequently.  What a WONDERFUL way to deal with persistent
   wrong numbers.)

   One of the features of Call Rejection is that I can add the last
   caller to my Reject list, even if the caller had blocked their
   number.  However, as far as I can tell, there is no way, ever,
   to remove a number from the Reject list without knowing the number.
   Therefore, it would theoretically be possible to fill up your
   reject list with anonymous callers, and have no way to clear it
   out.  Am I missing something here, or is this really possible?

3. US West does not currently offer Anonymous Call Rejection.
   I believe this is available in other areas (*77 and *87).
   Does anyone know whether it is political, technical, or
   economic reasons that prevent US West from offering this?

4. Since Anonymous Call Rejection is not available from the central
   office, I connected a Colonial Data Technologies (80 Pickett
   District Road, New Milford, CT 06776, [phone]) Caller ID
   370 Deluxe Caller ID Display with "Block the Blocker".  (I
   purchased this at Sears.)  If Privacy Block is turned on, this
   unit intercepts all Private calls after the first ring (after
   the Caller ID data is received), plays the message "This party
   will not accept blocked calls", and hangs up.  I've had one of
   my callers complain about "the rude guy" who answers my phone
   now.

   Note that this Caller ID Display unit has crummy display (low
   contrast) and an inferior user interface.  The ONLY reason I
   use it is for the "Privacy Block" feature.


Herb Weiner

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

From: [e-mail] (Tony Lim)
Subject: Addresses of Companies Offering Callback Service?
Organization: University of Tasmania, Australia.
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 23:37:07 GMT


Hi, there,

There are some articles here recently about callback service.

Would anyone on the net kindly provide me the address and phone/fax
numbers for the following companies which offer these services?  I
read about these companies from a recent article published in
{Computerworld Australia}.  The article was quoting a report from
TeleChoice, a company in USA.


Viatel
Telenational of Omaha
Telegroup of Fairfield, Iowa


Thanks in advance.

Tony Lim   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jonathan Edwards)
Subject: Transcontinental Propagation Delay
Organization: IntraNet, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 23:21:33 GMT


I am configuring a link between SF and NY over T1 lines.  Can anyone
tell me how to estimate the propagation delay I will experience?  As
the photon flies (in vacuum), it is 16ms.  But propagation through
copper and fiber is slower, right?  And the lines will likely not
follow the shortest path.  And perhaps repeaters and muxes might add
latency.

Either the answer or a pointer to a reference would be appreciated.


Jonathan Edwards   [e-mail]
IntraNet, Inc       617-527-7020

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Subject: Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom
Sender: [e-mail] (Robert L. McMillin)
Organization: Surf City Software/TBFW Project
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 03:35:10 GMT


I just got back from Clint Eastwood's new movie, {In The Line of Fire}
(definitely worth the money).  One of the early plot points involves
the would-be assassin munging the phones to present a false ANI number
to the Feds.  Now, since in-band signalling has just about
disappeared, this would seem to be damn well impossible, unless our
friend has a in at the CO.  Am I wrong?

(Incidentally, this isn't the only place where the movie drifts into
fantasy ... a 60-something-year-old man with a woman half his age?
Ah, Hollywood!)


Robert L. McMillin | Surf City Software | [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #472
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #473

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 21:51:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 473

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Can I Use Telnet Over a Satellite Link? (Josh Backon)
    Re: Charging, Accounting, Billing (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: Color Codes For POTS Multiconductor Wiring (Bill Campbell)
    Re: New York Telephone Outage (Phiber Optik)
    Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow (Seth B. Rothenberg)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Joel Snyder)
    Re: How to Get EIA/TIA Standards? (William T. Sykes)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Justin Greene)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (10xxx) (Marshall Levin)
    Re: Future of ISDN (Thomas Chen)
    Looking For Devices to Dial *67 and Route Calls (Steve Corso)
    Memory Effect (Cliff Sharp)
    800 Translation Questions (Justin Greene)

                     ----------------------
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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Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are
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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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----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Can I Use Telnet Over a Satellite Link?
Date: 13 Jul 93 18:06:40 GMT
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem


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

>  We are a group of four Universities that want to be connected by high
>  speed links (2 Mb or higher), without using the PTT services, that
>  happen to be very expensive in Spain. The topology would be a star
>  with three links, the distances varying from about 8 Km to about 100
>  Km. The main protocol used is TCP/IP.

If your country allows spread spectrum digital radio microwave
*without* requiring a license, this would be the ideal solution and it
would entail a one-time cost of under $50,000. It could be set up
within a very short time and could handle up to 6 T1 slots in the 5.8
GHz band. Point-to-point links are line of sight to around 65
kilometers. The cost per site is $11,000.

>  Talking with telecommunication specialists they recommend satellite
>  links (they call it VSAT); I remember to have read somewhere that
>  satellite links introduce long delays in the packets sent (something
>  between half a second and two seconds maybe?). It worries me because,
>  for example, using telnet with remote echo means two packets sent per
>  key, and half a second delay would be unacceptable in this situation.
>  The specialists claim that it is no problem, but I am not so sure.

In Israel, most of our Internet traffic goes via satellite and the
*delay* is only somewhat annoying. You get used to it.


Josh  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Charging, Accounting, Billing
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 16:10:49 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> R.A.J.Reijmerink@research.
ptt.nl (Robert Reijmerink) writes:

> In the Netherlands, direct charging is now conducted by means of
> sending 50 Hz meter pulses to the calling party's terminal. We are
> looking for alternative ways of sending cost data to user's terminals.
> Choosing a widely used solution is of importance and therefore we
> would like to have a view of some methods used for direct charging in
> other countries.

    This reminds me of some recent correspondence I had regarding
"1 means toll call".  I was told that in Australia you get a few beeps
sometime before call setup completion, or just as call setup is
completed, indicating the call is going to cost.  I suggested another
approach might be to use the caller id data stream.  During call
setup, the local switch could send call costing data (initial period
cost, additional period cost, etc.).  This would be received by a
caller id type computer with a clock in it.  Once the call is
connected, the display could show you how much money you are spending.
For those without such a display, the data stream would be heard,
indicating this call is gonna cost.

    Other uses for the caller id data stream include directed
inward dialing and distinctive ringing (really about the same thing?).
It seems much easier to demodulate an FSK data stream to find out
which phone number the caller wants instead of trying to time strange
ring patterns.

    Once ISDN is in place, all this data can be sent down the low
speed data channel.  But for now, it seems like the caller id data
channel has a lot of possibilities.


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] (Bill Campbell)
Subject: Re: Color Codes For POTS Multiconductor Wiring
Organization: Sierra Geophysics, Inc.
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 18:44:56 GMT


 On Tue, 29 Jun 1993 23:56:20 GMT, [e-mail] said:

> I need to know what colors of a six-pair cable are which (i.e.,
> green is pair one, red is pair two, etc.).

>     I talked with PacBell service about it, and they claimed that there
> wasn't any documentation on how the wiring should be.  The tech did
> try to recall some of the colored pairs off the top of her head, but
> it wasn't much of a help.

I have no idea if this convention is used anywhere but in the US, but
here you go (courtesy of "Step-By-Step Telephone Installation and
Repair", by Joe G. Pena, TAB Books, Inc. [1986], ISBN 0-8306-1984-4)

Pair    Color Code                 (2-pair)
- --    ----------                 --------
 1      white-blue,blue-white      green,red
 2      white-orange,orange-white  black,yellow
 3      white-green,green-white
 4      white-brown,brown-white
 5      white-slate,slate-white
 6      red-blue,blue-red
 7      red-orange,orange-red
 8      red-green,green-red
 9      red-brown,brown-red
10      red-slate,slate-red
11      black-blue,blue-black
12      black-orange,orange-black
13      black-green,green-black
14      black-brown,brown-black
15      black-slate,slate-black
16      yellow-blue,blue-yellow
17      yellow-orange,orange-yellow
18      yellow-green,green-yellow
19      yellow-brown,brown-yellow
20      yellow-slate,slate-yellow
21      violet-blue,blue-violet
22      violet-orange,orange-violet
23      violet-green,green-violet
24      violet-brown,brown-violet
25      violet-slate,slate-violet

The fact that there is a pattern to the assignments should not escape
observation.


* Bill Campbell                 Software Engineer
* Halliburton Energy Services   [e-mail]
#include <std/disclaimer.h>

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

From: [e-mail] (Phiber Optik)
Subject: Re: New York Telephone Outage
Date: 13 Jul 1993 02:45:45 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


Just for accuracies' sake, let's consider the layout of NYTel access
tandems (AT/SSP's) in NYC.  From memory, starting from downtown and
going up, we have BW21T (Broadway 21), 3706T and 3707T (37th Street),
5404T (54th Street).  I don't recall there being anything above 5404T,
but there may be something else downtown besides BW21T.  I don't
recall.  Over east for Queens and Brooklyn, we have WM08T, WM09T, etc.
(Williamsburg, Bklyn).  Nassau has Garden City, and I believe another
AT in Central Islip.

The Bronx has Grand Concourse, and then we get to our friend in 914,
Mount Vernon.  I agree with the hypotheses of Mr. Lewis, but not
knowing exactly which types of trunks (those linking MTVN to other
tandem offices, or carriers, or end offices, or maybe a little of all
three), it's still only guesswork.  Considering MTVN is a 4ESS (I
don't remember if it may be a DMS-200), we're talking about 107,520
trunks, roughly 100,000 in either case.  The possibility of all manner
of trunks being cut is present.  I'm sure the construction workers
didn't know (they were the cause, right?)

What is known, is that calls through AT&T completed.  As stated,
that's because AT&T 4E's are directly connected to EO's.  And calls
through other carriers went uncompleted, because OCC POPs normally
connect to the network through NYTel AT/SSP's.  What would've answered
our question, is if anyone in 914 remembers what recording they got
during the outage.  A reorder or intercept from their EO would have
indicated that trunks were down connecting their EO to the MTVN AT,
and that would explain that.

If, on the other hand, they got a recording from the MTVN AT ("132 xx"
at the end, where xx is the alphanumeric code for the AT, and 132 is
of course our LATA), then we know they got out of their EO and got as
far as the AT, which says that trunks were cut connecting MTVN to
other AT's and/or OCC POPs, and that would be the other possible
scenario.  If they got either or, then cuts of both types of trunks
from the AT occurred; EO to AT, and AT to AT or AT to POP.  Normally,
a WATS call over, say, Sprint, would be routed out of your EO to a
NYTel AT/SSP, the SSP would query the SCP (5E or DMS Supernode), the
SCP would return the routing translation, the SSP would route the call
to the appropriate Sprint POP, and from there out over Sprint's
network of DMS-250's, back to the AT at the other end, and finally to
the terminating EO.  That's one routing scenario at least, in brief.


-phiber

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

From: [e-mail] (Seth B Rothenberg)
Subject: Re: Switching Red/Green to Black/Yellow
Date: 13 Jul 93 14:04:41 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Rob
Knauerhase) writes:

>    Does anyone know of a switch that will take a four-wire input
> (where red/green are line one and black/yellow are line two) and
> select one of the pairs to connect to red/green output?  I have two
> lines in my apartment, and would like an easier way of switching the
> modem between them than moving the plug from one jack to another.

>    Radio Shack (even the catalog) was unhelpful.  Hello Direct sells
>  a two-lines-to-one-line switch, but it's (1) expensive and (2) clumsy
> since I'd have to split my one wire in two in order to switch between
> them.  I've checked in a couple other places to no avail as well.

> [Moderator's Note: Radio Shack has a two-line controller which uses
> buttons on the front to shift the line of your choice into a single
> line output. For incoming calls, the ringing signal forces the con-
> troller to shift the ringing line into the output. ]

Radio Shack used to sell a box with two line-select buttons and a hold
button in addition to the automatic line selector that Pat mentioned.
However, I happened to hear someone ask for it in Radio Shack last
week and get told it was discontinued.  The excuse was that two-line
telephones are so cheap.

Radio Shack used to have a two-lines-together-to-two-single-lines
adaptor.  I don't know if they still do.  From the 1992 catalog, #
279-401 or 279-402 with a feed-through of the unsplit line.  Both were
$6.95 US at the time.  A quick scan also confirms absence of the line
selector.


-Seth

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

From: [e-mail] (Joel M-for-Vnews Snyder)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?
Date: 13 Jul 1993 14:35:55 GMT
Organization: Opus One
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Scott A Harris) writes ...

> suggested I go with a Centrex service.  I like the concept, but at
> $36.99 per line *each month* and additional "service" fees, this can
> add up quickly.  Are there any better ways to go about getting a hunt
> group for dirt cheap?

It depends on what kind of a hunt group (rotary) you really want.  I
called US West (Tucson) and tried to ask for a hunt group, and the
extremely helpful rep said, "well, that's $8/line/month.  Could you
use busy forwarding?"  Busy forwarding is pretty much what I wanted,
although it's not as perfectly robust as a hunt group ... and it only
costs $0.30/line/month.


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] (wts1)
Subject: Re: How to Get EIA/TIA Standards?
Organization: AT&T Federal Systems Advanced Technologies - Greensboro, NC
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 14:40:13 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Marko
Ilari Silventoinen) writes:

>Hello there,

> Could somebody tell me how can I obtain EIA/TIA standards? The address
> or telefax number of TIA office would do also.

EIA/TIA documents may be purchased from:

Global Engineering Documents

at the following addresses:

1990 M Street NW    15 Inverness Way East    2805 McGaw Ave.
Suite 400        Englewood, CO 80112    Irvine, CA 92714
Washington, DC 20036

PH: +1.202.429.2860     +1.303.792.2181        +1.714.261.1455
                  [phone]          [phone]
FAX:[phone]
ATTN: Marcia Knights


>From the copyright page of EIA/TIA-464A-1989:

"Published by:
Electronic Industries Association
Engineering Department
1722 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006"

No phone or fax listed in this standard.


William T. Sykes  AT&T FSAT-Engineering  Greensboro, NC 27420
UUCP: att!gcuxb!gcwts  att!cbnewsb!wts1

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 00:14:03 GMT


A legal COCOT question, are they allowed to block 800 service?  A few
around here (downtown Denver) block 800 and 950 and do not have all
local exchanges programmed so a local call to my pager cost $1.70
(about the same as a small explosive that would fit in the coin
return).  Can they do this legally?


Justin


[Moderator's Note: COCOTS cannot legally block calls to 800 numbers.
If they want to charge you $1.70 for a local call, that is their
business, but they cannot deny access freely to 800 numbers or the
10xxx carrier of your choice, nor can they legally block 950. When
this topic came up here a couple years ago, someone devised a gummy
sticker which said "PHONE OUT OF COMPLIANCE - DO NOT USE". The idea
was to put this sticker across the coin slot to prevent others from
losing their money; the same courtesy you would like to be shown on a
mechanical coin operated device that was out of order to keep you from
losing your money. The sticker had little boxes to check as to what
was wrong (pricing on calls, denial of other calls, etc) and it went
on to say the phone would be out of service until further notice and
that it would be 'audited periodically for compliance before being
returned to service ...'. Of course its up to the 'auditor' to visit
the location every day or two and make sure the coin slot is still
blocked, replacing the sticker as needed.  :)  Don't vandalize the
phone! That is illegal. It is *not* illegal to warn other consumers
that a coin operated device is not functioning properly.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshall Levin)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 20:44:31 -0600 (MDT)


> So I tried dialing the call 0-703-xxx-xxxx and using the "85" credit
> card from AT&T at their "bong".  Their operator came on, then
> explained that they can't accept AT&T's non-telephone credit cards,
> but she would transfer me.  That didn't work, as the AT&T Operator
> couldn't hear me.

I was under the impression that it was required by law that EVERY
phone line allow you to connect to any carrier, regardless of who the
line is owned by.  Is this not true?


Marshall Levin ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: It *is* required by law. Anytime a COCOT is
operating illegally you should make an attempt to contact the operator
if the operator's name is on the phone (sometimes it is). Let them
know the phone is out of compliance and 'as a courtesy to help them so
they won't get other complaints' you will be taking it out of service
so that coins cannot be deposited 'accidentally' by unsuspecting users.
Tell them furthermore from time to time you will be auditing the phone
for compliance and will be glad to let them know anytime it appears
the phone is 'not working correctly'. They must allow 950, 800, and
10xxx (or the associated AOS must willingly transfer you to the 10xxx
of hcoice).  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Thomas Chen)
Subject: Re: Future of ISDN
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 19:23:18 GMT
Organization: Hughes Network Systems Inc.


well, I believe ISDN's demise may not be an exaggeration. First of
all, for those common folks who have a lot of investment in the simple
copper wire equipment, phone, answering machine, fax, etc will
probabaly stay with the standard analog service. For those who demand
newest and latest features, two b+d just won't cut it (for home use).
With the emerging applications such as multimedia, I think we have to
look for more bandwidth technology to replace ISDN.


tom

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Corso)
Subject: Looking For Devices to Dial *67 and Route Calls
Organization: The Genix Group
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 23:12:27 GMT


I am trying to locate a device that I can connect between the
telephone line that comes in my house and all (not just one) of my
telephones that automatically enters a code (such as *67 privacy mode)
when I pick any phone in the house up to draw dial-tone.  Does such a
device exist?

I am also looking for a device that looks at the telephone line and
routes to two or three connectors based on distinctive ring.


Any direction would be greatly appreciated.


Steven J. Corso         Phone:    [phone]
Genix Group, INC    Fax:    [phone]
5225 Auto Club Drive    Internet: [e-mail]
Dearborn, MI 48126

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

Subject: Memory Effect
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 6:04:03 CDT
From: Cliff Sharp <[e-mail]>


>[e-mail] (Paul Robinson) writes:

>[e-mail], writes:

>> This feature, of course, is to prevent the "memory effect" from
>> occuring. It also trickle-charges the battery after the green "full"
>> light comes on.

>Now this is an issue that has been written up both ways; some people
>say the "memory effect" is an Urban Legend, and that it only happens
>under laboratory conditions, and some people say it does happen in
the >real world.  Does anyone know of this *really* happening?

   Although manufacturers claim it's an artifact of the past and no
longer happens, it's still there.  Not nearly as bad as it used to be,
but still measurable.  Improvements in the separator and in charging
techniques have made it much less a problem than in the past.

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: 800 Translation Questions
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix (sponsored by U. of Denver Math/CS dept.)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 00:31:53 GMT


What is the name of the office that handles the translations for 800
service within a Bell region (ie: NY Telephone or NJ Bell)? Are all
800 calls (non AT&T, Sprint etc) passed to a central switch,
translated and routed or does each switch have the ability to
translate it?

Also, with portability, does that mean that the local telco keeps a
list on a switch somewhere so it knows where to send the call.  Can
one take a local 800 number and take it to a non-local carrier.  Did
this make any sense?


Justin


[Moderator's Note: Are we repeating ourselves here?  When dialing an
800 number the caller has *no choice whatsoever* in carrier or route
or anything else. The person who *pays* for the calls makes those
decisions, period. Telco hands the call off to the carrier chosen for
it by the recipient of the call, period. All references to 10xxx or
zero plus an 800 number are ignored. No one would use 800 service if
there was a risk they could get a bill for big $$ because the caller
chose to send it via Integratel or some other AOS. And yes, some
telcos (maybe all) keep a cache of the 800 numbers they have recently
connected with to make future calls to that number go faster. If they
have never seen the 800 number before, they do a database lookup. One
complaint about portability was that 800 calls would take several
seconds longer to process when telco went to the database to find out
what to do with it. In fact, calls to commonly used 800 numbers now
seem to complete instantly, or at least as fast as before.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #473
******************************










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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 22:33:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #474

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Jul 93 22:33:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 474

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Who Was Randy Barrow? (Andy Sherman)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (John DuBois)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Mark Brader)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (John R. Levine)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Terry Kennedy)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Danny Padwa)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (David G. Lewis)
    Re: "SPC" Xbar (was Re: Step-by-Step Offices) (Stephen Tell)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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: Tue, 13 Jul 93 12:16:34 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)
Subject: Re: Who Was Randy Barrow?


In article [e-mail], Pat writes:

> Unlike Randy (or other employees of AT&T) I have no agreements with
> the company to remain silent about things I hear ... Randy and others do
> as a condition of their employment. He was out on the street a day or
> two after his article appeared here. The information was really blaise
> as that stuff goes, and it was very unfortunate. At the time I quoted
> a security guy (we have many among our mailing list readers) who said
> 'AT&T employees need to be shown an example of how the company responds
> when proprietary information like customer records are revealed to
> outsiders ..."  Randy made a good example alright. :(   I still feel
> badly they canned him for such relatively innocent comments.   PAT]

I was working at AT&T at the time Randy stepped in it, and comments
like this frustrated me no end at the time.  When Randy first posted
the information, there were a bunch of postings on the order of "Look
at Big Bad AT&T, violating their customers privacy like that.  Just as
we thought, Mother can't be trusted."  Then when Randy's actions were
dealt with, there were a bunch of posts on the order of "Why did they
have to fire the guy?  Look at Big Bad Heartless AT&T.  Just as we
thought, Mother has no sense of humor."  Well which is it?  Do you
(that's generic, not just Pat) want your privacy protected or not?  Or
do you just want to piss and moan about faceless corporations without
holding individuals accountable for the actions they take without
official sanction?

Some additional information that might help keep this in perspective.
For all that the security guy talked about making an example of Randy,
the case did not receive widespread publicity inside of AT&T.  Firing
him was standard operating procedure.

Every AT&T employee is subject to a corporate Code of Conduct.  Every
AT&T employee receives an annual Code of Conduct review, and signs an
acknowledgement of that review.  That signature is required so that
the company can fire you for breaches of the Code of Conduct without
your claiming ignorance.

One section of the code deals with revealing the proprietary
information of the company or its customers.  Another section
specifically deals with Customer Proprietary Network Information
(CPNI).  The privacy of CPNI is mandated by either Federal law or FCC
regs, and it is clear that unauthorized disclosure of CPNI is a
dismissal offense.  I worked in an area that had access to call detail
records, and my boss made special note of the CPNI provisions during
Code of Conduct reviews.  To my knowledge, no breach of the sanctity
of CPNI ever came from our area, and we were concerned that Randy's
antics could make life real difficult for employees who needed access
to CPNI to do their jobs.  Fortunately, sanity prevailed and they did
not.

Randy betrayed the trust placed in him by the company, and betrayed
the trust placed in the company by its customers.  Even if this
particular customer was a scumbag, AT&T and its employees are not the
ones to make that determination or prescribe sanctions for
scumbag-like conduct.  That is the role of the criminal justice
system.  Scumbag or not, any customer of any long-distance company
ought to enjoy the same expectations of the privacy of their toll
records.  It is not up to individual phone company employees to punish
customers by violating their privacy.

At the time, nobody was particularly surprised at Randy's treatment.
While we may have felt bad for him, everybody knows that certain
actions are virtually guaranteed to result in immediate dismissal.

As a former AT&T employee and as a shareholder, I am quite proud of
the ethical standards embodied in AT&T's Code of Conduct.  But people
on this list may not want to hear that, since it doesn't fit the image
of Big Bad Mother.

Oh, and Pat, you may have no contractual obligation, what about your
ethical obligations?  Somebody had the privacy of their business
violated by having information about their identity and calling
patterns posted in the Digest.  As I recall, the name and address of
the subscriber appeared in the Digest, and several Chicago area
readers gum-shoed their operation.  This is not a Good Thing, and I'd
hate to have it on my head that it happened because of an editorial
decision I made. While you may have no legal responsibility for what
appears here, if you take no moral or ethical responsibility why have
a Moderator?  I'm sure we could limit the traffic with a few good Perl
scripts.


Andy Sherman      Salomon Inc - Unix Systems Support -
Rutherford, NJ [phone] - [e-mail] or [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: There are readers who would disagree with you and
say that a company doing business as per the firm in question *should*
be exposed. I never said anything about 'moral or ethical responsibil-
ity' ... I merely said I am not obliged to AT&T in any legal way. And
I am pleased that this newsgroup has readers willing to do 'gumshoe'
operations from time to time and report their findings here.  PAT]

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

From: John DuBois <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?
Organization: The Armory
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 09:32:24 GMT


     Pac Bell seems to be pretty good in this respect.  When we moved
into this house, I asked the landlord how many phone lines there were;
he told us that it had previously been rented by "computer scientists"
who he was sure had had plenty of lines.  But, when we got around to
ordering our third line, we discovered that there were only two.  An
installation person came out and tried to pull a third line through
the conduit that appeared to connect their-end with our-end.  Didn't
work.

     So a more experienced person came out, and assured us he'd take
care of it.  I returned to find a message on the door saying "Third
service subscriber must provide trench".  Huh? I called to ask what
the deal was, and a supervisor came out and told me that the
conduit-end poking out of the ground next to the house was fake; the
line had been direct-buried!  He said we'd have to put in conduit,
buried at least 18" deep, from the house to the edge of the property
to get more lines. We could do it ourselves or they could get a
contractor to do it for us for some large amount of money.  But, they
would be glad to bring as many pairs as we wanted to the edge of the
property.

     I decided we'd do it ourselves, since it was only twenty feet,
and how hard could be it be to dig a twenty foot, 18" deep trench?
Ha.  Turned out there was a rock layer 12" down, plus the occasional
root structure we had to burrow under.  It ended up taking us a year
of off-and-on pickaxe & shovel work, interspersed with giving up on
it, to get it done.  I was tempted to use explosives at times.
Certainly gave me more respect for trenchdiggers.  I think I'd rent a
backhoe next time.  But, we did get it done, and I laid the PVC per
their instructions, after spending 'way too long trying to figure out
how to get a piece of string through a 20' PVC section (they wanted it
to pull the cable through); first time I climbed on the roof of this
place...

     Then they came and looked at it and said, Oh, actually, you must
have the end of the conduit within 6" of the house.  Grr.  The thought
of digging a new trench for the last 10' or so didn't appeal to me, so
I just unburied the end and dug a notch to allow me to tip over the
end so that it leaned up against the house.  I wondered what they'd
think about that, but they didn't have a problem with it.

     Their contractor came and dug a trench down the street (taking
advantage of the unpaved center divider) to give us our extra lines,
at a cost of somewhat over $5K, which they absorbed.  Then the Pac
Bell people came and used my Wimpy String to pull through some of
their Hardy Phone Company Twine, and then came back again and pulled
through the cable.  I had asked them to pull ten pairs through, for
further expansion, and they had assured me they would, but when they
were done there were only five.  But at least it was in conduit, so
when we needed more they used the one five-pair cable to pull through
two five-pair cables, which has sufficed so far f(ive voice lines,
five data lines).

     They have so far been very understanding of my need to have four
phone lines in a hunt group at residential rates.  The only hitch has
been that I can't have my open-access system listed by name unless I
pay business rates.  But I can live with that.  And whoever rents this
house after *us* will find it nicely wired :)


John DuBois    [e-mail]    KC6QKZ

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 21:27:56 GMT


> I can see that people from a
> 1-means-toll area being annoyed when they have to pay toll for a call
> even if they didn't dial a leading 1.  But the reverse?  What's the
> point of telling callers to hang up and dial again, without the 1?

The psychological assumption here is that people know what places they
can call locally and what places they cannot; therefore, if they did
this, they must have *misdialed the number*.

For example, here in Toronto (area code 416), where use a leading
1-416 rather than plain 1 for long distance within the area code, 739
is a local exchange and 729 is long distance.  If I know this, then it
is not plausible that I would dial 1-416-739-6666 by mistake for
739-6666.  More likely I really meant to dial 1-416-729-6666 or some
other number that is long distance.  So why trouble the person at
739-6666 with a call that must be a long number?

In short, having only one way to dial a particular number provides a
primitive form of error checking.

Note: in giving this explanation (again), I am not claiming that this
is necessarily the best dialing system for today's world; there are
people who find it quite annoying, for good reason.  I am answering
the question as to what advantage it gives.


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

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 09:44 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Organization: I.E.C.C.


> I'm dialing "901+ [more stuff]" ...

Really?  Unless you have an astonishingly screwed up exchange, 00 gets
you a long distance operator, and 011 is international.  The worst
that dialing 901+stuff will get you is an unanticipated conversation
with someone in Tennesee.

Like I said, whether one likes 1+ for toll is a purely religious issue.


Regards,

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

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

From: Terry Kennedy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Organization: St. Peter's College, US
Date: 13 Jul 93 06:31:10 EDT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Tad Cook)
writes:

> How could this HUGE exchange, with a potential capacity of perhaps
> 460,000 lines, in area with probably more phones per acre than
> anywhere else in the country, be served by an old stepper?  Or is
> there more than one switch in that building?

 The last surviving S x S switches were generally serving as Centrex
gear for medium-to-large companies who (for one reason or another)
didn't want to migrate to modern equipment, possibly due to
preferential rates on the older switch. Some unrelated customers wound
up on the same switch by historical accident and didn't want to
relinquish their number to move. So, the switches stayed until the
Centrex customer was upgraded, and then everybody got a new switch
with the same prefix. I'd assume that other customers on the switch
who didn't want ESS features would be left on the switch, which is
probably how the original poster on the 212-820 switch got there.

 I know that the above was the situation on one S x S in New York City
  -- I believe the Centrex customer was Chemical Bank and the
unrelated customer who didn't want to change prefixes was the Dorsai
Embassy BBS, but it was quite a few years ago, so these may not be the
right customers.


Terry Kennedy        Operations Manager, Academic Computing
[e-mail]    St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
[e-mail]    [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Date: 13 Jul 1993 09:05:18 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

> [e-mail] (Lee S. Parks) writes:

>> Well believe it or not, right in the heart of lower Manhattan is a
>> step-by-step exchange in the Broad Street CO.  It services 212-820 and
>> I'm sure what other prefixes.  If you have DID (as my office does) in
>> 212-820 it takes over 20 seconds to complete the call.  NY Tel gives
>> conflicting dates as to when this old switch will be replaced.

> Is it REALLY an old stepper?  I did a search for 212-820 in the NPA
> shareware program that has been discussed before on this forum, and
> discovered that the Broad Street CO is the southernmost exchange in
> Manhatten.  Here are the other prefixes that are in the same building:

> 208   383   509   635   806
> 232   422   510   668   809
> 248   425   511   701   825
> 269   440   514   709   855
> 344   480   530   742   902
> 352   482   558   747   908
> 357   483   607   770   943
> 361   487   612   785   952
> 363   495   623   797   968

> How could this HUGE exchange, with a potential capacity of perhaps
> 460,000 lines, in area with probably more phones per acre than
> anywhere else in the country, be served by an old stepper?  Or is
> there more than one switch in that building?

The size of the list tells you that there has to be more than one
switch in the building.  And indeed as of a year ago, at least, there
were still stepper switches in New York City, e.g. Brooklyn.

I have dialed numbers in Manhattan as recently as a year ago where I
can *hear* the last three or four digits being outpulsed in rotary
style.  The number of clicks matches the last three or four digits.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza  New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578    fax [phone]

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 10:00:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Danny Padwa)
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices


I'd expect that there is more than one switch inside ... it is a
pretty sizeable CO (right across the street from the office here ...
maybe I should go knock on the door and ask! :-)).

Seriously, though ... concomitant with the ridiculously high
concentration of phones around here comes a ridiculously large amount
of money people are willing to spend for service.  I'm not that up on
the phone technology, but I'd expect most firms around here have as
much of their own wiring/switching/etc as possible.  Even to the point
of having direct trunks to multiple long-distance companies, with the
ability to switch (at least out-going calls) between them under local
control.

When you have zillions of dollars riding on the full-time availability
of your telecom equipment, you spend what is necessary to make sure it
stays alive.


Danny Padwa    [e-mail]
Note: None of this is an official GS&Co statement...just my own ramblings

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 16:50:08 GMT


There is almost certainly more than one switch in the building; I
wouldn't be surprised if there were three or more.  If memory serves,
the NYTel Broad Street and West Street COs between them serve all of
lower Manhattan.  With the phone density in that part of the world, as
you allude to, there's no way only two switches would have enough
capacity.  Even the largest 1A ESS (TM) switch out there only serves
~100k lines, again if memory serves, and on an SPC switch as features
increase, line capacity decreases.  Since lower Manhattan is a
business district, the switches will have to support heavy Centrex use
and be feature-rich, lowering the net line capacity.  So I'm sure
NYTel has a bunch of switches in those two COs.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Stephen Tell)
Subject: Re: "SPC" Xbar (was Re: Step-by-Step Offices)
Date: 13 Jul 1993 15:50:21 -0400
Organization: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Bud
Couch) writes:

> North Electric (NOT Northern Electric) was at one time 92% owned by
> Ericsson and produced modified (for the US market) and original
> designed crossbar systems built around the Ericsson xbar module. The
> NX-1 was one of the modified systems.

> A number of versions of the switch had been produced, but the NX-1D
> was the version that I was familiar with when I worked there in the
> the late 60's. When I left the company in '68, a development was
> underway to counter the AT&T and AE electronic switches. One
> development was an adaption of Ericsson's spc machine, the AXE-?, and
> the other was a stopgap modification of the NX-1D, labeled the NX-1E
> (for electronic).

I saw an NX-1E up close at the Duke University telephone system when
doing non-phone software work for them in 1988.  The electromechanical
switch fabric didn't appear to be a "crossbar" of any sort; rather it
was all individual open-frame relays packaged in 8" or so shelves in
10 or 12 foot frames.  Naturally it made quite a racket during the
day.

These relay shelves are also all that was stacked out back awaiting
the scrap-metal man after they cut to a 5ESS in the summer of '88.

The cut was simpler than some I've heard of; no choping through
cables.  The subscriber line shelves all had a lever that pulled out a
connector, isolating disconecting all the lines served by that shelf.
At the appointed time (2:00 am), techs ran up and down the rows of
frames, pulling the levers.  Shelves serving important lines, for
example emergency room phones at the hospital, were marked with
colored dots, and these pulled last.  This all took about ten minutes.

Then they typed a command at a console on the 5E, pronounced the cut a
success, and began cheering.

Some of the off-campus and toll trunks had already been moved to the
5E, and a tech in communiation with a GTE-Durham CO had them disable
the incoming trunks to the NX-1E over the next few hours; these trunks
were moved to the 5E and re-enabled.  A few off-campus calls still
made it into the old switch to be intercepted by a lone operator who
told them to try again in a few minutes.

About ten minutes after the cutover the first "code 5" emergency call
from the medical center was handled smoothly by an operator at one of
the new consoles in a temporary trailer.

Later I walked home and found that my phone didn't work ... I guess
student phones were a low priority; took them about two days to get
things straightend out.  On flip side, student party lines were gone
forever.


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

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #474
******************************










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Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 09:35:07 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #475

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 14 Jul 93 09:35:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 475

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Public Interest Coalition on Telecommunications (J. Philip Miller)
    U.S. Newspaper Publishers Ask For Telecom Policy Protection (Nigel Allen)
    Cellular Propagation Simulator (Rodney Alan Walker)
    Telephone Notes From Amsterdam (Lars Poulsen)
    New AT&T Feature: TruVoice (Bob Kupiec)
    AT&T True Voice Enhances Sound Quality (Les Reeves)
    Confused About Communications (Kimberly Santana)
    Bellsouth to Open Access to its Advanced Intelligent Network (R. Gellens)
    MPT 1327 1313 Trunked Radio (Rodney Alan Walker)
    CIS Blocking Internet? (Alan Boritz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: Public Interest Coalition on Telecommunications
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 08:43:37 -0500 (CDT)


   From the com-priv list:

   Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 09:20:32 EDT
   From: [e-mail]

Taxpayer Assets Project
Information Policy Note
July 13, 1993

     NEW COALITION FORMED TO ADVANCE PUBLIC INTEREST POSITIONS
     ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE

     On July 6, 1993, more than three dozen groups meet in Washington
to discuss the formation of a new coalition to develop public interest
positions on telecommunications infrastructure.  The working name for
the coalition is the Telecommunications Policy Roundtable.  The
principle organizers of the new coalition included Jeff Chester, from
the Center for Media Education (CME), Marc Rotenberg, from Computer
Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), and Prue Adler, from
the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).  Carol Henderson from the
American Library Association (ALA), Richard Civille from the Center
for Civic Networking (CCN), and several other groups were also
instrumental in the creation of the new coalition.

     The coalition was formed in part to fill a perceived void in the
development of public interest principles in the current national
debate over the new telecommunications infrastructure.  The July 6
meeting came about one month after EFF hosted a meeting to discuss its
"Open Platform" proposal for the telecommunications infrastructure.  A
number of participants at the EFF meeting were surprised at the narrow
scope of the EFF effort, which seemed to only address the issue of
common carrier access to an ISDN type switched service from the local
telephone service company.  EFF, for example, said that it was not
working on issues relating to cable television, nor did it express an
interest in developing positions on restrictions on horizonal or
vertical integration in new information markets.  At that meeting
Jerry Berman indicated that EFF was not particularly interested in
addressing a broader range of regulatory issues, and he issued a
challenge to the EFF critics to develop their own proposals.

     The new group which met on July 8 was diverse in its interests,
but surprisingly sophisticated about the increasingly inter-related
nature telecommunications issues.  It included groups that had worked
on issues relating to broadcast and cable television, regulation of
telephone rates, access to government information, NREN and the
Internet, as well as a number of groups that wanted to become more
involved in broader issues relating to federal information policy.
(EFF was invited, and participated in the meeting).

     A key driving force behind the new coalition is Jeff Chester from
the Center for Media Education, who has tirelessly sought to build
ties between groups working on different issues, and to motivate them
to broaden their horizons and work together as a coalition on the
larger infrastructure issues.

     The organizers of the July 8th meeting circulated a set of draft
principles for comment, which are reported below.  At the meeting
there was considerable interest in developing a broader statement that
would include a preamble of sorts, which explained why these
principles were important, as well as some more detailed and
operational statements regarding the implementation of these
principles, including comments on existing legislation or proposals
for new legislation.  There was also an interest in broadening the
scope of the principles to include some statements about the need to
give consumers and low income persons more power in the policy making
process.

     The Taxpayer Assets Project asked that the new group create an
Internet Listserve that would allow a broader national audience to
participate in a dialogue about the development of a public interest
perspective on the telecommunications infrastructure.  Some
participants (all of whom do not use the Internet) were mildly hostile
to this proposal, on the grounds that the users of the Internet were
an upscale elite group.  This issue will probably be resolved in the
fall, in favor of the creation of the list.

     For now, anyone who wants to comment on the July 8 version of the
draft principles should send probably send their comments to the
organizers of the new coalition.  (It would be nice if you would
include a cc: to [e-mail] as well).

Jeff Chester, Center for Media Education, P.O. Box 330039,
Washington, DC  20033; 202/628-2620; [e-mail]

Marc Rotenberg, CPSR, 666 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Suite 303
Washington, DC  20003; 202/544-9240; [e-mail]

Prue Adler, Association of Research Libraries, 21 Dupont Circle,
NW, Washington, DC  20036, 202/296-8656, [e-mail]

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

Telecommunications Policy Roundtable
   July 8 draft public interest goals for the information infrastructure

1. PUBLIC AND CIVIC SECTOR. The information infrastructure must be
created with a vibrant and healthy civic and public sector, which
allows for full participation of all segments within our society. This
participation should also include civic institutions such as schools,
universities, and libraries. The system should include fully developed
civic networks at the national, regional, state, and local level. The
system should be designed to facilitate openness in government and to
guarantee all citizens' right to know.

2. UNIVERSAL ACCESS. Every citizen should have free or affordable
access to basic programming and information services, including news,
public affairs, health, education, electoral, and government
information. "Universal access" draws upon the longstanding policy of
"universal service" which guarantees that all citizens have access to
basic telephone service. However, we believe that the convergence of
telephone, computer, video and other technologies requires an expanded
concept which will ensure that all citizens have access to the basic
tools and information needed to function in a democratic society.

3. PRIVACY PROTECTION. A comprehensive set of policies should be
developed to ensure that the privacy of all citizens is adequately
protected in the information infrastructure. For example, the
collection of personal data for telecommunication services should be
limited to the extent necessary to provide the service. This data
should not be shared with other individuals or institutions without
the explicit consent of the user. Users should not be required to pay
for routine privacy protection.

4. OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE SYSTEM. All citizens, groups, and institutions
must have equitable and affordable access as communicators and
information providers. Emerging telecommunications systems should be
designed with an open architecture and regulated as common carriers.
Owners of delivery systems should not be permitted to control the
content of programming or services.

5. DIVERSE AND COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE. The information infrastructure
must be designed to encourage diversity of users and providers, to
allow a wide range of perspectives and points of view to be heard, and
to promote robust debate. Policies must be put in place to encourage
the successful entry of small independent programming and service
providers. Encouraging such policies is particularly important given
the increasing consolidation within and among the communications
industries.

6. NONCOMMERCIAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. Citizens must be ensured
continued production/creation and availability of noncommercial
programs and information services. Policies should be established to
ensure the full participation and funding of noncommercial program and
service providers.

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

Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036;
v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet:  [e-mail]

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

 J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
   Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
    [e-mail] - [phone] [362-2693(FAX)]

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

Subject: U.S. Newspaper Publishers Ask For Telecom Policy Protection
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 3:59:03 EDT
From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>


Here is a press release from the National Newspaper Association.
I downloaded it from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834.

 Telecommunication Infrastructure Legislation Must Contain Protection
for Local Information Providers, Says NNA

 Contact: Mark T. Sheehan of the National Newspaper Association,
          202-466-7200

   WASHINGTON, July 13 -- Any legislation concerning the
telecommunications infrastructure must contain protection for equal
rates and guaranteed access for local information providers, if our
local communities are to preserve the quality of life that community
newspapers provide, according to the National Newspaper Association.

   That's what Dalton C. Wright, publisher of the Lebanon Daily
Record, will say July 14 when he testifies before the Communications
Subcommittee of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
(9:30 a.m., 253 Russell).

   "We are vulnerable because we're local in scope and small in size,"
he said in his prepared testimony.  "If appropriate regulatory
mechanisms and policies are not in place, we can be squeezed out by
larger, nationally based providers." Wright is also a member of the
association's board of directors, and is a member of the Missouri
Press Association, which passed a resolution supporting his testimony.

   Frank W. Garred, chairman of the National Newspaper Association,
which represents more than 4,600 community newspapers, and R. Jack
Fishman, chairman of the association's government relations committee,
also attended the hearing, which dealt with S. 1086, the
Inouye-Danforth telecommunications bill.  Garred is publisher of the
Port Townsend Jefferson County Leader in Port Townsend, Wash., and
Fishman is publisher of the Citizen Tribune in Morristown, Tenn.

   Garred noted that the association's proposed legislative language
would protect local broadcasters as well as community newspapers, and
that it was already in the form of an amendment to the
telecommunications bill sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.)
"This protection is needed if small, local information providers are
going to be able to take part in our telecommunications future," he
said, "and not be crowded completely off the nation's information
highway by the big national providers."

   Fishman emphasized that the National Newspaper Association was not
asking for preferential treatment: "We're not asking for anything one
or more of our competitors won't already have," he said.

   Note: Copy of testimony available on request from the National
Newspaper Association.

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

From: Rodney Alan Walker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cellular Propagation Simulator
Date: 14 Jul 93 12:15:04 +1000
Organization: Queensland University of Technology


Is anyone on the network aware of a software package that simulates
the cellular radio environment? Basically it provides signal strengths
at different geographic locations in relation to the cell transmission
site, depending on different terrain models and atmospheric
conditions.

I have not heard of any software for this, but I would find it
extremely useful. Can anyone help?


Thanks,

Rodney Walker    Post Graduate Studies
Queensland University of Technology
[e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 02:29:24 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Telephone Notes From Amsterdam


Greetings from the IETF meeting in Amsterdam. I am sending this from
the terminal room at the Internet Engineering Task Force meeting in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where about 500 engineers are discussing
data networking standards.

The Netherlands use the "charge unit pulse" method of telephone
billing.  The standard unit is worth about DFL 0.17 (USD 0.08) but
every hotel and most COCOTs charge DFL 0.65 per unit, which brings the
cost of a prime time call to the US up to near USD 15 per minute.
Obviously, the various USA Direct/Call USA services are a matter of
survival for business travelers and tourists. It is not surprising
that the telephone books in the hotels do not contain the access
numbers for these services.  Fortunately, they are posted in the phone
booths. On the other hand, it takes preparation to be able to use them
from the phone booths, since the booths require a pre-paid card to be
inserted before dialing, even for these "green numbers".

The conference organizers arranged dial-in access to the temporary
computer center (which has 42 unix workstations and a T-1 line to the
internet) but few of us can reach it from the hotel, because the phone
sets at the hotel are hardwired, and it is not obvious how to
disassemble the phone set to get at wires with our alligator clips.

One interesting element in the cityscape here is a 50 cm by 50 cm
green square sign mounted 10 feet up in many intersections, with a
picture of a hand held phone and the legend "ptt green point". This
indicates that a PCS microcell is mounted nearby. There is also one of
these in the lobby of the conference center.

In the next few weeks I shall report on the adventures of establishing
telephone and Internet service for my new residence in Copenhagen,
Denmark.

PPS: I am getting ready to set up a mailing list for Americans in
Europe. If you want to join, please send me mail ([e-mail]).


Lars Poulsen

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

From: beyonet!olwejo![e-mail] (Bob Kupiec)
Subject: New AT&T Feature: TruVoice
Reply-To: beyonet![e-mail]
Organization: Olwejo - Private UNIX System
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 04:02:27 GMT


What's the deal behind this new AT&T "feature" that is supposed to be
added to AT&T's long distance calls?  Supposedly, it enhances the
sound quality on LD calls.  To me, it just sounds like the volume was
increased with a little low-frequency added.

If anyone wants to hear for themselves, the demo is at 1-800-932-2000.


Bob Kupiec, N3MML     Internet: beyonet![e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 21:24:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: AT&T Truevoice Enhances Sound Quality


AT&T has annouced "Truevoice", an enhancement to it's switched voice
network service.

Truevoice is claimed to provide more realistic voice quality by
extending low-frequency response and increasing signal levels.
Truevoice will be deployed in AT&T's network by September,and
available to all customers.

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 21:05 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Confused About Communications


I am searching for as much information as I can find about
communications.  I am a newborn when it comes to e-mail, please be
patient.  I am a candidate for a Communications degree at Clark U, MA.
I haven't a clue what to look for.  Same old college song song isn't
it?  Can anyone start me out with some general tips?  I'd appreciate
it very much.


Kimberly Santana


[Moderator's Note: For starters, try checking out our archives. We
have dozens of files of interest plus twelve years of back issues of
this Digest/newsgroup.  Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu, then when
connected 'cd telecom-archives'.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 13 JUL 93 19:20
Subject: Bellsouth to Open Access to its Advanced Intelligent Network


Saw this in a news summary:

ELLSOUTH WANTS TO OPEN access to its Advanced Intelligent Network so
that other companies can develop new communications products, such as
voice recognition and personalized phone numbers that follow individuals
wherever they go, AP reported (7/8/93).  "Doubtless, we'll create
competition for some of our own advanced services," said Duane
Ackerman, president, BellSouth Telecommunications.  The company's
research, however, shows that new products developed by other
companies actually could increase BellSouth's revenues.


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

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

From: Rodney Alan Walker <[e-mail]>
Subject: MPT 1327 1313 Trunked Radio
Date: 14 Jul 93 12:00:38 +1000
Organization: Queensland University of Technology


I would like to know if any people on the Internet have experience
with the Trunked radio system, falling under the European Standard MPT
1327 1313.

What I am trying to do, is to send GPS data, through a trunked radio
link, so that a remote operator can see the position of his/her
vehicle fleet.

I am trying to make the system totally transparent to the trunked
radio user.

I would be interested in conversing with any people who have had
experience sending data over the trunked radio system, and in hearing
any problems that they may have had, or results that they obtained.


Rodney Walker    Post Graduate Studies
Queensland University of Technology
[e-mail]

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

Date: 14 Jul 93 07:28:55 EDT
From: Alan Boritz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


I recently had some difficulty sending Internet mail from my
Compuserve account to the fidonet.org domain.  Four days ago I asked
the folks at Compuserve why they were bouncing my properly
domain-addressed Internet mail, and they still haven't responded.
Ignoring for the moment that hobbyist sysops take better care of users
that don't pay like I do (;), would anyone know if Compuserve is
intentionally blocking some domains or if they're just not as
well-connected as other VAN hosts?


Alan Boritz     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: No one at CIS is 'bouncing your mail' or blocking
you from reaching anything. CIS does one thing with mail for the
Internet or other networks connected through it: they hand it off to
the gateway they use in Ohio. They take incoming mail to subscribers
at the same gateway and distribute it. They don't personally route
mail anywhere; just hand it to the gateway they use. They probably did
not answer because they have not yet received an answer from whoever
is their Internet contact; if they ever will get an answer. I send and
recieve large amounts of mail from CIS subscribers daily, including
the letter you sent me. I see no effort by CIS to do anything other
than the best job they can with network mail, given the various prob-
lems all sites have in making delivery. Bear in mind to reach Fido by
way of Internet, you had two gateways involved: CIS <=> Internet and
Internet <=> Fido. Any number of things could have happened, but the
least likely IMHO would be that Compuserve was 'blocking mail to the
Internet.'  By the way, I've waited as long as twenty minutes to break
through the busy signal at their 800-848-8990 customer service number
and another ten minutes on hold for a representative when I got that
far.  I'm not apologizing for them or accusing them, just stating
what appear to be operational realities.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #475
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #476

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 14 Jul 93 15:37:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 476

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Garrett Wollman)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Paolo Bellutta)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Louis Linneweh)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Dave McGuigan)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Wolf Paul)
    Re: TAP Spec For Beepers (Andy Sherman)
    Re: TAP Spec For Beepers (Monty Solomon)
    Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on Collect Call? (S. Forrette)
    Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on Collect Call? (S. Cogorno)
    Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on Collect Call? (guy@intgp1)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Paul S. Sawyer)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Andy Behrens)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Joe George)
    Re: Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls? (Carl Oppedahl)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: University of Vermont, EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 18:29:39 GMT


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

> Recently, I noticed the pattern of using __0 (where the "__" can be
> any number of digits) as the main number, with __xx (or even __xxx?)
> being the extension for the fax line.

As other people have noted, many countries have no difficulty with
phone numbers of varying length.  Four years ago, when I was in
Finland, the number for the switchboard operator at the University of
Helsinki as ([phone]; the number for an individual office was
then 191 XXXX.  I don't know if this is still the case, although I do
remember a lot of grumbling at the time about how numbers in Helsinki
were had been expanded from six to seven digits, to make room in the
(90) area.


Garrett A. Wollman   [e-mail]
uvm-gen!wollman      UVM disagrees.

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

From: [e-mail] (Paolo Bellutta)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: Oregon Health Sciences University
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 00:43:24 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Paolo
Bellutta) writes:

> suspicious ...) How about telling us the sequence of numbers you dial;
> let's see if its *really* more than 12 or if there is some local code
> on your end, etc that is being counted as well.  PAT]

I might have misunderstood the subject, but this is what I dial for a
friend in Milan:

    IT MI (yes 8 digits)
011 39 2  487 xx xxx

and of my parents in Trento

    IT Trento (6 digits)
011 39 461    98 xx xx

Both count 14 digits to me.


Paolo Bellutta -- [e-mail] - tel: [phone]
BICC - OHSU - 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park rd. - Portland, OR

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

From: [e-mail] (Louis Linneweh)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 1993 22:02:35 GMT


Our Moderator notes:

> But I have never heard of this before; that a number which requires
> thirteen digits to dial cannot be reached directly. We in the USA have
> had IDDD in many exchanges for twenty years, and in almost all
> exchanges for several years now. No one has yet raised this point???

Probably because, quoting from section 2.1 of CCITT recommendation
E.163 "NUMBERING PLAN FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE SERVICE": "The
CCITT recommended in 1964 that the number of digits to be dialed by
subscribers in the automatic international service should not be more
than 12 (excluding the international prefix).  It is emphasized that
this is the maximum number of digits and the Administrations are
invited to do their utmost to limit the digits to be dialed to the
smallest possible number."  (Note that the international prefix is:
"The combination of digits to be dialled by a calling subscriber
making a call to a subscriber in another country, to obtain access to
the automatic outgiong international equipment.  according to CCITT
Rec. E.160.  The example given is "00 in Switzerland", which
corresponds to the US "011".)

It is noted in the introduction to Rec. E.163 that: "Recommendation
E.164 describes the numbering plan for the ISDN era.  It is for each
Administration to choose the method of application from the two
Recommendations which would provide the optimal approach to meeting
their future national numbering plan needs.  Evolution between the
plans is for further study.  However for new equipment it is
recommended that E.164 be adopted."  And the last paragraph of section
3 includes the statement: "In this regard, registers dealing with
international traffic should have a digit capacity that can be
expanded, to cater for more than the maximum 12-digit international
number envisaged at present.  The increase in the number of digits
above 12 is left as a matter of decision to be taken by individual
Administrations.  However, for new applications a minimum digit
capacity of 15 digits is recommended (see Recommendation E.164)."

So, 12 was once the maximum required, but then came the ISDN era ...
Therefore, +49 6131 XXX 4555 must be an ISDN era number!  The
Administrations had better get busy expanding their registers to
cater.


Lou

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 15:10:45 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: AT&T


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

> ITU-T (Formerly CCITT) Recommendation E.164 on telecommunications
> numbering specifies that the maximum length of an international number
> be 12 digits, consisting of a one, two, or three digit country code,
> and a national significant number of any length such that the length
> of the country code plus the national significant number not exeed 12
> digits.  Therefore, in countries where the CC is two digits, a NSN of
> 11 or digits (such as that above) will cause the total length to
> exceed 12 digits, which is not consistent with E.164 and therefore can
> not be expected to be dialable across national boundaries.

> The CCITT (now ITU-TSS) has recommended an expansion of international
> numbers from 12 to 15 digits at what they call "Time T", defined as
> December 31, 1996.  As of that date, all switches should be able to
> handle international numbers of up to 15 digits in length.  Before
> that time, 12 is the maximum.

Telekom is well within its rights to assign up to 15 digits according
to the E.164 and E.165 standards.  Time "T" represents the end of a
transition period at which time a network must support up to 15 digits
to be considered a "conforming" network.  However, until time "T",
there should be no expectation that such numbers can be passed accross
network boundaries.


Dave McGuigan    AT&T Bell Labs

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

From: [e-mail] (Wolf Paul)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Wolf N. Paul)
Organization: Alcatel Austria Research Centre
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 08:05:19 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail].
CS.CMU.EDU writes:

> Local U.S. exchanges only have the capacity to store 12-digit numbers ...
> If you have a 13 digit (including country code) phone number, you
> cannot be reached through direct dial from a local exchange in the
> United States!!  (As I was told there are 13-digit numbers currently
> in Germany, Austria, and the Chech Republic.)

>[Moderator's Note:  No one has yet raised this point???  PAT]

Well, telcos in Europe have been aware of it for quite some time, with
the result that (a) larger cities with larger numbers of subscribers
usually have shorter city codes, so a greater number of subscriber
digits can be accommodated within the 12-digit limit, and (b) at least
here in Austria, companies with large PBX setups get shorter
subscriber numbers so as to accommodate whatever number of extension
digits is necessary. In fact here in Austria, during the past decade,
many city codes were shortened, most recently Vienna's, from "222" to
"1", particularly for the purpose of facilitating overseas dialling.

There is in fact a CCITT recommendation to the effect that country
code, city code, subscriber code plus PBX extensions together should
not number more than 12 digits.

Why the fax number in question was longer, I do not know; possibly
because a PBX was installed on a line without the telco's knowledge,
thus the initial subscriber number assigned is too long, and with the
extension number to reach the fax the 12-digits are exceeded.


Wolf N. Paul, Computer Center         [e-mail]
Alcatel Austria Research Center  [phone] (w)
Ruthnergasse 1-7                   [phone] (fax)
A-1210 Vienna-Austria/Europe        [phone] (h)

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 13:23:03 EDT
Subject: Re: TAP Spec For Beepers
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)


On 10 Jul 93 07:52:44 GMT, [e-mail] (Jerry Whiting) said:

> I'd like to write a simple terminal app to send messages to
> alphanumeric pagers.  The local beeper companies are somewhat vague
> about details but I've heard of a TAP spec.

> Is there code (Basic, C, etc.) floating around to do such a thing?
> Doesn't seem like I can do it from within ProComm+ (I can have it call
> my digital beeper though).

As Pat's Moderator's Note pointed out, the spec and some code are in
the archive.  ixo.tap.protocol has the protocol spec. ixo.program.
scripts contains programs from Tom Limoncelli from Mentor Graphics,
largely written in Perl.

You *can* write a simple Aspect script for Procomm Plus which will use
the Manual mode of the IXO/TAP protocol to send an Alphanumeric page.
I've done it -- it took all of 1/2 hour to debug.


Andy Sherman   Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 02:55:04 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: TAP Spec For Beepers


> I'd like to write a simple terminal app to send messages to
> alphanumeric pagers.  The local beeper companies are somewhat vague
> about details but I've heard of a TAP spec.

> Is there code (Basic, C, etc.) floating around to do such a thing?
> Doesn't seem like I can do it from within ProComm+ (I can have it call
> my digital beeper though).

Here are some updates on the IXO protocol mailing list and archives.

  Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 17:56:45 EDT
  From: [e-mail]
  Subject: MAILING LIST CHANGES


NEW MAILING LIST STUFF:

I've finally gotten around to installing majordomo (it's like
listserv, only a lot better :-) ).  So, you no longer send
subscribe/signoff messages to [e-mail].  Now you
send them to [e-mail]

("majordomo" means "one who talks for others", by the way).

This should make my life easier as I won't have to manually respond to
every signon/signoff request.

Send "help" in the body of a message to [e-mail]
(the Subject is ignored) for more information.

 From any Unix shell:
        echo help | mail [e-mail] (it will respond
 with a helpful message)

Posting is still done by sending email to [e-mail].

  From: [e-mail]
  Subject: NEW FTP SITE
  Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1993 18:16:16 -0500 (EDT)

Thanks to Robert E. Landsparger <[e-mail]> we now
have an FTP site for tpage!

              site:   anonftp.geo.mtu.edu  (141.219.21.210)
              login:  anonymous
              dir:    pub/ixo

Thanks Rob!

Tom

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on a Collect Call?
Date: 13 Jul 1993 01:00:38 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mitch
Wagner) writes:

>> [Moderator's Note: Now what would happen if when the call supervised,
>> for a few seconds all operator positions were busy?

> What if it connects to the operator first? That way, until the operaor
> is available, the call does not go through to the called party?
> Wouldn't that work? Is that the way it's done now?

This would defeat the whole purpose of the new system!  The fact that
the operator's time is not allocated until after the call supervises
is what enables cost savings by only having the machine (and the
caller) listen to the ringing.  In the event of no-answer or busy, no
operator time is used at all.  In the case of an answer, several
seconds are still saved.

It was suggested by someone that the forward talk path is not cut
through until after the operator confirms charge acceptance -- this is
not the case.  Just today, I had to call collect to Pacific Bell from
Seattle, and used AT&T to make a collect call.  When Pacific Bell's
ACD answered, it told me to "press 1 for..."  I made my selections and
the ACD responded to my choices.  Then, there was a few seconds of
silence while it transferred my call.  There was never any indication
during my menu selections that the operator was on the line (the call
had indeed already supervised, but the operator apparently stayed
quiet while I made my selections).

I guessed that either I had gotten away with a free call (not likely),
or that the operator was trained to wait until a person answered.
Sure enough, as soon as my turn came up in the queue (fortunately
quickly) and a person answered, the operator asked about call
acceptance by saying "This is the AT&T operator.  Will you accept a
collect call from (caller state your name)" Interestingly, the
recipient asked for my area code before deciding on call acceptance,
and the operator did not tell them, but instead asked me to state my
area code.  I would assume that she had that information on her
screen.  So, in summary, the forward call path is cut through on AT&T
collect calls as soon as the call supervises, at least in the cases
where the operator is immediately available.  So I guess there is the
opportunity for the caller to blurt out something quickly and hang up.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Cogorno)
Subject: Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on a Collect Call?
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 03:20:34 GMT


I wouldn't be surprised if the format has changed.  PacBell now uses
an automated system for collect calls. You dial 0-xxx-xxx, and the
wait.  You will hear a voice that says, "please dial your cardnumber,
or 11 for a collect call."  You record your name, and you are put on
hold.  The Remote phone rings and that Digital PacBell woman says
"This is Pacific Bell, with a collect call from " [your voice here]".
To accept this call, press 1, otherwise hang up now."

THis is supposedly going to save the telcom a bunch of money.


Steve  [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 19:31:22 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Is AT&T no Longer Asking For Caller Name on a Collect Call?
Organization: AT&T


> [Moderator's Note: Now what would happen if when the call supervised,
> for a few seconds all operator positions were busy? That is, my phone

The system, and operator service center is engineered to prevent this
from happening, but if there is no operator availible when the call
connects, you get a short announcement, not free talk time.

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul S. Sawyer)
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
Date: 14 Jul 1993 15:19:44 GMT
Organization: UNH Telecommunications and Network Services


I thought I had seen a list like this compiled once, but...  There's
"Operator" by the Grateful Dead, and don't forget "Memphis" (by Johnny
Rivers?), and "Chantilly Lace" by the Big Bopper (the late J.P.
Richardson), all sung from a user perspective.


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

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 19:32:33 GMT


What more appropriate song than "Telstar" (by the Ventures), an
instrumental hit that celebrated the first commercial communications
satellite.

Telstar 1 was launched in 1962 and operated for seven months, until it
was damaged by radiation from a high-altitude atom-bomb test.  It
could process either six simultaneous two-way telephone calls or a
single television channel.  Telstar transmitted the first direct
television pictures from the United States to Europe on July 10, 1962.


Andy Behrens
Burlington Coat Factory, Schoolhouse Rd., Etna, N.H. 03750    [phone]

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

Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 03:29:22 EST
Organization: The Waffle Whiffer, Atlanta, GA


In comp.dcom.telecom you write:

>> In the interim, e.g. until we get some other nominations

> I nominate Mars Lasar's "Cellular City" from his Eleventh Hour CD.  It
> includes sampled DTMF tones, ringback and intercepts.  The song came
> onto our office music system as I was cutting over to a new key system.
> At first I thought that I had wired the system wrong and it had started
> speed dialing itself :-).

The German industrial group Kraftwerk has a song (from the Electric
Cafe CD) called "The Telephone Call".  The melody and the rhythm lines
are made up of touch tones, busy signals, dialtones, intercept tones,
and a variety of international "The number you have reached ..."
recordings.


Joe George ([e-mail], emory!indigo!whiffer!jgeorge)
Actually, I _do_ speak for The Waffle Whiffer

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls?
Date: 13 Jul 1993 09:27:58 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Anthony
Wallis) writes:

> Today I was logged on to a remote computer via modem for three hours.
> A friend needed to contact me, and getting repeated busy signals,
> asked an operator for an "emergency" interrupt.  The operator said
> there was "static" on the line and did I "have a computer"?  Nothing
> was done, apart from me getting some garbage once.  Can operators
> constructively and in a technically competent way interrupt modem
> calls?  Or are they "scared" to?

> [Moderator's Note: There is nothing different about a modem line than
> any other from the operator's point of view. The operator can do an
> emergency interuppt on most lines (there is a class of service in some
> telcos which prevent even the operator from interuppting if the line
> is set up that way), but the operator can only speak in a human voice,
> thus is unable to communicate with a modem. In this case, the operator
> make an intelligent decision about what she heard, and reached the
> conclusion that regardless of how long she stayed on the line asking
> for a human being to respond to her, it was not likely to occur. The
> only thing that would occur, given enough persistence by the operator
> would be the complete garbaging-out of the connection and the abandon-
> ment by the computer operator (yourself) of the call. In other words,
> whether or not you wished to acknowlege the emergency interuppt (which
> by law you are supposed to do if the calling party claims an emergency
> exists), you'd be the loser and the interuppter would be the winner.

This is yet another reason why it is smart to use V.42 error
correction (or MNP 4).  I occasionally have the bad luck that someone
will pick up a phone while a data line call is in progress.  Before I
was using V.42 such a pickup would generally fill the screen with junk
and often lose the call.  But with error correction nothing bad
happens on the screen -- it's just that for a few seconds the data
flow pauses.  Oh, and the EC light flickers on the modem.  An operator
interrupt would do the same sort of thing.

In the extreme case, of course, the operator interrupt could result in
loss of carrier and a lost connection.  But with V.42 or MNP 4 it
would have to be pretty extreme.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW   (intellectual property lawyer)
30 Rockefeller Plaza  New York, NY  10112-0228
voice 212-408-2578    fax [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #476
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #477

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 14 Jul 93 16:09:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 477

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Meeting Highlights for the June 93 NIU-Forum (Steve Rogers)
    Lightspan 2000 (Ernie Billingsely)
    Need Information on High-Performance Networks (Tracy M. Nelson)
    TrueVoice vs. Modems (Ralph Hyres)
    Cherry Communications (Carl Moore)
    On Obtaining 900 Numbers (Elana Beach)
    Long Distance Companies Keep Sending Me Money! (B.J. Guillot)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Rogers)
Subject: Meeting Highlights for the June 93 NIU-Forum
Organization: EDS Technology Architecture
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 18:31:22 GMT


                            (NIUF)

Volume 2                                             Number 2

           NIUF Meeting Highlights, June 22-25, 1993

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, hosted the eighteenth meeting of the NIUF on
June 22-25, 1993.  Over 230 users, implementors, and service providers
of ISDN technology attended the forum.

This NIUF meeting continued the tradition of providing continuing
education in ISDN related topics by offering the following tutorials
as part of the regular meeting:

  - "Overview of NIUF/New Users & New Implementors", by Karen
     Patten, AT&T, and Don Auble, Ameritech
  - "Migration to Broadband ISDN", by Dan Ward, Siemens Strom-
      berg-Carlson
  - "Basic ISDN", by Steve Rogers, EDS
  - "ISDN .. What is It?  Where Are We?  Where Are We Going?",
     by Wunnava V. Subbarao, Florida International University
  - Application Software Interface, by Robert Toense, NIST
  - National ISDN User Applications, by Kay Burin, Bellcore-TEC

In addition, the Broadband ISDN Working Group presented the following
tutorials:

  - "SMDS," by Deidre Kostick, Bellcore
  - "North Carolina Broadband Network," by Dan Spears, BellSouth

The ISDN User Workshop held its first General User Meeting in an
attempt to cover topics of interest to a wide range of Users and
Implementors.  This first meeting was a resounding success both from
the interest generated by the topics and the number of people
attending the session.  There were three main topics discussed at the
meeting: 1) the current state of ISDN tariffs in the United States and
Canada; 2) the status of the Tennessee Public Utilities Commission
ISDN field trials; and 3) a panel discussion on the impact of the
Clean Air Act Amendment on state and local governments and the use of
telecommuting as a potential solution.

Cathy Simon, Ameritech Services, gave a presentation on "Na- tional
ISDN Tariff and Pricing Guide."  This session was the first
presentation of a contribution from the Exchange Carriers regarding
their current tariffed ISDN offerings.  This contribu- tion was in
direct response to users' request for information on general tariff
availability and pricing information in a consis- tent format that can
be used in decision-making processes regarding ISDN services.  The
document, presented at this session, details the Basic Rate and
Primary Rate pricing information (Installation and Monthly rates), by
Interface Configuration, for each "Single Line," Centrex, and Primary
Rate offering by state and province where the information was
available.  The document is a major accomplishment in meeting the
needs of users for information they can use and Cathy Simon is to be
congratulated for the effort she has put forward in compiling this
milestone document.

Ronnie Vines, BellSouth, gave the second presentation on "Ten- nessee
Trial."  This session covered the PUC-mandated field trial of ISDN in
four major Tennessee metropolitan areas in which customers have been
given ISDN service free of charge.  Ronnie discussed the limits placed
on the initial participation in the trial as well as the response and
some lessons learned.  The presentation covered some of the problems
faced in marketing the service as well as stumbling blocks to user
acceptance.  On the positive side, the presentation showed that there
are some customer applications that ISDN is in demand for, one of the
primary being telecommuting.

The last presentation consisted of a panel discussion led by Rich
Raybold of Raybold Consulting, titled "The Clean Air Act -
Telecommuting - ISDN."  The expert panel as assembled by Rich included
Dr. Edward Risse of Synergy/Planning, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia; Dr.
Wendell Joyce, Personnel Research Psychologist from the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management; and Marsha Fuller, Owner/Manager of Fuller
Consulting Service of Hagerstown, Maryland.  The panel discussed the
requirements of the Clean Air Act of 1990 with special emphasis on the
requirement to reduce consumer-related travel in high pollution areas
and the penal- ties that can be charged to employers that do not
develop com- pliance plans.  Regional approaches to applying such
concepts as telecommuting to comply with the act were discussed.
Real-life experiences with early telecommuting trials under way in the
Washington, D.C. area were covered.  The panel also discussed both
management and human factors that were key in the successful trials.
This topic was so thought-provoking that it led to discussions over
the remaining days of the NIUF meeting as to how the NIUF might be
able to meet the challenge of educating and assisting local and state
governments on the benefits of ISDN in accomplishing the goal of
increased telecommuting in response to the Clean Air Act.

There were a number of presentations related to the National ISDN
planning process held as a part of this NIUF meeting.  They include a
presentation at the Versions - Capability Analysis and Planning Group
(VCAP) by Pat Donovan (Bell Atlantic).  Pat presented the provisional
definition of National ISDN-3 based on the input received by Bellcore
from both the NIUF and other segments of the industry.  All National
ISDN-3 capabilities were identified as they associate with the NIUF
capability priorities that have been provided by the forum over the
past year.  Following Pat's presentation, a brief panel discussion
included representatives from AT&T, NTI, Siemens Stromberg-Carlson,
Ericsson, and Ameritech.

In the ISDN CPE and Software Working Group (ICSW) meeting, Central
Office (CO) switch manufacturers - AT&T, Northern Telecom, Siemens,
and Ericsson, made presentations on the implementation schedules for
National ISDN-2.  Manufacturers of Basic Rate ISDN terminal equipment
also spoke on their activities in the ISDN market and on issues as
they see them.  The October meeting will include presentations by the
Primary Rate ISDN voice and data product suppliers.

Ameritech sponsored a session on the Primary Rate ISDN switched
fractional services that will become available with National ISDN-2.
The ICSW wrote two liaison letters to the COS ISDN Executive Interest
Group.  One letter calls for a joint meeting between a delegation from
the ICSW and the COS ISDN Executive Interest Group.  The second letter
recommends the development of a common ISDN service and product
identification mark.

The initial draft of the second edition of "A Catalog of National ISDN
Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications" was presented to the forum
and discussed. The forum's goal is to publish the second edition in
February 1994. The new edition will focus on new solutions which
include NI-2 and PRI capabilities.  It will also include a new ISDN
overview targeted at the decision-making consumer.

The ICSW Basic Rate Subcommittee is working towards the imple-
mentation of the simplified ISDN ordering procedures by the end of the
year.  They also started an initiative to produce a document that
shows how to do wiring and provide power for ISDN installations in
homes and small businesses.

The ICSW PBX Subcommittee began an effort to facilitate the
standardization of the ISDN-based Q.SIG protocols for ISDN PBX
interworking.  The group produced a liaison letter to be sent to the
COS ISDN Executive Interest Group that defines the issues that relate
to the implementation of PBXs in an ISDN environment.

The need for a Broadband Application Profile Team has been identified
by the Broadband Working Group and the ISDN Implemen- tors' Workshop
(IIW) recommended that this group be formed at the next meeting under
the IIW.  For information on the forma- tion of this group, contact Al
Kerecman of USA CECOM at 908/532-3608 or Glenn Ehley of Siemens
Stromberg-Carlson at 407/955-6476.

The Application Analysis Technical Working Group helped advance work
on the ISDN Application titled "Interactive Simulation", championed by
users from the U.S. Army and other Dept. of Defense organizations.
The objective of this application is to achieve transparent
interoperability of a wide range of simulators, simulations, and
actual equipment operating seamlessly in both real and virtual
environments.  The purpose is to promote faster and more affordable
high-quality acquisitions; to achieve greater training proficiency and
skill sets in shorter times; and to effectively rehearse out of harm's
way.  Al Kerecman of USA CECOM is leading the work.

The ISDN Conformance Testing ACT 1 Technical Working Group has
completed the revision of the Layer 1 Conformance Tests for the Basic
Rate S/T Interface.  The revised tests are based on the 1991 version
of the ANSI T1.605 standard.  The new test document includes an
appendix which compares the ACT 1 tests to the CTS-2 tests.  Also in
the conformance test area, a draft contribution for Network to Network
Interface (NNI) has been presented as a working document.  Finally, at
the May TSS (CCITT) meeting, the Q.933 Annex A Test Suite, developed
in the NIUF ICOT Group, was presented and accepted as baseline text.

In the Enterprise Network Data Interconnectivity Family (ENDIF)
meeting, end-users and ISDN-LAN equipment vendors discussed the need
for interoperability among different vendors' equipment for
applications (involving access to LANs and between LANs) using ISDN.
Strawman solution proposals were discussed and IETF activities and
documents were considered.  The breakthrough goal for this group is to
be able to agree on methodology, implement it in real products, and
demonstrate multi-vendor interoperability by the next NIUF meeting in
October.

The Call Management Family continued joint meetings with the Call
Management Profile Team.  The major work in progress is the
Telecommuting Application Profile being led by Bob Schickofke of
Siemens Stromberg-Carlson.  This document has made major advances in
the past two meetings, and it is hoped that a stable draft can be
presented at the next NIUF meeting.  The combined groups also met with
the ENDIF Group to discuss areas of mutual concern related to the
Telecommuting Profile and access to enterprise networks.  Both teams
agreed to incorporate the ENDIF contributions on LAN interoperability
into the telecommuting profile.  Comments from both committees will be
submitted by mid-September.

In the Messaging and Answering Family meeting, David LaPier presented
a revised version of the Unified Message Retrieval Application
Analysis.  Further comments from the team were incorporated and the
analysis was approved.  Jim Rothweiler, Bellcore, presented a recently
completed survey assessing five new features that will support the
voice messaging industry in providing service to the consumer market.
The presentation provided details of the joint analysis used to assess
the pri- mary market research, a segmentation analysis of potential
new end-users, and plans for implementing the proposed features.

The Strategic Planning and Public Policy Group led by IUW Vice-Chair
Jake Jacobson of Jet Propulsion Laboratory continued work on defining
the future direction for the Forum.  Discussion in this group included
the possibility of developing an information package to help local
governments understand the impact of the Clean Air Act.  This
information packet would also show how applications like telecommuting
using ISDN could help meet the vehicle traffic reduction goals
outlined in this legislation.  Glenn Ehley, IIW Chair, requested
suggestions for an "Increased Participation Drive."  He received
several good recommendations, including the use of telecommunication
graduate students to assist with the application analysis process
(recommended by Dave Roland).

Major work continued on many issues important to users, includ- ing
approval at the final plenary of the Phase One document for the
simplification of ISDN provisioning and ordering.  This document
covers the ISDN Parameter Grouping that will be used to match ISDN
service parameters to specific application requirements.  The Phase
Two document, covering ISDN Interface Groups, was declared working
group stable by the Ad Hoc Group on the Simplification of ISDN
Ordering, Provisioning, and Installation.


At the Wednesday evening NIUF Banquet Matt Thomson, Northern Telecom,
received a certificate of recognition for his leader- ship in the NIUF
and his work on TRIP '92.  In addition, Dr.  Robert M. Metcalfe,
Publisher and CEO of InfoWorld, recognized the NIUF and COS with the
Publisher's Industry Milestone Award for their efforts in the success
of TRIP '92.  Eve Aretakis, Vice President of Marketing at Siemens
Stromberg-Carlson, pre- sented a talk on "ISDN Data Services: Can they
Survive the Broadband Data Explosion."

The closing plenary approved the following documents on June 25,
1993:

  - A Generic Model for ISDN Cost Analysis (NIUF 417-93)
  - Phase 1 NIUF ISDN Parameter Groups (NIPGs) (NIUF 418-93)
  - BRI Class I Implementation Agreement Addendum (NIUF 419-93)
  - PRI Class II Implementation Agreement Addendum (NIUF 420-93)
  - Application Software Interface - Overview and Protocol
    Part 1 Addendum (NIUF 403R2-92)

The following documents were announced as working group stable
and will be voted on at the next meeting, if no substantive
comments are received:

  - Video Conference Application (VAC 93-1)
  - Frame Relay Conformance Test Suite for ANS T1.617 Annex D
    Permanent Virtual Connection (PVC) Part I:  Test Suite
    Structure and Test Purpose [ICOT-93-01 ACTFR-92-014.08]
  - Frame Relay Conformance Test Suite for ANS T1.617 Annex D
    Permanent Virtual Connection (PVC) Part 2:  Protocol
    Implementation Extra Information for Testing (PIXIT)
    [ICOT-93-02, ACTFR-92-025.05]
  - Frame Relay Conformance Test Suite for ANS T1.617 Annex D
    Permanent Virtual Connection (PVC) Part 3:  Conformance
    Test Suite [ICOT-93-03, ACTFR-92-026.06]
  - ISDN Layer 1 Conformance Testing - Basic Access S/T Interface
    [ICOT-93-04, ACT1-93-010]
  - ISDN Layer 3 Basic call Control Abstract Test Suite -
    Primary Rate Interface (PRI)/ Class II User Side
    [ICOT-93-05, ACT23-93-08]
  - Phase 2 NIUF ISDN Parameter Groups (NIPGs)

There were five new applications submitted to the IUW:

 93-004.1   Call-by-Call Service Selection
 93-005.1   High Quality Audio Transmission
 93-006.6   Residential and Small Business Internal "Party Line"
 93-007.6   Tip/Ring Type ISDN Terminal Applications
 93-008.6   Unrestricted ISDN BRI Trunk From Central Office

The next NIUF meeting will be held at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, October 19-22,
1993.  Contact Dawn Hoffman at 301-975-2937 for further information.

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

Steve Rogers   [e-mail]
EDS Technology Architecture   Plano, Texas

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

From: Ernie Billingsely <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 14:55:32 EST
Subject: Lightspan 2000


  Recently our LEC (Michigan Bell Telephone) has agreed to provide
dial tone in a building we are purchasing. They will bring the
circuits in on fiber and convert to copper using a Lightspan 2000.

 Does anyone reading this have any information on this equipment or
know where I can find some info? I hate having equipment installed
when I don't know how it works.

Please reply to [e-mail]. Any info would be
appreciated especially info regarding capacity, environmental
requirements, and performance. Thanks.

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

From: [e-mail] (Tracy M Nelson)
Subject: Need Information on High-Performance Networks
Organization: TeleSciences CO Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 15:58:44 GMT


I need some information on high-performance networks.  A friend of
mine (w/o net access) is trying to build a high-performance (max
throughput) network.  He will be transferring 3-4GB files from a 1-2TB
database (hey, that's what he told me).  Any references to research
articles or commercial products would be greatly appreciated.  He has
questions like: What is the maximum throughput of a "standard"
(whatever that means...) fiber-optic cable?  What benefit would there
be to using an ATM network as opposed to a T3 line (or lines).  You
may reply directly to me; I'll summarize if anyone else is interested.


Thanks!

Tracy Nelson

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 13:04:12 EDT
Subject: TrueVoice vs. Modems


Here`s what I've seen written about how TrueVoice works.  How will
data calls be affected?  (Hopefully, the same modem carrier tones that
turn off echo supressors will also disable the TrueVoice feature.)

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

Through a patented technical innovation developed by AT&T Bell
Laboratories, AT&T TrueVoice makes long- distance calls sound clearer,
closer and more natural by boosting the lower, or bass, end of the
calls' sound spectrum while raising their overall sound level.

 ...

Deployment of AT&T TrueVoice in the AT&T network will begin in
September 1993 and will continue, city by city, through the end of
1994.  To hear a demonstration of AT&T TrueVoice, call 800-932-2000.
A Spanish language version is available on 800-792-9100.  A major
advertising campaign on AT&T TrueVoice will air tonight during
baseball's All-Star Game.

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

Since the network is digital, I would suspect this is all being done
in software, somewhere, somehow.  That's a LOT of CPU cycles for 100+
million calls/day.

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 14:02:31 GMT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Cherry Communications


On my drive along Illinois route 1, I found (in Kankakee County) a
phone apparently owned by Cherry Communications, 2001 Butterfield Rd.,
Downers Grove, IL 60515, with the firm's telephone number being
708-719-1595.  It advertises:

  must use coins;
  25 cents per minute anywhere in U.S. except Alaska, Hawaii, and in-state;
  three minute minimum.

There was no number displayed as belonging to that phone.  I placed a
call using AT&T, and it turned out to be Kankakee (815-939), which at
least at first glance appears to be a foreign exchange.  If it is
foreign, it is a neighboring exchange; I checked the map and along
Illinois route 1, I come as close as seven miles to the center of the
town of Kankakee.  Unless I did indeed scrape the east edge of the
Kankakee exchange, I'd expect to be in the St. Anne (815-427, to the
south) or Momence (815-472, to the north) exchanges.

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

From: [e-mail] (Elana Beach)
Subject: On Obtaining 900 Numbers
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 15:15:01 GMT


Curiosity has got me ... what's all the complications involved in
getting a 900 number on your own without paying $35 or $99 to some
"we'll show you how to get a 900 number" outfit?  What are the
risks/stupidities involved either way?

If this information is available in the archives, it's time for me to
learn FTP.  It would be interesting to see what this 900 stuff looks
like from the inside, and to see what the telecom readers have to say
as well.


Thanks.

A Curious Cat  (uh, oh! :)

Seriously from:

Elana


[Moderator's Note: If you are at all telecom saavy, there is no reason
to use one of those companies with the sole exception being they can
sometimes cut you a better deal than telco based on their volume pur-
chases of 900 lines; also sometimes they can get you better deals on
service bureaus sometimes unless you plan to process the charges on
your own. When I say 'better deal than telco' I mean for example the
way Illinois Bell does business with 976 lines. *Before they will even
talk to you at all* you send them a certified check or cashier's check
for $2000. *Then* they assign a representative to help you configure
the service and get the lines installed. Most service bureaus are not
quite that demanding. How do you find which ones? Spend the money to
buy the manual those companies sell!  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (B.J. Guillot)
Subject: Long Distance Companies Keep Sending Me Money!
Date: 14 Jul 1993 13:35 CDT
Organization: University of Houston


About four or five weeks ago, AT&T sent me a letter with a $50 check
if we switch to AT&T.  Well, my Dad who pays for most of the phone
bill went ahead and cashed it.  We've had AT&T on that line for about
a week now, and today we received a letter from MCI with a check for
$20 if we switch to them.  (I was previously using Vartec on that line
before AT&T's check.)  So, should I switch to MCI and get $20 more or
will AT&T get mad for losing $50 on me?


Regards,

B.J. Guillot ... Houston, Texas USA

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #477
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #478

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 14 Jul 93 17:07:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 478

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System (Guy J. Sherr)
    Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System (Christopher Zguris)
    Re: 811 in California (Steve Forrette)
    Re: 811 in California (Bob Schwartz)
    Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices (Dick Rawson)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Michael Schuster)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Michael Covington)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Joe Lynn)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (John L. Luigi Giasi)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Justin Greene)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Carol Springs)
    Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted (Bill Garfield)
    Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted (Paul Cook)
    Re: MCI Outage (Daniel Burstein)
    Re: MCI Outage (Tony Pelliccio)
    Re: MCI Outage (Bruce Sullivan)
    Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones (Richard Thomsen)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 14:58 GMT
From: Guy J. Sherr <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: White House Orders No-Bid Phone System


While it seems interesting that the White House could arrange for
service without bidding through the contract(s), there are two things
which bear pointing out:

1.  Bill Clinton's cousins do not own or operate C&P or AT&T.
2.  Whatever happened to FTS-2000!?  The GSA is suppsed to mother the
phones everywhere.

Besides that, I thought he dropped 25% of his staff.  Now he can't
answer every phone call, so he bought more phones.  Did he also get
personnel?


[Moderator's Note:  No more staff! He is putting in voicemail; you
know, the computer which says press 'P' if you want to leave a message
of praise, press 'C'; if you want to comment; press 'Q' if you think
Clinton should quit; press 'Z' if you wish to complain, enter your ten
digit telephone number if you wish a personal consultation with the IRS
auditor in your zip code about how you can begin now to pay the taxes
you will owe by 1996, etc ...  :)   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 14 Jul 93 16:14 GMT
From: Christopher Zguris <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System


[e-mail] (Paul Robinson) writes:

> There has been considerable flack placed upon the White House for
> deciding to contact two switch bidders -- Northern Telecom and AT&T --
> and deciding to place an order consisting of Centrex service from C&P
> Telephone and ordering a switch from AT&T, without putting this
> contract out for bids.

  As far as the security of the system, wouldn't the National Security
Agency check and/or supervise in installation of the system regardless
of who provides it? With something so potentially snesitive as the
White House phone system, I can't believe they'd just install a system
no questions asked, even if it was installed by AT&T. Wouldn't the
system installation be supervised and checked by the NSA since they
handle electronic encryption/decryption systems?


Christopher Zguris    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: The main thing is, since Bill is now signed up on
Compuserve (so is Rush Limbaugh, coincidentally; he uses CB to help
propogate his gospel) does the system have a way to cancel call-waiting
so Bill won't get knocked off line in case Hillary gets a call?  :)   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: 811 in California
Date: 14 Jul 1993 23:04:23 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Justin Greene) writes:

>> It didn't make sense to have 800 numbers for out of state and 811
>> in-state, so they just made all of us dial an extra four digits.  :-(

> A side note, many smaller telco's use in-state only 800 service for
> the business office and do not list a number that can be reached from
> out of the area :-(.

Pacific Bell has phased out the 811 numbers.  They may still work, but
all published numbers to reach the business office are now 800
numbers.  However, the transition has not been smooth.  I have a
Remote Call Forwarding line from them which gets billed to me here in
Seattle.  On the bill, it lists one number for billing questions, one
for service changes, and a third for out-of-state callers.
Unfortunately, the out-of-state number is "diconnected," and the other
two definately don't work from out-of-state.  So, I had to do some
digging myself to come up with good numbers.

When I mentioned this to the service rep, he said that they were aware
of the problem and were trying to get it fixed for the next billing
cycle.  Sometimes, things like this make me wonder what kind of
software is used to generate the bills.  When it lists the
out-of-state numbers, it says "If this is not an 800 number, call
collect."  Doesn't the software know whether the number it's about to
print is an 800 number or not?


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: 811 in California
From: [e-mail] (Bob Schwartz)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 13:19:40 PDT
Organization: Bill Correctors, Inc., Marin County, California


There are two more potential reasons to consider while trying to
figure out why Pacific Bell seems to be shying away from the 811
prefix.  1.) It may be an unfair competative trade practice - no one
else can have a statewide prefix. 2.) If they do it it has to be
available for others and it isn't. ( This is really a variation of
reason 1.)

Consider also that Florida opened a new prefix or two for statewide
dialing last year and that Pacific has reserved the entire prefix for
itself. Thge only statewide prefix.

Also consider that competition for LATA traffic is comming to Calif.
and that each company offering same would love to have a statewide
prefix of it's own for customer service (811) and repair (611). ALSO
the caller is not billed for these calls, the called party picks up
the tab much like a 10 digit 800 number.


Bob Schwartz                                       [e-mail]
Bill Correctors, Inc.   [phone]   Marin County, California

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

From: [e-mail] (Dick Rawson)
Subject: Re: 811 to Reach Telco Business Offices
Date: 14 Jul 93 16:35:53 GMT
Organization: BT North America, San Jose CA.


My June 10 statement has one remaining 811 number, for past due
account information.  For payment arrangements and billing questions,
and for adding, changing or disconnecting service, there is one 800
number.  (Plus the Centro Hispano de Pacific Bell, llame gratis, which
is a different 800 number.)

So don't let the bill get past due if you are paying it from out of
state!


Dick Rawson, BT North America

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Schuster)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Date: 14 Jul 1993 20:05:14 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In article <[e-mail]> Bart Z. Lederman
<[e-mail]> writes:

>    Anyone care to speculate on what is going to happen when the
> FCC has two rules in place: one which requires manufacturers to
> build receivers that cover these frequencies, and one which
> prohibits them from building receivers which cover these
> frequencies because they could be used to listen in on telephone
> calls?

I don't seen the conflict. Recent FCC action on receiver frequency
coverage has been to ban the sale of scanners covering cellular
frequencies. Cordless phones frequencies (old or new) are not covered.
So there is no rule in place which would forbid the sale of radios
that receive the extended medium wave band.

Some states have passed laws making monitoring of cordless phone
illegal, but not the FCC.


Mike Schuster  |        [e-mail] | [e-mail]
               | [e-mail] | GEnie: MSCHUSTER

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Covington)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Organization: AI Programs, University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 01:22:48 GMT


(1) There is no "no radios can receive telephone calls" rule.  There
is a law against selling scanning receivers that tune in *cellular*
phone frequencies.  Cordless, ship-to-shore, and other kinds of radio
telephones are not affected.

(2) The Supreme Court ruled a while back that, unlike cellular phones,
*cordless* phones had no "reasonable expectation of privacy" anyhow
(presumably because no attempt is made to assign non-conflicting
frequencies).

So the extension of the AM band to 1700 kHz (or is it 1750?) will not
conflict with any privacy laws.  Shortwave radios that tune those
frequencies have, after all, always been around.

And many of us are sad about the ban on receivers that get the
cellular frequencies, for 2 reasons: (1) The proper technical solution
is to encrypt the signal at the _transmitter_; (2) Heretofore,
Americans had been allowed to buy radios that would tune any frequency
whatsoever; this is the very first peacetime ban on radio receivers
that I know of.  (Although the receivers still aren't illegal to own,
merely illegal to market.)


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] (Joe Lynn)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Date: 14 Jul 1993 12:19:07 -0500
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.


In article <[e-mail]> Bart Z. Lederman
<[e-mail]> writes:

>    According to the May 1993 issue of {Popular Communications},
> the FCC plans to expand the upper end of the AM Broadcast band to
> 1700 kHz.

The FCC approved the expansion of the AM broadcast band to 1710 kHz a
few years ago.

Most of the major electronics manufacturers immediately began making
radios that include this extra section: check this out next time
you're in a store that sells boom boxes, Walkmans, and car stereos;
most of them go up to 1710 kHz now. (The AM section of the
factory-installed radio in my 1990 Mazda goes up to 1710.)

While there are no (broadcast) stations currently in the new section
of the band, the FCC is offering various incentives to get stations to
move into it (such as allowing higher power on the higher band, while
simulcasting on their existing frequency).

This topic is covered pretty regularly in rec.radio.broadcasting,
rec.radio.shortwave, and magazines like _Popular Communications_ and
_Monitoring Times_.


Joe Lynn   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (John L. Luigi Giasi)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Date: 14 Jul 93 20:14:06 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts Medical Center; Worcester, MA 01655


> Anyone care to speculate on what is going to happen when the
> FCC has two rules in place: one which requires manufacturers to
> build receivers that cover these frequencies, and one which
> prohibits them from building receivers which cover these
> frequencies because they could be used to listen in on telephone
> calls?

>    Anyone want to quote odds on the FCC levying fines on the same
> company twice: once for not making the receivers, and then again
> for making them?  (Ah, now I understand!  It's a conspiracy to
> make the Japanese pay for reducing our national debt!)

There is no conflict here, you are confusing the portion of the ECPA
which make the receivers of CELLULAR phones illegal. Reception of
cordless phones, be they in the AM medium wave band or the 49Mhz style
are, at this time, still legal to listen in on.

I would love to expound on why the ECPA is an great example of a BAD
LAW, but I have probably peppered too much opinion in here already.

Relaying the information gleaned from such monitoring is still illegal
by the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 (Amended), but
nobody seems to notice/prosecute any of many instances. (Don't hold me
to any of that if you do get prosecuted! Remember, I am not a lawyer.)


John L Luigi Giasi, AA1AA      [e-mail]
System Programmer/Administrator   Scientific Computing, IRD
University of Massachusetts Medical Center

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 16:10:07 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: COCOTS cannot legally block calls to 800 numbers.
> If they want to charge you $1.70 for a local call, that is their
> business, but they cannot deny access freely to 800 numbers or the
> 10xxx carrier of your choice, nor can they legally block 950. When

So If one wants to complain, who would be the proper authority?


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

From: [e-mail] (Carol Springs)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 13:54:20 -0400 (EDT)


> [Moderator's Note: COCOTS cannot legally block calls to 800 numbers.
> If they want to charge you $1.70 for a local call, that is their
> business, but they cannot deny access freely to 800 numbers or the
> 10xxx carrier of your choice, nor can they legally block 950. When
> this topic came up here a couple years ago, someone devised a gummy
> sticker which said "PHONE OUT OF COMPLIANCE - DO NOT USE".

If you're lucky, the noncompliant phone will at least have the correct
FCC address posted on it to report the violation.  (I wonder what the
percentage is of COCOTs that actually list this address -- especially
if someone might be tempted to use it?)  I copied the following from a
COCOT at a Pancake Chef near Sea-Tac Airport:

       FCC / Common Carrier Bureau
       Enforcement Division
       2025 M Street N.W.
       Washington, DC  20554

The default carrier was Fone America, which proudly proclaimed that it
would put (coin) calls through anywhere in the U.S. at $1.00 for four
minutes.  Calling the 800 access numbers for both LDS's Orange Card
and Sprint resulted in a brief connection that was broken as soon as
the tone prompt started coming through.  I wrote to the address above
a few days afterward; it'll be interesting to see what, if any,
response I get.


Carol Springs     [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted
From: [e-mail] (Bill Garfield)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 07:58:00 -0600
Organization: Ye Olde Bailey BBS - Houston, TX - 713-520-1569
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Bill Garfield)


> I'm a recent subscriber to TELECOM Digest.  Can someone point me to
> this shareware program for searching for telephone prefixes?

> [Moderator's Note: They're around, although I don't have one in the
> Telecom Archives. What we do have in the archives is a very detailed

etcetera ...

Possibly the program you seek is one which I announced to c.d.t.
several months ago written by Robert Ricketts.  His program,
NPA931.ZIP (for '93 1st Q) is one of the most all-encompassing
programs I've seen for the task.

NPA931.ZIP is available on CI$ in the Safety net forum and was also
posted nearest to you on Sound Advice bbs in Gladstone, MO (near KC).
It has also been posted worldwide via various other mediums and is
aslo available from Exec-PC. Sorry, I do not know where you can obtain
it via ftp.  The program is $25 shareware and is not crippled in any
way. It comes with a *huge* database. Program features include NPA/NXX
searches including wildcards in EITHER the NPA or NXX field or both
(copious output!!). Search by NPA/NXX or NPA/CITY or STATE/NXX or
CITY/STATE.  Program performs a sliding search on city names. Output
includes great circle mileage between NXX's, County name & population,
longitude & latitude, and ZIPcode of the NXX.  The program runs under
DOS. Author is Robert Ricketts [phone] (1 of many, many numbers
where he can be reached)


Ye Olde Bailey BBS   713-520-1569 (V.32bis) 713-520-9566 (V.32bis)
  Houston,Texas          yob.sccsi.com       Home of alt.cosuard

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 16:10 GMT
From: Proctor & Associates <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted


Curtis Bohl [e-mail] writes:

> I'm a recent subscriber to TELECOM Digest.  Can someone point me to
> this shareware program for searching for telephone prefixes?

NPA is a shareware program that has been mentioned here in the past.
With it you can find out the latitude and longitude, city name and zip
code for any prefix in the North American numbering plan (it doesn't
do postal codes outside the USA).  It will also calculate distances
between any two prefixes.

I got my copy from the Olde Bailey BBS at 713-520-1569 or 713-520-9566.

You can also buy a registered copy for $25 from the author at:

PC Consultant
PO Box 42086
Houston, TX  77242-2086


Paul Cook                            206-881-7000
Proctor & Associates            MCI Mail 399-1080
15050 NE 36th St.               fax: [phone]
Redmond, WA  98052-5378       [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Daniel Burstein)
Subject: Re: MCI Outage
Date: 14 Jul 1993 01:24:49 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

> I have been getting All Trunks Busy, or sometimes no response at all,
> when dialing the 800 number for MCI Mail.  I tried making a few
> regular toll calls via MCI, and get the same response.

> Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served by
> MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affecting
> Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
> flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
> 7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.

This would drive me crazy; when the MCI Mail 800 number was down,
chances were that it was an MCI phone network problem, so NONE of
their 1-800 numbers would work, including the one to customer
service/repair.

So ... after a bit of screaming at them for their stupididy, I was
able to get a "real" number for MCIMAIL. Afraid I don't have it at
hand, but you should be able to get it from the "phones" listing for
washingon dc.

This brings up the very real problem of how to get through to a
company when all you have is their "800" number. But that's a story
for another day.  Just as one quick answer, though. In NYC, at least,
the phone book has a listing for a special NYTel assistance group
specifically to check into 1-800 outages.


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 93 21:45:59 EDT
Subject: Re: MCI Outage


[e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

> I have been getting All Trunks Busy, or sometimes no response at all,
> when dialing the 800 number for MCI Mail.  I tried making a few
> regular toll calls via MCI, and get the same response.

> Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served by
> MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affecting
> Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
> flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
> 7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.

I find that kind of interesting. MCI called me to make their pitch
last night (Hey, I signed up for the freebie time and also with the
knowledge that AT&T will come back to me begging and offering me all
sorts of goodies. :) I asked what their transmission medium was. I was
shocked when the woman told me it was completely via microwave
transmission. So, they must've had a switching software glitch, hiccup
or bug.


Tony Pelliccio, KD1NR, Control Op 441.750+, ARRL VE
system @ garlic.sbs.com                Soon W5YI VE

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 21:41 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: MCI Outage


[e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

> I have been getting All Trunks Busy, or sometimes no response at all,
> when dialing the 800 number for MCI Mail.  I tried making a few
> regular toll calls via MCI, and get the same response.

> Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served b
> MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affectin
> Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
> flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
> 7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.

As I recall, MCI Mail's main processing center is in the midwest. I
want to say Downer's Grove, IL.  but can't find that on the crummy
little road atlas that I have in my office here.

Nonetheless, they ARE in the midwest somewhere, and  it seems possible
 -- even likely -- that communications would be affected at some point.
Virtually every circuit *I*  have through the  midwest  went  down  at
least once this weekend.

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 10:52:22 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Richard Thomsen)
Subject: Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones


Andrew R. Ghali <[e-mail]> wrote:

> The abbreviated query/challenge system should go something like this:

> Phone: "Hi, I'm NNN-NXX-XXXX, I'd like to make a call"
> Cell:  "Oh yeah, prove to me that you are NNN-NXX-XXXX.  Here
>         is a session key encoded using your ESN, decode it,
>         encode the number you want to call with it and send
>         it back"
> Phone: "OK, here is the number I want to call encoded with the
>         session key"
> Cell:  "Looks good, here's your call, encoded with the current
>         session key.  Enjoy."

It seems to me that this is not a very good challange system.  The
cell sends an encrypted message, and the phone could go offline and
take as long as necessary to try different ESNs to break the code.
Would it not be better if it were as follows?

Phone:    "Hi, I'd like to make a call, and here is my telephone number
    encrypted with my ESN."
Cell:    "Your telephone number decoded correctly, so the ESN you sent
    me was acceptable.  Here is the session key encoded with your
    ESN.  Decode it, encode the number you want to call with it,
    and send it back."
Rest as above.

It would seem that a two-way challange would be better than just
sending an encrypted message to the caller.  If the first message did
not decode using the proper ESN, then the cell would not send
anything.

This weakness is also true of the Kerberos password system.


Richard Thomsen    Los Alamos National Laboratory   [e-mail]
In case you did not realize, I speak only for myself.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #478
******************************










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Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 00:58:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #479

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 15 Jul 93 00:58:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 479

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: 700 Number Information Wanted (Jon Edelson)
    Re: 700 Number Information Wanted (Steve Wood)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Mark Brader)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (Mike King)
    Re: Dialing "1" First (John R. Levine)
    Re: More Thoughts About Western Union (Donald R. Newcomb)
    Re: US => Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit (Richard Cox)
    Re: New House Problems (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Audiovox CTX-3200M Programming Information Available (Henrik Rasmussen)
    Re: How to Get Coin Phone? (Timothy E. White)
    Re: CDMA Technology Texts (Sirbjit Birdi)
    Re: Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Gnocchi al Telefono (Steve Kaiser)
    Re: Only in Texas (Patrick Tufts)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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] (Jon Edelson)
Subject: Re: 700 Number Information Wanted
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 01:56:11 GMT


Mark Christopher Macsurak asks about easy reach service, and Pat
responds (in part):

> [Moderator's Note: The '700 number program' you are referring to is
> the AT&T Easy Reach service. AT&T is the only company offering the
> service in quite the way they do. Because the 700 number space is
> unique in the sense that all carriers get complete use of the entire
> range of numbers, it is possible that two totally unrelated parties
> could have the same 700-xxx-yyyy number, thus the requirement that the
> caller fully qualify the number with the prepending of 10288 when
> dialing unless the phone line is defaulted to AT&T as the long
> distance carrier.

I use the Easy Reach service, and it serves well for allowing my dad
to locate me (previously he would leave messages at five or six
places); if he can't get me via Easy Reach, then he knows that I am
not reachable.  The thing that most annoys me about the service is the
requirement to dial zero.  Telling somebody to dial 10288-1-700-xxx-yyyy
isn't so bad, when one compares it to the current method which forces
people to use the voice menus.  If someone wants to call me on their
dime, they have to dial 0-700 ... and then navigate the menus to say
that they will pay.  I always thought that that was what 1-nnn-xxx-yyyy
was for.

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

From: Steve Wood <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 700 Number Information Wanted
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 13:24:00 PDT


Mark Macsurak ([e-mail]) writes:

> Because I am moving around so much, I am thinking of getting a (700)
> number which sounds basically like a permanent-call-forward. That way
> I can tell my friends and not have to change business cards so often.

> I haven't really seen any (700) numbers though. Do these exist? How
> convenient are they? I'd like to hear from anyone who uses them. Also,
> I heard if you have AT&T's 700 number, and a person must then dial
> 10ATT0 before they can reach you (how are they supposed to know that).

I've had an AT&T 700 number for several months. Like PAT I don't use
it a lot but as an independent consultant it has proven a convenient
way to give potential clients a sure way to reach me. The fact that
you must use the AT&T network is definitely a flaw. You can ameliorate
that problem somewhat by printing (10ATT0) on your business card as
part of the phone number. Yes, the tariffs are high, but for me that's
not a problem since anyone calling me is generally doing so from a
business and I let them pay for it. It's very easy to forward the
number anywhere you want to, even to most cellular numbers. And the
cost is only $7.00/month. Another flaw is that AT&T requires this
service to be tied to one permanant number for billing purposes, and
signing up automatically causes that number to be switched to AT&T
long distance service -- there may be a way around this but I doubt
it.


Steve Wood ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 21:27:56 GMT


> I can see that people from a 1-means-toll area being annoyed when
> they have to pay toll for a call even if they didn't dial a leading 1.
> But the reverse?  What's the point of telling callers to hang up and
> dial again, without the 1?

The psychological assumption here is that people know what places they
can call locally and what places they cannot; therefore, if they did
this, they must have *misdialed the number*.

For example, here in Toronto (area code 416), where use a leading
1-416 rather than plain 1 for long distance within the area code, 739
is a local exchange and 729 is long distance.  If I know this, then it
is not plausible that I would dial 1-416-739-6666 by mistake for
739-6666.  More likely I really meant to dial 1-416-729-6666 or some
other number that is long distance.  So why trouble the person at
739-6666 with a call that must be a long number?

In short, having only one way to dial a particular number provides a
primitive form of error checking.

Note: in giving this explanation (again), I am not claiming that this
is necessarily the best dialing system for today's world; there are
people who find it quite annoying, for good reason.  I am answering
the question as to what advantage it gives.


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

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 93 13:39:24 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #461, [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
responded to my earlier post on this subject:

>> Here in Maryland (C&P, 301), a leading 1 is required for a toll call,
>> but if it is included on a non-toll call, the call goes through
>> without any whining from the switch.
    [...]

> Does it go through as a local call or over your primary carrier?  I
> often will dial 10xxx for a local call (for my own weird reasons) and
> the call is billed to the long distance carrier.

I didn't dial any 10xxx prefix; the call was NOT billed in any manner
on my next phone bill.  While MD does allow intra-LATA competition,
C&P does not hand an intra-LATA call to any IXC unless specifically
instructed via 10xxx.  Since no billing was done, I conclude the call
was treated as a local call; I believe C&P simply stripped off the
superfluous portion of the number.

>> behavior.  Local calls *from* 202 to 301 or 703 do get denied if
>> preceded by a 1, however.  Maybe the congresscritters NEED unnecessary
>> regulation in their lives?

> Some areas (like Colorado, have areas which are localish; you dial
> 1-xxx-xxxx to connect, but it is a metered service (local long
> distance).  Anything out of you LATA (?) requires a 1.  They don't
> have to tell you when the call will cost extra but they do ...

In that case, I'd consider the Colorado dialing pattern to imply "dial
1 means extra charge, even if the charge is not the full toll rate."
Dayton, OH, has some of those "reduced-toll" areas (I moved from there
in Feb.), but I'm not aware of any in the DC and suburban area.
Interestingly enough, the "reduced-toll" calls in the Dayton area do
NOT require a leading 1; only full-rate toll calls require the 1.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Date: Thu, 15 Jul 93 00:44 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Dialing "1" First
Organization: I.E.C.C.


> I'm dialing "900+[more stuff]" ...

Really?  Unless you have an astonishingly screwed up exchange, 00 gets
you a long distance operator, and 011 is international.  The worst
that dialing 901+stuff will get you is an unanticipated conversation
with someone in Tennesee.

Like I said, whether one likes 1+ for toll is a purely religious issue.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Donald R. Newcomb)
Subject: Re: More Thoughts About Western Union
Date: 14 Jul 1993 18:37:46 GMT
Organization: University of Southern Mississippi


In article <[e-mail]> our Moderator wrote:

> will return some day. They don't deliver telegrams any longer. They
> called me and said to pick up email from any agent close to me, so I went
> to the Devon-Western currency exchange. The woman there retrieved it
> from email, printed it on the printer and handed it to me. The 'much

OK, so here is a question I've wanted to ask. Suppose I'm out in the
hinterlands without my laptop and need to send a short e-mail message
to someone. I go in a little general store that is the local WU money
agent. Would they be able to originate a message for delivery to an
internet-type address? Would I be able to do this by calling the WU
800 number? Are there other fee-for-service outfits that could
originate a message to anyone on the vast, interconnected e-mail
network?


Donald R. Newcomb            University of Southern Mississippi
[e-mail]    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You've given me a great idea for a business
venture. From public ==> Internet/other email and in reverse. Anyone
interested in helping me get this underway? I think it could be very
profitable. Sort of a latter day resurrecton of WUTCO. Does anyone
know how well MCI Mail and ATT Mail do on their papermail gateways?
Does it make money for them?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Richard Cox)
Subject: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 23:19:33 +0000


PAT said:

>>  I have never heard of this before; that a number which requires thirteen
>>  digits to dial cannot be reached directly. We in the USA have had IDDD in
>>  many exchanges for twenty years, and in almost all exchanges for several
>>  years now.  No one has yet raised this point???  PAT

CCITT is very clear that until time T (1996-12-31), 12 digits is the limit.

Which is fine -- if the telco allocates the numbering space (as in the
UK, for example).  But in the countries mentioned, especially Germany,
there are DDI numbers *of variable length* that sit on the end of a
telco-allocated prefix.  The DDI user must have increased (some or all
of) the extensions digit length without telling the telco that this
has happened -- in order to get the prefix shortened and keep the
number length to 12 digits (or less). There may be any of several
reasons for this: the telco will charge more, the customer doesn't
want to reprint stationery, the customer just didn't realise he had
to, etc.

Come 1996, the limit will change to 16 digits.

[e-mail] (John R. Levine) said:

>>  This is probably a company's PBX, where the digits after the XXX are
>>  decoded entirely in the PBX.  I'd expect the main number to be +49
>>  6131 XXX 0.

And the best way of getting the fax through is to call 01149 6131 XXX
0, and ask for extension 4555

>>  In most places outside North America the length isn't really a problem
>>  because calls are routed incrementally and, except in the fanciest new
>>  electronic exchanges, the whole number is never buffered in one place.

Ouch!  Civilisation does not end at New York Harbour, you know!
Networks all over the world are rapidly becoming digital, because of
the cost-savings: and complete numbers are now analysed by the local
switch before the SS7 call setup message can be sent.

Number length IS critical.


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] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: New House Problems
Date: 15 Jul 1993 01:37:31 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Chris Ambler -- Phish) writes:

> The problem I'm having is that hangups don't seem to be recognized by
> some of my equipment now! The answering machines don't recycle when
> the user hangs up, but wait for five seconds of silence. A few of the
> modems cannot detect when the remote site hangs up as well. The voice
> mail isn't on line yet, but I'm dreading it.

> Is this common on the outskirts of a town (where I am). Could it be a
> lack of voltage or impedance or something like that at the end-of-the-
> line where I am?

It is quite possible that some sort of line concentrator is causing
this.  The AT&T SLC-96 is a popular unit, but handles this case
correctly.  The thing your equipment is looking for is the "CPC
pulse."  This is momentary interruption of loop current provided to
the called party after the calling party disconnects.  Most modern
digital switches will provide this (including the 1AESS, 5ESS, and
DMS-100), but sometimes something in between you and the switch will
eat the CPC.  Competitors to the SLC-96 are likely suspects.  I am
currently served off something called a "Discus."  I have about a mile
of copper between me and the Discus, then four miles of fiber to the
1A.  The Discus inserts about a six to eight second delay in delivery
of the CPC.  When I had service previously where I was directly
connected to a 1A, the CPC would come immediately.  Now, it comes
about six to eight seconds after a caller hangs up on me.  I'm just
assuming that my current 1A is operating the same as the other one,
and that the Discus is responsible for the new delay, but I could be
wrong on this point.

I was talking with an engineer I know at US West about this issue a
couple of years ago.  His attitude was that the CPC pulse was not part
of the basic service requirements, and that the telco had no
obligation to provide it.  If they choose to move you onto a
concentrator which doesn't pass the CPC, that's too bad.  He said that
when they converted customers over to a concentrator that didn't
support CPC, it generated a lot of calls to Repair Service, with
people complaining that their answering macehines no longer operated
correctly.  His attitude was that the customer is better off setting
their answering machine to always use silence dectection and never use
CPC, even if you are currently getting CPC, so that in the event that
you were switched to a concentrator that didn't pass it, that your
machine would not just run forever.  It is my impression that over the
past few years, that the telco has realized that the CPC is used by a
lot of answering machines, PBX's, and other things, and that it is
important that the concentrators they buy support it.

I hate to suggest this, but I must: Do you live in San Louis Obispo as
your email address might imply?  Doesn't GTE serve that area?


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Henrik Rasmussen)
Subject: Re: Audiovox CTX-3200M Programming Information Available
Date: 15 Jul 1993 05:07:45 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina Extended Bulletin Board Service


> This message is being sent to flush out other Audiovox cellular
> telephone users; there are some features I don't yet know how to
> activate, and would like to compare notes with others who may
> have tried something similar.  Of course, if someone has
> authoritative information, that would be great too.

I will gladly provide any info you need on Audiovox phones.


Rik Rasmussen   Audiovox Cellular Communications Corp.
Raleigh, NC     [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

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

From: [e-mail] (Timothy E White)
Subject: Re: How to Get Coin Phone?
Date: 15 Jul 1993 00:01:09 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)


I just received a catalog from a company called "Hello Direct" that
has a coin operated phone listed at $249.  This is new -- not used.
It is on page 21 of their fall catalog.  They list their contact
numbers as:   1-800-HI-HELLO.

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

From: [e-mail] (Sirbjit Birdi)
Subject: Re: CDMA Technology Texts
Organization: Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 16:28:21 GMT


[e-mail] wrote:

> At the watering hole tonite, we were discussing the current TDMA and
> CDMA technologies.  We decided that better technical information on
> the relatively new CDMA cellular technology would be an asset to
> further our understanding.  Would someone please recommend a good set
> of reference texts that we could obtain to enlighten us?

Try the following FTP site:

ftp tandem.com

Under the wireless/qualcomm directory.


Serge

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations
Date: 14 Jul 1993 23:10:28 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Scott
Perry) writes:

> What I would like is the frequency and durations necessary to
> reproduce various things like busy signals, doo-doo-doo "We're sorry
> ..." messages, etc.

Here are the call progress tone standards for North America:

Ringback: two seconds of 440Hz and 480Hz followed by four seconds of silence;
Busy:       500ms of 480Hz and 620Hz followed by 500ms of silence;
Reorder:    250ms of 480Hz and 620Hz followed by 250ms of silence;
Dialtone:   continuous 350Hz and 440Hz;

For the standard calling card "bong," there is a particular Bellcore
standard.  I used something that was easiest for me to implement, and
it sounds quite close to the real thing.  I use 60ms of "#" tone
(941Hz and 1477Hz), followed by a decaying dialtone sound that lasts
one second, with the amplitude at full volume at the beginning of the
second, ramping down linearly to 0 amplitude at the end of the second.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Kaiser)
Subject: Re: Gnocchi al Telefono
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 01:33:02 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Gabe M Wiener) writes:

> While dining at a nearby Italian eatery, I noticed a rather peculiar
> pasta dish on the menu:

>              Gnocchi al Telefono

> which I proceeded to order.  It was quite good Gnocchi, but I'm
> curious as to what exactly the origin of the name is.
> I was hoping it would be garnished with a Motorola cellular, or at
> least a trusty WECO 2500 which I would be entitled to take home.
> Alas, only parsley and a little basil.

Here in Seattle, there is a deli that offers "AT&T pasta salad"-- with
long green noodles that look just like handset cords.


Steve Kaiser                   Kaiser Data
[e-mail]  13533 Northshire Rd NW
[phone]        Seattle, WA 98177-4033

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

From: [e-mail] (Patrick Tufts)
Subject: Re: Only in Texas
Organization: Brandeis University
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 19:28:54 GMT


Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn, had two great surgeon/specialty
pairs in their listing of on-call staff back in the 80s:

    Dr. Masher - Neurosurgeon
    Dr. Ripper - Urologist


Pat

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #479
******************************










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Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 02:53:12 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #480

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 15 Jul 93 02:52:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 480

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: ISDN/SS7 Test Equipment Needed (David Roe)
    Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number (Mike King)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: More Thoughts About Western Union (Cliff Stoll)
    Re: Information on Fax Broadcast Services (Kenneth Leung)
    Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511 (Jack Winslade)
    Re: BBS <-> UseNet (Jim Wenzel)
    Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From <Somewhere>? (Jan Hinnerk Haul)
    Re: Who Was Randy Barrow? (Carl Moore)
    Re: Beep at Start of International Calls (George Zmijewski)
    Re: Access to Toll Records (Paul Houle)
    Re: Ring Generator Schematic Needed (Michael Pigg)
    Re: 700 Number Information Wanted (John J. Butz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (David Roe)
Subject: Re: ISDN/SS7 Test Equipment Needed
Date: 14 Jul 1993 21:43:14 GMT
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Holly Elliott) wrote:

> I am looking for test equipment for ISDN and SS7, preferably in the
> same unit.  We currently are using a Tekelec 32, but it will not meet
> our needs.  What we want is a unit (PC card?) that will allow us to
> build ISDN/SS7 messages in software, and the recieved messages must
> also be software readable.  The test unit must handle Primary Rate
> ISDN, Layer 3 ISDN and Layer 4 SS7, and ISDN Code Set 6.

> If you have any leads on who I should contact, please respond via
> e-mail, as I do not regularly read this group.

Holly,

We've used the Tekelec MGTS (Message Generator/ Traffic Simulator) for
a while now- we've got two in the lab that we used to test SS7/ISUP
ISDN User Part of SS7. A person within DSC that has been in our
facility is Lonny Taylor at Plano, you might give him a call.
Tekelec's customer service number is 919-460-5594 at Raleigh NC, if
you have questions regarding the operation of Tekelec equipment.  Give
me a call or email and I'll give you the name of our rep.


David M. Roe, Director    [e-mail]
Southwestern Bell Technology Resources
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
1010 Pine St.   Room 635   St. Louis, MO  63101-3099
PHONE: [phone]   FAX: [phone]

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 18:12:56 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #466, [e-mail] (Joe Pace) wrote:

> I tried calling 800-235-1414 from our Intecom PBX and rather than
> reporting my phone number it gave the POTS number of the Pacific Bell
> circuit the call went out on.  Do some PBX's forward the internal
> numbers to phone company switches, or is this not possible using
> conventional phone lines?

Correct -- this is not possible using conventional phone lines.  Your
internal PBX extension number is irrelevant to the phone company and
its switch.  After you dial a number that the PBX determines needs to
go over the switched network, your PBX seizes a trunk and simply
'dials' the number.

Depending on how PacBell identifies the circuits in the ANI
information, you can get one of two identifications: either the main
billing number for the circuit, or the actual number assigned to the
physical trunk on which the call was placed.  Different phone
companies do things differently.

Even if you have DID service, the above is true for outgoing calls.

A PBX connected to a telephone company switch using an ISDN line *may*
pass the calling number information, however.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 00:05:07 GMT


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

> Historically, when 25% of the subscribers in Holland refused to pay
> their bills an authentication scheme was introduced, all the mobiles
> were re-called and upgraded with the necessary changes and fraud was
> reduced to a manageable level.

> So, while Steve's concerns are understandable I would agree with the
> Moderator that something could be worked out between the carriers and
> the mobile manufacturers. I have heard figures nearing a billion in
> telecom fraud.

> Moreover, most mobile manufacturers have already developed dual mode
> phones which has authentication schemes. So, upgrading the analog
> phones should not cost that much more as it would be cheaper to reuse
> the technology.

Hmmm spoken by a true Infrastucture manufacturer (grin).  Mobile and
portable phones use surface mount technologies, and replacing the
EPROMS would probably cost more than the phone is worth. Even if this
were possible, it would take YEARS to get all the old ones off the
street.

The best possible solution would be just as cost effective, and would
give everybody the best of both worlds. Migrate to a new digital
standard.  Heck even Europe has gone digital (GSM).


My opinions do not represent those of my employer, Motorola, and of
any of its subsidiaries ... (sorry, gotta do this).

Dan DeClerck             EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD    Phone: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Cliff Stoll)
Subject: Re: More Thoughts About Western Union
Date: 15 Jul 1993 02:27:28 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility


It's June, 1966.  I'm a junior in high school, looking for a summer
job in Buffalo.  Well, I know Morse Code, from ham radio.  Why not
apply to Western Union?

I go to the counter -- it's a big building in downtown, with a bright
yellow Western Union sign on the front.  The brass plate on the
doorway sez, "We Never Close".  "Mister, do you have any jobs?  I know
Morse Code ..."

Well, I got a job.  Bicycle messenger, pedalling the streets of the
city.  Business days, delivering telegrams to offices.  I'd have seven
or nine minutes to drop off the envelope and then get back fast.
Occasional bizarre things: Once I had to sing "Happy Birthday" when I
deliverd a Candygram.

Weekends were wretched: delivering eviction notices to families living
in the projects.  Kids would throw stones at me; adults would slam
their doors.

And then there were the death notices: informing a family that their
son had died in Viet Nam.

This much: the whole summer, I earned less than $2 in tips.  Someone
won a lottery in New Hampshire and could only be notified by telegraph
 ... the woman didn't so much as say thank you.

Did they ever use my Morse code talents?  Naw -- they had ASR-29
teleyptes.  They wouldn't let me even play with 'em.  When I told them
about the cool computer at my high school (an IBM 1620), the manager
treated it like a joke.  He said that the future of the company was to
eliminate bicycle messengers and begin using motorcycles and cars to
reach the suburbs.

I'm sad to see the slow demise of Western Union, but I'm not surprised.
They've made serious mistakes throughout their history -- turning down
the telephone, failing to latch onto electronic mail or computers.


Cheers!

Cliff Stoll


[Moderator's Note: Do you remember how noisy the public offices were
when several of the teletype machines would all be engaged at the
same time? The clack-clack-clack of several machines at one time ...
and then maybe a few seconds or a minute of silence because none of
the machines were going, and the whirring noise when the motor on one
of the teletypes would turn on to start receiving another telegram?
Bigger public telegraph offices like the one in Chicago had a dozen or
so teletype machines; there were always at least one or two clacking
away it seemed except in the wee hours of the morning, and sometimes
all of them would be chattering and banging out their messages. One,
two or three men back there alternatly typing messages into the
machines and walking up to a machine when the bell rang to pull some
of the continuous feed yellow paper out with a message on it, rip it
off the machine and give it to the woman up front who waited on the
customers.

Many people expecting telegrams would come to the public office to
wait for them. The man in back would hand them to her, she'd glance at
it, see people in the waiting room looking at her expectantly and in
her nasal voice she'd call out "Is there a Johnson waiting here for a
message?" ... if not, it would be sent out with the delivery person a
few minutes later. If Johnson came to the counter, she'd record it in
the ledger book, have the customer sign and give them the message. The
public office had lecterns where the customer would stand to write out
a message he wanted sent with supplies -- including fountain pens and
'telegraph blanks' provided for his use.

After composing the message you wanted sent you took it to the lady at
the counter. She would go over it with you and print the words which
were illegible so the guys in back could read it. Then she'd count the
words, ask you if you wanted it to go 'day rate' or 'night rate' (the
rate was cheaper if you let them hold it and transmit it during
off-peak slower times), if anyone could accept it or if it was restricted
delivery to the person named, and if it was sent paid or sent collect.
She'd write all this in the ledger book, take your money and give the
message to the guy working the machines in back of her. Since the
counter clerk also took the messages phoned in (which could be charged
to your telephone bill) the phone(s) rang off the hook constantly with
the clerk alternating between phone calls and customers at the walk up
counter. Overnight the counter clerk was usually the telegrapher as
well. All WU public offices had the phone number <some exchange>-4321.

In every office, three or four of the 'telegraph clocks' with the
Western Union / Naval Observatory Time logo on them and the symbol for
electricity; always one in the front window for passers by to see plus
two or three in the office itself. In the early 1960's the telegraph-
ers got $2.00 per hour and the clerks got $1.50 per hour.  Come to
think of it, when I worked in the U of C phone room in the late 1950's
I got $65 per week which was considered quite good for a telephone
operator.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Kenneth Leung)
Subject: Re: Information on Fax Broadcast Services
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 03:36:32 GMT


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

> On 15 Jun 93 02:52:34 GMT, [e-mail] said:

>> I am looking for information on availability and pricing of commercial
>> fax broadcast services.  The basic need is to get a 25 page document
>> to several hundred fax numbers once a week, occasionally more often.
>> It should arrive within a few hours of being sent (ie one dial-out fax
>> line probably won't cut it :-)).

> Talk to the people at AT&T EasyLink (the merger of Western Union and
> AT&T Mail).  They have an enhanced fax service that will do what you
> need.  You can send it from your AT&T Mail account, too.

You can also check with Sprint & MCI, they also provide Fax broadcast
services, Generally they sell these services with their business long
distances services (at least that is how I know about them).  But I am
sure they will work out a deal ...


Kenneth C.P. Leung      1303 Walnut Hill Ln. 2nd Floor, Irving, TX 75038
Information Specialist  Voice : 214-550-8371 Fax : [phone]
Innovax Concepts Corp.  AURORA Supermarket Application
                        Innovax Integration Partner Program

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 14:51:46 CST
From: [e-mail] (Jack Winslade)
Subject: Re: Cox and BellSouth Want to Use 511
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha


In a message dated 06-JUL-93, Brendan B. Boerner writes:

> 111 - can phone equipment distinquish between this and a L.D. call?
> 211 - ?
> 311 - ?
> 411 - Directory assistance
> 511 - Proposed information services
> 611 - ?
> 711 - ?
> 811 - ?
> 911 - Emergency services

 From what I have personally seen, these have been used in the past
and may still be in some cases.

211 - Pre dial-0 long distance
311 - Line identification (like 958) in some areas
411 - DA
511 - Test board at the local CO in some areas
611 - Repair service
811 - Ma Bell Business Office
911 - Emergency


Good day    JSW   (1:285/666.0)

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 17:06:00 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Jim Wenzel)
Subject: Re: BBS <-> UseNet
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jim Wenzel)
Organization: The GrapeVine BBS *** N. Little Rock, AR *** [phone]


> I have a friend who is setting up a BBS system (for the Commonwealth
> of PA).  He would like the BBS to be able to pass messages to/from
> the Internet.  Fidonet came to mind.  Could someone point me towards
> information on obtaining Fidonet access, etc.  Does anyone have any
> other suggestions.

If he can get an Internet/UseNet feed he can save himself a lot of
headaches by staying away from FidoNet. We use PCBoard here with Ed
Hoppers UUPCB program to import UseNet directly into the PCB message
bases.  Email me for more info.


The GrapeVine / Ferret Face BBS  [phone]
PGP Distribution Site, UseNet, RIME, ThrobNet, MediaNet, U'niNet, ForthNet
RecoveryNet, MetroLink.  Putting Communications back in Telecommunication

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

From: [e-mail] (Jan Hinnerk Haul)
Subject: Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From <Somewhere>?
Organization: None - the genius overlooks the chaos
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 18:05:25 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: Please tell your friend that he can call USA 800
> numbers *if the owner of the number wants to be called from Canada* by
> simply dialing the number in the usual way. If the call does not go
> through, then the USA subscriber *does not want* to pay for calls from
> Canadians.

OK so far.

> Certain carriers allow you to call the USA on your nickle,
> *then* continue on the USA side to an 800 number. But you must pay to
> get to the USA unless the owner of the 800 number has agreed to accept
> calls from international points.   PAT]

Ok. Now assume I am NOT in Canada, but somebody in his infinite wisdom
has advertised an 800 number only.  I would be willing to pay for the
call, but I have really a need to call that company ...

Is there amy way?

The only way I know (and I found out when I was in a really bad
pressure to get some data transmission working again, so I *had* to
call the 24 hour help desk of the network carrier ... guess what? 800
number only ... and their German subsidiary does not work on weekends,
neither they have an answering machine giving the *real* mumber behind
that 800 number or whatever).  Call an AT&T operator (using USA Direct
or whatever) and let him set up the call. However, you need am AT&T
phone card -- which is not an everyday item here, as you may assume.

With the Moderator's new service, this should be easy, of course.

What other phone cards are available for Non-Americans?  The AT&T card
I used was bundled with the Diners' Club credit card of a colleague of
mine (the only other one in the office on that Saturday -- we were
*really* lucky that day!)

BTW, the nework provider was GEISCO (General Electric Information
Services) which we use for EDI file transfers to seaports describing
where to put containers on a ship. Their US help desk was really help-
ful, and through a lot of conference calling we found out that some
node of their network was under service. My Veep made enough of a
stink of it so that nowadays they (German branch who were generally
good at sales only) call me in advance.


Regards,

Jan H. Haul        Tel. +49 40 - 890 57 57        Disc.: Not even *my*
Hamburg, Germany    Fax  +49 40 - 890 51 57        opinion

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 9:58:19 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Who Was Randy Barrow?


As I recall, the spelling was Borow, not Barrow.  Please check the
archives for the correct spelling.

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

From: [e-mail] (George Zmijewski)
Path: mgzcs.demon.co.uk!mzmijews
Subject: Re: Beep at Start of International Calls
Organization: MGZ Computer Services
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 18:39:26 +0000


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


> I have noticed this beep whenever dialing international calls from
> here in Australia.  Does this beep always occur in other countries
> too?

In UK you can get beep when you use Mercury (alternative carrier) -- I
used to have that for several years but then it disapeared and nobody
could tell me why. This beep can be still heard on calls oryginating
in other parts of UK. The only rule I found here is that calls with
beep are becoming extinct.

BTW the beep seems to be coming from the oryginating switch.


George Zmijewski

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 00:07:00
Subject: Re: Access to Toll Records


Our most excellent and infamous Moderator notes:

> For the fifty or hundred dollar bribe a clerk might get for
> giving out a non-pub number for example, the risks are just
> too great they will be caught.

        $50-$100 for a non-published number?  Gee, your friends at the
Telco are really ripping you off.  $10-$20 is more like it, at least
in these parts.  I agree that telephone companies are pretty tough
when they catch people leaking this kind of information, but from what
I've seen, there seem to be an endless supply of Telco people who are
willing to sell information.  And no, I'm not in the market for buying
non-published numbers and call-detail records, but I can assure you
that the private detective companies that are listed in your local
yellow pages are, and use this kind of information routinely in
marital and other investigations.


Origin: NETIS [phone]/432-0922 (HST/V32) (1:132/189)

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Pigg)
Subject: Re: Ring Generator Schematic Needed
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 93 3:37:11 EST


> I purchased the recently cited (V13 #V458) issue of Electronics Now!,
> hoping to find a ring generator circuit in the phone line simulator.
> Alas, the ring generator module depicted is a 'black box' not
> documented in the article.

> I'm looking for some circuit(s) that can perform the following
> functions (this is essentially a simplified line card for a PBX or
> telco switch):

> The goal of this is to build a mini-PBX/intercom that is controlled by
> an old PC with some audio and digital I/O boards that I have sitting
> around.  Since I'm trying to do this on the cheap, I'll happily settle
> for circuits with functional limitations, such as only driving one
> Ringer (REN 1.0A).

  I'm part of a group working on a similar project here at Purdue
University for our senior design.  We're using an 8051 embedded
controller, though.

  To the point, it sounds like you need the station line interface
circuitry (SLIC) device like we used in our system.  We used a hybrid
device from Mitel, the MH88612.  This is a 20 pin SIP job that takes
care of all of the functions you described, and uses only a few
external components.  Our experinece in breadboarding (the PCB's are
currently being made) is that it works quite well.

  I don't know what you define as cheap, but these devices cost us $15
apiece for 8 of them.  If it seems expensive (it was biggest expense
in our system), remember that it is integrating a lot of fuctionality
on a SIP for you. One little snag is that we had a hard time getting
these devices.

  If you're intersted in further info on the Mitel chip and/or my
experineces with it, please e-mail me directly.  Hope this helped!


Michael Pigg   Purdue University    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 08:45:48 EDT
Subject: Re: 700 Number Information Wanted


Mark,

You can order an EasyReach number by dialing 1-800-982-8480.  This is
the EasyReach sales and service number.  One thing that Pat failed to
mention in his Moderator's Note is that since the EasyReach service is
targeted at the "on the move" market, it will have its feature set
enhanced over time to meet the needs of this class of users.  I wish I
tell you about how the service will grow, but I like my job too much!


J Butz            ER700 Sys Eng
[e-mail]    AT&T - CCS

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #480
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #481

TELECOM Digest     Fri, 16 Jul 93 17:01:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 481

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Flooding in Iowa (Brian D. McMahon)
    Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission (TELECOM Moderator)
    Internetworking and Connectivity: How Would You Do It? (Gerry George)
    Painful Report on the Nightly News (Jack Decker)
    TIA Publishes IS-95 (CDMA) (Ron Dippold)
    ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple? (Tyson Macaulay)
    AT&T Systimax PDS ([e-mail])
    Information Wanted on Encrypted Cordless Phones? (Richard Fall)
    Bell Atlantic CD-ROM Yellow Pages in Virginia (Monty Solomon)
    Voice Mail Jail Story Drom the New York Times (Andrew Marc Greene)
    Is This AT&T From H*** Week? (Syd Weinstein)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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, 16 Jul 1993 09:32:08 -0500 (cdt)
From: Brian D McMahon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Flooding in Iowa


I haven't seen any reports on telecom aspects of the "Flood of '93"
yet, but then again, we were off the air for several days (see below),
so I might have missed them.  Here's what we saw:

On Friday, campus phones could not reach 800 numbers for several
hours.  The reported cause was a fiber washout, and service was
restored by the middle of the afternoon.

On Saturday, things started to go completely nuts.  When I checked our
Internet link (a US West 56K line to Iowa State University in Ames)
that afternoon, packet loss ranged from 20 to 100 percent.  US West
reported a major fiber washout between Ames and Des Moines, where the
worst of the weekend's flooding was shaping up.  They hoped to be back
on the air that evening.  Optimists.

The line was still dead on Sunday.  Given the news from the central
part of the state, we didn't bother to call anyone; we figured they
were busy.  On Monday, still nada.  The US West testing center called
me that Morning to follow up.  Apparently, the Ames break had been
spliced.  Now, the trouble was in Des Moines, where much of downtown
was without power.  (Backup generators don't work too well underwater,
I guess.)

Also on Monday, I saw a report that the MIDnet ENSS (the connection
between our regional network and the rest of the Internet) in Lincoln,
Neb. was out, for reasons unknown.  Later we learned that MIDnet's T3,
most of their T1, Iowa 56K, and voice service for U. Nebraska all ran
through a US West switching center in Pleasant Hill, a suburb of, yes,
Des Moines.  Pleasant Hill was NOT flooded, but apparently there had
been some kind of massive cut, possibly as US West tried to recover
from the rest of the mess.  This affected not just Iowa, but all the
way down to Oklahoma.

Tuesday, still dead.  The very nice, VERY tired-sounding tech in the
testing center said they had a break in the Colfax-Newton area, no
estimate on time to fix.  Service came back some time around 23:00,
judging from the masses of accumulated e-mail waiting for me the next
day.  The US West folks deserve a lot of credit.  They ALWAYS got back
to us promptly, with the best information they had at the time.  Very
impressive.

Meanwhile, our old-fashioned, low-tech BITNET connection, using a
bisynch 9600bps line and based on an IBM networking protocol so old
the paradigm for information transfer is the card punch, stayed up for
most of the time our Internet connection was down.  That's how I first
learned of the MIDnet outage, in fact.

And more rain is on the way.


Brian McMahon        <[e-mail]>        <[e-mail]>
Postmaster / Acad. Software Support   Grinnell College Computer Services
Grinnell, Iowa 50112 USA   Voice: [phone]   Fax: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: The crisis in Iowa, and particularly in Des Moines
is  unprecedented. I don't think there have ever been floods this
severe in the USA before, at least not in that part of the country.
Help is needed deparately, and readers are encouraged to contact their
local offices of the Red Cross or other relief agencies to inquire
what assistance is needed. Des Moines has been without a water supply
or sewer service all this week, and it is expected to be a month
before the water is safe for drinking. Please write us again with
updates as you are able.   :(   PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 16:27:05 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom>
Subject: Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission


A man in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, IL accused of transmitting
X-rated pictures to a 12-year-old boy via his computer bulletin board
system was charged Wednesday with distribution of obscene materials to
a minor, officials have stated.

Raymond F. Netupski, 30, of 10106 Holly Lane, Des Plaines, IL also
faces charges of obscenity and possession of marijuana which was found
in his home during the raid conducted at his home earlier this week.
In addition, he faces charges of copyright infringement for
distributing photographs (or would you say pornographs!) belonging
to Playboy Enterprises, according to a spokesperson for the Cook County
 (Illinois) State's Attorney's office.

"This type of crime -- distributing obscene materials to children --
has the potential to grow due to the increased use of personal
computers," said Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley in an
interview. "This indictment is intended to serve as an example that
law enforcement will not be outdated by high-tech crime."

According to the obscenity portion of the complaint, the boy told his
mother that he had been connected to the BBS and and downloaded files
depicting people engaged in various sexual acts. His mother then
notified the police.

Police and prosecutors allege that Mr. Netupski knowingly provided the
obscene material to anyone calling his BBS, even those who said they
were minors.

If readers are interested in contacting Mr. Netupski to offer counsel
or assist in his defense they may contact him at the above address or by
telephone at 708-827-7443.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gerry George)
Subject: Internetworking and Connectivity: How Would You Do It?
Date: 16 Jul 1993 22:18:21 GMT
Organization: Boston University
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I am carrying out a feasibility study on providing telecommunications
services between a company's head office and subsidiary offices.

Since I'm new to this, I figured that I would consult the telecom gods
  -- since you guys work daily on those issues and have much more
experience than I could ever hope to gain within the available time
frame.

The necessary details are as follows:

Head Office located in the US.
Sub. offices located off-shore (ex. Caribbean area/Latin America).
Need data, video, fax, & voice between HO & subsidiary head office.
Data:  includes e-mail and files;
Voice: occasional call daily between offices;
Video: average up to five hour/month, (usually) one hour per call.

Between branches, need data and e-mail access (possibly remote LAN
access), voice (telephone) and fax.

All communication between branches and HO (in US) could be routed
through Sub. H.O.

My initial *guess* goes like this:

H.O to Sub. H.O.

Use some high bandwidth, yet cost effective link (VSAT vs leased or
packet switched line).  This would provide for communications without
incurring additional costs based on quantity of usage.

Between branch offices

Most of the islands are line-of-sight (at least) with their closest
neighbour.  Therefore, use microwave between each (of four) island(s)
to establish some sort of continuous link, hopefully going full circle
(if possible) as opposed to a "bus" with the Sub. H.O. providing the
connection to main H.O. in the US.

Q1. Can I get voice/data/fax integrated in such a link -- ala a leased
line (can this simulate a leased line)?  What equipment will be
required?  Q2. Can a network link (ex. ethernet) run reliably over
such a setup?

Provide a backup link via packet radio (slow, but since only used in
case of disruption, might be reasonable).

Remote LAN access

Salespeople with Laptops - access LAN through dialup lines to place
orders and/or update files.

Voice: how do we keep in touch with the sales people?  Celular may
       not be readily available all over.

My major contention is providing the link between H.O. and sub. H.O
Can anyone suggess a more cost-effective means of having the two sites
communicate?  Should I use different vendors(video/data/voice) for
each service? (most likely will cost more).

How about the branch offices -- is it feasible to have the sub-nets
linked via microwave?  Apart from rain, what other problems can/should
I anticipate?  Backup/redundant network link -- should I bother?  Would
I need it or can I provide redundancy much easier and cheaper?

Am I crazy :)

Let me know how anyone has approached any similar problem.  I will
summarize to this forum when all replies have been consolidated and
(possibly) evaluated.  I will not eliminate ideas simply due to high
cost, but I nould like to select options based on robustness and
*value*, not just low cost.

Vendor names will also be appreciated.


Gerry George    School of Management, Boston Univ.
Internet: [e-mail]  HomeNet: [e-mail]
Compu$erve: [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri, 16 Jul 93 02:40:10 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Painful Report on the Nightly News


Did anyone else see the report a couple of nights ago on the nightly
televised news (I believe it was on CBS, but may have been ABC) on the
flood damage along the Mississippi, where a front-end loader was being
used to scoop up telephone sets (looked like old "Genuine Bell" stuff)
that supposedly had been damaged by the flood and deposit them in a
dumpster?  I wanted to cry out "NO!!!" because after all, other than
being waterlogged, those sets could probably have been dried out and
salvaged, or at least parted out for use in rebuilding other 500/2500
series phones.

It would seem to me that if anyone is in the telephone refurbishing
business, they might do well to run some ads in the Des Moines/Mississ-
 ippi valley area offering to "recycle" damaged telephone sets, in
order to keep them out of landfills.  Offer to pick them up, or place
deposit boxes at certain convenient locations.  Chances are that for
the price of a few ads and the cost of pickup, you could get enough
spare parts to keep you in business for a long time.  Of course, you
might wind up having to throw out a lot of "cheapie chirpers", but you
might also pick up some real gems.

(Which reminds me ... does anyone know where you can buy the plastic
shell for a touch-tone Princess-type phone?  You may recall the
Princess ["It's Little, It's Lovely, It Lights"] was a true work of
art before the dial-in-handset phones came along.  I have the guts
for, of all things, a modular Princess touch-tone phone [it must have
been retrofitted for modular somewhere along the line] but no plastic
case.  It would be interesting to get this going again.  And mark my
words, in about ten or twenty years you'll probably start seeing
Princess phone reproductions on the market, just as you now see cheapo
imported 300-set reproductions with round pushbuttions where the dial
holes used to be!)


Jack Decker | [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold)
Subject: TIA Publishes IS-95 (CDMA)
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 19:34:48 GMT


Press release from TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) went
out at 8:05 EDT, 7/16/93.  The TIA is publishing IS-95, which is the
new CDMA industry standard for digital cellular telephone systems
(along with TDMA).  Those of you familiar with what was happening may
have known it as TR-45.5, which was the subcommittee working on it.

Backing off the officialese, this means that manufacturers now have an
official industry standard to work from without the fear that, say,
someone will change the encoder specifications out from under them.

>From the release:
/CONTACT: Debra Colbert of the Telecommunications Industry
Association, 202-457-4935/

Plus Alex Brown and Motorola said good things about CDMA recently -
this must be our week!

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

Date: Fri, 16 Jul 93 11:08:38 EDT
From: Tyson=Macaulay%DTP%DGCP=HQ=[e-mail]
Subject: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple?


     I have found the recent discussion on the future of ISDN to be
particularly interesting because of the work I am doing on network
development for the government of Canada.  (Which is currently is
reorg, so I cant explain which department without undue confusion) A
major problem with the development of networks is *access*.  A public
good/ or a piece of the public infrastructure, must be accessible to
the public is a reasonably effective manner.  But how do you do this?

     One answer (skipping over many concerns in between) is to take
POTS lines (which have a virtually universal penetration in Canada,
and the US)and put ISDN on them.  Thus making it possible for
people to tie into a dial up network access point (Freenet,
University Site) and transfer large amounts of data quickly and
effectively;  In fact, with this type of capacity you could almost
say that the NAP become the central office.(?) However, even
multiplexed, BRI ISDN will provide, what, 144Kbps?  Good enough for
data transfer, but not nearly good enough for many of the multi-
media applications that will be the truly useful items on the net.
I do not refer to movies and such crap, but rather interactive
educational devices, or commercial product demonstrations.

     (For the American readers, the network development Business Plan
for the developing Canadian backbone - Canadian Network for the
Advancement of Research, Industry and Education, or CANARIE - has much
more commercial emphasis than the NSFnet.  This business plan is
available by anonymous ftp at unbmvs1.csd.unb.ca /pub/net/canarie).

     Now to the point.  I have heard from a manager at Northern
Telecom that they are flirting with the idea of marrying ISDN to ADSL
(Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop), thus retaining the signalling
standard that has been so pain-stakingly developed for ISDN, but
vastly increasing the transport capacity.  ADSL-1 can provide 1.544
Mbps over unshielded twisted pair (UTP), while ADSL-2 will move above
3 Mbps and ADSL-3 can jam up to 6 Mbps over UTP.  Now we are talking a
good base for multimedia applications to the home!  Now we are talking
a type of access that will make networks count to citizens in the
future.

     Comments please?  Must we rehash the discussion about
affordability of equipment, or tariffs?


Tyson Macaulay    e-mail:  [e-mail]
                           [e-mail]
Communications Canada      7th Floor, Journal Tower North
300 Slater Street          Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0C8

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

From: Delsys <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Systimax PDS
Organization: National Centre for Software Technology, India
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 06:22:24 GMT


Can anyone tell me of alternatives/competitors to AT&T's Systimax
premises distribution systems?

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

From: adobe![e-mail] (Richard Fall)
Subject: Information Wanted on Encrypted Cordless Phones
Organization: Adobe
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 23:15:06 GMT


I am interested in getting a cordless phone in my house but I am
concerned about privacy of my conversations, given the recent court
decisions in this area, and the ease with which such transmissions can
be intercepted.

    Is anyone aware of cordless phones that either:

        o Provide encryption of some type between the handset and
          base unit, or

        o That use infrared communication between the handset and
          based unit to limit the coverage area?

    It seems to me that either of these capabilities would solve, or
mostly solve, the privacy problem.


 Richard Fall                  |  Voice:  [phone]           |
 Adobe Systems Incorporated    |  Fax  :  [phone]           |
 P.O. Box 7900                 |-----------------------------------|
 1585 Charleston Road          |  Internet:  [e-mail] |
 Mountain View, CA  94039-7900 |  UUCP:    ..!decwrl!adobe!rfall   |

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

Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 09:07:33 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Bell Atlantic CD-ROM Yellow Pages in Virginia


Passed along for consideration.

   From: [e-mail] (Edward C Connors)
   Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom
   Subject: Bell Atlantic CD-ROM Yellow Pages in Virginia
   Date: 5 Jul 1993 11:15:24 GMT
   Organization: The Ohio State University

What CD-ROM hardware and format(s) are Bell Atlantic using for their
Electronic Yellow Pages?  According to USA Weekend (July 2-4, 1993
page 14) it is a CD-ROM player that connects to NTSC color TV.  Three
hundred homes in Loudoun County, Va. have the demo version for 6
months' testing.  It displays advertising and shopper information.  In
theory, advertising would pay for the hardware.

   Same article says 28 similar units are installed at hotels and
office buildings in Chicago, Illinois.

   Does this CD-ROM player connect to a phone somehow?  Are passwords
or access codes required to read the media?  Does it gather and report
the end-user's search behavior to the phone company?

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Voice Mail Jail Story From the New York Times
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 11:07 -0400


Yesterday's {New York Times} had a Metropolitan Diary entry that I
thought would be of interest to this audience.

Dear Diary:

  After hearing so many voice-mail instructions in the last few years,
I tend to become discouraged at the long lists of instructions that
never seem to apply to my situation.  But the other day I heard one
that confirmed my faith in the people behind the machines.

  I was phoning a publishing company, and the message started in the
usual fashion with a voice droning "Press 1 if you would like to order
a specific publication, press 2 if you have a question about an
invoice."  I was listening halfheartedly when the last option caught
my attention with "Press 6 if you would like to speak with a sales
representative, if you are thoroughly confused or if you would like to
speak with a thoroughly confused representative."

  Sometimes there's hope.             EMMY WYATT

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

From: [e-mail] (Syd Weinstein)
Subject: Is This AT&T From H*** Week?
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1993 16:38:50 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Today alone I have had calls from three AT&T sales droids and one AT&T
Market Research firm ...

The last one took me forever to get off the phone.  (I told him no, a
great deal, and was about to just hang up on him.)

What I've noticed lately ...

1. AT&T is switching to HIGH pressure sales, ie GET IN THE DOOR for a
face to face, regardless of the LD volume.

2. PUSH custom net plans even if residental rates make more sense.
(Our needs are skewed with a lot of off hours data traffic to random
places).

3. Try and sell bypass for situations that don't warrant it.

Gee, AT&T, are you trying to make enemies?


Sydney S. Weinstein, CDP, CCP          Elm Coordinator - Current 2.4PL22
Datacomp Systems, Inc.                 Projected 3.0 Release: ??? ?,1994
[e-mail] or dsinc!syd      Voice: [phone], FAX: [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #481
******************************










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Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 17:56:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #482

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 18 Jul 93 17:56:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 482

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    New Technology to the Subscriber (Mark A. Terribile)
    U.S. West Telemarketing (Bruce Albrecht)
    Need Info on Getting Large Number of Phone Lines (James Knowlton)
    Advice on Advertising a New Patent Law Firm (Carl Oppedahl)
    Call Waiting: International Service to Georgia Cut Off (TELECOM Moderator)
    Newspapers in the Information Age (Dave Niebuhr)
    AT&T to Begin Leasing Princess Phones (Was: Painful Report) (Alan Toscano)
    AT&T Email in New Delhi, India (Dalip K. Singh)
    Caller ID: Is This Possible Without a PC? (William Kucharski)
    Determine Carrier From an 800 Number? (Marshall Levin)
    Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Marshall Levin)
    RFI - ATM WAN Interconnect (Michael R. Brown)
    Competition For Talk Tickets (David P. Notley Jr.)
    United Telephone Locations (Ian Eisenberg)
    Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple? (Tyson Macaulay)
    Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple? (John Nagle)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: New Technology to the Subscriber
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 00:33:02 GMT


I just read about this is a recent issue of _Telephony_ (this week's,
I think).  It's in the laboratory; whether it will ever be deployed is
another matter ...

It's called ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop) and it promises
megabit bandwidth to the home over existing copper (up to 12 kilofeet
of Awg #24).  (Some of us, unfortunately, are more than 12 kilofeet
from the CO.)

Three distinct bands are transmitted: POTS is sent as it is now and an
`uplink' and `downlink' band are passively coupled in so that the POTS
will not be impaired if the high-tech stuff dies.

The `uplink' band is a few tens of kHz wide, and is used to send 384
kbit/sec to the CO.  This can be used for an ISDN H0 (PRI) channel or
for ISDN BRI (2B+D) and other stuff (e.g. data WAN).

The downlink is higher up and extends up to a bit over a MHz.  It has
a 384 kbit/sec channel to match the uplink channel, PLUS four 1.5
Mbit/sec channel.  These can be used for data, for `VCR-grade' TV
(using one compression scheme) or (combining either two or four
channels with another compression scheme) for `sports quality' or
`HDTV-quality' television.

The transmission technology is interesting.  They originally tried
QAM, but they couldn't deal with the infinite varieties of degradation
possible on the unshielded twisted pair.  (Each line would have
interference or resonant degradation at different frequencies.)
Instead, they settled on a scheme like Telebit's Packet Ensemble
Protocol: the signal band is divided into hundreds of narrow subbands.
Each subband carries between 1 and 11 bits per Hz, and each band is a
few kHz wide.  The system adjusts continuously to adapt to the
characteristics of the channel.

Bellcore claims that it has been given prototypes of subscriber-end
decoders which can be line-powered.


 (This man's opinions are his own.)
 From mole-end                Mark Terribile
 [e-mail], Somewhere in Matawan, NJ

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

Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail] (Bruce Albrecht)
Subject: U.S. West Telemarketing
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 15:48:52 CST


I have call waiting on one of my phone lines, and US West finally
upgraded the switch to support Call Waiting Blocking (*70) about a
month ago.  The way I found out that they had done so was when US West
called me yesterday to try to get me to order "A new service designed
for phones with Call Waiting that allows you to turn off Call Waiting
on incoming calls."  You guessed it, they tried to sell me Three-Way
Calling, without ever explicitly calling it that.  I suppose they
figured that if they never called it Three-Way Calling, that I
wouldn't realize that it was an existing service I had already chosen
not to get.  Their pitch also tried to get me to believe that I'd save
in long distance phone bills if I conference called relatives instead
of calling them consecutively.  Yeah, right.

The only reason I found out that Call Waiting Block had been installed
was when I asked if Three-Way Calling could be used to block call
waiting if the switch didn't support it, and she told me my exchange
wasn't on the list of exchanges without the feature.  I had noticed
that the call waiting tone had changed, but hadn't tried the blocking
prefix, so I assume the feature became available when the tone
changed.


[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Well you would in a marginal sense save on your
long distance calls if you had to go back and forth relaying messages
between relatives one place and relatives in another. By getting them
all on the line time to talk as a group you would save the additional
calls needed to relay 'he said that she said that you said', etc. And
although you can prepend *70 to your outgoing calls to suspend call
waiting for the duration of the call, in some central offices there is
no way to do *70 on incoming calls unless you have Three Way Calling
to  otherwise give you a legitimate reason to flash the hook during
the middle of a call. Your CO may work that way.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (James Knowlton)
Subject: Need Information on Getting Large Number of Phone Lines
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 00:14:21 PDT


I am interested in finding the cheapest way to operate 75-100 phone
lines at one location.  No calls need to go out on these lines; I need
one phone number that would be forwarded to open lines (hunt or busy
forwarding, or...?); These lines would fall under business rates but
would be setup at a residential location; I am also having a T1 and 1
or 2 56k leased lines installed; My service provider is Pacific Bell.

What is the best way to go about doing this, and what options do I
have for keeping the cost as low as possible, both for installation
and monthly rates on these phone lines?

Is there anything in particular I should consider or keep in mind with
regards to this, such as maintainence, interference, etc?

Are business line measured rates charged only on outgoing calls or on
incoming as well?  (Sorry, I would have called the phone company on
this but it's friday night and I didn't want to wait until monday
morning.  Impatient eh?  :)

Any other information you can provide on this would be great.  Thanks.

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Advice on Advertising a New Patent Law Firm
Date: 18 Jul 1993 17:25:36 -0400
Organization: Oppedahl & Larson


I would like to attract possible clients to my patent law firm, but am
concerned that advertising it by posting information about the firm in
usenet groups and the like would go against proper use standards of
the Internet or Usenet.

Can any readers give advice as to newsgroups where such a posting
would not be considered improper?

Thank you for any comments.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (patent lawyer)
1992 Commerce Street #309   Yorktown Heights, NY  10598-4412
voice 212-777-1330  fax [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Advertising on the Internet is generally frowned
upon as you point out, but a low-key 'infomercial' message without an
offensive or obnoxious pitch is frequently welcome to let people know
of resources available to them. You might consider 'misc.legal' as
one such place to discuss your services.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 16:27:04 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Call Waiting: International Service to Georgia Cut Off


Russian telephone operators have cut off connections to Georgia's
international phone service until the neighboring nation pays its
bills. Georgia relies on Russia's antiquated and highly centralized
phone network for international calls. Georgia has been in arrears to
Russia for sometime with a large past due bill. Now the country is
stalling for time in making payments by demanding details first on the
number of calls handled by operators in Moscow and the origin/destin-
ation points of the calls.

Moscow's response was to cut their service off entirely. Just so you
know why calls from your friends in Georgia are not getting through. :)


PAT

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 12:58:56 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Newspapers in the Information Age


Today's {Newsday}, July 18, 1993, introduced a new series "Online to a
Revolution" which describes the advancement of the information age
including getting the daily paper online.

{Newsday} offers readers a chance to participate by searching and
reading files on their terminals or personal computers.  All it takes
is two simple telephone calls, one local and one long distance (local
charge only).

Information can even be sent to the author or the entire staff of the
paper by just typing the message according to the prompts and a
control/Z to quit.

Graphics are available for downloading but a Macintosh is required and
the connection must be made to either of two New York City numbers
(too much for me).

The article covers a wide spectrum in information technology and
relies heavily on telephony as the medium of transmission.

When I get set up, I'll capture the main article and, with PATs
permission, post it to the group, preferably as a separate article
since it is quite long.

Anyone can access this service if they have a TCP/IP connection just
by telnetting to delphi.com and using HIGHWAY as the user name.


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: Send it along, bearing in mind that the backlog
here has now reached a record level with some 400-plus articles
waiting for review, consideration and possible inclusion. Readers will
be tolerant if their <Re:>ply does not appear for awhile, if at all
and hopefully not run to some other newsgroup to complain bitterly
that their thoughts were 'censored' because I disagreed with them. I
think you know who I mean  :).    PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 10:31 PDT
From: [e-mail] (A Alan Toscano)
Subject: AT&T to Begin Leasing Princess Phones (Was: Painful Report...)


>  And mark my
> words, in about ten or twenty years you'll probably start seeing
>  Princess phone reproductions on the market, just as you now see cheapo
>  imported 300-set reproductions with round pushbuttions where the dial
>  holes used to be!)

Not quite that long. Try two months ...

Starting in October, AT&T will be offering *newly manufactured*
PRINCESS(R) phones for lease. These are slightly redesigned
reproductions, if you will, available in Aqua Blue, Ivory, Peach, Rose
Pink, and White. (I suppose they'll have electronic "ringers.") For
the purist, they continue to lease rebuilt/refurbished original-design
PRINCESS phones.

While some of AT&T's lease products may be purchased after being
leased for a month or so, that option is not offered for the PRINCESS.
If you prefer to own, you'll have to shop your local antique stores
and/or flea markets. I don't see them often, but original PRINCESSes
are still for sale out there. You just have to hunt them down.


A Alan Toscano -- P O Box 741982 -- Houston, TX 77274 -- 713 216-6616
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (SINGH, DALIP K)
Subject: AT&T Email in New Delhi, India
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 22:04:00 GMT
Organization: Hughes Network Systems, Inc.


I have a friend working for AT&T in New Delhi, India with an email
address attmail!attdel!bhogal.  How can I send mail to him on
Internet.


Dalip  Email:[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Using precisely the address you gave above! That *is*
his Internet address.  Try attmail!attdel![e-mail]. That should
work fine; likewise [e-mail] will probably get there
also.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (William Kucharski)
Subject: Caller ID: Is This Possible Without a PC?
Date: 18 Jul 1993 10:22:12 -0600
Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc., Longmont, CO


It seems to be that the majority of people out there would jump on the
Caller ID bandwagon if there were only a relatively inexpensive way to
do the following (an answering machine seems to be the appliance I
envision):

1) Caller # in database:

    Allow phone to ring.  Machine answers after 2/4 rings like a normal
    "toll saver" answering machine.

2) Caller # not in database or caller from area without CID:

    Answering machine picks up immediately.

3) Caller # blocked:  Caller hung up on after appropriately rude message.

I've seen devices that do #3, but #1/#2 don't seem possible without a
PC with Caller ID interface or an answering machine with a VCR-type
display.

(BTW, it also seems like a natural outgrowth of the voice time-stamp
answering machine would be a voice time/caller # stamp machine ...)

Anyone know of an easy way to do what I want without buying a PC,
interface and appropriate voice mail software?


| William Kucharski, Solbourne Computer, Inc.     | Opinions expressed herein
| Internet: [e-mail]   Ham: N0OKQ   | are MINE alone, NOT those
| Snail Mail: 1900 Pike Road, Longmont, CO  80501 | of Solbourne Computer, Inc.
| President, "Just the Ten of Us" Fan Club        | "Dittos from Longmont, CO"

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshall Levin)
Subject: Determine Carrier From an 800 Number?
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 02:47:22 GMT


A friend of mine in NY wanted to call me at work (in OH) on my
company's 800 number.  She called 800-555-1212 and presumably got an
AT&T operator, who did not have a listing for it. I know this number
is dialable from outside OH (I called it from VT). I am guessing it
is not an AT&T number.  If this is the case, how could she find a
listing for it?  It is possible to tell which carrier it is on by
looking at the number (it is 800-860-xxxx)?


Thanks,

Marshall Levin


[Moderator's Note: A listing with 800-555-1212 does *not* require that
the number be handled by AT&T. The 800-555-1212 database is handled by
Southwestern Bell in St. Louis, MO under a contract with Bellcore.
Anyone with an 800 number can be listed; I do not know what the current
fee is. Unlike regular numbers where the listing is free and a non-pub
status costs money, with 800 it is the other way around. Non-pub is
free and the listing costs money. More than likely your company chose
to have the 800 number non-pub, and they advertise it according to
their own methods if at all. They probably do not like having personal
calls to employees arriving on it. The fact that it is 800-860 no longer
means anything; any carrier offering 800 service could serving it.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshall Levin)
Subject: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 02:56:09 GMT


Are there any carriers out there that will give me a calling card
without having my own phone number?  I am living with my parents now
but travel often and need to make calls on the road.  I'd prefer not
to use their card.  At school we have a phone system in which the
school has a main number and students have extensions which do not
correspond to a real telephone numner or line.  Students do not have a
real line and cannot choose their carrier or order special services
like at some other schools -- it's all "in house".

Alternatively, are there any carriers that will allow me to charge
calls to my VISA card?  Can such a thing be DIRECT DIALED?  If so,
how?  Are the rates for using a VISA card mich higher?  I think I
heard about MCI offering this (I don't know if it is direct dialed or
needs an operator, though).  Also, I work at a bank and I noticed on
someone's VISA bill entries in the following format:

MCI 02MIN 555 555 5555      .64
ITT 05MIN 555 555 1234      .45
SPR 02MIN 555 555 1212      .53

(or something like that).  Apparently these carriers offer such a
service -- now how does one access it?


Thanks,

Marshall Levin


[Moderator's Note: MCI has a plan where calls can be billed to VISA or
AMEX directly but I think you ask your credit card service about it
rather than MCI since the credit card service is getting the kickback
 from MCI on monthly billings, etc. AT&T has a miscellaneous billing
type calling card (I think they contract it out through Cinn Bell for
processing, but you would contact AT&T Customer Service to sign up).
And here comes today's infomercial from your Moderator:  Orange
Communications offers a 25 cent per minute no surcharge calling card
to persons with decent credit standing for a one time only $12 enroll-
ment fee. To receive an Orange Calling Card application write to my
personal netmail address:  [e-mail].    PAT]

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

From: Michael R. Brown <[e-mail]>
Subject: RFI - ATM WAN Interconnect
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 15:37:09 GMT


*** Request for Information ***
*** Wide Area ATM Testbed   ***

The MITRE Corporation, a non-profit systems engineering concern
working in the public interest, is seeking information on options for
interconnecting several ATM network testbeds in the Boston MA,
Syracuse NY, and Washington DC areas.  Such options can include, but
are not necessarily limited to, dedicated leased line (DS3/OC1-3) and
switched ATM service (DS3/OC1-3).  Current plans call for
interconnecting these testbeds in Oct 93 timeframe.  A high-level
diagram of these facilities is provided below.


+++++++++++        +++++++++++++        ++++++++++++++
+        +        +        +    +
+ Griffiss    +<--------->+   MITRE    +<--------->+  MITRE     +
+ AFB, NY    +        +Bedford MA    +    +McLean,VA

Fore ASX-100        Fore ASX-100        Fore ASX-100 (2)
GTE Spanet            Newbridge 36150 (2)

Options, including pricing information, for interconnecting these
testbeds would be appreciated by 1 August 1993.  Please limit written
responses to five pages.  For further information please contact:

            Michael R. Brown
            Advanced Telecom Group
            The MITRE Corporation
            MS B280, Burlington Rd
            Bedford, MA  01730-1420
            [phone], [phone] (Fax)
            [e-mail].

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

From: David P. Notley Jr. <[e-mail]>
Subject: Competition for Talk Tickets
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 09:41:58 EDT


The local Safeway (Hyattsville, MD) is selling "Long Distance Phone
Certificate"s that look very much like Talk Tickets.  They provide 30
minutes LD to U.S. including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico for $5.00.
Service is apparently provided by Sprint.

    Dial 1 800 743-9916
    Enter 10 digit certificate number
    Enter 1+area code+telephone number

One small gotcha though ... The certificate expires 31 DEC 93.

DPN


[Moderator's Note: I think they are doing this (at that price for 30
minutes) as a promotional thing; much like the $2 Talk Tickets I have
here are less expensive in quantity than the normal $5 and $10 Talk
Tickets are selling for. Western Union also has a prepaid calling card
out now you can purchase at currency exchanges and some banks.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ian Eisenberg)
Subject: United Telephone Locations
Date: 18 Jul 1993 16:50:53 -0700
Organization: (CYBERSPACE) Public Internet 206.286.1600


Does anyone have a list of United Telephone LECs?.  A complete list
would be great and NPA and NXX even better.  If you just know of a
couple I would appreciate it.

My address is: [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 11:08:38 EDT
From: Tyson=Macaulay%DTP%DGCP=HQ=[e-mail]
Subject: Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple?


     I have found the recent discussion on the future of ISDN to be
particularly interesting because of the work I am doing on network
development for the government of Canada.  (Which is currently is
reorg, so I can't explain which department without undue confusion) A
major problem with the development of networks is *access*.  A public
good/ or a piece of the public infrastructure, must be accessible to
the public is a reasonably effective manner.  But how do you do this?

     One answer (skipping over many concerns in between) is to take
POTS lines (which have a virtually universal penetration in Canada,
and the US)and put ISDN on them.  Thus making it possible for
people to tie into a dial up network access point (Freenet,
University Site) and transfer large amounts of data quickly and
effectively;  In fact, with this type of capacity you could almost
say that the NAP become the central office.(?) However, even
multiplexed, BRI ISDN will provide, what, 144Kbps?  Good enough for
data transfer, but not nearly good enough for many of the multi-
media applications that will be the truly useful items on the net.

     I do not refer to movies and such crap, but rather interactive
educational devices, or commercial product demonstrations. (For the
American readers, the network development Business Plan for the
developing Canadian backbone -- Canadian Network for the Advancement
of Research, Industry and Education, or CANARIE -- has much more
commercial emphasis than the NSFnet.  This business plan is available
by anonymous ftp at unbmvs1.csd.unb.ca /pub/net/canarie).

    Now to the point.  I have heard from a manager at Northern Telecom
that they are flirting with the idea of marrying ISDN to ADSL
(Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop), thus retaining the signalling
standard that has been so pain-stakingly developed for ISDN, but
vastly increasing the transport capacity.  ADSL-1 can provide 1.544
Mbps over unshielded twisted pair (UTP), while ADSL-2 will move above
3 Mbps and ADSL-3 can jam up to 6 Mbps over UTP.  Now we are talking a
good base for multimedia applications to the home!  Now we are talking
a type of access that will make networks count to citizens in the
future.

     Comments please?  Must we rehash the discussion about affordability
of equipment, or tariffs?


Tyson Macaulay    e-mail:  [e-mail]
                           [e-mail]
Communications Canada      7th Floor, Journal Tower North
300 Slater Street          Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0C8

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

From: [e-mail] (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 16:13:13 GMT


Tyson=Macaulay%DTP%DGCP=HQ=[e-mail] writes:

>     Now to the point.  I have heard from a manager at Northern
> Telecom that they are flirting with the idea of marrying ISDN to ADSL
> (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop), thus retaining the signalling
> standard that has been so pain-stakingly developed for ISDN, but
> vastly increasing the transport capacity.  ADSL-1 can provide 1.544
> Mbps over unshielded twisted pair (UTP), while ADSL-2 will move above
> 3 Mbps and ADSL-3 can jam up to 6 Mbps over UTP.  Now we are talking a
> good base for multimedia applications to the home!  Now we are talking
> a type of access that will make networks count to citizens in the
> future.

       ADSL is asymmetrical; the high bandwidth is one-way.  The other
direction is supposedly 64Kb, although maybe you get two ISDN
channels.  It's intended to compete with cable TV.  The idea is to
have something comparable to a remote-controlled cable box at the CO,
giving you one of a limited number of compressed TV channels, as well
as phone service, over the same wire.  Assuming you think 1Mb
compressed TV is worth watching.

       Does it really need unshielded twisted pair?  Local loops
aren't normally twisted.  Twisting decreases RF coupling between
adjacent pairs substantially, but it's not standard for existing phone
wiring, inside or outside.


John Nagle

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #482
******************************










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Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 19:32:49 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #483

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 18 Jul 93 19:32:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 483

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Nokia P4000 Programming Data (Mike Riddle)
    Does This Device Exist? (Jack Decker)
    Fire Tragedy Strikes Digest Reader (Albert Crosby via TELECOM Moderator)
    Caller-ID Packet Breakdown? (John Matthews)
    Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up! (Seng-Poh Lee)
    Toronto Now All-DMS Switching (David Leibold)
    Standard Practice For Wiring House (Thomas Hinders)
    Looking For V.Fast Information ([e-mail])
    AT&T Credit Card From Europe (Povl H. Pedersen)
    Looking For an 800 Service (Dale Farmer)
    What Would be a Fair Commission to us From AT&T? (Jerry Anderson)
    Communications Daily Contact Info (Kelly Breit)
    Expanded Local Calls in Southern MD (Carl Moore)
    Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable (Marc Schaefer)
    Welcome to New Readers (TELECOM Moderator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 09:19:18 CST
From: [e-mail] (Mike Riddle)
Subject: Nokia P4000 Programming Data
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


A while back I asked for programming data for the Nokia P4000.  I
received one response with the information, and many requests for the
data.  So here is what I have.

While it seems to end abruptly, I've been assured this is all there was.

Programming information for Nokia Mobira P4000

NAM Type:                E2 PROM
Manufacturer:            NOKIA MOBIRA
Programmer:              Keypad (Provided current security code is known
                                 if not, service adapter is necessary to
                                 access program parameters)
ESN Prefix:              Dec 165 Hex A5
ESN/Serial number match: YES
Number of Channels:      832


Programming sequence:
                      Power ON
                      Enter program mode: * + 3001 + # + XXXXX + SEL
                                            + 9 + END
                          XXXXX=12345 (new phones)
                          XXXXX=Current Security Code
                      "IDENTIF INFO PRI" will display (Press SND to
                          toggle "on" if necessary)
                      Press END to step through parameters
                      To toggle parameters, press SND (i.e. Perf System)
                      Once programming is complete,  power phone OFF
                          then ON to exit Program Mode.


Step      Parameter                 # of digits   Normal

1         System ID                     5         XXXXX + END
2         Access Method (MIN Opt)       1         1 + END
3         LOCL OPT (Local Use)          1         1 + END
4         Mobile Number                10         XXX-XXX-XXXX + END
5         Station Class                 2         10 + END
6         Initial Paging Channel        3         (333 or 334) + END
7         Access Overload               2         XX + END
8         Perfered System - Press SND to Toggle   (A or B) + END
9         Group ID                      2         XX + END
10        Security Code                 5         XXXXX + END
11        Serial Number (Same as Stamped Number)  Press END
12        Manufacturer Date                       Press END
13        Installation Date             6         MM/DD/YY + END


Power phone OFF and ON to complete programming or return to "IDENTIF
INFO PRI" to program 2nd NAM.

Programming Second NAM:   With "IDENTIF INFO PRI" on display
                              press SND to toggle to "IDENTIF INFO
                              OPT" (to program second NAM)
                          Enter information for steps 1-13 for the
                              2nd NAM
                          Power phone OFF and ON to complete the
                              program process.

New Unlock Code:   SEL + 5 + 5 Digit Security Code (NAM) (Current
                   Unlock code will display) + New 4 digit unlock
                   code + SEL

System Select:     SEL + 1 + 1 + 1 etc. (To scroll choices)

                   Home
                   A
                   B
                   Both (AB and BA)


          <<<< insert standard disclaimer here >>>>
[e-mail]        |  Nebraska Inns of Court
                                   |  [phone] (Data)
Sysop of 1:285/27@Fidonet          |  3/12/24/9600 V.32/V.42bis
 inns.omahug.org     [phone] (1:285/27)

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 15:39:09 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Jack Decker)
Subject: Does This Device Exist?


This is mostly a curiosity question, but could have some practical
applications.

What I am wondering is if anyone makes a device that comes in two
parts, and that passes DC signalling and ringing through a "wet" line.
That's probably a confusing description; maybe a diagram will help:

  ________         _____                    _____
 |_|----|_|       | "A" |                  | "B" |         To
    /  \          |UNIT |==================|UNIT |======> Telco
   /____\=========|_____|  ("wet" circuit) |_____|        or PBX
    CPE                                                   line

The idea is, to the CPE (be it a "plain old telephone set" or
something else), the "A" and "B" units aren't there ... any outward
rotary dialing or hookswitch flashing will be processed normally,
while any incoming ring signal from the telco will be passed through
to the CPE.  Ideally, the "A" and "B" units should provide sufficient
amplification so that to the CPE, the volume level is the same as if
it were actually connected to the line parallel to the "B" unit.

A plus would be if the "A" and "B" units (either or both, preferably
both) had the capability of monitoring the condition of the connection
over the "wet" circuit continuously, and if it dropped, redial the
connection (using tone OR pulse dialing -- this assumes that the "wet"
connection is a dialup circuit of some sort).

Now, why would one want something like this?  Well, let me give you
just one potential application (there are probably many, but this one
will suffice): You have call forwarding from your office to your home,
but you receive a lot of incoming calls, and are charged message units
for each completed call (on a per call basis ... each call is charged
at the same rate, whether it lasts one second or one day).  With this
type of unit, you could get a second phone line at your home and at
your office, hang the "B" unit at your office (connecting the telco
side to your original office line) and the "A" unit at your home
(connecting a phone there), and establish one continuous dial-up
connection between the two.  Voila ... instant off-premesis extension
AND you don't even have to remember to turn on call forwarding if you
step out of your office for a few minutes (assuming someone is at
home).  Not only that, but from your home you'd be able to place
outgoing calls on your office line (which may have access to a
different local calling area, outward WATS service, specialized PBX
features, or whatever).

Now I realize that some will dislike the idea of tying up a dialup
connection continuously, but please remember that it was the telcos
who decided to price dedicated private circuits so high as to put them
out of reach of most businesses and individuals.  We have to deal with
the tariffs as they are, and right now the tariffs in most areas often
favor a continuous dial-up connection over a leased circuit.  If the
tariffs change, then we deal with whatever the new tariffs are.

Anyway, I know that you can achieve some of the above functionality if
you have a PBX with OPX (off-premises extension) capabilities, but
I've never heard of standalone units that offer this sort of thing,
and I think that (if they're not already available) the first
manufacturer that comes up with such units will make a bundle.  The
big key is their simplicity; you should be able to just plug them into
phone jacks at each end, program whichever end is supposed to dial the
other with the number to dial (and whether to dial using pulse or
tone), assuming that any dialing is to take place at all, and away you
go.  If they can be designed so you don't need a telecom expert to
install them, that would be a BIG selling point.

One other point is that an upgraded version of this unit could offer
digital transmission and/or rudimentary encryption between the "A" and
"B" ends, but I would personally think the bigger market would be for
a plain old cheap analog version (after all, if it's very expensive,
the primary reason for using it goes away).

Any existing products like this?  If not, anyone planning on making
such a device?


Jack Decker | [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 14:27:16 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fire Tragedy Strikes Digest Reader


[Moderator's Note: I received a sad story in email over the weekend. A
reader's home caught fire; he and his family are staying with a friend
in the community -- except one family member that is: his three year
old son was badly injured in the fire and is in the hospital. I'll let
him tell the story of how the local telco has responded thus far to
his call for assistance with phone service.  PAT]


I'm needing a little help -

Is there some way that I can arrange with anyone that you know of to
get calling card type services almost immediately?  (Or would I be
better off paying the hospital fees for placing calls?)  I'm willing
to pay via MC or whatever ... it's the weekend, and my little boy's in
the hospital.  Burns.  We've chosen to make his info "non-public",
which has the side effect of not getting calls routed in ... (He's
fine, BTW. Well, alive.  First and second degree, 20% of body, and he's
3 1/2.)

 We had an apartment fire.  And our apartment is sealed off for
investigation.  I did manage after only about 15 minutes of persuasion
to convince the folks at Southwestern Bell to remote call forward my
phone to my mother-in-law's.  At first, the phone office wanted to
disconnect my apartment and provide a free move (kind of them) to my
new address.  We've been too concerned about our son's health to even
worry about that one. I asked about remote call forwarding.  Got
transferred to business division, where they tried to sell me the
"tele-branch" (or whatever they were calling it today) service.

 It'd involve disconnecting my current number, a new work order for
that number, an installation fee, and then calls to that number would
get forwarded at four cents per minute (to a local number - else L.D.
charges, of course).  I said, no, I simply wanted remote call forwarding.

I explained, patiently, I felt, that in some areas, a class of service
existed as an extension to call forwarding that allowed the phone to
be forwarded without being at the physical address of the service.
Apparently that's not tarriffed in NW Arkansas.  Amazingly, though,
one of the operators involved (not even a supervisor yet, mind you)
confessed that "we have, in emergencies, forwarded phone service from
the operator *if* you have call forwarding."

I asked, "Great.  Would that be possible for me?"  They agreed it
would be.  True amazement and most pleasing, though, was next.  I
didn't have forwarding on my phone.  Been meaning to add it, but
hadn't.  I was prepared to wait.  Instead, the residential service
operator said "We'll place an order to have call forwarding enabled on
your phone *today*.  There'll be a $10 install, and $3/month.
Remember, when you relocate your service to mention that your phone
was forwarded by the operator, and that you had a fire so you'll get
the free move."  And, in about two hours, when I checked, my home
phone was forwarded as I'd desired.  A small touch of pleasantness in
an unhappy situation.


Albert Crosby          | Microcomputer & Network Support
[e-mail] |   University of Arkansas
 or AL.CROSBY on GENIE |     College of Agriculture And
1 501 575 4452         |       Home Economics


[Moderator's Note: As you know, we talked on the phone Sunday
afternoon and you've been given open account billing on the Talk
Ticket program so you can avoid the excessive phone charges the
hospital would tack on to your bill for using the phone in your son's
room. I chatted with the hospital switchboard and calls can be made
either in the room or from payphones in the hospital via the 800
number for the Talk Ticket switch. You can forward a check to my
office for the serial numbers I gave you when you get a few minutes of
free time to do so. If you need more ticket serial numbers, you have
my number to call and request them.

If I understood correctly from our brief conversation, the fire began
in the little guy's bedroom and he was the only one hurt. Even though
you've lost many of your possessions, the little guy is alive -- and
that's all that really matters, isn't it?  Best wishes from all of us.
I'm sure I speak for other readers.  PAT]

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

From: John Matthews <[e-mail]>
Subject: Caller-ID Packet Breakdown?
Reply-To: John Matthews <[e-mail]>
Organization: U S WEST Management Information Services
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:13:01 GMT


Does anyone out there have info on the structure of the Caller ID
packet?  I have a Zyxel modem and to do what I want I need to, I have
to set S48=1 to tell the modem to hand me the full Caller-ID packet in
hex. I figured out the obvious fields within the packet such as date,
phone#, and name but there are other fields that aren't immiediately
obvious. If anyone has such documentation handy, could they please
e-mail it to me?


Thanks in advance,

John Matthews   [e-mail]

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

From: Seng-Poh Lee <[e-mail]>
Subject: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up!
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 22:32:19 -0400 (EDT)


Well, almost. Here's the current error you receive when you mail to a
[e-mail]:

  Subject: Returned mail: User unknown
  Status: OR

   ----- Transcript of session follows -----
While talking to mail.prodigy.com:
>>> RCPT To:<[e-mail]>
<<< 550 Invalid UserId.  The Prodigy member id to which this message was sent
is either non-existent or not enrolled for InterNet messages
550 [e-mail]... User unknown


Note that JWBS90B is a valid ID, so it seems that all that remains is
for Prodigy to announce it, and let users know how much it is going to
cost them to enroll and to send and receive Internet mail.


Seng-Poh Lee    <[e-mail]>

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

Subject: Toronto Now All-DMS Switching
From: woody <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 13:52:06 -0400


Bell Canada had an ad Thursday in the papers proclaiming Toronto to be
"the first city in the world where everyone has a digital sound
system". Actually, what this means is that all switches in Toronto
exchange are now converted to the Northern Telecom DMS variety, thus
meaning all numbers can have things like Call Waiting, Caller ID,
forwarding, CCS7 signalling, etc etc. There was to be a Bell Wave Day
at the Blue Jays baseball game tonight (15 July).


[Moderator's Note: David's message arrived truncated at this point for
some reason, but I think we all get the idea.  :)     PAT]

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

Date: 18 Jul 1993 08:16:08 EDT
From: Hinders, Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: Standard Practice For Wiring House


If a telephone technician was dispatched to install jacks and wiring
for a home under construction, would the standard practice be for him
to wire the jacks in daisy-chain or run a separate line to some common
point.

Could someone in the group associated with a BOC (esp Bell of PA)
please respond.

I contracted (with an eletrician) to wire my new home during
construction.  I instructed him (based on input from this group) to
pull separate lines for each wall jack to the basement.  However, he
wired all the jacks in daisy-chain fashion.  When I objected, he
claimed that daisy-chain wiring is standard wiring practice.

Is there any technical reason to install in daisy-chain fashion, or is
it just cheaper?


Thanks,

Tom Hinders/Soft-Switch
[phone] (v/vm)  [phone] (f)
Internet: [e-mail]
X.400: C=US A=Telemail P=Softswitch S=Hinders G=Thomas

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Looking For V.Fast Information
Organization: Martin Marietta, Burlington, Mass
Date: 18 Jul 93 15:25:26 GMT


Request any information that anyone has on the V.Fast standard for
modems Mailed to me would be Very much appreciated.  (School project.)


Thanks,

-pete

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

From: [e-mail] (Povl H. Pedersen)
Subject: AT&T Credit Card From Europe
Organization: UNI-C, Danish Computing Centre for Research and Education
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:33:31 GMT


I have just been iinformed that I can contact AT&T and get a credit
card billed to my VISA card that will alloow me to call USA for less
than $0.50/min, which is about a third of the price I pay with Danish
telecom.

How much can I use it? How about calling 800 numbers? Can I use it
for cheaper dialing to the rest of the world too? It almost sounds
too good.  According to the info I got you starts with a call to a
danish 800 number to get further on.


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] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Looking For an 800 Service
Date: 18 Jul 1993 13:37:05 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


I need to get some preliminary cost numbers for an 800 service a
client is considering.  This is what we want:

    A single 800 number that works in all 50 states, and us
territories (guam, virgin islands, etc).  This number would go to the
local state office for that territory, presumably by decoding the ANI
info and routing it appropriatly.  When it arrives at the office it
passes the number calling from so we can do an autometic lookup of
that individuals records from our internal database.

    If some kind soul can e-mail some ballpark figures for the
service cost and likely equipment costs, or a pointer to a service
providers point of contact I would be immensely grateful.


Dale Farmer

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

From: [e-mail] (Jerry Anderson)
Subject: What Would be a Fair Commission to us From AT&T?
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 17:19:40 CDT


According to AT&T, they are now tariffed to bypass our local exchange
carrier (Southwestern Bell) for both interLATA and intraLATA traffic.

To induce us to sign up with AT&T they have offered us an increase in
our per-call commission.  Before we sign, we'd like to know what a
fair commission for using AT&T bypass service would be.

How much is AT&T now paying SWBell in access charges?  How should we
decide on a fair per-call commission?  The portion of our traffic
involved is roughly 20,000 calls per month.

Any help, information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.


[e-mail]     Jerry Anderson
                          Kansas State University
DID: [phone]       Telecommunications
Fax: [phone]       Manhattan  KS  66506

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

Date: 18 Jul 93 17:19:04 EDT
From: Kelly Breit <[e-mail]>
Subject: Communications Daily Contact Information Wanted


Pat:

Recently, I have seen several references to the {Communications Daily}
in news releases and TELECOM Digest postings. How do I contact the
{Communications Daily} and who is their primary target customer?

Thanks for your help.


Kelly Breit   Network Analyst    H.B. Fuller Company

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 15:57:27 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Expanded Local Calls in Southern MD


Messages from [e-mail]

> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 93 07:48:07 EDT
> For what it is worth, C&P recently made calls between Solomons Island
> (area code 410) and the Lexington Park area (area code 301) local.  To
> dial back and forth, only the 10 digit area code+number is required.  If
> the 1+ is added, the system disregards it.

>Date: Thu, 15 Jul 93 14:54:02 EDT
>This change has been effective for about
>three months now.  Apparently some federal judge had to bless the action
>because of how the state LATAs were set up, and with the scheduled
>influx of more DOD workers to Pax, it became a political matter that
>finally made sense to C&P and the judge.
Pax means "Patuxent", the river passing by Solomons, and also the name
of a nearby Navy base.

Solomons, Md. is on the 326 exchange, now in 410.  From Solomons, in
Calvert County, there is a bridge (Md. route 4) to St. Mary's County,
and it is apparently calls across the Patuxent River here which are
now local.  Some years ago now, the bridge, which is rather new, had
to be closed for a while, and I read of the disruption that caused,
given the growth in the area and the commerce that developed based on
that bridge.  A ferry had to be put into service until the bridge
re-opened.

800-477-4704, the C&P Maryland split help-line, is still working at
this writing.  But entering 326 did not inform me of this new local
service, which crosses the 301/410 border.

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 14:30:19 CED
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: ALPHANET Network First - Colombier (NE), Switzerland
From: [e-mail] (Marc SCHAEFER)
Subject: Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable


Hi,

I have a computer I would want to link to another computer which is
approximately 50 _meters_ away. There is no transfer problems at that
distance (checked by connecting two ports via 50 meter cable on the
same computer). However it may be possible that the 220V connection is
not the same on the two houses. So what could be the danger of
connecting the pins 2,3,7 (7 is signal ground, not protective ground)
at that distance ?


Thanks in advance,

Marc SCHAEFER _  [e-mail]  -or- [e-mail]
Battieux 6c     MUD:mud.imp.ch@2345 FTP:litamiga.epfl.ch:/pub
2013 COLOMBIER   CH| Week fast response mail [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 18:15:15 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Subject: Welcome to New Readers


Over the weekend I processed a huge number of subscription requests to
be added to the Digest mailing list, and I want to simply give this
generic welcome to all new subscribers in recent weeks. Of particular
interest to me were the new subscriptions processed for the Interna-
tional Telecommunications Union in Switzerland. Welcome all!


Patrick Townson

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #483
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #484

TELECOM Digest     Sun, 18 Jul 93 21:03:30 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 484

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Ehud Gavron)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Andrew R. Ghali)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Justin Greene)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Gordon Hlavenka)
    Re: Flooding in Iowa (Thomas Lapp)
    Re: Flooding in Iowa (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Seng-Poh Lee)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Donald R. Newcomb)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Don Hackler)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (Frederick Roeber)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (Dirk Vanoucek)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Ehud Gavron)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Date: 18 Jul 1993 02:03 MST
Organization: ACES Research Inc.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Michael
Schuster) writes:

> Recent FCC action on receiver frequency coverage has been to ban
> the sale of scanners covering cellular frequencies.

No this is not true.  FCC action has _NOT_ been to ban the sale of
such scanners.  FCC action has been to inform manufacturers that they
(the mfgs) must make their equipment so it can't be modified to scan
the CMT band, nor scan it out of the box.


Ehud Gavron   (EG76)    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 00:13:25 EDT
From: Andrew R. Ghali <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?


In article <[e-mail]> Bart Z. Lederman <lederman@
vntsc.dot.gov> writes:

>    According to the May 1993 issue of {Popular Communications},
> the FCC plans to expand the upper end of the AM Broadcast band to
> 1700 kHz...

>    But this frequency band was recently used for cordless
> telephones (before 46-49 MHz became available), and I'm sure a
> lot of those units are still in use.

>    Anyone care to speculate on what is going to happen when the
> FCC has two rules in place: one which requires manufacturers to
> build receivers that cover these frequencies, and one which
> prohibits them from building receivers which cover these
> frequencies because they could be used to listen in on telephone
> calls?

I believe that there are actually two issues here: cordless phones and
cellular phones.  By the Communications Act of 1988 (?) it is illegal
to interecept *cellular phone* transmissions.  However, *cordless
phones* were not protected, and in a case from a few years back, a
federal court (Supreme Court?) ruled that cordless phone transmissions
were receivable and that it was up to the users of cordless phones to
protect their privacy.  The FCC, strangely enough, did not make either
determination, which is why the whole issue is so screwy.

At least, that is my current understanding of this mess.  Please
correct me if I am wrong -- I would like to know.


Andrew

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 22:13:33 GMT


>(1) There is no "no radios can receive telephone calls" rule.  There
>is a law against selling scanning receivers that tune in *cellular*
>phone frequencies.  Cordless, ship-to-shore, and other kinds of radio
>telephones are not affected.

I was under the impression that it was not illegal to listen, only to
pass on what you hear to a third party, or is this specifically
related to police scanners and the likes?


   Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

From: [e-mail] (gordon hlavenka)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Organization: Vpnet Public Access
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 14:51:06 GMT


>[Moderator's Note: I think the old-style cordless phones, like the
>highway road conditions announcement service are going to be booted
>out of that frequency range. Others having to leave include the radio
>signal beacons on the Great Lakes which operate at 1630 KC...

And GTE Airfone's cordless system, which uses eight channels in the
1.6MHz range for the link from base-to-handset.  (It's based on an
ancient Pace cordless phone.)


Gordon S. Hlavenka   [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 09:14:16 EDT
From: Thomas Lapp <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Flooding in Iowa


Brian D McMahon <[e-mail]> talked about the outages that
his site suffered because of lines going through COs located in the
flooded areas.

My company has quite a number of long-distance leased lines, and we
are seeing hits on a number of them that we would not think would be
affected by the mid-west (ie. east coast to overseas, and east coast
to southern atlantic states).  However, we are finding that because of
route diversity, some of the lines ARE going through that area.  In
fact, the earth station for the overseas line happens to be in the
mid-west, not in the east as expected.  And, yes, some of the
mid-Atlantic to south-Atlantic lines pass through offices in the
flooded area!


tom
internet     : mvac23![e-mail]  or  [e-mail] (home)
             : [e-mail] (work)
OSI          : C=US/A=MCI/S=LAPP/D=ID=4398613
uucp         : {ucbvax,mcvax,uunet}!udel!mvac23!thomas
Location     : Newark, DE, USA

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 03:26:58 -0500
From: Robert Bonomi <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Flooding in Iowa


Pat,

    I was born and raised in Des Moines, and have family currently in
Ames.  And yes, it it far-and-away the worst flooding in Des Moines in
anything approaching recent history. I can personally vouch for the
last 35 yers.  They've had some 'doozies' of floods in that area,
during that time, too -- July 4, 1973 comes to mind.  Tremendous rains
upstream on the Racoon River, i.e. 18" to 28" of rainfall in 24 hours
at some points.  The river went up approximatly 40' (yes, forty feet)
above its normal level. (The Racoon is normally a 'small' river, about
like the north branch of the Chicago river, here.)  We were sandbagging
atop the railroad tracks, almost 1-1/2 miles away from the river-bed,
attempting to protect the West Des Moines busines district.  We won,
but it was very close.  For years, there were little signs on the
phone poles downtown there with a red line across them, somewhat above
eye-level, and text that read "level of water if dike had failed,
7/4/73".

For Des Moines, the current flooding is on the same order as the
Chicago river 'leak' here, last year.  With the additional
complication of having lost the water purification plant, as well.
From the news film clips, most of the downtown business district is
several feet deep.  Luckily, the telco central office (both the
switches, and the business offices are on somewhat higher ground, and
are intact, and not threatened.  However, there is going to be a
massive job of drying out the underground vaults, and cable runs in
the downtown area.

There were local reports of rescuing people, by canoe(!) from the
third floor window of a Holiday Inn that is about 1/2 mile from the
water plant. Ground level at that hotel is better than 25 feet above
'normal' river level.

I've seen estimates, that it'll take two weeks before the water's out
of the downtown area.  Scary.


Robert Bonomi    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You heard the news report perhaps which noted a bit
of history in the changes to our geological status. The radio report
was very simply, "The Missouri River now connects with the Mississippi
River at a point twenty miles north of where it formerly connected ..."
Not by any means to make light of the tragedy in Iowa/Missouri/Illinois
at the present time, but in the grander scheme of things, what does it
matter I guess ... a few thousand years from now, geologists will study
the land and rock formations, etc in that part of the country and issue
 a report saying "It appears that at one time a few thousand years ago
 the Missouri River joined the Mississipi some distance south." Can't
Mother Nature be a real bi--- sometimes?  Of more immediate concern
though are calls from the Red Cross and other relief agencies to assist
however possible. Des Moines and other areas there are hurting very
badly. Do what you can to help.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 04:03:31 -0400
From: Seng-Poh Lee, Speedy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Organization: Public Domain Inc.


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

> A legal COCOT question, are they allowed to block 800 service?  A few
> around here (downtown Denver) block 800 and 950 and do not have all
> local exchanges programmed so a local call to my pager cost $1.70
> (about the same as a small explosive that would fit in the coin
> return).  Can they do this legally?

> [Moderator's Note: COCOTS cannot legally block calls to 800 numbers.

How about charging $0.50 for the 800 call? I've come across several in
Flushing, NY that do this.  After you dial the 800 number, a voice
comes one to request $0.50. It does this even when you dial the
COCOT's 800 information number!!


Seng-Poh Lee    <[e-mail]>


[Moderator's Note: I think it is against the rules to charge anything
for an 800 call (to the caller) but before I say that maybe there
should be some research; after all, many hotels take on surcharges for
800 calls. If they can, the COCOTS can't be stopped from doing it.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Donald R. Newcomb)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Date: 18 Jul 1993 13:53:59 GMT
Organization: University of Southern Mississippi


In article <[e-mail]> our Moderator notes:

> [Moderator's Note: It *is* required by law. Anytime a COCOT is
> operating illegally you should make an attempt to contact the operator
> if the operator's name is on the phone (sometimes it is). Let them
> know the phone is out of compliance and 'as a courtesy to help them so
> they won't get other complaints' you will be taking it out of service
> so that coins cannot be deposited 'accidentally' by unsuspecting users.

  Is this a US Federal law or a State-by-State thing. A couple of
years back I called our State's PSC to complain about COCOTs blocking
800 and 950 calls and was told that they were not required to pass 800
numbers for free, only 911 and emergency "0" calls. If you have a
reference to a Federal regulation that requires COCOTs to handle 800
calls for free I would like to have the "chaper and verse" when I tell
the COCOT's operator what sleeze bags they really are.


Donald R. Newcomb            University of Southern Mississippi
[e-mail]    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Refer them to Federal Communications Commission
rulings on the topic. Someone will look up the 'chapter and verse' and
report it here, I'm sure.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Don Hackler)
Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
Organization: a2i network
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 19:50:02 GMT


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
 writes:

[ text about cocot problems deleted ]

then Pat noted:

>[Moderator's Note: COCOTS cannot legally block calls to 800 numbers.
>If they want to charge you $1.70 for a local call, that is their
>business, but they cannot deny access freely to 800 numbers or the
>10xxx carrier of your choice, nor can they legally block 950. When
>this topic came up here a couple years ago, someone devised a gummy
>sticker which said "PHONE OUT OF COMPLIANCE - DO NOT USE". The idea
>was to put this sticker across the coin slot to prevent others from
>losing their money; the same courtesy you would like to be shown on a
>mechanical coin operated device that was out of order to keep you from
>losing your money. The sticker had little boxes to check as to what
>was wrong (pricing on calls, denial of other calls, etc) and it went
>on to say the phone would be out of service until further notice and
>that it would be 'audited periodically for compliance before being
>returned to service ...'. Of course its up to the 'auditor' to visit
>the location every day or two and make sure the coin slot is still
>blocked, replacing the sticker as needed.  :)  Don't vandalize the
>phone! That is illegal. It is *not* illegal to warn other consumers
>that a coin operated device is not functioning properly.  PAT]


Sounds like another fund-raising opportunity for you, Pat.  Print up
some very official looking stickers as described above, include check
boxes for all of the likely COCOT gotchas (including not accepting
incoming calls or disabled ringers, a serious problem for us
pager-bound folks) and sell'em to us for a nominal fee.

Then Carol Springs commented:

>If you're lucky, the noncompliant phone will at least have the
> correct FCC address posted on it to report the violation.  (I wonder
> what the percentage is of COCOTs that actually list this address --
> especially if someone might be tempted to use it?)  I copied the
> following from a COCOT at a Pancake Chef near Sea-Tac Airport:

>       FCC / Common Carrier Bureau
>       Enforcement Division
>       2025 M Street N.W.
>       Washington, DC  20554

While you're at the printer, Pat, have some postcards printed up with
the FCC address on it and a check box system for the complaints, along
with space to fill in the offending COCOT information, date, time,
etc.

This way, the problems are spelled out in the proper FCC jargon for
ease and speed of followup.  Maybe we can collectively raise enough of
a stink to help prod the worst offenders into fixing their systems.


Don Hackler    [e-mail] or [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Actually, the stickers are available already I
think for anyone to print out. Look in the Telecom Archives for the
file on this; pull the files which begin with 'cocot'.  The archives
is accessible using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.  Nice idea though; you
think I should sell those too?  :)  PAT]

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

Subject: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 18 Jul 93 23:55:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


In  an article, Miguel Cruz said:

> Often I see ads in US magazines and newspapers where only 800 numbers
> are provided. Near as I can tell, there is NO WAY whatsoever to call
> these numbers from Australia. Why is this? I would be perfectly
> willing to pay Sprint or MCI or AT&T or whomever normal international
> rates, but their operators will not complete the calls for me. Best
> luck I've had is with MCI, whose customer service people (after being
> transferred to there from the MCI USA Direct number) will occasionally
> become eventually exasperated with me and connect the call for free.
> But this seems like a really silly limitation. Why won't, say, Sprint,
> let me pay them the normal Australia -> USA rate and connect me to an
> 800 number? Surely it doesn't cost them any more, probably it's
> cheaper for them.

> [Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
> the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
> outside the USA for whatever reason. If the company is unable to sell
> to you (customs, tax or legal considerations) or finds it uneconomical
> to sell to you, they see no reason to talk to you and prefer not to,
> atleast if they are paying for the call, or some portion of it.  If
> they find it in their best interest to pay for calls from international
> points (or even split the charges with an international caller) they
> will have their 800 number configured to do that. I'm not saying all
> USA companies operate in a sensible manner in this regard (I've seen
> some who sent advertisements overseas showing *only* their domestic
> 800 number -- talk about a waste of advertising money!), but I am
> saying that 800 service is designed to permit the receiver of the call
> to receive (and pay for) only those calls he wants, regardless of how
> stupid that decision may be.  PAT]

Just as a point of interest, when I lived in New Zealand I was able to
obtain both AT&T and MCI calling cards without having a US local phone
number. I just called their respective USA Direct and Call USA numbers
and asked to be transferred to the appropriate department. MCI took my
application over the phone (billing to a credit card) while AT&T could
not do that but sent me an application form. I eventually received
both cards.

With those in hand I was now able to call any 800 number in the US,
automatically via AT&T USA Direct if they owned the 800 number, else
manually via MCI (they didn't care who owned the number). Rates were
at standard USA Direct rates. I don't know how that would work now
with 800 portability but I cannot see how it would be affected.

As for companies not wishing to receive calls outside the USA/Canada,
I think it is more a matter of the burden of having to set up specific
toll-free numbers for each country they wish to received toll-free
calls from, rather than a reluctance to do business with that country.
This is probably not worth their while.  In my company we have
toll-free numbers from over a dozen countries around the world. Each
of these is entirely different from each other and certainly not all
start with 800. For example, our Switzerland number starts with 046,
Netherland 06, Brazil 00081 etc. It's all up to the local PT&T how
it's configured.


Laurence Chiu   A Kiwi now living in Walnut Creek, CA
 The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
 Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Frederick Roeber)
Subject: Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: CERN -- European Organization for Nuclear Research
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 11:52:39 GMT


To article <[e-mail]>, Our Moderator appended:

> [Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
> the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
> outside the USA for whatever reason.

I don't think so.  I deal with companies which very much do want my
business, and have given me normal American numbers which I can call
collect.  They'd love it if I could call their 800 number.

If I call one of the "USA Direct"-type services (AT&T, MCI, and Sprint
all serve FR and CH), that service will happily connect me to an 800
number, if it's one of theirs.  If it's not theirs, AT&T at least will
try very hard to obtain a POTS number they will then call collect on.
When this fails, sometimes the agent will tell me what company does
serve that 800 number (which I think is awfully nice of them).  Every
company I've tried calling this way has accepted collect charges from
overseas.  (The only problem is that often 800 numbers are answered by
machine.)

I think the main reason it's impossible is that the local PTTs want
their cut of the call, and there's no mechanism by which they would
get paid by the American company.  It's perfectly possible for a
(non-droid) operator here to call an 800 number, but in PTTspeak, "We
won't let you" is pronounced "It's impossible."

The European PTTs are slowly moving towards some sort of reverse
billing, probably at the behest of EC types.  (Supposedly, at some
designated point in the future the EC PTTs will be thrown into
competition with each other.)  I've seen ads on British TV for numbers
in +44 which "should not cost more than a local call" from abroad.

> (I've seen some who sent advertisements overseas showing *only*
> their domestic 800 number -- talk about a waste of advertising
> money!),

I think these disprove your claim above -- if they're advertising
their 800 number overseas, they must want their overseas clients to be
able to call them toll-free: they wouldn't then turn around and
specifically ask their carrier not to accept international calls.


<a href="http://info.cern.ch/roeber/fgmr.html"><i>Frederick.</i></a>


[Moderator's Note: No, not at all. First off, there are mechanisms in
place to pay the PTTs for reverse charge calls to the USA. It happens
all the time. Second, there are toll free dialing codes in lots of
countries where some sub-set of the range of numbers will reach USA
points, just as we have a prefix or two in the 800 range of numbers
which connect to international points. Third, a toll-free number
printed in its USA style (800-xxx-xxxx) is totally useless to someone
in another country regardless of what the subscriber wants or the
calling party wants. The advertisement has to say 0800 (in the UK as
an example) or however the PTT *in that country* designates toll free
numbers. There is *no technical problem whatsoever* with international
use of reverse charge '800 style' calling. There may or may not be
some greed on the part of the PTT's but there is *no problem whatsoever*
with them getting paid for their portion of the call.

The problem is exclusively with USA owners of 800 numbers not wanting
to receive calls they have to pay for from international points at a
higher cost than domestic calls. The problem is also with USA owners
of 800 numbers who *would* be willing to accept such calls but are
ignorant of the fact that it can be arranged very simply with their
800 carrier. The problem is also with advertising agencies who hire
dumb people to work for them who think the sun and moon revolve around
the United States and are too ignorant to know that 800-xxx-xxxx is
totally useless to a European reader unless a <local code for toll-
l-free> xxx-xxxx is included in the ad or at the least a
+1-ACC-xxx-xxxx number is given. It has nothing to do with telcos.
Telcos love making money. Telcos would put a toll free 800 number on
the moon if they thought someone was there to accept the charges.

Many American companies see no need to advertise in places they deem
it unprofitable to sell their stuff, or where they cannot sell due to
government laws or whatever. They don't have 800 numbers for social
call use by employees. 800 calls are *expensive* calls. I can't make
their business judgments for them, but leave telco out of it! The
general unailability of international toll free calling is a combination
of ignorance (that it is available) and business decisions. Nothing
more or less. Inter-telco settlements are doing fine, thank you. All
except between Russia and Georgia that is! See an earlier issue of the
Digest today if you miss the significance of this comment.   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 19:56 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Organization: I.E.C.C.


> Often I see ads in US magazines and newspapers where only 800 numbers
> are provided. Near as I can tell, there is NO WAY whatsoever to call
> these numbers from Australia. Why is this? ...

> [Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
> the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
> outside the USA for whatever reason. ...

More likely the company's phone service was arranged by dimwits to
whom it never occured that someone outside the U.S. might be
interested in what they sell, or don't realize that you can't call
most 800 numbers from outside the U.S.  The U.S. domestic market is
large enough that most small businesses don't even consider the
possibility of international orders.


Regards,

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


[Moderator's Note: Thank you John. Please readers, let's not have this
massive conspiracy by telcos world-wide to refuse connections because
they can't share the loot. Of course they can and do. But dimwits rule
in the USA. Always have, always will. Remember that when you preface
any discussion about international phone service.  PAT]

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

From: Dirk Vanoucek <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Date: 18 Jul 1993 21:51:39 GMT
Organization: CCG Music Production
Reply-To: Dirk Vanoucek <[e-mail]>


But there should be the following possibility:

Get an AT+T Calling Card (the card is free), Dial into the AT+T
Carrier which is the number 0014-881-011 in Australia. You can do the
whole call operator assisted or from a touch tone phone. (In some
countries you have to go through the operator).  Maybe such cards are
offered by other companies, too.  I am German and got such a card from
AT+T and it would work in Australia, so why not for the Australians?
You need a major credit card to get a calling card.


Dirk Vanoucek   (NeXT)-E-mail: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Don't complicate this discussion. The arrangement
you suggest *is* possible now. All the telcos will issue Calling Cards
to people who are willing to pay via conventional credit cards such as
VISA, MC, AMEX or EUROCARD. Why, I'll even open a Telepassport account
for anyone who agrees to let me charge their bank account for it from
time to time, even if my contract to use the EFT network does cause
'special concern' to California Cowboys and their bankers. :)   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #484
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #485

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 02:38:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 485

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Lee S. Parks)
    Re: Step-by-Step Offices (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Doug Sewell)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (J. Philip Miller)
    Re: MCI Outage (R. Kevin Oberman)
    Re: MCI Outage (Tad Cook)
    Re: MCI Outage (Marshall Levin)
    Re: MCI Outage (David G. Lewis)
    Re: GSM Comes to New Zealand (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: GSM Security (Juha Nurmi)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Christian Weisgerber)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Collin Forbes)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Pat Turner)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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] (Lee S. Parks)
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Date: 18 Jul 1993 14:57:06 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

> How could this HUGE exchange, with a potential capacity of perhaps
> 460,000 lines, in area with probably more phones per acre than
> anywhere else in the country, be served by an old stepper?  Or is
> there more than one switch in that building?

    Well, part of the answer is that all of these exchanges aren't
served by the same switch.  For example, code 212-902 is served by
something referred to as the Broad Street DS0. Try dialing 212-902-9901.


lee ([e-mail])

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

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Step-by-Step Offices
Date: 18 Jul 1993 14:00:35 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


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

> There is almost certainly more than one switch in the building; I
> wouldn't be surprised if there were three or more.  If memory serves,
> the NYTel Broad Street and West Street COs between them serve all of
> lower Manhattan.  With the phone density in that part of the world, as
> you allude to, there's no way only two switches would have enough
> capacity.

Yes, and part of why we know this must be true is that the whole
building did not get Equal Access at once -- groups of prefixes got
them over a period of conversion dates.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW  (patent lawyer)
1992 Commerce Street #309  Yorktown Heights, NY  10598-4412
voice 212-777-1330  fax [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Doug Sewell)
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
Date: 18 Jul 1993 15:13:46 GMT
Organization: Youngstown State University


> [Moderator's Note: No one at CIS is 'bouncing your mail' or blocking
> you from reaching anything. CIS does one thing with mail for the
> Internet or other networks connected through it: they hand it off to
> the gateway they use in Ohio. They take incoming mail to subscribers
> at the same gateway and distribute it. They don't personally route
> mail anywhere; just hand it to the gateway they use.

For a long time, this used to be true -- a slow, clunky gateway was
established between Ohio State CIS dept and Compu$erve, using
Compu$erve B protocol to transmit mail (if recollection of what Karl
Kleinpaste once posted is right).  Cis.ohio-state.edu was the MX
exchanger for the compuserve.com domain.

Since that time, Compu$erve has put in their own internet hosts in
Columbus, connected to AlterNet (according to traceroute).  I would
imagine that e-net packets from Ohio State now go via OARNET, to
NSFNET, to the AlterNet gateway, to CIS, rather than "down the street"
in a UUCP-ish fashion.

Their internet e-mail hosts were having trouble earlier this week, I
had some mail queued up for several days.  I can't speak for mail
going from Compu$erve to the internet.


Doug Sewell, Tech Support, Computer Center, Youngstown State University
[e-mail]       [e-mail]    <internet>!cc.ysu.edu!doug

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

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1993 13:05:29 -0500 (CDT)


Alan Boritz <[e-mail]> writes:

> I recently had some difficulty sending Internet mail from my
> Compuserve account to the fidonet.org domain.

> [Moderator's Note: No one at CIS is 'bouncing your mail' or blocking
> you from reaching anything. CIS does one thing with mail for the
> Internet or other networks connected through it: they hand it off to
> the gateway they use in Ohio.

I cannot speak to current policies, but the folks at CIS in the past
have been concerned about the "allowable use policy" (AUP) of the
Internet.  Using that as a rationale, they would block mail to
MCIMail, for example.  I never saw an explicit statement of the code
they used for this blocking, but it might block everything to a .org
domain address.


     J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
     Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
      [e-mail] - [phone] [362-2693(FAX)]


[Moderator's Note: Except Phil, email between CIS <=> MCI Mail has
never gone through the Internet so far as I know, although it could.
CIS had a mail exchange in place with both MCI Mail and ATT Mail long
before they had the Internet gateway. I guess it is only a matter of
how the CIS customer chooses to address it: They can have mail go to
MCI Mail 123-4567 or they can choose to have mail go to Internet:
[e-mail], for example. Likewise, MCI and ATT have a
mail exchange in effect between themselves; both allow you to write to
someone on the other service direct; but if you choose to do so you
can address (from either service) 'user@(other service).com' and send
it through using Internet as the in-between. Remember in the early
days of ATT Mail public use, before the official gateway to Internet
existed how some Internet users were writing to 'attmail!fax!xxx-xxx-xxxx@
att.com' or 'attmail!telex![e-mail]' and stiffing ATT Mail on the
fax or telex charges because ATT Mail did not have recourse to anyone
they could bill?  Before the MCI Mail <=> ATT Mail gateway existed,
users on one service would write users on the other service using Telex
as the intermediary since both services had gateways to Telex, the
same way they both have gateways to Internet now.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: MCI Outage
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 23:19:40 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory


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

> sorts of goodies. :) I asked what their transmission medium was. I was
> shocked when the woman told me it was completely via microwave
> transmission. So, they must've had a switching software glitch, hiccup
> or bug.

Don't be shocked. These sales 'droids don't have a clue about how
these things work. I've heard all sorts of outrageous statements about
this sort of thing.  One told me that all of the "wires" were owned by
the government and for that reason there was no quality difference
between the companies. Don't remember if it was a Sprint or MCI
'droid.

There is a reason the name of the company was formally changed from
"Microwave Communications Incorporated" to "MCI Communications Inc."
To the best of my knowledge (which may be slim), all or most of MCI's
network is now fiber, just like Sprint and AT&T.


R. Kevin Oberman        Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Internet: [e-mail]    [phone]

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

Subject: Re: MCI Outage
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 14:54:00 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Tad Cook)


In Telecom Digest, I wrote:

> Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served by
> MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affecting
> Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
> flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
> 7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.

I talked to someone at MCI today who said that the problem was in a
fiber cable leased from Wiltel which was severed on Sunday in one of
the flood areas along the Mississippi.  He didn't know where it was,
and said that it did not shut down the network, but did cause a lot of
traffic problems and All Trunks Busy.


[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

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

From: [e-mail] (Marshall Levin)
Subject: Re: MCI Outage
Date: 19 Jul 1993 03:26:16 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Marshall Levin)


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Daniel Burstein) says:

> This brings up the very real problem of how to get through to a
> company when all you have is their "800" number. But that's a story
> for another day.  Just as one quick answer, though. In NYC, at least,
> the phone book has a listing for a special NYTel assistance group
> specifically to check into 1-800 outages.

I think I once read somewhere that carriers often (perhaps even were
required to, although that doesn't sound right) had 800 service
provided by another carrier, for cases such as this.  Am I crazy, or
could MCI have minimal service provided by AT&T in case of a network
outage?


Marshall Levin    Internet SIG Sysop    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Well now that you mention it, MCI is one of AT&T's
biggest customers, and AT&T is one of MCI's biggest customers. They
both lease a huge amount of equipment and facilities from each other,
and both lease from or use a huge amount of equipment-in-common from
local telcos-in-common. They have inter-company billing/chargeback
accounts for each other, along with Sprint and all the other carriers.

AT&T gives the customer one of those 'pay to the order of the Telephone
Company' checks for twenty dollars; customer uses it to pay his phone
bill; telco charges it back to MCI by accident because Droid #5782369
at telco got the encoding wrong. MCI sees it six months later and
either re-charges it back to telco or maybe they send it directly to
AT&T in a settlement with them. But that's okay because AT&T gets a
lot of MCI customer credit vouchers the local telco screwed up on in
processing the other direction.

Their Public Relations, Sales and Legal Departments argue and fuss
with each other continually; call each other liars in their adver-
tising; tell lies about each other; sue each other; complain about
each other to the Commission repeatedly; but in areas of mutual concern
such as phone phraud and other security matters they are like the
proverbial two peas in a pod. Meanwhile the worker-droids in the
back-office hives just keep humming and buzzing as they complete their
paperwork in quintuplicate and pass it around among themselves, bick-
ering over who owes whom how much and for what and can't you get me a
more legible microfilm copy if you expect me to spend a month looking
for it on my microfilm so I can charge it back to you for the third
time.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: MCI Outage
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 13:50:01 GMT


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

> [e-mail] (Tad Cook) writes:

>> I have been getting All Trunks Busy, or sometimes no response at all,
>> when dialing the 800 number for MCI Mail.  I tried making a few
>> regular toll calls via MCI, and get the same response.

>> Finally after many attempts at dialing 00 on my line that is served by
>> MCI, I reached an operator.  I assumed there was a cable cut affecting
>> Seattle, but she said that the problem was network wide, probably
>> flood or weather related, and should be solved soon.  This was about
>> 7:20 PM PDT Sunday night.

Does anyone else find something strange in this?  Like, if it's flood
or weather related, how can it be network-wide unless (a) MCI has some
critical network components located sufficiently close together that a
single weather-related incident (albeit one covering a wide area, like
the Mississippi/Missouri River flooding) can affect all of them; or
(b) the flooding has spread from the Rockies to the Appalachians ...

> I find that kind of interesting. MCI called me to make their pitch
> last night (Hey, I signed up for the freebie time and also with the
> knowledge that AT&T will come back to me begging and offering me all
> sorts of goodies. :) I asked what their transmission medium was. I was
> shocked when the woman told me it was completely via microwave
> transmission.

I believe the woman was mistaken (or at least acting on *very* old
data) -- MCI has moved a significant portion of their facilities to
fiber, as have all of the first and second tier IXCs.


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

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

Subject: Re: GSM Comes to New Zealand
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 18 Jul 93 23:55:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


In a article, Ross Douglas Alexander said:

> On the 11 of July BellSouth introduced GSM into New Zeland.  I think
> at this point it only covers the Auckland Metropolitan area (but don't
> quote me on that).  BellSouth is the second cellular carrier in NZ and
> the third major telephone company.

> Bell Atlantic and Ameritech own 49% of Telecom (it has a cellular
> system).  MCI has a stake in Clear (our second long distance carrier)
> and BellSouth has how set up a second cellular system.....

So did they solve the problem of someone with a phone connected to
Telecom Cellular be able to call someone with a phone with Bell South.
Last I heard there were all kinds of interconnect problems with this,
mainly due to the intransigence of Telecom Cellular.


Laurence Chiu
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: GSM Security
Date: 19 Jul 93 09:22:00 EET
Organization: Nokia Telecommunications.


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Bruce
Albrecht) writes:

> In <[e-mail]>, Vangelis Kontogiannis writes:

>> What I would like to ask our (European) readers is, given the digital
>> encryption in GSM, are fraud schemes of the type often mentioned in
>> this list (see #435) possible? Any data on the subject?  Remember, in
>> GSM subscription data is recorded in a credit-card sized SIM
>> (Subscriber Information Module) that plugs into the GSM phone; the
>> subscriber is uniquely identified by his IMSI (International Mobile
>> Subscriber Identity).

SIM = Subscriber Identity Module
                 ========

> As far as fraud is concerned, someone with enough knowledge of the GSM
> standards might be able to make their own SIMs, but it probably
> wouldn't be easy.  They'd also have to know the proper encryption
> algorithms, which are probably A3/A8 or a variant, in order to
> convinced the network that the IMSI is valid.

Knowing the algorithms A3 and A8 is not enough. These are not
encryption algorithms, but A3 is an authentication algorithm and A8 a
cipher key generating algorithm. A3 is used for authenticating the
subscriber and A8 for generating cipher keys used to encrypt the radio
path. Each subscriber has also an Individual Subscriber Authentication
Key (Ki) stored both in the SIM and in a network element (Authentication
Centre, AUC). GSM uses a random challenge authentication scheme in which
the Ki is used both in the SIM and in the AUC. Thus, if someone would
like to make a SIM of his own, he would have to enter his new Ki to
the AUC in order convincing the network that the IMSI is valid. Since
the access to the AUC is strictly restricted, this is practically
impossible.


Physically:    Juha Nurmi
Organization:  Nokia Cellular Systems, Tampere FINLAND
Email:         [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 22:48:18 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Christian Weisgerber)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


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

> [... lots of songs...]
> In the interim, e.g. until we get some other nominations, I'll put in
> my vote for one.

Well, there's 9.5.N.A.S.T.Y by WASP. Although I personally like that
song quite a lot, I'm afraid it doesn't match the musical preferences
of most readers here, especially not that of our dear Moderator :->
Also it's not really about phones but the person behind the number.

Considering that the European Community just declared the final
break-up of any remaining national telecom monopolies for 1998, I'll
go along with "The Day Bell System Died".


Christian 'naddy' Weisgerber, Germany      [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Collin Forbes)
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
Date: 19 Jul 1993 04:38:47 GMT
Organization: University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho


[e-mail] wrote:

> The German industrial group Kraftwerk has a song (from the Electric
> Cafe CD) called "The Telephone Call".  The melody and the rhythm lines
> are made up of touch tones, busy signals, dialtones, intercept tones,
> and a variety of international "The number you have reached ..."
> recordings.

Okay, so long as we speak of songs with sampled telephony, I'll tell
you about Perry Botkin (from his new CD "Combines") and his song
"Women who won't give you the time of day."  Of course, it's mostly
the recorded (female) voice that recites the time of day over the
phone.


Collin Forbes  ---  [e-mail], [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 21:54 EDT
From: rsiatl![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


Paul Robinson writes:

> Glenn Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" isn't too bad, but it's about the
> worries of someone who has to fix the equipment; it doesn't touch on
> people who _use_ phone service.

Sorry, "Wichita Lineman" is about an electric lineman.  Paul, you
should know phone lines don't get overloaded, circuits do :-).  That
is unless they take a 13.2 kV line across the shield.  Talk about
power influence!

A friend in the cable business used to complain after Alabama's "40
Hour Week" came out that there were no songs about telco craftspeople.
Jim was particularly sensitive to this since a lot of people think
that only telco employees work on telco lines.  Anyway, I always
thought Jim was right, until one day when I watched Jim go digging for
a 100 pair PIC cable in an undisclosed location in rural Alabama first
with a backhoe, then with a pick.  All of a sudden we were greeted
with a fountain of water ... Jim had hit a 6" Ductile Iron water line.
Luckly the cable was under the water line.

After that, I remembered a song that may have referred to telco types,
and could just as easily refer to the aggravation of end users.  See,
there was this PSA playing on local radio stations done by one of the
"One Call" utility location folks.  It started out something like:"
Billy Joe was a backhoe dynamo-Til the lights went out in Georgia"
sung to the tune of the song by the same name.  It was real cute, I
wish I could remember the rest of it.  Anyway, I thought it would be
funny to rewrite it so Billy Joe cuts a Lightpack (TM-AT&T) cable and
the phones go out in Georgia.  Even though I checked with several
radio stations. I was never able to get a copy.  They seemed to
discard it after playing it a few times.  We even called a station and
requested it, without any luck.

I bet quite a few CDT readers could sympathize with this song.


Pat Turner KB4GRZ FAA Telecommunications  [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #485
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #486

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 03:38:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 486

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    AT&T Press Release: TrueVoice (AT&T, Don Kimberlin via Dave Leibold)
    Re: TrueVoice vs. Modems (Roy M. Silvernail)
    Re: TrueVoice vs. Modems (Christian Weisgerber)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Willie Smith)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Harold Hallikainen)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Bohdan Tashchuk)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Stephen Friedl)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Don Hackler)
    AT&T TrueVoice Demo Line (John C. Fowler)
    AT&T TrueVoice (Monty Solomon)
    AT&T TrueVoice (Les Reeves)
    AT&T TrueVoice Enhances Sound Quality (Fred R. Goldstein)
    AT&T TrueVoice -- I Just Don't Get it! (Aaron Woolfson)
    AT&T TrueVoice Technology -- What is it? (Toby Nixon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 00:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (woody)
Subject: AT&T Press Release: TrueVoice


[Moderator's Note: I received over a hundred articles relating to
TrueVoice, and in this issue of the Digest am presenting a sample of
what came in. My thanks to everyone who wrote; if your comments about
TrueVoice do not appear here, they won't be used. I've tried to go
through also and weed out articles with have appeared in other telecom
newsgroups in the past few days rather than make you read the same
articles twice, but I'm sure some have slipped past. Again may I ask
everyone: *please do not cross post to this newsgroup and other news
groups.*  Post where you please -- just not to both groups!   PAT]


[The following was posted to Fidonet by Don Kimberlin, and
cross-posted here.]

* Original Area: FCC
* Original From: Don Kimberlin (1:250/701)
* Original To  : All (1:250/730)

For decades, the basis for "good telephone quality" has been based
upon mountains of Bell Labs research done in the 1930's, and
"improvements" to the telephone network's transmission have been
towards meeting that norm.

Recently, AT&T announced a change in that, apparently adding some
degree of speech processing, to increase the low frequency component
of what gets delivered to your ear to create a perceived increase in
loudness, while claiming the result is more natural-sounding.  It's
being touted by AT&T as "Truevoice." The following press release tells
about it and gives an 800 number you can call for a demonstration. I
found it to be an improvement, although your mileage may vary.
Although it was also notable that the type of telephone one listens on
has considerable effect on it. people like broadcasters and
telemarketers may like the effect of AT&T's "Truevoice:"


                     AT&T SOUND SURPASSES EXCELLENCE
           NEW SOUND QUALITY ENHANCEMENT FOR LONG-DISTANCE CALLS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1993

        NEW YORK -- Domestic long-distance calls will soon sound
clearer, closer and more natural than ever before.  That's the word
today from AT&T, which has just unveiled a new sound enhancement
called AT&T TrueVoice(sm).  Now, the company says, the network's
already excellent sound quality is clearly the best of all major
long-distance carriers.

        "AT&T TrueVoice does for the telecommunications industry what
the digital compact disc did for the recording business," says Merrill
Tutton, president of AT&T's consumer communications services unit.

        AT&T TrueVoice boosts the lower or bass end of the sound
spectrum of long-distance calls while raising the overall sound level.
Consumers can hear the difference for themselves today, by calling for
a toll-free demonstration at 1-800-932-2000.  That's 1-800-932-2000.

        Actual deployment of the enhancement in the AT&T network
begins this September and continues, city by city, through the end of
1994.  AT&T says this technical innovation will be available
automatically to domestic consumers and businesses at no additional
charge whenever they make calls on the AT&T public network within the
U.S. and to Canada.

                          #          #          #


                  AT&T Innovations in Sound:  A History

 From the telephone, to motion picture sound, to fiber-optic
transmission and now AT&T TrueVoice(sm), AT&T has been at the
forefront of sound innovation for well over a century.  Here are some
highlights:

1875 - Alexander Graham Bell discovers the principle of "undulating"
(continuously variable) current, and with it sends speech sounds over
his crude experimental telephone.

1876 (March 10) - Bell transmits the first intelligible speech over
electrical wires: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you." The telephone
is born.

1880 - Bell demonstrates speech transmission over light beams instead
of electricity.  He calls his invention the "photophone."  The concept
would not prove practical for nearly a century.

1892 (Oct. 18) - AT&T inaugurates long-distance service between New
York and Chicago, transmitting speech 950 miles over open copper wire
lines.  A five-minute call costs $9. (Current price is $1.15.)

1899-1900 - Dr. George Campbell of AT&T and Dr. Michael Pupin of
Columbia University independently develop the theory and design of
loading coils.  By reducing attenuation (that is, by reducing signal
weakening on electrical lines), loading coils increase the distance
and intelligibility with which sound can be transmitted.  Loading
coils are installed on AT&T long-distance lines beginning in 1900.

1911 (May 11) - AT&T begins telephone service between New York and
Denver.  This is the limit speech can be transmitted using loading
coils.

1912-1915 - AT&T's Dr. Harold Arnold uses the audion, the original
vacuum tube developed by triode inventor Lee De Forest, to produce the
first practical electrical amplifier.  AT&T uses this to construct the
first transcontinental telephone line.  Commercial service begins on
Jan. 25, 1915; the cost of a three-minute call is $20.70.  (Current
price is 75 cents.)

1915 (Oct. 25) - AT&T engineers accomplish the first transmission of
speech across the Atlantic Ocean, via radio.  H.R. Shreeve, at the
Eiffel Tower in Paris, hears the words, "And now, Shreeve, good
night," addressed to him by B.B. Webb at a transmitter in Arlington,
Va.

1916 - AT&T demonstrates its pioneering public address system in field
trials at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Velodrome in
Newark, N.J.  For the first time, large crowds can hear events and
announcements.  That same year, E.C. Wente of AT&T develops the
condenser microphone, the first microphone with a flat frequency
response suitable for music.  It gains widespread commercial use in
the 1920s.

1919-1924 - AT&T engineer Joseph Maxfield invents the first system for
electrical recording of sound.  AT&T licenses major record companies
to use the new technology.  Vastly improved recordings made with
Maxfield's system reach consumers in 1925.

1926 (Aug. 6) - Warner Bros.' "Don Juan," the first commercially
successful sound motion picture, opens in New York.  The system used
for recording, reproducing and amplifying the sound in synchronization
with the picture was developed at AT&T.

1927 (Jan. 7) - Commercial trans-Atlantic telephone service begins via
radiotelephone.  The cost of a three-minute call is $75. (Today a
direct-dialed three-minute call to France costs $3.83.)  Trans-Pacific
service follows in 1934.

1931 - AT&T Bell Laboratories develops the first high-fidelity,
wide-range phonograph records.  The Labs also make the world's first
stereo recordings that same year.

1940 - Bell Labs designs an anechoic chamber -- an acoustically dead
room -- for sound research at its new facility in Murray Hill, N.J.

1956 (Sept. 25) - The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable opens with
a three-way call between officials of AT&T and the British and
Canadian governments. This is the culmination of 25 years of research
efforts at Bell Labs.  The cable provides vastly higher sound quality
and less interference than the radio telephone circuits it replaces.

1962 (July 10) - AT&T launches Telstar, the world's first active
communications satellite. Telstar transmits the first
satellite-relayed telephone calls and radio and television broadcast
programs.

1977 - AT&T conducts its first field trial of fiber-optic transmission
of telephone signals in downtown Chicago. The first commercial
installation follows in 1979 in Trumbull, Conn., and the first major
intercity fiber-optic route opens in 1983 between New York and
Washington, D.C.

1988 (December) - TAT-8, the first trans-Atlantic undersea fiber-optic
telephone cable, goes into service. The sound quality of calls via
TAT-8 is indistinguishable from that of land-based calls.

1989 (April) - TPC-3, the first trans-Pacific fiber-optic cable, is
opened, linking the United States with Japan via Hawaii and Guam.

1989 - AT&T introduces the 5000 series of cordless phones, the first cordless
phones featuring sound quality rivaling corded phones.

1993 (July 13) - AT&T introduces AT&T TrueVoice.  With this
technological innovation, the AT&T network's already excellent sound
quality clearly is the best of all major long-distance carriers.

                          #          #          #

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

Subject: Re: TrueVoice vs. Modems
From: [e-mail] (Roy M. Silvernail)
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1993 21:25:05 CST
Organization: The Villa CyberSpace, executive headquarters


In comp.dcom.telecom, [e-mail] writes:

[about AT&T's TrueVoice]

> Since the network is digital, I would suspect this is all being done
> in software, somewhere, somehow.  That's a LOT of CPU cycles for 100+
> million calls/day.

I'd guess not.  The network is indeed digital, so the analog
transition is made at either end.  In between, the signal is handled
by Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips.  TrueVoice is simply
equalization.  It sounds very much like the typical "loudness
compensation" that you find on audio gear.  An equalization curve is
nothing more than an algorithm to a DSP system, so the processing is
really being done in hardware.  DSP cycles don't count against the CPU
budget.

On the subject of DSP, has anyone seen the SoftModem yet?  It's based
on a DSP chipset from Analog Devices, and is loaded with its
algorithms at startup.  After two days on my UUCP link, the only
problems I have is with Telebits.  I suspect that's true of most any
v.32bis/v.42bis modem.  It's a nice little unit.


Roy M. Silvernail   [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:42:48 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Christian Weisgerber)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: TrueVoice vs. Modems


> Here`s what I've seen written about how TrueVoice works.  How will
> data calls be affected?  (Hopefully, the same modem carrier tones that
> turn off echo supressors will also disable the TrueVoice feature.)

That's reasonable to expect, I guess. (BTW, it's the answer tones, not
the carrier itself.)

> Through a patented technical innovation developed by AT&T Bell
> Laboratories, AT&T TrueVoice makes long- distance calls sound clearer,
> closer and more natural by boosting the lower, or bass, end of the
> calls' sound spectrum while raising their overall sound level.

If boosting the bass is all to it I don't see how it should cause
modems to fail. Modems have to cope with similar and worse distortions
when operating over analog networks.

I can't see how they're going to raise "overall sound level" without
sacrificing dynamics[right word?] (which would certainly hurt modems
but negatively figure in human perception, too).

> Since the network is digital, I would suspect this is all being done
> in software, somewhere, somehow.  That's a LOT of CPU cycles for 100+
> million calls/day.

Hmm. Amplifying a certain frequency band is trivial with DSPs. Sounds
like an expensive upgrade for a whole LD network, though. Above it
says they got a patent, so I'd assume it to be something else than
common DSP filtering.


Christian 'naddy' Weisgerber, Germany     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Willie Smith)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: PictureTel Corporation
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 19:52:33 GMT


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

> If anyone wants to hear for themselves, the demo is at 1-800-932-2000.

I called, they gave a little spiel, said "In order for us to know
where you are calling from, please enter your home phone number."
Figuring AT&T probably has ANI, I typed nothing, got a customer
'service' rep who was adamant that they had no idea where I was
calling from, so I hung up on him.  I called back, told the robot the
information it just _had_ to have, and couldn't tell much difference
except that "TrueVoice(SM) is louder.

I thought it was interesting that "Soon" and "in the coming months" is
defined in the small print at the bottom of this ad as being "Available
nationwide by December 1994".


Willie Smith    [e-mail]        [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 20:20:30 GMT


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

> What's the deal behind this new AT&T "feature" that is supposed to be
> added to AT&T's long distance calls?  Supposedly, it enhances the
> sound quality on LD calls.  To me, it just sounds like the volume was
> increased with a little low-frequency added.

    I agree.  I just tried the demo.  The rep I spoke with said
that they were indeed adding at the low end and "getting rid of the
tinniness", possibly dropping some of the high end.  Of course,
broadcasters have been using "frequency extenders" that give up a
little of the high end and extend the low end for years now.  I
wonder, though, what AT&T can do once their handed a digitized voice
from the local CO.  It seems that if there is any low end roll off, it
would be done in a filter prior to the A/D at the CO.  Back when
frequency division multiplexing was more common (along with the monkey
chatter in the background on long distance calls), it made sense to
drop the low end (below 300 Hz) to make carrier suppression and lower
sideband suppression easier.  With PCM, is there any reason to do much
filtering at the low end, other than, perhaps a notch at 60 Hz (50 Hz
for Europe) to get rid of power line hum.  Is AT&T boosting the low
end (thru DSP?) to try to compensate for filters at the CO?  If so, it
seems like a pretty round about way of dealing with the problem.
Also, what's this do for modems, etc.


Harold

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

From: [e-mail] (Bohdan Tashchuk)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: Fast Technology --- Beaverton, OR
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 16:41:51 GMT


In <[e-mail]> beyonet!olwejo![e-mail] (Bob
Kupiec) writes:

> What's the deal behind this new AT&T "feature" that is supposed to be
> added to AT&T's long distance calls?

I couldn't resist calling.

What was most interesting about the demo is that it's quite obviously
a way to obtain a database of potential customers. To this end they
make you key in your calling number. I guess they either don't trust
their own ANI or they want to make sure they've got you even if you're
behind a PBX.


Bohdan


[Moderator's Note: If it were 'quite obviously a way to obtain a
database of potential customers' why wouldn't they just use the ANI
generated on each call? Do you really think AT&T needs a database of
potential customers? Don't you think they have one already?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Stephen Friedl)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Date: 18 Jul 93 14:54:13 GMT
Organization: Software Consulting, Tustin, CA


The demo is interesting.  They have a welcome message by someone who
sounds like (and may be) Tom Sellick, then they prepare you for the
demo.  The interesting thing -- they ask for your phone number via the
keypad and they confirm it.  Then they launch off into the demo where
you can hit one or two to toggle between MudVoice and TruVoice, and
sure enough, you get extra on the low-end.

Why would they be asking for a phone number?  I cannot believe that
AT&T's not getting ANI for the call.


Stephen J Friedl | Software Consultant | Tustin, CA |     [phone]
3B2-kind-of-guy  | I speak for me ONLY |   KA8CMY   | uunet!mtndew!friedl

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

Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 18 Jul 93 23:55:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


> Supposedly, it enhances the sound quality on LD calls.  To me, it
> just sounds like the volume was increased with a little low-frequency
> added.

I tried it out and had the same impression. My question is, aren't you
still going to be limited by the bandwidth in your local loop? Or is
the local loop bandwidth not a problem but LD loops were always
degrading the signal and Truevoice is a way of reducing this.


Laurence Chiu
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Don Hackler)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: a2i network
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 20:52:04 GMT


Cute demo ...

It was either a bit of EQ, like suggested, or they are playing some
games with frequency-shifting like some of the broadcast remote units
like Comrex.  They might me shifting the audio spectrum up, say, 150
or 200 hertz at the originating site, and then shifting it back to
it's original location at the receiving site.  You lose a bit of the
'high' end of the signal, but the overall effect is a more natural
sound.  Or they are using extra bandwidth to drag along some low
frequency information.

Either of these schemes would require that the first and last miles of
your local carrier aren't limiting the bandwidth of the audio too
much.

A couple of amusing notes about the demo:

    The demo asked me to punch in my phone number!
    (Why wouldn't they use ANI?)

    Once the demo got to the comparison phase, they were using
    a professional male announcer's voice, instead of
    the female voice that was used occasionally in the
    introduction and instruction phase of the demo.
    I suspect the effect of the 'feature' would have
    been negligible on her.

This 'feature' is a lot more hype than substance.  If you wern't able
to to an A/B comparison, you wouldn't notice it was there.


Don Hackler   [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 03:17 GMT
From: John C. Fowler <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T True Voice Demo Line


I just saw an advertisement for AT&T True Voice that gave a number for
demonstration purposes, so I thought I'd pass it along in case anyone
was curious.  Call 1-800-932-2000 from a touch-tone phone.  Note that
they do request you enter your phone number before the demo (not sure
why they don't just use ANI).

One thing I haven't seen in the commercials or heard on the demo line:
once implemented, will this new service be smart enough to turn itself
off when it senses a data call?


John C. Fowler, [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 16:26:08 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T TrueVoice


You can call 800 932 2000 for a demonstration of AT&T TrueVoice.

Be prepared to listen to some AT&T promotional garbage and to provide
your phone number.  You can provide up to a one-minute voice response
comment after listening to the demonstration and can then optionally
speak with an AT&T representative to switch your long distance service
or to get additional information.

It is supposed to enhance the sound quality of AT&T long distance
calls and is supposed to be available nationwide by the end of 1994.

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1993 19:06:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: AT&T True Voice


Why do they ask for your number?

It would be interesting to see how many non-AT&T long distance
customers get telemarketed or surveyed as a result of calling this
thing!


[Moderator's Note: I don't think they ask for your number so they can
sic a telemarketer on you. After all, if they relied on ANI they would
still have to compare their own records with the ANI to see who was a
customer already and who was not. Has it occurred to anyone they might
be listening to *your* touchtones and then doing a little last minute
adjustment on their end (regards the sound quality based on what the
circuit is like between you and them) before they begin the demo?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: AT&T TrueVoice Enhances Sound Quality
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 03:36:00 GMT


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

> AT&T has annouced "Truevoice", an enhancement to it's switched voice
> network service.

> Truevoice is claimed to provide more realistic voice quality by
> extending low-frequency response and increasing signal levels.
> Truevoice will be deployed in AT&T's network by September,and
> available to all customers.

I don't know just what TrueVoice actually is.  MCI and Sprint have
networks that are so far as I know 100% digital and uncompressed
within the US.  AT&T doesn't say that they're uncompressed digital.
You can't get any better than that, within the backbone: The bits in
are the bits out, and the local CO or even telephone set generates the
bits.

If AT&T is doing digital signal processing to make voice "sound"
better, then they are presumably munging the bits.  This has a couple
of consequences.  Modems and fax machines will be unhappy.  And
anybody trying to run 56 kbps data over the speech network will be
SOL.

They don't like to tell you (well, Sprint does) that you don't need to
use a premium-priced Switched 56 service.  With Sprint, voice = data,
and you just have to preface calls with the echo canceller
cancellation tone (which is described, oddly enough, somewhere in
CCITT V.25).  With MCI, they say there's a conditioned 56k data
network, and it's a separate network, but the price is the same.  With
AT&T, it's a separate 56k data network, and it costs more than twice
the voice rate.  Perhaps TrueVoice is a way to guarantee that AT&T
customers don't do what Sprint says to do (which usually works on
AT&T).

I hope I'm wrong -- anybody from "T" there with the answer?


Fred R. Goldstein   [e-mail]
Senior Lecturer: "Telecommunications Transmission Techniques"
  Northeastern University
Opinions are mine alone; sharing requires permission

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

From: [e-mail] (Aaron Woolfson)
Subject: AT&T TrueVoice -- I Just Don't Get it!
Date: 18 Jul 1993 16:31:38 -0700
Organization: University of the Pacific


I understand the concept behind TrueVoice, but there are just a few
things I don't understand.  The demonstration that I just called ...
is it all done at their end?  I mean, does AT&T at their switching
test center where the demonstration is located on some RAM chip
somewhere within a voice processing board boost the bass and increase
the volume there, or is it done with special chips at our switch's
end?

The thing I don't understand is this:

The CODECS within the phone system all work on the same similar
64kbit/second format, by which my voice is converted to the digital
signals by a CODEC chip using either mu-law or a-law processing.
Then, the across the country, the CODEC at the other end turns my
digital stream back into audiable voice (analog).

So, when I call the demonstration number using my telephone, they must
do something to the signal before it EVEN enters the phone network, so
that it can be converted at Central Office into analog format and
sound that way.  I don't think that AT&T has their own CODEC standards
that work on different laws in every central office across the united
states.

I am willing to bet that ALL voice could sound like that if 1) we took
a digital PCM filter, added a bit every frame or two, deleted a little
bit here and there, and increased the amplitude bits of the signal.

There you have it -- Truevoice. -- nothing that special or technological
about it.

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

From: [e-mail] (Toby Nixon)
Subject: AT&T TrueVoice Technology -- What is it?
Date: 18 Jul 93 23:50:12 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation, Redmond WA, USA


I called the TrueVoice demo line last night, and can definitely hear a
difference -- although most of the difference appears to be higher
volume.  Does anyone have the inside scoop on exactly what is involved
in this technology?  An improved voice coding technique on the digital
paths?  What?


Toby

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #486
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #487

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 04:11:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 487

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging (Brian T. Vita)
    Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging (Justin Greene)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Reid R. Buyaky)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (Monty Solomon)
    Re: White House Orders No-Bid Phone System (Tarl Neustaedter)
    Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System (Heath Troy Roberts)
    Re: Followup on Introduction to WilTel (Russ McGuire)
    WIL-TEL Noted on a COCOT (Carl Moore)
    Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones (Andrew Marc Greene)
    Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones (Dick Rawson)
    Re: Need Information on High-Performance Networks (Dub Dublin)
    Re: Need Information on High-Performance Networks (Rubin Dhillon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 19 Jul 93 00:00:41 EDT
From: Brian T. Vita <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging


> I'd like to get a NYC number (917 I guess, although Westchester/914
> would be good too), annd have numeric paging from DC to Boston, AND
> Western Mass, Vermont, NH, and eastern PA (Allentown, Lancaster, as
> far west as Harrisburg.)

Ah, the impossible dream.  I have a service territory from Quebec to
Virginia and I've been looking for the same for the last ten years.
After trying virtually every major paging company here are my results.

1.  You DO NOT want a national paging company like SKYTEL.  Although
they provide excellent service in the major cities, their coverage
drops dramaticly outside the city limits.  That is, for the most part
you do not get rural coverage.

2.  Most of the decent wide area paging systems are in the 900Mhz
band.

3.  Mobilecomm offers regional service that covers you from Concord NH
to Washington DC/Northern VA.  I've received pages as far inland as
Johnstown NY and Allentown PA.  Coverage is fairly consistant down the
coast.  I presently use them with Motorola Advisor (alpha) pagers and
for the most part am quite happy.

4.  PageNet offers regional service from Manchester NH to Washington
DC.  Coverage is not as blanketed as Mobilecomm and tends to hug the
coast.  I don't get much further west than Springfield, MA.

5.  Metromedia, last I heard, was up for sale.  I had a pager from
them to cover VT/NH.  When I called to complain that their VT coverage
was spotty, the customer service drone explained to me that they had
been disassembling the VT system for the last year.  This was two months
after I had bought the beeper from them. Customer service poor.
Prices high.

6.  Many companies, such as Beeper Marketing, are resellers of other
people's airtime.  They buy blocks of numbers from one of the
aforementioned and act like they have thier own towers.  Generally a
real pain in the a** when you have a technical problems as they have
to call their provider to resolve it.

7.  None of the aforementioned offer any real coverage in NH/VT other
than what I noted.  There are some local companies, such as Summit
Communications that cover NH fairly well but they don't offer much
else.

8.  The only company that I have found that offers any degree of
reliable coverage in VT is Central VT Communications in Rutland.
Their chief tech Tito is by far one of the most helpful people that
I've run into in this industry.

Some general notes when searching:

1.  Most beeper company sales people know less than you do about the
product that they are offering.  They are under tremendous pressure to
fulfill sales quotas and the job turnover is high.  Take whatever they
say with a grain of salt.  Get all prices spelled out in writing and
leave no blank prices on the contract.  Make sure you know how many
pages are included in your monthly fee and how much they charge for
overcalls. Ask to see a coverage map, not a verbal description.

2.  National paging companies are good for businessmen who travel to
major metropolitan areas.  They will not reach you in Morrisville VT.
If you are going to be travelling in suburban or rural areas go with a
regional company.

3.  Lower frequency pagers get good range at the expense of being able
to penetrate obstructions.  Metromedia's now defunct VT network was
somewhere around 46.23 Mhz.  Got them lots of mileage off of a single
tower but couldn't get into a building worth a damn.  Higher
frequencies require more towers to get good coverage but will reach
you inside of an elevator in the basement of a steel frame building!
(Of course, your actual mileage will vary ...)

4.  Look into alphanumeric pagers.  They can now generally be had for
about $5/$10 more per month than a display (numeric) pager.  Most
paging companies have a deal with a dispatch office where they will
type out (alpha page) your important messages for an additional
$.50/dispatch.  Inforad has a program that runs on a Mac (what I use),
PC or Windows that allows you to use any modem equipped PC as a
dispatch terminal.  We use this and have become so impressed with it
that we sell it to our telecom customers.  An 80 character alpha
message can say much more than a nameless phone number.  Alpha pagers
can also operate like a display pager where the caller dials a number,
punches in their phone number and hangs up.  You get the best of both
worlds.

5.  Get a pager with the vibe option.  It is far more pleasant for
those around you in a restaurant or theatre not to hear the damn
beep/beep.

6.  Give consideration to leasing rather than buying a beeper.  Yep, I
said that!  Two reasons:

  A. My beepers usually last a year to 18 months before they start acting
     like they are possessed.  If they own it, its their problem.

  B. You suddenly find that beeper company B gives you better coverage/
     service that company A.  If you bought the pager from A, you're
     stuck on their frequency.

7.  Avoid beepers with NICADS.  They are more of a pain in the butt
than they are worth.

I hope this is helpful.  If you have any specific questions, I'll be
glad to respond. I do not work for any paging company and my only
contact with any of the companies named was as a customer.


Brian T. Vita    CSS, Inc.   [e-mail] or CI$70702,2233

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 16:41:37 GMT


> I'd like to get a NYC number (917 I guess, although Westchester/914
> would be good too), annd have numeric paging from DC to Boston, AND
> Western Mass, Vermont, NH, and eastern PA (Allentown, Lancaster, as
> far west as Harrisburg.)

> Do I need to go with SkyTel or one of those nationwide guys, or can I
> just get "regional" service and bunch a few regions together? (IE,
> bundle mid-Atlantic with New England with Vermont/NH, etc.)

Page Net communications offers a nice service for this situation.  You
can add additional numbers to your account for $1.00 each ($7.00 for
voice mail) but they do not have to be in your region.  I have one
pager with three numbers, one in Miami, one in NYC, and one in Denver.
It all is billed through my home office as Additional Service
(xxx-xxx-xxxx).  They also offer another service (about $20 a month +
per call charge) which will send your pages out too all page net
offices from your one local number).  As long as you are on the right
frequency (P1, 931.68750 I think) then they can hook you up.

BTW, The regular coverage for NYC covers me from DC to Boston (almost).


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 08:57:40 EDT
From: mr!dev2![e-mail] (Reid R. Buyaky)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?


[e-mail] posted:

> It depends on what kind of a hunt group (rotary) you really want.  I
> called US West (Tucson) and tried to ask for a hunt group, and the
> extremely helpful rep said, "well, that's $8/line/month.  Could you
> use busy forwarding?"  Busy forwarding is pretty much what I wanted,
> although it's not as perfectly robust as a hunt group ... and it only
> costs $0.30/line/month.

I know of a BBS system operator in Washington State who tried to use
call forward to skip several lines in his hunt group while replacing
modems (i.e., he wanted lines four and five to be unavailable, so he
set up line four to forward to line six).  He later found out that he
was charged for every call that was forwarded as though he had made
the call from that line!

BTW..this was another attractive feature of Centrex for me ... they
provide dialup access so *I* have almost complete control of how my
hunt group will be set up.  They're installing the lines (in my
home!!) near the end of this month.

My previous articles in this list have asked for information about
multiple lines to a residence, and I'm happy to report that the phone
company is picking up the entire expense of the outside installation.
They're putting in new facilities just to accommodate my needs, and
(if needed) will even be putting in new conduit from the post in my
yard to the house.

I'm VERY happy about this, but wondered why they suddenly became so
cooperative.  The reply that filtered back to me was "In the last four
years the phone company has changed their emphasis and now ENCOURAGES
the running of businesses from a residence."  I guess that's good news
for home businesses.


Reid R. Buyaky (Software Systems Engineer)
Micro Resources, Inc. -- [e-mail]
Heartland Multiline BBS - 614-846-7669
MajorNet - Sysop@HRT

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 03:03:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?


Excerpt from the 7/9/93 {Boston Globe}:

Channel 1, the Cambridge-based electronic bulletin board service with
15,000 subscribers, is facing what cofounder Brian Miller terms a
"horrible untangling job."  Over the past seven years, his one-story,
four-room home has come to resemble a Radio Shack warehouse: 110
personal computers each with a modem, and at least that many phone
lines to handle 3,200 calls a day.  Now, the local zoning board has
ordered Miller and his wife to move the business.  The good news for
fans of Channel 1 forums like "Sexy Bald Captains:" To make the move
to Harvard Square [Cambridge], Channel 1 will be off the air for only
about 24 hours.  And then Miller and his wife, Tess Heder, get their
house back.

[End of excerpt]

Here are the Channel 1 phone numbers:

    2400 baud/1200 baud:         617-354-8873, 354-7077, 354-6155
    V.32bis 14.4:                617-354-5776, 354-3230, 354-2317
    HST 16.8/V.32bis Dual Stand: 617-354-3137, 354-2505, 354-4128
    Telebit:                     617-354-0470, 354-0784


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Tarl Neustaedter)
Subject: Re: White House Orders No-Bid Phone System
Date: 18 Jul 1993 17:32:52 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.


In article <[e-mail]>, TELECOM Moderator noted in
response to Guy J. Sherr <[e-mail]>:

> [...] press 'C'; if you want to comment; press 'Q' if you think
> Clinton should quit; [...]

Reminds me of an old trick that was played on me. There is a gentleman
who is so angry at the stupidity of some Americans, specifically those
not versed in telephone arcana, that he has set up an 800 line with
recordings of jokes directed at that group. It's a 1-800 call, so it
doesn't cost you anything to check it out:

    1-800-IDIOT-I.Q.

That number should work equally well from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.


         Tarl Neustaedter       Stratus Computer
            [e-mail]    Marlboro, Mass.
Disclaimer: My employer is not responsible for my opinions.


[Moderator's Note: That's right. It doesn't work from anywhere.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (HEATH TROY ROBERTS)
Subject: Re: White House Orders No Bid Phone System
Organization: North Carolina State University
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 19:39:33 GMT


[e-mail] (Paul Robinson) writes:

> There has been considerable flack placed upon the White House for
> deciding to contact two switch bidders -- Northern Telecom and AT&T --
> and deciding to place an order consisting of Centrex service from C&P
> Telephone and ordering a switch from AT&T, without putting this
> contract out for bids.

I wonder if this situation is anything like the Congressional Centrex
system. Both houses have Centrex from C&P, but the Senate is served by
a DMS-100 and the House by a 5ESS. The "new" executive office building
is also served from an NT switch, so maybe this is a bone for AT&T.

As far as providing service goes, I would think that if the White
House decides to use Centrex the equipment selection would be up to
C&P.

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

From: [e-mail] (Russ McGuire)
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 08:45:46 -0500
Subject: Re: Followup on Introduction to WilTel


[e-mail] (Brian Hess) writes:

> "WilTel" stands for "Williams Telecommunications", which is a
> spin-off of the Williams Energy Company.

Technically, WilTel is a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, a
collection of primarily pipeline companies, one of which happens to
carry bits instead of BTUs.

> According to a WilTel R&D guy I talked to, the origin of WilTel was
> in unused pipeline capacity -- someone figured that they could just
> clean out an old pipeline, fill it with cable, and use existing
> rights-of-way for a brand new business!

Exactly!  The original WilTel fiber route was a project of Williams
Pipeline Company in the mid-80s.  They were looking for innovative
ways to utilize decommisioned pipe in the upper mid-west.  Running
fiber through those pipes turned out to be a very innovative (and
profitable) concept.  Our president, Roy Wilkens, jokes that he had
always dreamed of being president of a pipeline company.  He finally
makes it there, and, with his staff, comes up with this great idea,
and the next thing he knows, he's been demoted to running this little
telephone company.  As you can imagine, WilTel originally had very
few employees.  These days we have around 3,500 nationwide.

Our Esteemed Moderator notes:

> [Moderator's Note: Well, you know Sprint had the same kind of
> origin back in the middle 1970's. The Southern Pacific Railroad
> upgraded their telecommunications facilities greatly, and wound
> up with lots of unused capacity. Railroads years ago used to run
> their own telephone lines on poles along side the tracks, with
> 'call boxes' every five or ten miles for use by railroad employees.

Thanks for reminding me of another of our differentiators.  As you can
imagine, it is critical that pipelines have very secure rights-of-way,
where there is very little risk of any catastrophe that would breach
the pipe.  Therefore, the fiber we've placed inside pipelines (which
is a large percentage of our network) is very secure from fiber cuts
for three reasons:

1.    Its inside a steel pipe;
2.    Its along a secure right of way and designed to withstand
    disasters (floods, earthquakes, etc.);
3.    No farmer in his right mind buries his cow anywhere near a
    natural gas pipeline; a misplaced backhoe through a pipe
    usually has a much more lasting effect than any lawsuit.

Unfortunately, fiber buried or strung along railroads doesn't tend to
fare well during even minor derailments.

To be fair, WilTel has grown our network both through new builds
within pipelines and through acquisitions of existing networks.  Many
of the networks we have purchased are also along railways, so we do
occasionally suffer the same fate, however, we have never had a fiber
cut along our high traffic route from KC to LA which is entirely
within pipe, and the only real outage we've had on any of our pipeline
routes was when someone literally planted a bomb on or in the pipe.

I find all this fascinating, so please excuse my rambling about my
employer.


Russ McGuire    WilTel, Inc.  [e-mail]  918-588-2836

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 10:59:31 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: WIL-TEL Noted on a COCOT


WIL-TEL, 655 Grand Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126, tel. [phone]

This firm is listed for 0+ calls "outside this zone", on a pay phone
near Clinton, NJ on 908-735.  I think this is the same phone where I
made a call on the Orange Card and got CLI in the From part of the
resulting bill.


[Moderator's Note: But is it the same WilTel, or a different firm?
Maybe Mr. McQuire can tell us.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 11:00 -0400


[e-mail] (Richard Thomsen) writes:

> It seems to me that this is not a very good challange system.  The
> cell sends an encrypted message, and the phone could go offline and
> take as long as necessary to try different ESNs to break the code.

That's why there's a timeout.  The session key is only valid if it's
used within n seconds.  This doesn't help you against someone
eavesdropping on both halves of a real authentication and then number-
crunching to try to figure out what your password was, but it does
make the attack you suggest impractical.

> Would it not be better if it were as follows?

>Phone: "Hi, I'd like to make a call, and here is my telephone number
>       encrypted with my ESN."

That's subject to the same eavesdropping attack -- and once I've heard
your number encrypted, this is reduced to the earlier problem.

Remember that no one in the system trusts each other except with the
session key -- the medium is assumed susceptable to eavesdropping
(even more of a concern with cell phones than it is with a LAN!), and
the Kerberos server and service provider are assumed susceptable to
spoofing (less of a concern with cell phones, if the Kerberos server
is tightly coupled to the service provider).

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

From: [e-mail] (Dick Rawson)
Subject: Re: Kerberos on Cellular Telephones
Date: 18 Jul 93 16:53:15 GMT
Organization: BT North America, San Jose CA.


>> Phone: "Hi, I'm NNN-NXX-XXXX, I'd like to make a call"
>> Cell:  "Oh yeah, prove to me that you are NNN-NXX-XXXX.  Here
>>         is a session key encoded using your ESN, decode it,
>>         encode the number you want to call with it and send
>>         it back"

> It seems to me that this is not a very good challange system.  The
> cell sends an encrypted message, and the phone could go offline and
> take as long as necessary to try different ESNs to break the code.

1.  I do not see how it can break the code.  When it tries the correct
ESN as key it decodes the correct session key ... but now does it
recognize that the result IS THE CORRECT SESSION KEY?  With care, the
session key would look the same as encrypted data; maybe in fact
encryption was used as a step in generating the value to be used as
the key.

2.  The Cell would give a new challenge when the Phone came back
online to try to exploit decrypting the challenge (assuming it
succeeded).

In contrast, encrypting a telephone number with the ESN allows an
evesdropper to try a known-plaintext attack; equipment listening to
the control dialog already understands what telephone number the Phone
is using.


Dick

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

From: [e-mail] (Dub Dublin)
Subject: Re: Need Information on High-Performance Networks
Organization: Chevron
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 21:43:03 GMT


I'm not sure from your post what exactly your friend is after, but it
sounds like he wants high speeds across a wide area network.  You can
roll your own, if you want, but you'll find it requires cubic dollars
to do so.  You might want to check out MFS Datanet.  They have
high-speed optical backbone rings in about two dozen US cities now,
with many more in the works.  The exciting part, though, is that their
MAN networks are connected by an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode, not
the other one) network.  They offer end-to-end connectivity at 1.544,
4, 10, and 16 Mb/s across the widerea, and 100 Mb/s on a MAN.  (They
are investigating the possibility of striping across DS3's to provide
100 Mb/s in the wide area environment.  Because of the incompatibilities
of ATM switches today, MFS does not currently offer an ATM interface
to their network, although I suspect they might if you were willing to
let them select your equipment.  My contact at MFS Communications (a
sister company) is Mike Miller, [phone].

Caveat: Chevron currently contracts with MFS for Common Carrier access
on MFS Communications' optical ring in Houston, but is not using any
of the Datanet services at this time, so I can't tell you how well it
works.

One of the nice things about Datanet is that it provides a LAN media
interface (Ethernet, Token Ring, etc.) that appears to be a transparent
learning bridge, although routing and other such things are available.


Dub Dublin                   Chevron Information Technology Company
email: [e-mail]     phone: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rubin Dhillon)
Subject: Re: Need Information on High-Performance Networks
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 22:29:47 GMT


I can give you an address to contact for all of your hardware
questions.  SDL Communications manufactures and markets communications
boards for PC's. These boards are widely used (along with BSDI) to set
up internets, and even routers in a PC.

If you have any questions please contact Rubin at:

E-Mail: [e-mail]
Phone:  [phone]
Fax:    [phone]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #487
******************************










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Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 06:07:02 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #488

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 06:07:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 488

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: 800 Translation Questions (David G. Lewis)
    Re: 800 Translation Questions (Richard Cox)
    Re: 800 Translation Questions (Richard Nash)
    How I Call 800 Numbers From Outside the USA (John L. Shelton)
    Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number (Pat Turner)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (David G. Lewis)
    Re: Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom (Philip Gladstone)
    Re: Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom (Michael Rosen)
    Re: Transcontinental Propagation Delay (Bernard Rupe)
    Re: Transcontinental Propogation Delay (John D. Gretzinger)
    Re: Information Needed on Using US Phones in Germany (Christian Weisgerber)
    Re: ADAD Suggestions Please (Christopher Zguris)
    Re: Dialing Plan Questions (Bill Hofmann)
    Re: Impairment Levels on T1 Carrier (Bruce Sullivan)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: 800 Translation Questions
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 14:30:43 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Justin Greene) writes:

> What is the name of the office that handles the translations for 800
> service within a Bell region (ie: NY Telephone or NJ Bell)? Are all
> 800 calls (non AT&T, Sprint etc) passed to a central switch,
> translated and routed or does each switch have the ability to
> translate it?

All 800 calls are sent to an 800 SSP (Service Switching Point) if the
originating End Office is not an 800 SSP; 800 SSPs are usually access
tandems.  The 800 SSP is the switch that queries the 800 SCP (Service
Control Point).  The call is routed from the 800 SSP to the
appropriate carrier (if the originating LEC is not the 800 service
provider) or routed within the LATA to the destination (if the
originating LEC is the 800 service provider).

> Also, with portability, does that mean that the local telco keeps a
> list on a switch somewhere so it knows where to send the call.

The "list" is kept at the 800 SCP.

> Can one take a local 800 number and take it to a non-local carrier.

As Pat indicated, the caller has no control over the carrier to which
an 800 call is sent.

> [Moderator's Note: ... One complaint about portability was that 800
> calls would take several seconds longer to process when telco went to
> the database to find out what to do with it. In fact, calls to
> commonly used 800 numbers now seem to complete instantly, or at least
> as fast as before.  PAT]

One reason that 800 Number Portability was as long in coming as it was
was that the FCC mandated a certain level of SS7 Network Interconnect
had to exist before portability.  This is because the TCAP query to
the 800 SCP does add a not insignificant amount to the call setup
time, and the setup time reductions provided by SS7 NI were needed to
"counteract" this addition.  So my hypothesis (with no data at all to
back it up, of course) is that we're seeing the effects of NI --
reducing call setup times -- and the effects of 800 number portability
 -- increasing call setup times -- somewhat cancelling each other out,
as expected.


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

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

Date: Wed, 14 Jul 93 14:37 GMT
From: Richard Cox <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 800 Translation Questions
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In response to [e-mail] (Justin Greene), PAT said:

> And yes, some telcos (maybe all) keep a cache of the 800 numbers
> they have recently connected with to make future calls to that
> number go faster.  If they have never seen the 800 number before,
> they do a database lookup.

So how long are the telcos allowed to keep that routing data active?

If you change 800 carrier tomorrow, for how long will some telcos be
routing your 800 calls through the old carrier?  Or is this something
we are only going to find out "the hard way"?


Richard D G Cox


Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, CF4 5WF UK
Voice: [phone]    Fax: [phone]     VoiceMail: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: I doubt if they keep it more than a day or two on
average. I think its a case where maybe the last several thousand 800
calls they process are kept around with new ones pushing the old ones
off the stack. Consequently the numbers for airlines, hotel reservations
radio station contests and the like keep re-appearing constantly. I
think the process is much the same way mail is handled between Internet
sites: the first time a site sees another site name, it says 'who is
this?' and it has to go to the name resolver and find out what's going
on. It then delivers the mail, or makes the telnet connection or what-
ever, and it remembers about that place for awhile. If you ask for the
same place five or ten minutes later, very likely it remembers and
does not have to go ask the name resolver that time.

Consider mailing lists such as this one: Why do I have to put at least
30-40 minutes and preferably an hour between invocations of sendmail
if I want to be certain each subscriber gets each issue in the order
they are published rather than some people having them arrive out of
sequence? Because the first issue (of several in a few hour's time) in
the queue takes longer to get delivered. The daemon is constantly
having to go to the resolver to find out about different sites. It
finds out and puts the information in a cache; then later in the same
mailing list when it sees the same site name again for some other
subscriber it says, "Oh! I know where that place is!", and it makes
delivery promptly. Meanwhile if a second invocation of sendmail is
running for me, the two daemons race ahead of each other; each gets to
benefit from what the other put in the cache. So the second issue 'in
the mail' has its daemon zip rapidly through a good portion of the
list benefitting from what the first daemon had to go look for, and
names three-quarters of the way down the list on the second mailing
are getting their copies before the first daemon has gotten that far.

Then before long, the second daemon can't find anything in the cache
it wants and *it* has to start going to the name resolver for all the
sites it sees in the list. It trudges off to the resolver, comes back
with information and puts it in the cache where the first daemon finds
it ("Oh, I know who that is!") and is able to speed up delivery using
information the second one found. Then presently the cache is devoid
of information it wants and it starts going to the resolver again. So
as the daemons race ahead of each other (benefitting from the other's
lookups) or fall behind each other, some subscribers get the second
issue first and the first issue last. Based on my typical Digest size,
the size of the mailing list (or lists, actually) and what I know
about how the sysadmin here has put nice values on my sendmail, I know
if I leave at least 30-40 minutes between sendmail invocations the
second one never will catch up with the first, nor the third with the
second, etc.

I think -- but don't know -- that telcos have the same sort of cache.
If an 800 number gets called by some subscriber or another at least
every two or three days the switch says, "Oh, I know who that is!" and
doesn't have to do a database query.  Other ideas?   PAT]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 18:35:45 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 800 Translation Questions
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In comp.dcom.telecom, article <[e-mail]>, our
Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: Are we repeating ourselves here?  When dialing an
> 800 number the caller has *no choice whatsoever* in carrier or route
> or anything else. The person who *pays* for the calls makes those
> decisions, period. Telco hands the call off to the carrier chosen for
> it by the recipient of the call, period. All references to 10xxx or
> zero plus an 800 number are ignored. No one would use 800 service if
> there was a risk they could get a bill for big $$ because the caller
> chose to send it via Integratel or some other AOS. And yes, some
> telcos (maybe all) keep a cache of the 800 numbers they have recently
> connected with to make future calls to that number go faster. If they

Perhaps someone could expand upon what Pat means here.  How can the
telco keep a cache of recently connected calls if the logic to
determine routing number is based upon the calling parties address and
is held only in the database?


Richard Nash    Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:           [e-mail]
Amateur Radio:  ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]


[Moderator's Note: A call from POTS phone A in Chicago to 800
number B in New York will *always* have the same logic, won't it?
Telco goes to the database the first time it sees an 800 number; is
given the details on what to do, and does it. Do you have to be told
over and over how to do the same thing? The round cache which sits on
top of your shoulders stores information. You only go to the library
(or read this Digest! <smile>) when you want to learn something new.
So for a day or two or three -- whatever -- at a time, the telco
switch's cache remembers what it did the last time it saw the number.
Since large volume 800 customers are called over and over all day long
in a city like Chicago (someone in some CO somewhere here is always
calling United Airlines, I'm sure), the switch is always in a position
to say "Oh! I know what to do now, I know where that place is."   PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 02:38:58 -0700
From: [e-mail] (John L. Shelton)
Subject: How I Call 800 Numbers From Outside the USA


I have been calling some 800 numbers from Europe over the last few
months via this scheme:

I call USA Direct (AT&T).  In some countries, you get a bong tone and
can direct dial a number if you have a touch-tone phone.  Otherwise
tell the operator.  800 numbers seem to be acceptable.

I haven't seen the bill yet; I assume I'll get charged for the full
international rate.

One attempt was blocked; I got an operator, who explained that the 800
number I was calling wasn't owned by AT&T, so they wouldn't place the
call.  I haven't tried using Sprint*DIrect.


John

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 93 21:54 EDT
Subject: Re: Call Forward to a 1-800 Number


Joe Pace writes:

> I tried calling 800-235-1414 from our Intecom PBX and rather than
> reporting my phone number it gave the POTS number of the Pacific Bell
> circuit the call went out on.  Do some PBX's forward the internal
> numbers to phone company switches, or is this not possible using
> conventional phone lines?

There's a service called Automatic Identification of Outward Dialing that
will do just this.  Real handy for CO based call accounting and 911 service.

Patton Turner  KB4GRZ  FAA Telecommunications  [e-mail]




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

From: [e-mail] (david.g.lewis)
Subject: Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 04:14:19 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Miguel Cruz) writes:

> Often I see ads in US magazines and newspapers where only 800 numbers
> are provided. Near as I can tell, there is NO WAY whatsoever to call
> these numbers from Australia. Why is this?

To which our Esteemed Moderator replies:

> [Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
> the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
> outside the USA for whatever reason...  If
> they find it in their best interest to pay for calls from international
> points (or even split the charges with an international caller) they
> will have their 800 number configured to do that... PAT]

As usual, a difficult question has a simple, easy-to-understand wrong
answer ...

Contrary to Pat's statements, there is a technical issue beyond simple
bloody-mindedness on the part of the 800 subscriber.

First, let me draw a distinction.  There's something I'll call
"Freephone" service, for want of a better term; this is, generically,
a service which allows all calls to a given number, identified by a
specified set of digits in the number, to be charged to the called
party.  Then there's the specific version of this "Freephone" service
supported in world zone 1, which is "800 service".  In other places,
other versions of the "Freephone" service use different digit sets to
identify these reverse-billed calls, use different service
architectures, etc.etc.etc.

Then there are international versions of these services, which I'll
"International Freephone" and "International 800".  The thing to keep
in mind is that the subscriber to an International Freephone service
is in country A, but that the calling parties are in countries B, C,
D, and so on, so that the number dialed by the calling parties must be
valid "Freephone" numbers in *those* countries, not country A.

For example, let's say that Upper Slobovia Post and Telecom offers a
Freephone service, where Freephone calls are identified by the first
two digits being "33".  If International Widget, Inc., a company in
WZ1, wants to be able to accept International Freephone calls from
Upper Slobovia, then their service provider has to arrange with Upper
Slobovia P&T for a "33" number which will send calls to International
Widget's inbound call center in Pocatello, Idaho.  Or wherever it is
that you answer phone calls about widgets.  This "33" number probably
has nothing at all in common with the "800" number that International
Widget advertizes in the US, except for where calls to it terminate.

The question Pat answered was "Why don't companies in WZ1 who have 800
numbers also have 'International Freephone' numbers," and his answer
to that question was correct -- they choose not to, for whatever
reason.  I think the question Mr. Cruz asked, though, was "Why can't I
call an 800 number from Australia?"  And to this question, there is an
answer that shows a technical limitation.

In this Brave New World of Competition and 800 Number Portability,
there are N service providers which offer 800 service in the US, where
N is larger than, say, probably 100.  The telco which handles the call
origination determines which 800 service provider to route the call to
based on a database query; the database they're querying is something
called the 800DBS SCP (last I heard), or 800 DataBase Service Service
Control Point.  This database is operated by the local telco, with
data provided through something called the 800 SMS, or 800 Service
Management System.

Telecom Australia doesn't have an 800DBS SCP.  They can't query one in
the US, because (a) there are no international standards for it; (b)
whose would they query?  Therefore, if you dial +1.800.NXX.XXXX,
Telecom Australia knows that the call has to go somewhere in WZ1, but
has no idea whether it should go to AT&T, MCI, Sprint, Stentor,
Unitel, Wiltel, RCI, NYTel, or any of the other N carriers that
provide 800 service.

If you call, say, a Sprint operator and say you want to dial an 800
number, that operator also has no idea whether it's a Sprint 800
number or someone else's 800 number - and even if they knew, they'd
have little or no incentive to complete it if it's not a Sprint 800
number.

And that doesn't even *touch* the billing and settlements part of the
problem ...


Disclaimer: All of this information is available in public documents, mostly
from Bellcore and standards orgs; I don't work on 800, Freephone, or
international services.

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Philip Gladstone)
Subject: Re: Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom
Date: 18 Jul 1993 10:01:05 -0400
Organization: Citicorp


More on {In the Line of Fire}. Some of the telephone numbers used are
not on the 555 exchange. Looking these numbers up in an inverted
directory indicates that they are unlisted or not allocated. I didn't
want to try calling them (as I'm sure that the recipients are now
thoroughly annoyed!).

On the subject of spoofing ANI, the easiest way would be for him to
use 1-900-STOPPER, or hack into a companies PABX DISA ports. Either
way, the number will be useless.

But it is a great film -- go see.


Philip Gladstone - Consultant    Citicorp Global Information Network
I don't speak for Citicorp. I presume that somebody else does!

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

From: [e-mail] (Michael Rosen)
Subject: Re: Movie Review: {Line of Fire} and Telecom
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 06:24:26 GMT


I don't know enough about ANI to have realized anything amiss in that
department but I did notice something else.

In the scene where he runs out to the payphone around the corner from
his apartment you hear the payphone emitting the error tone that
occurs after a phone has been left off the hook (I didn't know what
else to call it ...:).  How could this be when "Frank" didn't hang up
his end in the apartment?  He just left it off the hook on the sofa.


Michael Rosen    [e-mail]
George Washington University Alumni
Tau Epsilon Phi, Tau Theta 381

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

From: [e-mail] (Bernard Rupe)
Subject: Re: Transcontinental Propagation Delay
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1993 17:13:57 GMT


[e-mail] (Jonathan Edwards) writes:

> I am configuring a link between SF and NY over T1 lines.  Can anyone
> tell me how to estimate the propagation delay I will experience?  As
> the photon flies (in vacuum), it is 16ms.  But propagation through
> copper and fiber is slower, right?  And the lines will likely not
> follow the shortest path.  And perhaps repeaters and muxes might add
> latency.

Signals travel through copper at .3c.  I believe the speed in fiber is
around 2/3 c.  I don't know what the delays would be through the
repeaters/regenerators, but it shoud be too high.


Bernie Rupe                    1501 W. Shure Drive  Room 1315
Motorola, Inc.                     Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Cellular Infrastructure Group       [phone]
                   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 19 Jul 93 16:47:55-0400
Subject: Re: Transcontinental Propogation Delay


[e-mail] writes:

> I am configuring a link between SF and NY over T1 lines.  Can
> anyone tell me how to estimate the propagation delay I will experience?

There are several questions brought to mind with this.  The first is
why do you care?

If you are not going via satellite it really is not enough to worry
about from other than an intellectual exercise.

Not only will the circuit not take the shortest route, it may change
routes depending on the type of service you have purchased.  If the T1
is for voice, it will be routed by the carrier over the fastest route
available.  Should the shortest route be congested or unavailable
(remember the rain in the mid west?), the traffic will be re-routed to
bypass the effected switching facilities.

X.25 circuits will by defination take any available route, and
individual packets may well take different routes.  Incidentally, this
is true for any switched service offering.

A dedicated data circuit (Sprint's Clearline (TM) for example) uses a
predefined path that will normally go over a given route.  This route
is known by the network engineers, and is available to the customer
(most small customers really don't care as long as the circuit works).
Network engineering can also give you the end to end delay time which
I suspect is really what you want.


John D. Gretzinger    |Opinions expressed are mine and only mine.
Network Engineer    |Facts are my opinions, don't blame me if
Sprint            |your facts don't match mine.
+1.310.797.1187        |

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:22:18 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Christian Weisgerber)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Information Needed on Using US Phones in Germany


In <[e-mail]> was written:

> Does anyone have any information about the compatibility/legality of
> using U.S. telephones, modems and FAX machines in Germany.  I remember
> years back when you couldn't buy anything except a Ma Bell phone in
> the U.S. and thought the German PTT was still the same.

Not quite so. There isn't a "PTT" any longer as postal and telecom
services have been separated. And you can legally connect any device
to the PSTN that is approved by the BZT, which is a federal agency.

Unfortunately you're not likely to find a device outside Germany that
features BZT approval and even over here approved phones/modems/etc.
are significantly more expensive than non-approved devices.

> I have a German telephone (pulse) which works great here in the U.S.,
> but it didn't have an RJ-11 or RJ-45 type jack.  I know nothing about
> the ring voltage and such other things.

Actual specs for line/ring voltage are slightly different, I guess,
but perfectly compatible in practice. I suggest you do as the natives
do and don't worry too much about approval. Your phones/modems/FAX/
answering machines will work fine over here and Telekom themselves
don't really care what you connect to their lines if doesn't do any
harm -- FCC approved devices are okay, power lines aren't :-) (The fact
that all my phones feature approval is a mere coincidence, my modems
on the other hand ...)

Adapters from RJ11 jacks to one of the various formats employed over
here are readily available. Tone dialing is the same if available,
pulse dialing works fine with both American and British make/break
ratios.  BUSY detection doesn't work with "analog" (EMD) switches
(~60%).

Oh, it should be obvious, but maybe it isn't: the above said is *not*
valid for cordless phones. Don't use foreign cordless phones in
Germany.  You're likely to interfere with other wireless services and
can get yourself a *lot* of trouble. E.g. Berlin Airport wasn't very
happy about people chatting on their frequencies.


Christian 'naddy' Weisgerber, Germany   [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 10:40 GMT
From: Christopher Zguris <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: ADAD Suggestions Please


HELLO DIRECT (800-444-3556) offers a product called Phone Tree, it is
a computerized system that will call up to 1000 people. From what the
ad says, it will call back busy numbers and request that callers press
9 to confirm delivery. Evidently, it also works with answering
machines- it waits for the beep then delivers its message! They have a
standalone version with a keyboard on it for $499 and a version that
is accessed by computer for $699.


Christopher Zguris     [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Hofmann)
Subject: Re: Dialing Plan Questions
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 19:32:27 PDT


Carl Moore wrote to me:

> I am merely checking the list of country codes.  Malawi is 265, not 365
> (correction should be made to your message in the telecom archives?).

Right you are.  I *knew* I'd learn something :->

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 11:22 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Impairment Levels on T1 Carriers


[e-mail] (Albert Chau) writes:

> Does anybody know of any studies that investigated the performance of
> T1 carriers?  I'd like  to  know what  are typical BERs, frequency of
> slips, jitter induced errors, etc.

I don't know of any studies per se, but my experience has been that --
all else being equal -- they're pretty much the same (I've used AT&T,
MCI, & Wiltel, so I speak only of those). I have several T1s for which
I closely monitor all of the ESF stats (framing losses, CRC6 errors,
frame bit error, bipolar violations, frame slips).  When they're all
healthy, they're pretty much error-free -- literally -- independent of
vendor.  One span, however, which has a microwave segment in it, has a
slightly higher occurence of errors. It's trivial and non
service-affecting, so I don't worry about it, as long as the rate is
low and consistent.

Frankly, I think the bigger issue is not so much error rate as health
of the circuit, and the service you get from the vendor (overall, but
particularily when you have problems).

They're an easily ranked 1-2-3, as far as I'm concerned. I realize
this might rankle some purists, but AT&T comes up last in that
category, followed by Wiltel, with MCI on top.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #488
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #489

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 07:03:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 489

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (C. Weisgerber)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Rahul Dhesi)
    Re: Cellular Propagation Simulator (Roger V. Thompson)
    Re: Has Power Company Broken Telco Monopoly on the "Last Mile"? (J Hayward)
    Re: What Happens When ANI is NOT Delivered? (Al Varney)
    Re: Natwick 911 Drama (Gerry George)
    Re: Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls? (Mike Berger)
    Re: International Toll-Free Standard Code (Dan Sahlin)
    Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted (John Rice)

                     ----------------------
TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively --
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 00:15:58 +0200
From: [e-mail] (Christian Weisgerber)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


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

> Recently, I noticed the pattern of using __0 (where the "__" can be
> any number of digits) as the main number, with __xx (or even __xxx?)
> being the extension for the fax line.  In the message I am responding
> to, I have noticed this pattern in:

>      +49 6131 XXX 450 voice
>      +49 6131 XXX 4555 fax

This is the usual way with corporate PBXes. -0 gets you the corporate
operator, -x{x} gets you a specific extension.

Usually you call a company at -0 and state your concern. You'll then
be connected to the person in charge, who'll give you his/her
extension number if there's a potential interest to call again.

This convention is so natural to me that it took some time until I
realized that North Americans, who are used to their rigid numbering
plan, must find it strange.

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

> I suspect that no one has yet raised this point because this point has
> only recently appeared with the introduction of 11-digit national
> significant numbers in Germany.  Frankly, I don't know why Telekom
> (DBT) has assigned 11 digit NSNs, unless they're unable to expand the
> codespace any other way (perhaps due to the capabilities, or lack
> thereof, of the equipment in the eastern portion of the country?)
> Anyone from Telekom or anyone in Germany able to shed any light on
> this?

I'm not from Telekom, however, I'm very surprised about the claim
above.

I'm not aware that there are any 11-digit (national significant)
numbers in Germany. According to Telekom literature they certainly
stick to CCITT/ITU-T recommendation E.163.

In fact, until recently phone number over here had a real life maximum
of nine digits. Pressure to use all ten digits not long ago only
appeared in larger cities and with the introduction of ISDN, which
 -- at least with the national 1TR6 D-channel protocol -- allocates a
full digit for explicitly specifying any of the up to eight devices
connected to the S0 bus.

I haven't seen any phone numbers longer than e.g. that of my ISDN line:

  +49.621.587046.0        (country code/city/my number/ISDN device)

which already causes some local people to frown.

Also, I don't see any *need* yet for Telekom to assign eleven-digit
numbers.  In Western Germany local numbers starting with 9 have
traditionally been reserved and have, along with ten-digit numbers,
only recently come into use. Phone numbers in Eastern Germany have
kind of an extra digit because after Reunification basically all the
old numbers were kept, just prefixed by 3, however, they have much
fewer installed lines over there and simply can't satisfy the current
demand for new ones.  So the numbering plan *is* tight but reserves
should be plenty to carry us through to 1996.

If you know of a supposedly eleven-digit number in Germany, try
calling it omitting the last digit. There are a few people around who
think they can produce a cute looking number by adding a superfluous
digit.  (Telekom themselves have done that.) In any case I'd be very
interested to hear of a eleven-digit number -- I'm *very* reluctant to
believe that there's such a thing without having verified it myself.

> So, 12 was once the maximum required, but then came the ISDN era ...
> Therefore, +49 6131 XXX 4555 must be an ISDN era number!  The
> Administrations had better get busy expanding their registers to
> cater.

To clarify: +49 6131 XXX 4555 is *not a legal number* in Germany as
far as I am concerned. I may err. Probably not.  We are well into the
ISDN era here, but phone number still conform to E.163 and will
continue to do so until time T.

Could the person who brought this up please send me the full number
for local verification?


Christian 'naddy' Weisgerber, Germany    [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 01:29:25 -0700
From: Rahul Dhesi <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck


This is the era of many megabytes of main memory and gigabytes of
virtual memory in low-end computer equipment.  Anybody who writes
computer software is used to allocating much more than 12 bytes of
memory at a time.

So why is so much telephone equipment limited to only 12 digits at a
time?

Who is writing this broken telecom software?  Is it some guy that
hard-coded five digits for zip codes at one time and got fired when
nine-digit zip codes came along?  Has some unsuspecting telephone company
now hired him to write switching software?  Did they not make sure
that any fixed-size data structures depend on defined constants, so
that a single change and recompile would allow longer fields to be
supported?  Does telephone switching equipment not have the ability to
have its software upgraded via a telephone call?  Do telephone
switching standards not allow variable-length fields?

Inquiring minds want to know why the telephone industry is now dealing
with problems that we TRS-80 programmers figured out how to solve
decades ago.


Rahul Dhesi <[e-mail]>    also:  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Roger V. Thompson)
Subject: Re: Cellular Propagation Simulator
Date: 19 Jul 1993 13:35:26 GMT
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources Inc.


In article <[e-mail]> Rodney Alan Walker
<[e-mail]> writes:

> Is anyone on the network aware of a software package that simulates
> the cellular radio environment? Basically it provides signal strengths
> at different geographic locations in relation to the cell transmission
> site, depending on different terrain models and atmospheric
> conditions.

> I have not heard of any software for this, but I would find it
> extremely useful. Can anyone help?

Cellular propagation software is available from a number of sources.

Each of the major cellular system vendors -- AT&T and Ericsson for
example -- have this type of software.  Other major players in the
area that I'm familiar with are LCC, CNet, Comsearch, and Mobile
Systems International. All of these firms provide software and
services for cellular system radio design domestically and
internationally.

The software and services are complex and expensive. A single cell
site evaluation might cost $500 to $1000 US.  This is for a run in the
provider's shop or on a system you might install.  System requirements
today are moving toward the Sun workstation environment and away from
older systems using computers of the microvax sort.

You don't even want to know how much a full system evaluation, like
that for a new cellular build, will cost.


Roger V. Thompson, P.E.                         |ARS AD5T
Southwestern Bell Technology Resources, Inc.    |314-529-7847 (Office)
550 Maryville Centre Dr.                        |314-529-7674 (Fax)
St. Louis, MO  63141                            |[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hayward)
Subject: Re: Has Power Company Broken Telco Monopoly on the "Last Mile"?
Date: 19 Jul 93 07:05:08 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas


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

> Just when I was convinced that the means of bringing datacom to the
> consumer would be an inevitable battle between two corporate monopoly
> giants -- the BOCs and the Cable Industry -- another monopoly joins in --
> the Power Company!

> The Spread Spectrum Carrier by Intellon Corporation has provided
> General Electric Meter and Control with technology that enables
> electric meters to send and receive data over the same AC power lines
> that provide electricity. Spread Spectrum Carrier was developed to
> provide low cost, high-speed, high-reliability communications over
> noisy power lines and radio frequencies.

This idea is not unique.  I have in front of me a packet describing
"Customer Choice 2000" from Entergy Corporation and First Pacific
Networks.  CC2000 is described as a broadband based 2-way system to be
installed by the electric utility to do demand side management using
an energy management system called PowerView.

The interesting feature is not the technology they propose, but the
idea that the potential benefit from DSM can provide the economic
justification for installation of a complete modern high speed two way
network to the home.  If this single application can pay for the
infrastructure then the rest of the home communication market can ride
along just about for free.


Jeff Hayward

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 04:14:08 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: What Happens When ANI is NOT Delivered?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Colin Tuttle) writes:

> There has been some talk recently about the 800 number that returns
> ANI and is an ad for the 1-900-STOPPER service.  My question is what
> about phone numbers that don't return ANI?

> We have numerous 800 numbers that come in on our T-1 line from within
> the State of Oklahoma.  Every month we get many that are listed on the
> bill as the area code, prefix, and then 0000 as the suffix.  Obviously
> the true number is not reported to our long distance carrier.  Many of
> these are from small phone companies (non S.W. Bell) in rural areas of
> the state.

> Now, I wonder what would happen if one of these people called the 800
> number that demonstrated ANI.  Would it give the area code, prefix and
> then 0000 as the last four digits?

   Don't know -- depends on how the number is delivered in "real-time"
 and whether there is a means to indicate "no billing number".

> Now, more importantly what would happen if these people called the 900
> number advertised ... or any 900 number, for that matter.  Since the IP
> doesn't receive the actual phone number of the caller, would the caller
> be connected, or would they be connected and then not be charged?

   The same thing would happen as happens when these folks dial any
"toll" call -- an operator (either local ONI or an IXC operator) would
ask the caller to identify their calling number.  (My faulty memory
thinks the usual phrase was "Number please" when you dialed such a
call.)  The usual reason for no ANI is the caller is on a multi-party
(8-party, rural party) line; there is no standard means to identify
the individual calling telephone on these lines.

> There must be many areas of the country that have this situation.  Do
> they get free 900 service, or are they barred from using these
> "services?"

   Depends -- if the LEC operator system makes the identification and
sends the ANI to the IXC or 900 IP as a billing number, the identified
number probably gets the bll.  If no local ONI is performed, the IXC
instead gets an indication of "multi-party" on the call (in place of
the ANI number) and deals with that on a per-IXC basis.

   And while there are still "many areas" with multi-party service,
there aren't a lot of folks left with such a service.


Disclaimer:  I don't work for the long-distance part of AT&T, nor
             do I know anything about their 900 billing practices.

Al Varney

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

From: [e-mail] (Gerry George)
Subject: Re: Natwick 911 Drama
Date: 19 Jul 1993 00:17:21 GMT
Organization: Boston University
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In response to a story involving five-year olds and emergency
services, there followed:

> [Moderator's Note: Here in Chicago, if that dispatcher had been
> employed by Chicago Emergency -- our 911 service which handles police,
> fire and paramedic calls -- the dispatcher would have been suspended on
> the spot and put in line for disciplinary proceedings and possible dis-
> charge from employment. This is considered an extremely sensitive area
> of employment. Yes, they get a large number of calls which rightfully
> should not go to 911 (we here believe 911 should be used *only* in
> instances of dire emergency -- when intervention by authorities is
> required immediatly); and some are downright fraud calls designed to
> cause confusion and disruption. None the less, all receive responses.
> Callers giving false alarms are dealt with accordingly (they are usu-
> ally written off as 'mistaken citizen attempting to help' unless the
> citizen is obviously doing it on purpose), but we do not ignore cries
> of help from children on the premise that some children were never
> taught or choose to ignore the rule that one does not play pranks on
> emergency services.  PAT]

I once had the need to report a "threatening" phone call (I knew who
the caller was, and wanted to file an official complaint).  I looked
up the local police station in the directory (since I do not know how
those procedures work) and mentioned that I wanted to make a report on
a harassing phone call (Boston, MA).  I was instructed to call 911!!!
I politely told the woman on the other end that it was not an
emergency, I simply wanted to file a complaint.  She said that there
was no way for them to take a report unledd I went through 911.  I
left it at that, and hung up in frustration, thinking that this was a
sure fire way to mess up a perfectly good emergency response system.

Why would the powers that be see it fit to route *all* calls through
to 911???


Gerry George     School of Management, Boston Univ.
Internet: [e-mail]   HomeNet: [e-mail]
Compu$erve: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: We get the very same static here from certain
police officers: call 911 to report it!  Yet the official rule is NOT
to use 911 *except* when intervention is required immediatly. When you
must have police, firefighers or paramedics at the location *now*,
then a call to 911 is indicated. To report a stolen car, a burglary
of your home while you were away (there is no immediate danger to your
life or property now -- there may have been an hour ago), then we are
to call 312-PIG-4000. If they won't take the report on their seven-
digit administrative number, then I guess you call 911 and continue to
abuse the emergency number like everyone else.

It is curious, BTW, how our Police Department got the telephone prefix
'PIG' (312-744): It was a joke thought up by a telco employee back in
the late 1960's -- when police officers were frequently referred to as
'pigs' here in the USA during the discontentment over Viet Nam and life
in general. For sixty years previously, City Hall had been RANdolph 8000
and the Police Department was WABash 4747 for non-emergencies. We dialed
POLice(5)-1313 or FIRe(7)-1313 for emergencies. The city put in a new
centrex system about 25 years ago. A 'radical' employed by IBT at the
time was in charge of those things, and he assigned 744, keeping it as
his own private joke for a few years. But then like any such witty act,
it was hard to keep to himself and word started creeping around: to
reach any certain pig, just dial PIG and the pig's four digit extension.
Now the city has two centrexes, 312-744 and 312-747.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mike Berger)
Subject: Re: Do Operators Interrupt Modem Calls?
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 20:19:48 GMT
Organization: U of Il. School of Life Sciences


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Anthony
Wallis) wrote:

> Today I was logged on to a remote computer via modem for three hours.
> A friend needed to contact me, and getting repeated busy signals,
> asked an operator for an "emergency" interrupt.  The operator said
> there was "static" on the line and did I "have a computer"?

I guess you had a smart operator.  Somebody asked the operator to
interrupt my (modem) call -- she indicated that there was "just static"
on the line so she cut off the call toward the end of a very large
file transfer.

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan Sahlin)
Subject: Re: International Toll-Free Standard Code
Organization: SICS, Swedish Inst. of Computer Science
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 11:48:29 GMT


Richard Cox wrote:

> There is even talk of 00800 (011800 from the USA) numbers for
> international freephone.

When I was in Hungary a couple of weeks ago I noticed something very
strange.  It seemed as if they had already introduced those special
country numbers for freephone calls.

The numbers for "Sverige (Sweden) direkt" from Hungary are 00 800
11386 and 00 800 04611.  But the international prefix in Hungary is
00.  So they seem to assume that no country will ever get code 800,
and they use this country code for international freephone calls.

In most other countries, as far as I know, the national freephone
"area code" is also used for international freephone calls.  As these
codes are different in almost all countries, I have to bring a long
list of numbers when I go abroad in order to call "Sverige Direkt"
from abroad.

In some countries, however, the national freephone area code is not
used for international calls.  Here are some numbers where it seems as
if they have have "stolen" an unassigned country code.  I doubt that
is in accordance with international agreements.

    Country         Sverige Direkt  Int. prefix   "stolen" country code

    Brasil          0008046             00            0
    Chile           000 346             00            0
    France          19 0046             19            0
    Hungary         00 800 11386        00            800
    Indonesia       0080146             00            801
    New Zealand     000946              00            0
    Turkey          99800461177         99            800

For example, in Brasil the number for "Sverige Direkt" is 0008046, and
as their international prefix is 00, they seem to assume that country
code 0 will not be assigned to anything.

By the way, the freephone area code in Sweden is 020.  Area code 08 is
used for Stockholm.  Since no telephone numbers start with 00, we
could actually switch to using 0800.  I have not heard about any such
plans.

One more thing about strange Hungarian telephone numbers.  In Hungary
I noticed in an ad that you could dial 00 1 400 4908989 to get your
horoscope.  As the ad was in Hungarian, I guess the number did not
lead to North America, and, as far as I know, there is no country code
400 in North America.  It seems Hungarian telecom is trapping these
"impossible" numbers and use them locally for their "900" service. (In
Sweden "900" numbers start with 071 ...)


Dan Sahlin,  Sweden

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: NPA Locator Shareware Program Wanted
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 10:35:33 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail].
edu (Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs) writes:

> I'm a recent subscriber to TELECOM Digest.  Can someone point me to
> this shareware program for searching for telephone prefixes?

I have on my BBS a Shareware program named NPA. NPA is a comprehensive
area code and prefix locator. NPA contains information for over 20,000
cities in the United States and Canada. The information includes:

    Area code (NPA)
    state in USA or province in Canada
    local exchange or prefix (NXX)
    the city that NXX belongs to
    county that city resides in
    population of county
    prevalent zip code within NXX
    central office latitude and longitude of record for NXX (plus
        a feature for instantly calculating milage between NXXx)

You can search based on State, NPA, city, NXX and/or zip code.

The program is from :
            The PC Consultant
            P.O. Box 42086
            Houston Tx 77242-2086
            713-826-2629 (voice mail)
            CIS 73670,1164

The program database is updated regularly (the version I have is
current to the end of March 1993).

You can d/l it from me if you wish at 708-438-5065 (Alpine Village
BBS) in my Files Area -- It's currently in the New Files UPload area --
the file name is NPA931.ZIP. Fill out the online registration and
you'll be upgraded sufficiently to d/l the 634k file on the first
call. I suggest hi-speed (9600b or 14,4k) since it's a 'big' program,
even zipped.


John Rice        K9IJ     |  "Did I say that ?" I must have, but It was
                          |   MY opinion only, no one else's...Especially
                          |   Not my Employer's....
[e-mail]     |   Purveyor of Miracles,Magic and Sleight-of-hand

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #489
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #490

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 08:11:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 490

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up! (Seng-Poh Lee)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Chuck Forsberg)
    Re: Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable (John Nagle)
    Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple? (Fred R. Goldstein)
    Re: Does This Device Exist? (Floyd Davidson)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Joel Upchurch)
    Re: Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission (John Boteler)
    Re: Some More Historical Questions (Mark A. Terribile)
    Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse? (Jim DePorter)
    Re: Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations (Brendan O'Mara)
    Re: What's Going on With Payphone 2000? (John R. Levine)
    Re: The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System (Ed Greenberg)
    Re: DID Chip? (Steve Forrette)
    Re: Escort Digital Cordless Telephone (Derek Strembicke)
    Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada? (Monty Solomon)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 21:48:17 -0400
From: Seng-Poh Lee <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up!
Organization: Public Domain Inc.


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

> Well, almost. Here's the current error you receive when you mail to a
> [e-mail]:

>   Subject: Returned mail: User unknown
>   Status: OR

>    ----- Transcript of session follows -----
> While talking to mail.prodigy.com:
> >>> RCPT To:<[e-mail]>
> <<< 550 Invalid UserId.  The Prodigy member id to which this message was sent
> is either non-existent or not enrolled for InterNet messages
> 550 [e-mail]... User unknown

As a follow up, after I sent this e-mail, I logged onto Prodigy and
found an e-mail message from the "Postmaster" to this effect:

"An attempt was made to deliver mail from [e-mail] but since
you are not signed up for Internet services, it could not be
delivered. "

The message also said to jump to the Internet area, at which point it
informed me that the Internet gateway was under beta with some users.
Information gathered from elsewhere indicate that Prodigy is going to
charge $0.15 per 3K of each and every message. Seems a little cheap,
since they currently charge, what, $0.25 per internal e-mail, over
30/month.


Seng-Poh Lee    <[e-mail]>


[Moderator's Note: Since each issue of this Digest runs 21-24 K of
text, that's 'merely' $1.05 - $1.20 per issue for Prodigy people.
I think I'll make Prodigy cut me in for some percentage of it!  :)
Do they honestly think anyone on their service will be able to afford
to be part of any mailing list originating on the Internet?  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Organization: Omen Technology INC, Portland Rain Forest
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 02:52:47 GMT


Most of my radios will tune up to 1710 kHz, including the radio in my
1990 Nissan and a recently purchased Sony receiver.

My ITT cordless phone uses FM on 1750 kHz, so it's safe until the FCC
decides to expand AM above 1710 kHz.  I bought the phone used for $40,
and the 1750 kHz base signal seems less susceptible to computer RFI
than some other phones I've played with.

When the expansion band stations start up, phones tuned to 1610-1710
will have to be retuned or their range will be severely diminished.


Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX          ...!tektronix!reed!omen!caf
Author of YMODEM, ZMODEM, Professional-YAM, ZCOMM, and DSZ
  Omen Technology Inc    "The High Reliability Software"
17505-V NW Sauvie IS RD   Portland OR 97231   503-621-3406


[Moderator's Note: According to my friend William Pfieffer, Moderator
of the rec.radio.broadcasting newsgroup, there *are already* some
broacast stations operating up there licensed by the FCC. Does anyone
know who they are?  That was news to me.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 03:11:41 GMT


[e-mail] (Marc SCHAEFER) writes:

> I have a computer I would want to link to another computer which is
> approximately 50 _meters_ away. There is no transfer problems at that
> distance (checked by connecting two ports via 50 meter cable on the
> same computer). However it may be possible that the 220V connection is
> not the same on the two houses. So what could be the danger of
> connecting the pins 2,3,7 (7 is signal ground, not protective ground)
> at that distance ?

     The proper solution to this is called a "limited distance modem".
These are devices designed to work over a four-wire hard-wired
connection, rather than a phone line.  These give you isolation, and
will work even if there are ground voltage differentials between the
two ends.  Anybody know a cheap source for these?

     From a safety point of view, you may have electrical code
problems running RS-232 outdoors.  You really should have lightning
protection whenever a wire enters a house.  That's what the telco's
"protector" on the outside of the house does.

     Most computers tie signal ground to protective ground, and the
result of connecting two machines far apart is thus a ground loop.
This can be a real problem if you have any significant ground voltage
between the two houses.  You can check this; just run a wire from one
house to the other, and ground it to an outlet ground at one end.  At
the other end, use an AC voltmeter to read the voltage to an outlet
ground at the other end.  Try this with lots of energy-consuming
appliances on.  You may well see a few volts of AC.  If you do, a
direct connection probably isn't going to work consistently.  If you
experience lights dimming when a heavy load comes on, there's a good
chance ground is noisy.  If you have a two-wire system, where ground
and neutral are one, don't even try.


John Nagle

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

From: [e-mail] (Fred R. Goldstein)
Subject: Re: ADSL Hitched to ISDN: The Happy Couple?
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 03:22:27 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> Tyson=Macaulay%DTP%DGCP=
HQ=[e-mail] writes:

>    Now to the point.  I have heard from a manager at Northern Telecom
> that they are flirting with the idea of marrying ISDN to ADSL
> (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop), thus retaining the signalling
> standard that has been so pain-stakingly developed for ISDN, but
> vastly increasing the transport capacity.  ADSL-1 can provide 1.544
> Mbps over unshielded twisted pair (UTP), while ADSL-2 will move above
> 3 Mbps and ADSL-3 can jam up to 6 Mbps over UTP.  Now we are talking a
> good base for multimedia applications to the home!  Now we are talking
> a type of access that will make networks count to citizens in the
> future.

 From what I've seen of ADSL, it is designed (specifically) to coexist
with ISDN BRI (or BRA as it's called in Canada :-) ).  While the 1.544
(or higher) Mbps bandwidth is monodirectional, there's room for 2B+D
bidirectionally.

This is based on the way the spectrum on the line is allocated.  BRI
concentrates its energy around 40 kHz.  ADSL has its energy over 100
kHz, so they don't interfere.  You can even run POTS on the line,
since its energy is below 4 kHz.


Fred R. Goldstein    [e-mail]
Opinions are mine alone; sharing requires permission

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

From: [e-mail] (Floyd Davidson)
Subject: Re: Does This Device Exist?
Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 06:10:13 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jack
Decker) writes:

> This is mostly a curiosity question, but could have some practical
> applications.

> What I am wondering is if anyone makes a device that comes in two
> parts, and that passes DC signalling and ringing through a "wet" line.
> That's probably a confusing description; maybe a diagram will help:

>  ________         _____                    _____
> |_|----|_|       | "A" |                  | "B" |         To
>    /  \          |UNIT |==================|UNIT |======> Telco
>   /____\=========|_____|  ("wet" circuit) |_____|        or PBX
>    CPE                                                   line

> The idea is, to the CPE (be it a "plain old telephone set" or
> something else), the "A" and "B" units aren't there ... any outward
> rotary dialing or hookswitch flashing will be processed normally,
> while any incoming ring signal from the telco will be passed through
> to the CPE.  Ideally, the "A" and "B" units should provide sufficient
> amplification so that to the CPE, the volume level is the same as if
> it were actually connected to the line parallel to the "B" unit.

Unit "A" is a FXS (for Foreign eXchange Station), and Unit "B" is a
FXO (Foreign eXchange Office) equipment, card, or package.

They won't do any of the other fancier things you had in mind like
auto dial etc.  But the "wet" circuit can be any standard voice grade
carrier channel from here to anywhere.  There are analog versions and
there are digital versions made by almost every manufacturer of CO
equipment.



[e-mail]  A guest on the Institute of Marine Science computer
Salcha, Alaska        system at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

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

Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
From: upchrch![e-mail] (Joel Upchurch)
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 20:21:34 EDT
Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL


[e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck) writes:

> Hmmm spoken by a true Infrastucture manufacturer (grin).  Mobile and
> portable phones use surface mount technologies, and replacing the
> EPROMS would probably cost more than the phone is worth. Even if this
> were possible, it would take YEARS to get all the old ones off the
> street.

Is it just me or does surface mounting the firmware sound really dumb?
Most boards I've seen the ROM's will be socketed even if everything
else is surface mounted. I'm not an EE, but I'd think that if I had to
surface mount the ROM I'd use an EEPROM and design it so I could
reprogram it in place. I doubt that someone is going to like hearing
that their $1,000 phone's problem can't be fixed because the firmware
can't be updated. Especially when a lot of the people that own them
are lawyers that drop a class action suit on you so fast your head
would spin.


(If your mail bounces use the address below.)
Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809
[e-mail] {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Boteler)
Subject: Re: Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission
Date: 19 Jul 1993 03:13:00 -0400
Organization: Express Access Public Access UNIX, Greenbelt, Maryland USA


TELECOM Moderator <telecom> writes:

> A man in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, IL accused of transmitting
> X-rated pictures to a 12-year-old boy via his computer bulletin board

> According to the obscenity portion of the complaint, the boy told his
> mother that he had been connected to the BBS and and downloaded files
> depicting people engaged in various sexual acts. His mother then
> notified the police.

At which point she should have whacked the kid's ass but good, if she
was so concerned about his well being.

I am constantly amazed at how it is everybody's responsibility but the
parents' to supervise children!


[e-mail] (John Boteler)


[Moderator's Note: And that would be an excellent way to teach the
child he should not trust his parents with questions or problems he is
having. If he had come home and said someone had (tried to) sexually
assault him, do you think she should have 'whacked his ass' then also?
Now we don't have the whole story here by any means, but the report is
*he told his mother* what happened; NOT that he said nothing and she
found a bunch of 'dirty pictures' hidden away in his room. Had it been
the latter, I might agree with you, but I will give him the benefit of
the doubt that he accidentally unloaded this stuff from the BBS and
was open enough in his relationship with his parents to tell them
about it. If that is the case, his mother probably felt she *was*
properly supervising her child by notifying the police of the 'crime'
alleged to have occurred. On the other hand, it is quite possible the
boy did misrepresent himself to the sysop of the BBS. That does not
excuse the sysop for not making a better effort to voice-verify his
users, but it certainly mitigates the sysop's liability. There is a
lot not yet clearly understood in this case, but I don't think a
response of 'whacking his ass' would be appropriate if he told his
mother in a forthright way what happened. Where the sysop is going to
have a hassle is explaining away those copyrighted pornographs which
belonged to Playboy Enterprises. They'll sue him for sure!   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Some More Historical Questions
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 01:13:32 GMT


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

> Cast your minds back to the summer of 1969, those of you who are old
> enough ...  And those of you who are not ... imagine the hush in millions
> of homes as the first pictures come back from the moon.  ... Imagine
> [the] view of a ladder, the black shape ... changing as the hatch is
> opened, the clumsy white form stepping backwards ...

> [Moderator's Note: ...  At the time, I had a part-time job running the
> switchboard at the South Shore Country Club weekend evenings. Normally
> that three-position board was ... busy all the time; that night it was
> dead. Everyone ... was ... watching the 'moon walk' .... And not a peep
> from anyone. Dead silence with their eyes glued on the picture. ... Do
> you recall the twenty minutes or so of totally dead audio on CBS?  Just
> silence as the camera followed those guys around, ...

Does anyone have any CO or LD stats from that Friday night/Saturday
morning?  How many calls weren't made during the telecast?  And how
many were made just afterwards?

I remember how the {NY Times}, whose front page is designed with an
eye towards posterity, ran the largest type they have ever used --
larger than for VE or VJ day.  They devoted virtually the whole front
page to the headline and photo -- perhaps the only time they've done it.
I _wish_ I'd gotten a copy.  (According to _The History of Manned
Space Flight_, the NYT ran almost a million copies -- and reran the
whole issue the next day.)


(This man's opinions are his own.)
 From mole-end    Mark Terribile
[e-mail], Somewhere in Matawan, NJ


[Moderator's Note: It was Sunday night about 8-9 PM here in the USA;
during the overnight/early morning hours Monday morning in the UK and
Soviet Union and Monday noon in Australia. The papers here ran a big
full page picture on Monday also, showing the guys installing the US
flag on the moon. Do you remember how on all the television stations
for the next two or three months whenever the station had 30 seconds
or so of time to fill before a station-ID or after a program ended
they would show that segment on the screen with 'America the Beautiful'
playing in the background ... just thirty seconds or so ... enough to
make sure no one forgot ... as if you ever could.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim DePorter)
Subject: Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse?
Organization: Supercomputer System Division, Intel
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 01:29:22 GMT


[e-mail] (Mike King) writes:

> She could also hang up to disconnect an abusive caller; she simply
> called back to continue her shift.

I'm sorry, but could someone explain to me what a caller could say to
be abusive on a phone sex line at $?? per minute?

I've never called one, so I have no idea what a *normal* call is like,
and I'm not really interested, it just seemed weird to hear there
could be abusive callers to a phone sex line ...


jimd

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

From: [e-mail] (Jack the Ripper)
Subject: Re: Phone Noises, Frequencies and Durations
Date: 19 Jul 1993 07:18:19 GMT
Organization: CS Outreach Services, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA


Steve Forrette ([e-mail]) wrote:

> For the standard calling card "bong," there is a particular Bellcore
> standard.  I used something that was easiest for me to implement, and
> it sounds quite close to the real thing.  I use 60ms of "#" tone
> (941Hz and 1477Hz), followed by a decaying dialtone sound that lasts
> one second, with the amplitude at full volume at the beginning of the
> second, ramping down linearly to 0 amplitude at the end of the second.

What kind of EQUIPMENT do you guys use for all your tone generations?


Brendan O'Mara          [e-mail]

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

Date: Sun, 18 Jul 93 20:03 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: What's Going on With Payphone 2000?
Organization: I.E.C.C.


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

>[terminals in AT&T Payphone 2000 phones don't work]

It was my impression that the problem with the PP2000 terminals was
that AT&T didn't have a proper tariff for the service.

In ancient days, this wasn't a problem.  Back in about 1982 in the
Eastern Airlines (I said this was ancient) terminal at Logan airport
there was an experimental pay terminal installed by the local telco,
New England Tel.  It was a coinless payphone with a screen and a
membrane keyboard in a very sturdy floor-standing case.  Someone had
chained a chair to it.  It worked OK when I used it to call Telenet's
800 number to log into a computer in Los Angeles and check my mail at
1200 bps.  I never saw anyone else use it.

There was no charge beyond that for the call; like the PP2000 it
suffered from being rather expensive to use if the number you want to
call could be called for a dime if the phone only had a coin slot.
Yes, I realize the problems with putting a coin slot on a non-voice
phone, but it would be nice anyway.


Regards,

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

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Greenberg)
Subject: Re: The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 01:04:32 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Patrick Goebel) writes:

> Please keep in mind that money is currently not an issue, so anything
> goes.  If you have any ideas how I might go about putting together
> such a system, please give me a shout.

I was considering writing a serious reply to this, and helping to
envision such a system until I reached the bottom paragraph and lost
interest.

Any idea that comes with the above will obviously not see the light of
day commercially, and if this Stanford student (or maybe faculty
menber, I don't know) is learning to design systems on the basis of
"money is not an issue" and "anything goes" he's getting quite a
useless education for the real world.

I hate to say it, but money is always an issue.  THe development of a
product will compete with every other project in the same institution
for a limited r&d budget.  There will be strong pull from three
directions, to produce a product with the cheapest cost, greatest
feature set and largest margins possible.  Equipment cost, software
cost, development cost, end user cost, airtime cost to the end user,
all will influence the project.

I was really excited when I read this post, but this is just
speculation, unless a serious approach to the economics of the project
is taken.

Sorry to be so negative.  I've been in budget meetings all week,
trying to justify costs of a project.  It's frustrating, when one
realizes that there's more to a project than the engineering.


Ed Greenberg           [e-mail]        Ham Radio: KM6CG

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

From: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)
Subject: Re: DID Chip?
Date: 19 Jul 1993 02:56:55 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc.
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Steve Forrette)


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Fred
R. Goldstein) writes:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Seth B
> Rothenberg) writes:

>> Having resolved that there's no cheaper substitute for DID service, I
>> would like to ask if there is anyone who knows where I could find out
>> if there is a chip that supports DID?

> DID is a service delivered by the central office.  Basically, the
> phone company sells you a whole heap of numbers for a price, and
> prefaces each incoming call with the last few digits, either pulsed or
> toned.

> Since it's the numbers you're buying from their owner (phone company),
> 'tain't nuttin' you can do with any chip to get them elsewhere.

Seth was not entirely off base.  Although it is true that you must
purchase DID service from the telco, you also need special equipment
on your end.  The numbers are indeed delivered to you via pulse or
inband tone, but it is not done on standard loop-start lines.  The
telco needs to you to support 'DID trunk' lines.  DID is set up so
that you are in effect the terminating CO for the call.  This means
that you must provide the telco with the -48V on the line, instead of
the other way around.  You must reverse the DC polarity to indicate
when you want to supervise the call.  There are several other aspects
to this protocol.  So, you can't just do something like hook up a
modem that will decode DTMF and expect to get DID from the telco.  You
need special equipment.

There is stand-alone equipment which converts DID trunks to loop start
trunks for use with standard DTMF-decoding modems, fax cards, or
voicemail cards for PC's.  There are also specialized cards that go
into the PC that do DID directly, but these require special external
power supplies to be hooked up to the cards, as the PC doesn't have
the -48V internally.  Of course, there is more traditional equipment
and PBXs designed for DID use as well.


Steve Forrette, [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Derek Strembicke)
Subject: Re: Escort Digital Cordless Telephone
Organization: University Of Alberta, Edmonton Canada
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1993 23:04:11 -0600


[e-mail] (David I. Dalva) writes:

> Has anybody here had any experience with the new Escort (Cincinnati
> Microwave) digital cordless telephone that lists for $399?  How does
> it compare to the Tropez?

Yes, I too am interested to hear about this phone.  I have read the
ad, but never seen a 'review' of it in any consumer electronics mags.
As I own the Tropez, I am curious why the extra cost (Tropez = $399
Canadian).

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

Date: Mon, 18 Jul 1993 05:46:42 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada?


> A friend in Canada wants to dial 1-800 numbers in the US from Canada
> but most of the time he cannot. I know there used to be a number in
> the US he could call to dial out 1-800 numbers but I forgot it. (I
> don' t even know if it is still running.)

  From: [e-mail]
  Newsgroups: rec.video.satellite
  Subject: 1-800 phone nr from Canada
  Date: 6 Oct 92 09:38:52 -0700

1-800's:

If you want to dial a US 1-800 number there are gateways you can dial
in from. For example in Bellingham, Washington there is the number:

206-xxx-xxxx

You will hear a dial tone then enter the American 1-800, you get
charged to Bellingham, so someone in BC will not see too high a phone
bill.


[Moderator's Note: I blanked out the number above because it is NOT
a 'gateway to reach USA 800 numbers' ... it is the private call
extender of an institution in Washington State!  Oh, I know phreaking
has never bothered *some people* who read this Digest, but I am not
going to print numbers so they can be deliberatly abused.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #490
******************************










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Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 21:00:00 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #491

TELECOM Digest     Mon, 19 Jul 93 21:00:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 491

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Telecom Adventures in the Czech Republic (Richard Budd)
    The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (Ken Jongsma)
    Sprint Instant Foncard (Mike Pollock)
    Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars (Tina Argente)
    Flow Control With Unixware (David Mason)
    What is a "Dumb" Terminal (Mark Hayes)
    ANI and Overseas Calls Question (Georg Schwarz)
    911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama) (Elana Beach)
    AT&T Direct-Connect From Directory Assistance (Carl Moore)
    Want Cheap Analog Data PBX (Joe Van Andel)
    ANI and Billing (Todd Lesser)
    Big Rivers (Erik A. Speckman)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 17:38:58 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: TELECOM Adventures in the Czech Republic
Organization: CSAV UTIA


You don't have to travel far from Prague to discover that telecommuni-
cations in the Czech Republic have a long distance (pardon the pun) to go.

The past two weeks were spent at a hotel in Kostelec nad Cernymi Lesi,
about 40 kilometers east of Prague, as a teacher at an English
language camp.  My students were Russian language teachers who
discovered there was little demand for learning Russian after the
Velvet Revolution and are learning to teach English instead.  (Worse
off were those teachers who taught Marx-Lenin idealogy in the high
schools.  In the gymnasium in Prague where I taught, two of them
became computer science teachers.)

There were few private telephones and only one public phone in this
town.  In the hotel where I stayed, calling outside Kostelec involved
asking the reception desk.  The woman at the desk would call an
operator in Prague who would then call the operator of the town you
were trying to call.  Forget using a calling card or even hoping to
get AT&T tone.  The lady said my best chance of reaching the United
States was through the post office across the street which was open
from 8:00 until 11:00AM, took a two hour break for lunch, and then was
open from 1:00 to 3:00PM.

The hotel phone was in a locked booth across from the receptionist
desk.  The woman behind the counter would place the call from a second
phone from a side room in back of desk and when the call came through,
would rush out to the phone booth, unlock the door, and gesture you to
pick up the phone.

The first time I tried the hotel phone, it was to call Prague.  To
telephone 30 kilometers took two tries and the connection was
horrible.  All I heard was this hissing sound and the person on the
other side of the line barely saying something in Czech.  I had to
yell in the telephone to have her hear me.  Need- less to say, it was
not a long conversation.  The cost this one-minute call was Kc9.40.
(About 30 cents.)

I later tried the pay phone down the street with better results.  I
made two calls to Prague and one to Kral'ovsky Chlmec.  I noticed with
the Prague calls that the telephone display would say in English
'connecting to a trunk line'.  I later found out the town had three
trunk lines going out of it.

Later that night, I had to call back to Kral'ovsky Chlmec and tried
the pay phone only to discover that every number was blocked except
emergency numbers and that it would not accept coins.  I have yet to
see a card phone in the Czech Republic outside of the Prague city
limits.  So it was back to the hotel to try to call Slovakia.  The
receptionist was excited about making a call to the former other half
of the country and also took it upon herself to teach me to pronounce
'Kral'ovsky Chlmec' correctly.  You say it KRAL oof skee HA loo mets.
After about five minutes and two operators she got through to my
friend there (who was getting ready to fly to the United States for
one year of study in Philadelphia).  He needed instructions for giving
his flight number and arrival time to the person who was going to meet
him in New York so we were on the telephone for over five minutes.

Once one hangs up, you have to go back to the reception desk while the
receptionist calls the Prague operator who calls the Slovak operator
to find out how much the telephone call was.  You then pay the hotel
receptionist right there.  It was a big surprise to discover for
speaking five times as long to a town over a hundred times farther
away than Prague that it cost LESS THAN double the call to Prague --
Kc18.40 (or 55 cents).

For incoming calls, the operator would tell the receptionist that a
certain person had a call from a certain town.  The family in
Kral'ovsky Chlmec would call me twice more during my time in Kostelec.
The receptionist would come into the classroom, say to me I had a
call, and urge me to rush down to the telephone booth and pick up the
telephone before the operator disconnected the phone.  Of course, she
had to unlock the door to the telephone booth first.

BTW, the pay phone was out for six days.  I noticed it was working the
day before the seminar ended.  You can tell.  There would always be
two or three people standing in line waiting to use it.  I made a
prediction that by the year 2000, I could make a direct-dial telephone
call from Kostelec to New York City from the hotel.  The receptionist
had a good laugh with that one.


Richard Budd

After 7/21/93 please send e-mail to [e-mail]
or use snail mail to Kossuth ut. 69, 077 01 Kral'ovsky Chlmec, SLOVAKIA

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 14:06:08 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance


Just when you were getting tired of every business you've ever dealt
with trying to get you to sign up with their version of a
Visa/Mastercard, along comes affinity long distance.

I received a call last night from someone purporting to be from my
alumni association. I say purporting because it was obvious that I had
been called by one of those call directors we have recently discussed.
The ones that connect you to an agent after it detects you saying
"Hello ..."

Anyway, the agent assured me she didn't want any money. She just
wanted to sign me up for Southern Illinois University long distance. I
said no thanks and hung up.

This must be the latest fad in fund raising. Presumably the alumni
association gets some small percentage as a commission for using their
name and mailing lists.


Kenneth R Jongsma               [e-mail]
Smiths Industries          [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan               [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Actually Ken, 'affinity long distance' has been
around for quite awhile. It is used a lot by non-profit organizations
as a way to bring in extra money. Here at the Digest, telecom affinity
products have been available since early this year with the residuals
used to help pay the production costs involved with this Digest and
newsgroup. I offer a telephone calling card, 1+ service, prepaid debit
card style calling cards, 800 numbers and other products. Since people
use the phone a lot anyway, their use of these products through an
'affinity program' is a painless way to support something they believe
in or enjoy. TELECOM Digest receives residuals on a continuing basis
when readers participate in these programs.  Interested readers are
invited to ask for more details:  [e-mail]    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mike Pollock)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 19:16:54 -0500
Subject: Sprint Instant Foncard


What's with this Sprint Instant Foncard thing?  Apparently it's a
point-of purchase prepaid calling card which you can buy at your local
convenience store.

This is the text of their comic book-looking brochure on the product:

"Introducing The Sprint Instant Foncard(sm):

"You want to make a long-distance phone call ... but you don't have
any change ... you think of the Sprint Instant Foncard(sm) ... With
the Sprint Instant Foncard(sm) you can pay in advance for $5, $10, or
$20 worth of long distance calling.  Just buy it at the counter ... No
credit application necessary.  Use your instant Foncard(sm) to make a
long distance call from any touch-tone phone ...

"To make a call: 1) Dial 800# on the back of card.  2) Enter card
number.  3) Make your call.

"Call anyone, anywhere in the US, Canada and the Caribbean ... Plus over
290 countries and locations.  When your minutes are all used up ... just
throw it away and buy another one.  Nothing could be more convenient.

"It's easy to buy right here.  Just ask your cashier.  Sprint Instant
Foncard(sm) The easy coinless way to call long distance."

While they make a big deal about the card, they don't make a big deal
about the card, they don't make a big deal about the per-minute rate,
which is about 60 cents a minute.  There's no initial minute
surcharge, but 60 cents a minute is quite a bit steeper than a real
Foncard, which has a 60 cent or so surcharge, and around 12-25 cents a
minute, depending on time of day.

Any thoughts?


Mike


[Moderator's Note: There are lots of these things going around now.
The 'official prepaid phone card of the Digest' (what a title!) is one
called 'Talk Ticket'. You buy them from the Digest. My traffic on
these cards is carried by AT&T. The price on these $5, $10 and $20
cards is 45 cents per minute; like the others with no surcharge. You
buy the cards for ten percent off, that is $4.50, $9, or $18. Bigger
quantities get bigger discounts. You can also get ten $2 cards for
$15 which comes out to 39 cents per minute. 60 cents is kind of a
ripoff IMHO. You can purchase Talk Tickets electronically via your
modem and get the operative information -- the serial numbers -- back
the same way if you desire since the Digest is a merchant on the
Electronic Funds Transfer network; or of course you can send a check
in the mail if you prefer, its your choice. You can also be a seller
of the Talk Ticket yourself at a 25 percent profit: $2500 in assorted
ticket denominations for $1875. Keep all the commission or split it
with friends, or establishments you sell to, etc. Send orders to the
Digest office: Telecom Digest / 2241 W. Howard #208 / Chicago IL 60645
or call the office:  312-465-2700.    PAT]

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

Subject: Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 16:18:43 PDT
From: Tina Argente <[e-mail]>


I've been asked to check into the feasibility of installing portable
PC's into a fleet of cars, and having the PC's communicate somehow
with a remote host computer. I think some police departments do
something like this already, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't know
exactly how the communications take place.

Is anyone familiar with how this can be done? Are there wireless
modems readily available for mobile use, or do they use a cellular
phone hookup, or what? Thanks for any help or insights anyone can
offer!

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

From: [e-mail] (David Mason)
Subject: Flow Control With Unixware
Date: 19 Jul 1993 22:14:24 GMT
Organization: Internex Online - Toronto, Canada [phone]


I asked this question on the Unixware mailing list with no success so
far.

We're using Univel Unixware with a Digiboard 16 port intelligent
board. There are 8 Practical Peripherial PM14400FXMT modems and two
USR Dual Standard fax modems (the 16,800 baud models).

I have a few requests for help:

The PP modems are good modems, but they don't appear to support
locking the port speed. Am I missing something or is the manual
inadequate? The people at Digi seem to think they do.

The modems sometimes lose "TR" and have to be turned off then on, or
the system has to be rebooted.

Finally, and most annoyingly of all, Unixwhere has a "slight" glitch -
no support for hardware modem flow control. It's supposed to be there
but doesn't work. In other words CTXSON and RTSXOFF don't work at all,
stty doesn't recognize them, even though they are in the man page.
Univel is aware of the problem, and expects a fix in 30 to 60 days,
but in terms of magnitude to us it is affecting our system very badly.
Is there ANY work around that anyone knows of?  Basically what happens
is that people can view text or download with no problems, but they
can't type too quickly, or use macro keys, or cursor keys, or upload
files, because it gets corrupted.

Finally, while I am here and this is sort of applicable, does anyone
know of any inexpensive device/card/whatever that would allow us to
reset the systems remotely? Sometimes one of them will die and it
isn't possible to come here quickly to reboot, so I'd like to be able
to do it remotely. Even something as simple as something that hooked
to a phone line and put the power off for a minute then on when
triggered properly would be good.


Io  Public Access Internet Toronto, Ontario Canada  [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Hayes)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 18:44:58 -0400
Subject: What is a "Dumb" Terminal?


Can anyone provide, or, even better, direct me to a reliable published
definition of what the term "dumb terminal" standardly means at this
point in computing history?

I'm having an argument with someone who insists that "dumb terminals"
are any terminals that aren't full-fledged computers in their own
right (as are X-terminals). I think such a definition is, well, dumb.
This person is classifying *all ASCII terminals* (e.g., VT-220's) as
"dumb" in this sense, and actually teaching this terminology to a
class.

So either way, I could use a reference.  If they're wrong, as I'm
pretty sure they are, I'd like to be able to document it to them.  If,
on the other hand, *I'm* wrong, I'd certainly like to know it!

Private e-mail replies would be much appreciated.


Thanks!

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

From: [e-mail] (Georg Schwarz)
Subject: ANI and Overseas Calls Question
Date: 19 Jul 1993 12:58:23 GMT
Organization: TUBerlin/ZRZ


Is the ANI information being transmitted on overseas calls, e.g. on a
call from Europe to the US or Canada? What is the current technical
(and legal) status?


Thanks!

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

From: [e-mail] (Elana Beach)
Subject: 911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama)
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 16:12:50 GMT


Someone posted here that they tried to report a threatening phone
caller to the police, and in asking the local police how to report it,
they told him/her to call 911.  (!!!)  They had no way to report
non-emergencies than via 911?  Ultimate stupidity.

My memory is not clear on the details, but around two years ago, there
was some kind of incident here in Portland, Oregon where a kid was
seriously hurt -- someone had shot a gun outside the house and the
bullet had struck the kid who was playing inside on the living room
floor.  Now if I remember right, the mother frantically called 911 and
got many rings but no answer.  So of course she calls several times,
each time losing her place in the queue.  The kid died for lack of a
fast, emergency response.

A lot of people screamed about it, and public attention was focused on
the fact that the local 911 system was clogged with non-emergency
calls.  So the local cops did the right thing: created a special
number for non-emergencies.  A lot of publicity happened to promote
the non-emergency number, resulting in an appreciative response from
the public.

Now, if you call 911 in the Portland area to complain about the
neighbor's dog barking, the dispatcher has a way of dealing with it.
He/she will hit a button which will instantly get you a recording
telling you that 911 is for emergencies only.  The recording then
gives you the non-emergency number.

Definetly an improvement on the old system!  However what *I* want to
know is: how many 911 systems have this sort of common-sense setup in
place?  Is Portland unusual this way?  What is the norm?


-Elana


[Moderator's Note: We get the same kind of run-around here in Chicago
unfortunatly, with police in the district stations telling callers to
use 911 for anything and everything. This is really a shame because on
a busy Saturday night, 911 here can take four or five rings to answer,
and then it has generally overflowed to a supervisor's desk. Little
children getting shot by stray bullets is nothing new here; we've had
a few this year and I think we had a dozen or so last year. With 39
children dead this year in Chicago from one form of violence or
another -- and the year is only half over -- most folks here have
become desensitized. Most parents simply keep their young children in
the house at all times and remind them to stay away from the windows.
The Chicago Police generally don't investigate non-violent crimes here
any longer; they don't have the personnel. It is pretty much official
now that our public schools are not going to be open during the school
year starting in September; they are $400 million short, so this fall
will be a particularly dangerous time for the kids here 'home alone'
with parents at work, etc.  We are supposed to get a new 911 center as
well, this will be an improvement in police response time. PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 12:53:36 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Direct-Connect From Directory Assistance


I used 10288-0-703-555-1212 via AT&T from Wilmington, Delaware, and
after I got the number I asked for, I was given the option of
connecting to it for an 85 cent charge.  I pressed 2 to decline (1 would
have been "accept").

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

From: [e-mail] (Joe Van Andel)
Subject: Want Cheap Analog Data PBX
Organization: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 16:54:49 GMT


I have a small group of users (<32), that want to share one or two
analog lines for data communications from PCs.  Does anyone have a
recommendation on an inexpensive data PBX that would allow this?
Alternatively, does anyone have good experience with any software that
transparently allows networked PC's (currently PCNFS) to share modems?

Thanks very much.  Respond via email, since I don't ordinarily read
this group.  (I already searched for a FAQ for comp.dcom.telecom in
several places, but couldn't find one.  So, forgive me if I'm asking a
FAQ!)


Joe VanAndel          Internet:[e-mail]
National Center for Atmospheric Research


[Moderator's Note: The Telecom FAQ is published about once a month in
the Usenet comp.dcom.telecom newsgroup and it is available also in the
Telecom Archives using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.  Or, readers may
write and ask for a copy:  [e-mail].    PAT]

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 10:07 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Todd Lesser)
Reply-To: Todd Lesser <[e-mail]>
Subject: ANI and Billing


By accident I deleted the original post or I would have included it in
my response:

Several questions were posted to the Digest about ANI and what
happens if ANI is not delivered to the IXC (Long Distance Carrier)
and/or the customer. Does the call go through, and how is it billed?

If the customer, the company who has the 800 and/or 900 number, has an
agreement with the IXC to get ANI when the call is delivered, they
receive it whenever the IXC gets it.  If the IXC doesn't get the ANI,
the call usually originated from a small LEC (Local Exchange Carrier)
or from an old type Central Office. (CO) In this case, the customer,
receives an ANI (At least this is how my company receives it from MCI,
Sprint, and AT&T) with just Area Code + seven zeros.  I have never
seen it give the prefix and four zeros, nor have I seen it on a bill
with Area code, prefix and four zeros -- unless of course the number
really did end in four zeros.

Usually, an IXC creates a billing tape from the ANI and sends it to
the LEC for billing.  From the CO's it doesn't get ANI; the LEC does
all the billing or provides the IXC with a billing tape.  This is how
a caller is billed for toll calls and 900 calls -- the caller doesn't
get the calls for free.

In some instances a 900 provider does its own billing, so these
companies usually block calls when they don't get an actual ANI.


Todd Lesser   Info Connections
[phone] Voice    [phone] Fax
<[e-mail]> or <attmail!denwa!todd>

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

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 93 20:56 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Erik. A Speckman)
Subject: Big Rivers
Organization: Reed College,  Portland, Oregon


IN a Moderator's note you added to a previous post, you mentioned the
shift in the confluence of the Missouri into the Mississippi.  I
thought you might be interested in one of the chapters in John
McPhee's book "The Control of Nature" (1989) called _Achafalaya_.

The upshot of this is that there is a river, and acompanying
swampland, called the Achafalaya.  In the past water spilled over the
banks of the Mississippi and moved over and through this area.

It has long been a forgone conclusion that the Mississippi would like
to cut its main channel through the Achafalya to the gulf. The result
would leave Baton Rouge and New Orleans high and dry (or low and dry)
and the petrochemical industries billion dollar plants without a vital
source of cooling water and transportation.

Since the middle of this century the army core of engineers have been
fighting the river with massive, earthen and reinforced concrete
controll structures.  During a flood in 1973 the core was forced to
leave all of the flood control gates open in order to divert water
into the Achafalya and lessen damage downstream on the Mississippi.
As a result the control structures were undermined by water and
almost failed.

Since then the ACE has repaired and rebuilt the control structures at
that point but there are other places that the bank could fail.  At
normal times I believe the level of water in the Mississippi is about
10 feet higher than the water in the river that runs through the swamp
less less than a hundred yards away.

I wonder what will happen when the flood waters reach the lower
Mississippi this year.  If the Mississippi changes its course and
by-passes the commercial and industrial centers of Louisana its
significance will be quite notable.


Erik Speckman    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: And don't think the nice folks in Mississippi and
Louisiana are not watching the wicked scene up in Iowa and Missouri
very closely ... they know they are next, and that when Mother Nature
comes to visit she won't be kept waiting.  This should be a very in-
teresting summer. What do you bet parts of Iowa and Missouri *never*
get rid of all that water and what had been farmland becomes swamp
insntead? Des Moines will be a long time in recovering.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #491
******************************










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Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 23:39:00 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #492

TELECOM Digest     Tue, 20 Jul 93 23:38:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 492

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Bruce Sullivan)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Arthur Rubin)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Roger Fajman)
    Re: Big Rivers (David Roe)
    Re: Big Rivers (Ihor J. Kinal)
    Re: Big Rivers (David W. Hatunen)
    Re: Big Rivers (Don Wegeng)
    Re: Flooding in Iowa (Bill Marshall)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Jim Haynes)
    Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up! (David Appell)
    Re: White House Orders No-Bid Phone System (Rich Greenberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 23:26 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


In TELECOM Digest V13 #485, [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
writes:

> I cannot speak to current policies, but the folks at CIS in the past
> have been concerned about the "allowable use policy" (AUP) of the
> Internet.  Using that as a rationale, they would block mail to
> MCIMail, for example ...

And in the same issue, our Esteemed Moderator notes:

> {Moderator's Note: Except Phil, email between CIS <=> MCI Mail has
> never gone through the Internet so far as I know, although it could.
               ...AND....
> .................or they can choose to have mail go to Internet:
> [e-mail], for example.

I have accounts on both MCI mail and CIS. Unless policies have changed
-- and I believe they have not -- you cannot send from one mail service
to another via a third.

In other words, I can't send to [e-mail] from Compuserve
via Internet, nor can I send to [e-mail] from MCI
mail via Internet.  Technically, it's possible. However, neither
service will let you do it.  It's more likely a billing issue than
anything else. If I send to my MCI account from my CIS account via
internet, who does MCI bill?


Bruce Sullivan ([e-mail] OR [e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: But I send several dozen copies of each issue of
this Digest to MCI Mail accounts from here. Who does MCI Mail bill
now? I send many copies to subscribers who wish to receive the Digest
in their CIS mailbox. Who does CIS bill? At least in the case of CIS
mail from the Internet -- regardless of *who gave it to the Internet
or it originated on the Internet itself* -- is billed to the subscriber
and counted against their mail allowance. I don't think either service
cares *who* gave the mail to the Internet; it just that they know they
can't collect from the sender, so they collect from the recipient.  Of
course I could see why Internet would have objections to being a third
party delivery service under the circumstances.  PAT]

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

Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin)
Date: 20 Jul 93 19:53:47 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Arthur Rubin)


TELECOM Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: Except Phil, email between CIS <=> MCI Mail has
> never gone through the Internet so far as I know, although it could.
> CIS had a mail exchange in place with both MCI Mail and ATT Mail long
> before they had the Internet gateway.

I talking to someone on CIS about that a while ago.  Apparently, CIS
quietly drops mail to "Internet" with "mcimail" in the address, to
avoid not being paid for the mail questions.


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.


[Moderator's Note: Let me see if I understand your terminology. Are
you saying that CIS discards mail to MCI Mail if the subscriber routes
it via mcimail.com?  Is that what you mean by 'drop', ie, drop = discard
or throw out? All moderators get accused of 'dropping' mail they don't
feel like using in their digests, etc. Or did you mean something else,
such as perhaps their mailer is smart enough to diddle mcimail.com into
something else and send it direct?   Please clarify. I think it would
be quite interesting to receive factual evidence that CIS was throwing
out mail. Surely you did not mean that, or did you?   PAT]

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

From: Roger Fajman <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993  18:49:31 EDT
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


> I cannot speak to current policies, but the folks at CIS in the past
> have been concerned about the "allowable use policy" (AUP) of the
> Internet.  Using that as a rationale, they would block mail to
> MCIMail, for example.  I never saw an explicit statement of the code
> they used for this blocking, but it might block everything to a .org
> domain address.

I have heard of a problem with this, although I can't recall for sure
whether it was with MCI Mail or Compuserve.  The problem occurred when
subscribers joined Internet mailing lists.  One user on a commercial
service would send a message to the mailing list.  Users on the other
service would be blocked from receiving the posting.  The statement
was that this was done to keep subscribers on two commercial services
from communicating via the Internet because of acceptable use policy
concerns.  However, I don't see why there would be any AUP concern, as
long as both commercial services are connected to a commercial
Internet provider, such as Alternet, ANS CORE, PSI, or Sprintlink.
Those providers have no restrictions on commercial use.  Depending on
the location of the mailing list, the message might pass through a
portion of the Internet that does have an AUP.  But that seems to me
to be more of a concern to the owner of the mailing list than anyone
else.  I wonder if the concern arises more from a potential loss of
revenue to the commercial services than from worry about Internet
AUPs.


Roger Fajman                     Telephone:  [phone]
National Institutes of Health       BITNET:     RAF@NIHCU
Bethesda, Maryland, USA           Internet:   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Could we please have a responsible employee from
both CIS and MCI Mail respond to this thread?  Thank you.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Roe)
Subject: Re: Big Rivers
Date: 20 Jul 1993 19:18:50 GMT
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Erik. A
Speckman) wrote:

> Since the middle of this century the army core of engineers have been
> fighting the river with massive, earthen and reinforced concrete
> control structures.

Erik,

We took those levees for granted until floods came.  Across the
Mississippi from St. Louis, there is an enormous levee that follows
the "Great River Road" that must be at least 50 feet above the
highway, with water within a handful of feet from the top of the other
side.  We drove down behind the River Wall at the Arch last night--
there was a stream of water coming out of a seam in the Wall, roughly
the diameter of your thumb, shooting out a couple of feet.  Orange
paint around it; presumably a "known problem".  My son asked "if that
broke, would these windows on these stores break too?".  We didn't
stay long.

> [Moderator's Note:...  This should be a very interesting summer.
> What do you bet parts of Iowa and Missouri *never* get rid of all that
> water and what had been farmland becomes swamp insntead? Des Moines
> will be a long time in recovering.  PAT]

I hope we get rid of it!!    Next peril: mosquitos.


David M. Roe, Director      [e-mail]
Southwestern Bell Technology Resources ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
1010 Pine St.   Room 635   St. Louis, MO  63101-3099
PHONE: [phone]   FAX: [phone]


[Moderator's Note: Mosquitos are certainly Enemies of the People, but
of equal concern are the thousands of dead animal carcasses beginning
to float to the top of the water in some places, and the thousands of
larger animal carcasses expected to be found on the bottom when the
water drains out, i.e. cows, horses, pigs. Mr. Roe's message was sent
earlier Tuesday before he could have possibly known that another major
levie break occurred late Tuesday afternoon at South St. Louis, MO.
This latest break caused flood waters to rise to five feet ('about
shoulder level' was the way NPR described in their news bulletin) in a
matter of ten minutes in the local area. Having expected the worst for
several days, apparently the city was in emergency response mode in a
matter of minutes with workers out there trying to stop the flow
however they could. My contact at the EFT network I use is in a major
bank in St. Louis. She said earlier today the city of Granite City, IL
lost their Water Works when the engorged river overflowed its banks
there and put the pumping station and filtration plant under several
feet of water.   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 15:36:45 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Big Rivers
Organization: AT&T


> [Moderator's Note: And don't think the nice folks in Mississippi and
> Louisiana are not watching the wicked scene up in Iowa and Missouri
> very closely ... they know they are next, and that when Mother Nature
> comes to visit she won't be kept waiting.

Actually, according to the news reports that I've managed to catch,
that's ONE thing that is unlikely to happen [problems in New Orleans].

Old Man River broadens considerably below Cairo, where the Ohio joins.

I believe that lower river is only at 2/3 capacity, even with all the
current flooding. [knock on wood].

Of course, if the front widens over the Ohio, or another hurricane
like Andrew dumps a load of rain, or ...

[Meanwhile, the SE is baking due to a lack rain].


Standard disclaimers,

Ihor Kinal   att!cbnewsh!ijk
[now why did my insurance company send me a reminder about flood insurance
last week -- could it be a coincidence??????????????]


[Moderator's Note: Old Man River is a mile wide at its widest point I
believe, and that is somewhere south of St. Louis I thought. I remember
as a child I rode across it in a car with my parents and how impressive
it looked at that point.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David W Hatunen)
Subject: Re: Big Rivers
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 14:44:37 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Erik. A
Speckman) writes:

> In a Moderator's note you added to a previous post, you mentioned the
> shift in the confluence of the Missouri into the Mississippi.  I
> thought you might be interested in one of the chapters in John
> McPhee's book "The Control of Nature" (1989) called _Achafalaya_.

  [Discussion of role of the control structure which prevents the
  Mighty Mississipp' from following its natural inclination to
  follow the steepest incline to the Gulf through Morgan City LA
  thereby wiping out New Orleans' role as a major seaport (except
  that the Feds will probably spend billions of dollars to create
  a deep water channel to replace the river) deleted]

> I wonder what will happen when the flood waters reach the lower
> Mississippi this year.  If the Mississippi changes its course and
> by-passes the commercial and industrial centers of Louisana its
> significance will be quite notable.

I might suggest that this newsgroup and its moderator have strayed a
little from their area of expertise. Although it is probably
inevitable that sooner or later a major flood on the Lower Mississippi
will wipe out the control works and devestate Louisiana, this is not
the flood that will do it.

> [Moderator's Note: And don't think the nice folks in Mississippi and
> Louisiana are not watching the wicked scene up in Iowa and Missouri
> very closely ... they know they are next, and that when Mother Nature
> comes to visit she won't be kept waiting.

The reason this flood won't do it, according to those on more relevant
newsgroups, is that the current flooding is on the Upper Mississippi
(above the confluence with the Ohio), and the lower Mississippi has
more than enough capacity to carry the waters once they reach the
Ohio.


DAVE HATUNEN ([e-mail])
Daly City California: almost San Francisco

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

From: [e-mail] (Don Wegeng)
Subject: Re: Big Rivers
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Xerox Corp.,Fairport, NY
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 16:08:29 GMT


This is way off the subject of Telecom, but since Pat mentioned it ...

In article [e-mail], TELECOM Moderator noted:

> [Moderator's Note: And don't think the nice folks in Mississippi and
> Louisiana are not watching the wicked scene up in Iowa and Missouri
> very closely ... they know they are next, and that when Mother Nature
> comes to visit she won't be kept waiting.

Actually, according to a flood control person from New Orleans (as
heard on NPR this past weekend) that city shouldn't be impacted.  The
reason is that the capacity of the Mississippi south of the confluence
with the Ohio River is much greater than it is upstream.  Fortunately
the Ohio is not flooding (in fact it's a bit lower than normal) so
south of the confluence the situation should be much better.  The New
Orleans person said that they only expected the river to rise a three
or four feet above normal, which will barely touch their levies.  They
do have the capability to divert flood waters from the Mississippi
north of New Orleans into Lake P. (where's my atlas when I need it?)
but again that shouldn't be necessary.


Don     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Well let's hope that Evansville, IN and the
northern Kentucky area does not get something ridiculous like three
inches of rain in one hour -- at least not for the next couple months
or until the current overload has decreased. Wouldn't that be some-
thing, if the Ohio River suddenly had its own flood to deal with? But
you know, I don't think anyone expected the massive rains which caused
the Missouri River to overflow on its way to the Mississippi either.
What shocked me was the way the Missouri changed its confluence; it
now meets the Mississippi *twenty miles* away from where they used to
meet. Now that is a lot of water.  :(   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Bill Marshall)
Subject: Re: Flooding in Iowa
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 21:47:25 GMT


Some more information on flooding in Des Moines and a few telecomm
related notes. I'm spending the summer in Des Moines (bad choice).

When the flood hit, almost all of Des Moines was without power for
what was looking like several days. The power company managed to
backfeed most of Des Moines, but warned everyone not to place much of
a load on the system. At least three electrical substations were
(are?) underwater. There was one mention of sending in a scuba diver
to flip some switches.

US West made quick arrangements to have thousands of gallons of water
delivered each day to keep their equipment cool. They were requesting
that business only request essential changes that they needed to
relocate to the suburbs.

The mayor of Des Moines declared that only businesses that offer
"essential services" could stay open. Since we had (until today or
later) no water, downtown high rises could not be used because fire
sprinklers would be useless. The Des Moines fire department had to
arrive at fires with several tanker trucks to provide water.

MCI has arrived in town with a truck. It has several phones and a
satellite uplink dish. They have parked it at the Red Cross evacuation
shelter and are providing free long distance calls.

The Des Moines newspaper is still unable to print at their main
location. They are using a {Wall Street Journal} plant in West Des
Moines.

The water works should be filling the pipes today. Originally the city
was told that water would be restored Sunday (7/18/93). Now they are
saying that some sections may have to wait until Thursday. Almost all
of the suburbs also relied on Des Moines for all or part of their
water supplies. West Des Moines (approx 30,000) is on their own and is
now providing water to another suburb. A few other cities and
companies managed to restart old wells and are providing some
non-drinking water.

The radio stations are reporting that we have enough hard goods in the
way of food, clothing and water. Donations of money are still being
requested.

Iowa's slogan has been changed from "Iowa: a place to grow" to "Iowa:
a place to row". :)


Bill Marshall
Computer Science Department
Iowa State University
[e-mail]


[Moderator's Note:  We in Chicago have become a foster home for
animals evacuated from shelters in the flood region. The Chicago Anti-
Cruelty Society evacuated several dozen dogs and cats from shelters in
towns along the river when the local animal shelters were in danger of
flooding, which several have done. Those animals are now being housed
in several shelters in the Chicago area for the duration. The Illinois
Hooved Animal Humane Society assisted with the emergency placement of
many horses and cows removed -- some in the nick of time -- from
flooded areas and brought them to higher ground here. Some people
tried to stick it out in their homes then literally ran away in a
panic as the flood waters rose around their feet, leaving their dogs
and cats to fend for themselves. I'd like to take people like that and
drown them personally. Iowa authorities have stated that when the
water receeds to a 'manageable level' the emergency removal and
disposal of dead animals (and I presume some humans) will be a priority
event. Looks like at least a couple more unpleasant weeks.  :(   PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 15:29:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


> Paul Robinson writes:

>> Glenn Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" isn't too bad, but it's
>> about the worries of someone who has to fix the equipment; it doesn't
>> touch on people who _use_ phone service.

> Sorry, "Wichita Lineman" is about an electric lineman.  Paul, you
> should know phone lines don't get overloaded, circuits do

Really?  Why does Glen Campbell sing:

   "I hear your singing in the wire/I hear you singing on the line..."

Perhaps the song was ambiguous and refers to both.

Oh, on a related point, I was going to include the song "Step by Step"
by Eddie Rabbit, but it's not about that type of switch, however.  :)


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?
Date: 20 Jul 1993 19:14:29 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz


Hey, there's a whole bunch of songs in the Broadway musical "Bells Are
Ringing"


[e-mail]   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Ah, Judy Garland ... sigh ...    PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 19:17:11 -0600
From: David Appell <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up!


In TELECOM Digest V13 #490 PAT wrote:

> [Moderator's Note: Since each issue of this Digest runs 21-24 K of
> text, that's 'merely' $1.05 - $1.20 per issue for Prodigy people.
> I think I'll make Prodigy cut me in for some percentage of it!  :)
> Do they honestly think anyone on their service will be able to afford
> to be part of any mailing list originating on the Internet?  PAT]

   I believe this is going to be an increasingly large problems for
users of commercial e-mail services who receive significant amounts of
mail from the Internet.

   Last week's issue of {Communications Week} had a cover story on
this topic.  CIS has already instituted charges similiar to Prodigy,
and other big commercial providers (they quoted EasyLink) are
considering it.  Since they all carry much more inbound traffic from
the Internet than outbound traffic (the nature of the beast), you
really can't blame them -- the "sender pays all" method, and
subsidization of the Internet, doesn't work for them.

   Unfortunately, given the current rate structures of commercial
e-mail providers (of order 15-50 cents for a 1K message), few users
will be able to afford to receive much mail from the Internet.

   Since the Internet is becoming increasingly popular, and of
increasing benefit as an information provider and communications
facilitator, there is going to be a situation where those people who
do not have subsidized access (either through a university or place of
employment) are going to have to scramble (and pay heavily) to obtain
access.  The same problem is going to exist with any "data
superhighway" that comes into existence -- there will be toll booths
at the entrance and exit ramps.  Universities and corporations will be
able to afford the tolls, but I believe it is going to put a crimp on
access for the general population, and on the vast potential of the
Internet as a whole -- until there are more flat-fee providers (such
as PSI Link), and more connection points.

   I'd bet that within a year all the commercial providers are going
to be charging for inbound traffic, that they'll then lose a
nontrivial percentage of their customers, who will then flock to
FreeNets, BBSs and other providers (and there will be a shortage of
those for awhile, too, especially if you don't live in a major
metropolitian area).  These are probably the good old days.


David Appell   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: White House Orders No-Bid Phone System
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 20:19:59 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Tarl Neustaedter) writes:

>    1-800-IDIOT-I.Q.

There is another number set up for The-Polish-Joke-Of-The-Week at

       1-800-227-POLZ


Rich Greenberg             Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside CA 619-631-5280
N6LRT    TinselTown, USA   Play: [e-mail]           310-649-0238
I speak for myself only.       Canines: Chinook & Husky

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #492
******************************










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Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 00:36:01 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #493

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Jul 93 00:36:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 493

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Carlos Amezaga)
    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Robert Aaron Book)
    Re: Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars (Dale Farmer)
    Re: Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars (Ed Casas)
    Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse? (Mike King)
    Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging (Justin Greene)
    Re: AT&T Credit Card From Europe (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Escort Digital Cordless Telephone (Justin Greene)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit (Tim Gorman)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit (Mark Brader)
    Re: Fire Tragedy Strikes Digest Reader (Justin Greene)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Carlos Amezaga)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Date: 21 Jul 93 06:16:50 GMT
Organization: Megalith Mail/News Server - Miami, FL USA


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Marshall Levin) writes:

> Alternatively, are there any carriers that will allow me to charge
> calls to my VISA card?  Can such a thing be DIRECT DIALED?  If so,
> how?  Are the rates for using a VISA card mich higher?  I think I
> heard about MCI offering this (I don't know if it is direct dialed or
> needs an operator, though).  Also, I work at a bank and I noticed on
> someone's VISA bill entries in the following format:

    I have the CitiBank Visa card and they have a plan which
allows me to make LD phone calls using my VISA.  What I do is call a
special 1-800 Number (Although I suppose I could use the 10XXX code
also) and then dial the number I wish to call.  i.e.  0-305-559-3145
and then I will hear a prompt to enter my visa card number along with
an MCI issued PIN number.  Once that is done, my call is routed like
any other card.

    I don't use that card often though.  I have the AT&T
Mastercard and that is the one I use most frequently to place calls
on.  Works on the same principal as the MCI plan except my Master Card
has the account number I need to enter for calling on the bottom of
the card.  It also has another special number on the back in case I so
happen to be in Europe and need to place a call using my MasterCard.
Once I enter the appropriate account number I enter my pin and my call
goes through.  My MasterCard has instruction on the back listing how
to place calls in case I forget.


Carlos     UUCP: [e-mail]
DATA/FAX: [phone]   Amiga % System Administrator

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert Aaron Book)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Organization: Rice University
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 19:19:59 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Marshall Levin) writes:

> Are there any carriers out there that will give me a calling card
> without having my own phone number?  I am living with my parents now
> but travel often and need to make calls on the road.  I'd prefer not
> to use their card.

In addition to our Faithful Moderator's Orange Card, there are several
options.  First Sprint will give you a calling card as long as you
have a *contact* phone number; i.e., they need to have a number where
they can contact you, but the phone number doesn't have to be in your
name.  I had one of these when I was in precisely your situation.  MCI
may do the same things, but I'm not sure.

> Alternatively, are there any carriers that will allow me to charge
> calls to my VISA card?  Can such a thing be DIRECT DIALED?  If so,
> how?  Are the rates for using a VISA card mich higher?  I think I
> heard about MCI offering this (I don't know if it is direct dialed or
> needs an operator, though).

> [Moderator's Note: MCI has a plan where calls can be billed to VISA or
> AMEX directly but I think you ask your credit card service about it
> rather than MCI since the credit card service is getting the kickback

MCI has a service called VisaPhone, under which you are issued a
calling card number consisting of your Visa number plus four digits
(PIN).  You can sign up directly with MCI, or in some cases through
your bank if they participate.  To sign up with MCI, call (800)
866-0099.

You make calls with a pseudo-direct dialing procedure: Call an 800
number, then enter the number you want to call and your calling card
number (Visa number + PIN).  You can't dial direct from a rotary
phone.  Calls through Visaphone are *CHEAPER* than MCI's normal
calling card rates.  It is a flat .22/.15/.10 per minute for
Day/Evening/Night respectively, plus .70 surcharge per call.  The
(in)famous Friends&Family 20% discount is available when calling other
MCI customers.  It should be notes that these rates are valid anywhere
in the USA, and are often cheaper than 1+ rates from in-state calls.
I have MCI at home, and an MCI card, but I use VisaPhone on the road,
and sometimes at home for intrastate calls.  The only disadvantage to
VisaPhone is that unlike MCI 1+ and calling card services, you can't
earn American Airlines Frequent Flyer miles.

MCI also has similar arrangements with MasterCard (called MasterPhone)
and American Express.  Call the above phone number to find out where
to call for these services.

AT&T also has its (in)famous "Universal Card" which is a MasterCard/
Calling card combination.  They give you a (free) MasterCard, along
with a calling card number (10 digits + PIN = 14 digits).  The PIN
is the same for both calling and ATM use.

If you want to be *really* weird, you could even set up your AT&T
Universal Card as an MCI MasterPhone Calling Card!

> Also, I work at a bank and I noticed on
> someone's VISA bill entries in the following format:

> MCI 02MIN 555 555 5555      .64
> ITT 05MIN 555 555 1234      .45
> SPR 02MIN 555 555 1212      .53

> (or something like that).  Apparently these carriers offer such a
> service -- now how does one access it?

VisaPhone doesn't bill this way -- they add one charge to your Visa
bill each month, and sent you a separate itemized statement with all
your calls.  My best guess is that this may have come from a phone
with a card reader.  Some airports have phones where you can swipe
your card in the phone and make a call without any further
authentication.


Robert Book  [e-mail]   Rice University

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

From: [e-mail] (Dale Farmer)
Subject: Re: Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars
Date: 21 Jul 1993 03:32:01 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA


Tina Argente ([e-mail]) wrote:

> I've been asked to check into the feasibility of installing portable
> PC's into a fleet of cars, and having the PC's communicate somehow
> with a remote host computer. I think some police departments do
> something like this already, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't know

    Motorola offers a system that does this, and it is built and
priced like a Motorola system. (expensive, but bulletproof)

    If the thing is going to be welded into the car and operated
by people who are not going to be clean neat and careful go with their
system or something equally durable.  If it is going to be used by a
fleet of traveling sales droids you may be better off buying them
cellular phones with built in modems.

    Federal express and some of the other national delivery
services have links in their trucks of this type, I don't know if they
used proprietary hardware or off the shelf stuff.  The issues are
initial cost of installation, training of your workforce to use them,
maintainance of the hardware, software maintainance/upgrades.  Look
very carefully at the last two, as the users can very easily make them
really, really large with only a moderate amount of carelessness.

    Toss out some more details, if you can, and we will give you
more free advice.  (worth every penny you paid for it ...)


Dale Farmer


[Moderator's Note: The Chicago Police Department has several patrol
cars with video display terminals so the officers can look up stuff
like license plates and driver's records directly without having to go
through the dispatcher and wait for a reply. These transmit and
receive in the 900 mz range somewhere.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ed Casas)
Subject: Re: Portable PCs in a Fleet of Cars
Organization: University of BC, Electrical Engineering
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 18:26:23 GMT


Tina Argente <[e-mail]> writes:

> I've been asked to check into the feasibility of installing portable
> PC's into a fleet of cars, and having the PC's communicate somehow
> with a remote host computer. I think some police departments do
> something like this already, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't know
> exactly how the communications take place.

These mobile data terminal systems are used for dispatch and database
enquiries by police, taxi, courier and utility companies.

They use custom-designed ruggedized terminals and modems.  The modems
interface directly with either custom or modified radio transceivers.
Data rates are on the order of 4800 bps with packet-type protocols
using FEC and ARQ.

These systems were introduced to reduce radio channel congestion
and the number of dispatchers required.

> Is anyone familiar with how this can be done? Are there wireless
> modems readily available for mobile use, or do they use a cellular
> phone hookup, or what? Thanks for any help or insights anyone can
> offer!

The MDT systems operate on VHF radio channels allocated to a single
user group rather than on the public cellular system.  Mobile Data
International (now a division of Motorola) manufactures these systems.
Gandalf makes simple units suitable for taxi dispatch applications.

You can use conventional telephone modems over a cellular phone but
there are at least two problems.  The first is that the time and cost
overhead involved in setting up a call makes it unsuitable for bursty
traffic such as short database queries.  The second is that the
cellular channel often has short fades due to multipath and handovers
between cells.  You have to select your modem and protocols with this
in mind.  This problem is much less severe if you aren't moving while
the call is in progress.

A number of companies make modems for use on cellular links.  Several
years ago Telebit announced a unit based on their multi-carrier
modulation called the CellBlazer.  I've heard of others based on
conventional V.32 modems.  By changing the modem settings and using
appropriate software you might get acceptable performance with an
off-the-shelf telephone modem.

Cellular operators are currently designing a cellular data service
called (I think) CDPD which inserts data packets into unused channels
or into silent periods between talk spurts.


Ed Casas ([e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: Another user of these things here in Chicago is the
Yellow Cab Company. Their's have a little two or three line LED type
display. The unit will chirp and the driver will look over at the
message then respond by pressing just one or two keys (of about a dozen
on the front of the unit.) These have almost entirely replaced the old
radio system they used to use.  These units apparently can track where
cabs are at (what areas of the city) and report this to the cab office
which in turn sends out orders to cabs in the vicinity.    PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 17:01:01 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Were You a Victim of 900 Abuse?


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #490, [e-mail] (Jim DePorter) responded
to my earlier post:

>> She could also hang up to disconnect an abusive caller; she simply
>> called back to continue her shift.

> I'm sorry, but could someone explain to me what a caller could say to
> be abusive on a phone sex line at $?? per minute?
  [...]

In the article, the reporter indicated occasionally a caller would
start pestering her (very aggressively) for a date, or would start
describing what he'd like to do to her.

Regardless of the stigma of that particular job, she said she still
found it difficult to handle such calls, and that's why she only
lasted a few days.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: New England/Mid Atlantic Paging
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 02:35:10 GMT


> 5.  Metromedia, last I heard, was up for sale.  I had a pager from

I have some vauge recollection that they were purchased by BellSouth
who by the way are also the owners of MobileComm.

> 4.  Look into alphanumeric pagers.  They can now generally be had for
> about $5/$10 more per month than a display (numeric) pager.  Most
> paging companies have a deal with a dispatch office where they will
> type out (alpha page) your important messages for an additional
> $.50/dispatch.

YUK YUK YUK YUK.  I tried alpha pagers from a number of different
companies and ran into many problems.  First off, the subway (NYC),
you miss a page and don't know it (OK, not a problem for most and some
will let you call in for messages).  Second, service drones who can't
spell and can't count.  I recieved lots of misspellings (sic) which
was not a big deal until a friend was almost raped on a date because
they mistyped the phone number and I couldn't reach her to come to
the rescue. Fortunately she was in the Israeli Army ...

My vote goes to voice mail.  I use my VME as my office, I get messages
in my client's voice and no one else hears them.  Page net uses a
single number for digital/VME, just talk at the tone or press in your
number.  The MobileComm system I had required two numbers (this was a
year ago however).  Granted, you need to find a phone to see who
called, but at least the message is private and intact.


> 5.  Get a pager with the vibe option.  It is far more pleasant for
> those around you in a restaurant or theatre not to hear the damn
> beep/beep.

Not to mention for the owner ... Wheeee :-)


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 15:23:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: AT&T Credit Card From Europe


[e-mail] (Povl H. Pedersen), writes:

> I have just been informed that I can contact AT&T and get a credit
> card ... that will alloow me to call USA for ... about a third of
> the price I pay with Danish telecom.

> How much can I use it? How about calling 800 numbers? Can I use it
> for cheaper dialing to the rest of the world too?

1.  If you are using an AT&T calling card, you can call (at your
expense) to any AT&T 1-800 number.  If the number isn't issued by
AT&T, you're out of luck.

An 800 number in the U.S. acts effectively as a "called-party pays"
number and as such is generally not accessible from outside of the
U.S., unless you have access to a carrier that will connect you to it
at your expense.  AT&T will if you have one of their cards.

Someone on here stated that they can call into 1-800 numbers via MCI
which doesn't care who owns the 1-800 number since they make money
taking the call from overseas even if they don't make money carrying
the call.

2.  I believe AT&T provides a special card for calls from one country
to another.  Its general cards only allow for calls to or from the
United States.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: Escort Digital Cordless Telephone
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 02:11:40 GMT


>> Has anybody here had any experience with the new Escort (Cincinnati
>> Microwave) digital cordless telephone that lists for $399?  How does
>> it compare to the Tropez?

They say in the ad that they use:

"Digital Spread Spectrum (DSS) Technology: DSS is used by the military
to secure absolute security in field communications.  By rapidly and
randomly changing frequencies over a wide (26 MHz) bandwidth, total
security is assured.  And digital technology embeds microprecessors to
eliminate unwanted line noise for crystal clear sound."

Is DSS special to Escort or is it also used on the tropez and other
like phones.  They seem to be implying that the call could not be
monitored because the frequency changes during conversation.  If we
successfully monitor a conversation can they be sued?  They also say
"wide (26MHZ) ..."  but then later say "100 Channels", well, which is
it?  Any thoughts?


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

Date: 20 Jul 93 17:37:21 EDT
From: tim gorman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit


Rahul Dhesi <[e-mail]> writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #489:

> So why is so much telephone equipment limited to only 12 digits at a
> time?

> Who is writing this broken telecom software?
                              ................
> Do telephone switching standards not allow variable-length fields?

I think you are looking at the problem from the wrong viewpoint.
Consider the telephone number to be the address of a location in the
memory of a computer. This specific location has to be defined such
that any computer from from a TRS-80 to a Cray can handle it. The
total address space available for use is thus the same for every
computer and it is pointed to the same way in every computer.

Recompiling in this situation is meaningless. Variable-length fields
are also. Each memory location has to be fully specified in every
computer for anything to make any sense.

The only way to expand the memory space available is to modify every
computer using the application. So instead of having 2^8 address
spaces available you would have 2^9. This change has to be made in
every computer at the same time or you will have mismatches somewhere.


Tim Gorman - SWBT
*opinions are mine, any resemblance to official policy is coincidence*

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Brader)
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 20:57:05 GMT


>>      +49 6131 XXX 450 voice
>>      +49 6131 XXX 4555 fax

> This is the usual way with corporate PBXes. -0 gets you the corporate
> operator, -x{x} gets you a specific extension.

> Usually you call a company at -0 and state your concern. You'll then
> be connected to the person in charge, who'll give you his/her
> extension number if there's a potential interest to call again.

> This convention is so natural to me that it took some time until I
> realized that North Americans, who are used to their rigid numbering
> plan, must find it strange.

It may be worth pointing out for foreign readers that the only part of
this that's strange to North Americans is that the numbers vary in
length.

Here, the direct number that reaches the corporate operator is filled
out to the standard length, usually with 1's (easy to dial on a dial
phone) or 0's (numerically low, and suggestive of "0 for operator").
For example, the main Eaton's department store in Toronto has a main
(operator) number of 343-2111; other 343-XXXX numbers reach various
departments directly; some of these are listed in the phone book, and
others you could ask the appropriate employee for if you needed them.


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

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: Fire Tragedy Strikes Digest Reader
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 02:45:49 GMT


Another thought on phone card service (not to take away your income
Pat :-) ) is US Sprint.  If you order a calling card from them you can
have them call you at the home number listed the next day and they
will give you the calling card number verbally.  They will only do
this if they call you (you can call them and have then call you right
back).  As for a home phone number, it could be yours since it's
forwarded, or maybe a coinphone at the hospital since you will be
calling them and having them call right back, you will definately be
there.  Best of Luck.


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #493
******************************










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From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #494

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Jul 93 01:19:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 494

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Question About "Dark Fiber" (David Cornutt)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Robert Wiegand)
    Re: 911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama) (Paulo Santos)
    Re: 911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama) (Greg Abbott)
    Re: The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System (Patrick Goebel)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (David W. Tamkin)
    Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence? (John R. Levine)
    Re: Sprint Instant Foncard (Mike King)
    Re: 800 Translation Questions (Tim Gorman)
    Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada? (David Leibold)
    Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (Carl Moore)
    Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck (Mark Terribile)
    Re: Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable (David Roe)
    Re: Does This Device Exist? (Patton Turner)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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] (David Cornutt)
Subject: Re: Question About "Dark Fiber"
Organization: NASA/MSFC
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 17:27:07 GMT


This is interesting, but I've heard the term "dark fiber" to mean
something else, namely fiber that is installed with no immediate use
for it.  As a lot of copper gets ripped out and fiber is pulled into
the conduits where the copper was, the owners are finding that they
might as well go ahead and fill the conduit with fiber, since the
additional labor cost is minimal as long as they're pulling something
anyway.  This results in a lot of fiber just lying around, looking for
some enterprising soul to find a use for it.  Talk about the devil's
workshop ... :-)

And, to tie this in with another thread that has appeared in the
Digest recently: Guess who owns a lot of the conduits in question?
Power companies.  My brother works in the electric utility industry,
and he tells me that many power companies already have enormous
amounts of fiber capacity.  They use it for operations and to provide
telecomm service between their facilities in metro areas (LEC? what's
that?), but they've put in a lot more than they need for their own
use.  He's already working with several utilities (whom I can't name
at the moment) on "smart meter" experiments, and some of these involve
fiber to the home.  Stay tuned.


David Cornutt, New Technology Inc., Huntsville, AL  [phone]
([e-mail]; some insane route applies)
"The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my employer,
not necessarily mine, and probably not necessary."

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert Wiegand)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 20:54:09 GMT


upchrch![e-mail] (Joel Upchurch) writes:

> Is it just me or does surface mounting the firmware sound really dumb?
> Most boards I've seen the ROM's will be socketed even if everything
> else is surface mounted. I'm not an EE, but I'd think that if I had to
> surface mount the ROM I'd use an EEPROM and design it so I could
> reprogram it in place. I doubt that someone is going to like hearing
> that their $1,000 phone's problem can't be fixed because the firmware
> can't be updated.

You have to remember the type of product these parts are in. It has to
be very small and as low cost as possible.  A DIP ROM chip in a socket
is just way too big and too expensive to put into a portable cellular
phone.  EEPROM memories are also way too expensive.


Bob Wiegand

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

From: [e-mail] (Paulo Santos)
Subject: Re: 911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Paulo Santos)
Organization: College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 21:58:33 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Elana
Beach) writes:

> Someone posted here that they tried to report a threatening phone
> caller to the police, and in asking the local police how to report it,
> they told him/her to call 911.  (!!!)  They had no way to report
> non-emergencies than via 911?  Ultimate stupidity.

Talk about stupidity.  My car was broken into in downtown Atlanta,
less than 100 yards from the downtown police precinct in the CNN
Center.  To report the break-in, I just walked to the police station
(hey, it was closer than the nearest payphone).  Well, they made me
call 911 *from the police station*, so that 911 could dispatch one of
the police cars that was parked out front.

The extent to which police depend on 911 is tremendous.  It's no
wonder that so many sad things happen when 911 is down or slow.


Paulo Santos                         Internet: [e-mail]
Georgia Tech, College of Computing       uucp: ...!gatech!cc!pas

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 00:18:08 -0600 (CST)
From: Greg Abbott <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 911 For Non-Emergencies? (was Re: Natwick 911 Drama)


[e-mail] (Elana Beach) wrote:

> Someone posted here that they tried to report a threatening phone
> caller to the police, and in asking the local police how to report it,
> they told him/her to call 911.  (!!!)  They had no way to report
> non-emergencies than via 911?  Ultimate stupidity.

<stuff deleted>

> Definetly an improvement on the old system!  However what *I* want to
> know is: how many 911 systems have this sort of common-sense setup in
> place?  Is Portland unusual this way?  What is the norm?

In Champaign County, Illinois, We advocate use of the 9-1-1 number to
report "an emergency".  This statement is broad on purpose.  The
average citizen has a difficult time deciding if their call is an
emergency or not.  We refer the caller to the appropriate
non-emergency number if the call is not an emergency.  Strict call
screening allows the 9-1-1 operator to make a rapid determination of
the urgency of the call.  All of our member agencies have
non-emergency telephone numbers listed.  In addition, we have our own
non-emergency numbers which are utilized quite heavily.  Last year we
handled over half a million calls to our 9-1-1 center.  Just my .02
worth.

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

From: [e-mail] (Patrick Goebel)
Subject: Re: The "Ultimate" Personal Telecom System
Organization: Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 06:01:09 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ed
Greenberg) writes:

> I was considering writing a serious reply to this, and helping to
> envision such a system until I reached the bottom paragraph and lost
> interest.

(Further bashing omitted (-:)

Gee Ed, I am sorry you had a bad week at the office (-: No doubt your
negative reaction was caused by my failure to communicate my
intentions.  Perhaps I can clarify my goals.  I have no desire to put
together a commercial system which I would then sell to others.  I
simply want something that *I* can use in my own business.  Let me
give you an example.

I mentioned the need for a cellular phone that would permit the use of
a headset and microphone while riding my bicycle.  After checking out
some shops here in the Bay area I find that only the OKI 1150 has such
a capability.  The salesman says it cost $700 plus whatever the
headset costs.  You might think: "Gee, I can get a cellular phone for
$300.  Why pay $700+ just to get a headset?"  And I say, "If that's
what it costs to do what I need, then that's what I'll pay."

I hope this helps.


Cheers,

Patrick Goebel                    E-MAIL: [e-mail]
Network Administrator             VOICE:  [phone]
CASBS, 202 Junipero Serra Blvd.   FAX:    [phone]
Stanford, CA 94305                BEEPER: Temporarily Out of Order...

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 00:22 CDT
From: [e-mail] (David W. Tamkin)
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
Reply-To: [e-mail] (DWT)
Organization: Contributor Account on MCSNet, Chicago, Illinois  60657


Roger Fajman wrote in <[e-mail]> in comp.dcom.
telecom:

> I have heard of a problem with this, although I can't recall for sure
> whether it was with MCI Mail or Compuserve.  The problem occurred when
> subscribers joined Internet mailing lists.  One user on a commercial
> service would send a message to the mailing list.  Users on the other
> service would be blocked from receiving the posting.

It's worse than that: I once subscribed to a reflector list from my
MCI Mail account.  I sent a submission to it, and my own copy of my
article was not delivered to me as a list member but rather returned
to me as its sender because MCI Mail would not use the Internet to
deliver mail from MCI Mail to MCI Mail!  (It even used that language
in the wrapper of my returned letter: "between MCI Mail and MCI
Mail.")

Frankly, I think the deal is that (1) it costs MCI Mail less to
deliver mail directly to CompuServe than to the Internet, so they make
you address it that way; (2) CompuServe charges more (a supposed
equivalent of MCI Mail's rates) for mail sent to MCI Mail than to the
Internet, so they make you address it in the way advantageous for
them, and they share the surcharge with MCI; (3) a letter addressed
directly from MCI Mail to CompuServe will arrive there with a return
address that lets CompuServe take advantage of (2).

A reflector list that rewrites the From_ line to show the reflection
account rather than the original author (whose address may remain in
the From: line) generally has no difficulty with subscribers on
commercial services.  Neither do digests.

Meanwhile, it's perfectly legal in CIS's and MCI Mail's eyes to use
the Internet to pass mail between either of them and Delphi, BIX,
America On-Line, or GEnie, or between any two of those four.  Sud-
denly AUP's are not invoked when there is no money at stake.


David W. Tamkin  Box 3284  Skokie, Illinois  60076-6284  312-714-5610
[e-mail]   CompuServe: 73720,1570   MCI Mail: 426-1818

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 00:32 EDT
From: [e-mail] (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Maximum Number of Phone Lines to a Residence?
Organization: I.E.C.C.


> Over the past seven years, his one-story, four-room home has come to
> resemble a Radio Shack warehouse: 110 personal computers each with a
> modem, and at least that many phone lines to handle 3,200 calls a day.

I dropped by to visit Channel 1 a few years ago when the only had 40
machines or so.  They have a tiny little house -- I have trouble
imagining where they put 110 computers.  They must have been sleeping
on top of them.

Does anyone disagree that this seems to be a candidate for the "most
phone lines ever in a residence" award?  I believe that each line is a
real copper line, too, no funny business with T1 or SLC.  The central
office is only a half mile away and there's lots of copper under the
street.


Regards,

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

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 08:42:03 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Sprint Instant Foncard


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #490, [e-mail]
(Mike Pollock) wrote:

> What's with this Sprint Instant Foncard thing?  Apparently it's a
> point-of purchase prepaid calling card which you can buy at your local
> convenience store.

If you have an account in good standing, Sprint can also give you an
instant "real" FonCard.

Earlier this year when I had a relative visiting from the UK, I wanted
to make sure he'd be able to make phone calls during a period while he
was by himself in Dallas.  I didn't want him to fall prey to COCOTs
and AOSs, so I figured a calling card from one of the big three would
be safest.  At the same time, I didn't want to give him *my* card
number.  In case of any problems, we could deactivate his card without
affecting mine.

I called Sprint Priority customer service, and after asking a few
questions to establish I really was who I said I was, the rep said,
"No problem; I'll call back at the number we show on your bill to give
you your card number."  Thirty seconds later the phone rang and she
recited the number to me.  It was activated within twelve hours.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Date: 20 Jul 93 17:33:01 EDT
From: tim gorman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 800 Translation Questions


TELECOM Moderator noted:

> And yes, some telcos (maybe all) keep a cache of the 800 numbers
> they have recently connected with to make future calls to that
> number go faster.  If they have never seen the 800 number before,
> they do a database lookup.

In my admittedly limited experience this is not the case for Northern
Telecom and AT&T products. The tests we ran prior to portability
indicated that every time we called an 800 number a query was launched
from the switch to the SCP database. The SCP itself may cache
information, it is impossible to tell from this end :-).

This has also been borne out through the resolution of the few
problems we have encountered. Changes in the database show up
immediately.

With the turnaround time from the database on usual calls (say 100ms
to 500ms), it just wouldn't be worth the time or resources needed to
cache the information in every central office switch in the country.
It is much more efficient to just make a query on each call.


Tim Gorman - SWBT
*opinions are mine, any resemblance to official policy is coincidence*

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 19:30 EDT
From: [e-mail] (woody)
Subject: Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada?


There are Canadian long distance resellers like Smart-Talk Network
(STN) and Fonorola that have offered access to U.S. 800 numbers for
some time now.

Of course, one can also sign up for a service like Telepassport <plug,
plug> which could give such access as well.

On a related topic, now that many ITU folks have joined us, what's the
exact status of an international toll-free country code? Are there
serious plans to get something like an 800 country code assigned for
international calling?


David Leibold

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

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 9:42:57 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance



I am in Mensa, and recently got some calling-card plan from them.
Mensa is for people in the upper 2% of the population with reference
to intelligence.

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: US -> Europe Direct Dial: 13th Digit Spells Bad Luck
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1993 16:23:03 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@rahul.
net> writes:

> This is the era of many megabytes of main memory and gigabytes of
> virtual memory in low-end computer equipment.  ...

> So why is so much telephone equipment limited to only 12 digits at a time?

> Who is writing this broken telecom software?  Is it some guy that
> hard-coded five digits for zip codes at one time and got fired when
> nine-digit zip codes came along?  Has some unsuspecting telephone company
> now hired him to write switching software?  Did they not make sure
> that any fixed-size data structures depend on defined constants, so
> that a single change and recompile would allow longer fields to be
> supported?  Does telephone switching equipment not have the ability to
> have its software upgraded via a telephone call?  ...

This really hits a button.  I've worked on software that went into a
PBX, and it's hard enough dealing with everything that The Network
presents now without being able to determine what the European PTTs
will do years hence.  At times, they seem to be determined --
hell-bent -- to ensure that US equipment will not operate properly
with their networks.  Further, it's not just a question of data
structures in individual switches; it's a question of the message
formats from switch to switch.  The network reliability requirements
require that upgrades be performed very, very carefully.

And no, you _don't_ want critical software to be changable by a phone
call; you want to ensure that the control store for a switch is immune
to any change not made by a technician physically present in the
secured area surrounding the switch.  Imagine what a terrorist -- or a
government about to declare war on a nation -- could do having broken
remotely into the control store for all -- or even many -- of the
nation's telephone switches.

Mr. Dhesi's intemperate article demonstrates how important it is to
have requirements validated by trained, experienced engineers
responsible for the performance and reliability of the product-as-part-
of-the-system.

Finally, remember that both telco-owned and customer-owned equipment
is expected to last for a decade or more.  This may not be fair, but
in the US it is practically enforced by the tax laws, which limit
depreciation based on the functional life of equipment, not on its
competitive or obsolescence-limited useful life.


(This man's opinions are his own.)
 From mole-end    Mark Terribile
[e-mail], Somewhere in Matawan, NJ


[Moderator's Note: You mentioned terrorists and governments and the
trouble they could cause. I think you should include phreaks as well.
Some of them love finding ways to get into switches remotely and can
cause a lot of trouble if they are able to do so.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (David Roe)
Subject: Re: Connecting Two Computers via RS-232 With a *Long* Cable
Date: 20 Jul 1993 18:37:40 GMT
Organization: Southwestern Bell Technology Resources


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John
Nagle) wrote:

> The proper solution to this is called a "limited distance modem".
> These are devices designed to work over a four-wire hard-wired
> connection, rather than a phone line.  These give you isolation, and
> will work even if there are ground voltage differentials between the
> two ends.  Anybody know a cheap source for these?

There are several sources of these. The first catalog I picked up was
"Black Box" with async models starting at $72 on page 36 of the
February catalog.  Their Technical Support number is 412-746-5500.
Speeds to 38.4Kbps, distances to 2.5 miles. It's cheaper than a
computer repair!  Disclaimer: I'm a satisfied past customer of Black
Box Corporation.  Good Luck.


David M. Roe, Director
[e-mail]
Southwestern Bell Technology Resources ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
1010 Pine St.   Room 635   St. Louis, MO  63101-3099
PHONE: [phone]   FAX: [phone]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 21:14 EDT
Subject: Re: Does This Device Exist?


Jack Decker writes:

> This is mostly a curiosity question, but could have some practical
> applications.

> What I am wondering is if anyone makes a device that comes in two
> parts, and that passes DC signalling and ringing through a "wet" line.
> That's probably a confusing description; maybe a diagram will help:

>  ________         _____                    _____
> |_|----|_|       | "A" |                  | "B" |         To
>    /  \          |UNIT |==================|UNIT |======> Telco
>   /____\=========|_____|  ("wet" circuit) |_____|        or PBX
>    CPE                                                   line

This is easy enough to do.  Use a FXS (Foreign Exchange Subscriber)
card at the CPE and a FXO (FX Office) on the other end.  These cards
are available from Tellabs for a hundred dollars or so.  Wescom and
XEL probally carry similar cards.  Gain is set with dip switches.

Wet circuits aren't needed.  If you plan on using a POTS line, you
need to have some way of setting up the connection if telco tears it
down.  A holding coil on both ends is probably necessary for loop
start lines.

I assume two wire versions are available, if not steal a pair of
hybrids from old 500 sets.


Patton Turner  KB4GRZ  FAA Telecommunications  [e-mail]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #494
******************************










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Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 17:52:00 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #495

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Jul 93 17:52:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 495

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House (Dave Caplinger)
    Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House (Bruce Sullivan)
    Re: 800 Translation Questions (Richard Nash)
    Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally? (Tatsuya Kawasaki)
    Re: Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission (Marc Unangst)
    Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule? (Chuck Forsberg)
    What Do People Think of the AT&T Breakup? (Christopher Zguris)
    How Were N.A. Area Codes Allocated? (John Paul Morrison)
    Translation Needed of Telephony Terms in Spanish (Hector Myerston)
    USR Sporster Fax 14400 - Any Good? (Eli S. Bingham)
    What is the TAP-Protocol? (Cyril P. Spruijt)
    Sources Needed For Cellular Accessories (Brian Oplinger)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Paul Houle)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Brett Frankenberger)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (John Hawkinson)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Justin Greene)
    Why the AT&T TrueVoice Demo Asks For Your Number (Nigel Allen)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Dave Caplinger)
Subject: Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House
Organization: Beeble Planning Commission
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 14:37:57 GMT


Hinders, Thomas <[e-mail]> writes:

> I contracted (with an eletrician) to wire my new home during
> construction.  I instructed him (based on input from this group) to
> pull separate lines for each wall jack to the basement.  However, he
> wired all the jacks in daisy-chain fashion.  When I objected, he
> claimed that daisy-chain wiring is standard wiring practice.

If you contracted him to wire each line to the basement and he didn't
do what you asked, it seems to be immaterial whether or not daisy-
chaining is "common practice" since you were explicit in your
instructions.

Did you give him written instructions concerning the wiring?  If you decide
not to pay him and it gets legal, having a copy of those instructions would
be pretty handy.


Dave Caplinger

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 23:26 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House


Thomas Hinders ([e-mail]) writes:

> If a telephone technician was dispatched to install jacks and wiring
> for a home under construction, would the standard practice be for him
> to wire the jacks in daisy-chain or run a separate line to some common
> point.
    ... and ....
> Is there any technical reason to install in daisy-chain fashion, or is
> it just cheaper?

I'm NOT from a BOC, but I did have MY BOC (US West) out last year to
rewire an older house which I'd purchased. They did not daisy-chain
them. They ran each one back to a common point at the demarc, which I
believe is common practice -- at least around here -- AND technically
superior, in my opinion.

Personally, I think your contracter was doing it was way because he
wanted to. I'd have been inclined to tell him to go back and do it the
way he'd been instructed.


Bruce Sullivan ([e-mail] OR [e-mail])

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 02:36:32 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: 800 Translation Questions
Reply-To: [e-mail]


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

> Perhaps someone could expand upon what Pat means here.  How can the
> telco keep a cache of recently connected calls if the logic to
> determine routing number is based upon the calling parties address and
> is held only in the database?

And our Moderator so kindly expanded:

> [Moderator's Note: A call from POTS phone A in Chicago to 800
> number B in New York will *always* have the same logic, won't it?
> Telco goes to the database the first time it sees an 800 number; is
> given the details on what to do, and does it. Do you have to be told
> over and over how to do the same thing? The round cache which sits on
> top of your shoulders stores information. You only go to the library
> (or read this Digest! <smile>) when you want to learn something new.
> So for a day or two or three -- whatever -- at a time, the telco
> switch's cache remembers what it did the last time it saw the number.
> Since large volume 800 customers are called over and over all day long
> in a city like Chicago (someone in some CO somewhere here is always
> calling United Airlines, I'm sure), the switch is always in a position
> to say "Oh! I know what to do now, I know where that place is."   PAT]

  Being the cynic that I am, I am still skeptical if this is the way
that it works (in general).  From my own experience, I have observed
the changing of a reservation 800 number (for a large U.S. hotel
chain) in the SCP from disallowing a certian area code, to instantly
(seconds) allowing it.  From receiving an out-of-band announcement, to
instead, being connected to the centralized reservation desk.

  Does our Moderator suggest that updates (customer administered),
will actually cause an unsolicited TCAP message to be transmitted from
the SCP to all interested SSP nodes?  Perhaps Pat, would you know what
SS7 message, and parameters are used to convey this information?  My
understanding, is that the entire intent of the SCP's, was to off-load
the service decision making process onto some high-speed RISC based
network processor database elements, into something the telcos call,
'Advanced Intelligent Network' or AIN for the acronymically deprived.
The speed improvements are acheived by letting another computer handle
all the dirty details about the call.  The SSP just does what it is
told to do by the SCP!

  Perhaps what Pat is thinking about, is the ability of the SSP to
retain a list of possible routing numbers for a given 800 number?  My
understanding is that this information is held temporarily on a
per-call basis.  When the calling party is finally released from the
network, the billing record is created, and all call data blocks are
then released.


 Richard Nash      Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
 UUCP:             [e-mail]
 Amateur Radio:    ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]


[Moderator's Note: Well the point you raise is the one issue I was
never able to satisfy myself on with my thesis of how it was done. So
your point is well taken, and according to the message which appeared
here yesterday, telcos do in fact do a lookup each time; it is done so
rapidly however that to the user it is quite transparent.  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Tatsuya kawasaki)
Subject: Re: Why Can't I Call 800 Numbers Internationally?
Date: 21 Jul 1993 18:13:54 GMT
Organization: Brigham Young University


> Often I see ads in US magazines and newspapers where only 800 numbers
> are provided. Near as I can tell, there is NO WAY whatsoever to call
> these numbers from Australia. Why is this?

 To which our Esteemed Moderator replies:

> [Moderator's Note: The main reason is because the company which owns
> the 800 number has told the carrier they do *not* want calls from
> outside the USA for whatever reason...  If


I am not sure if I agree with Pat. Sure you can call 1800 if you want
from overseas but it want be toll free, it would be toll fee. You can
if you want, at least from Japan. I can not remember exactly how it
goes, but it is something like this. I think you must use AT&T Call
USA; it should connect to any number. At least, I was told when I was
in Japan last year from an AT&T operator.


{moderator's Note: The catch is AT&T will only connect to an AT&T 800
number; you cant call a non-AT&T 800 number that way. You need to use
a carrier which allows calls to others, such as MCI.    PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Marc Unangst)
Subject: Re: Chicago Area Man Charged in Computer Porn Transmission
Date: 21 Jul 1993 20:58:54 -0400
Organization: The Programmers' Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI


The Moderator writes:

> If he had come home and said someone had (tried to) sexually
> assault him, do you think she should have 'whacked his ass' then also?

Come on now, Pat.  I would hardly put being sexually assaulted in the
same class as voluntarily downloading X-rated pictures from a BBS.  In
the former case, the child did nothing; being assaulted was an
involuntary action that happened *to* them.  In the latter case, the
kid has to first download a GIF or JPEG viewer from the BBS, and then
download pictures that are usually fairly well-described, followed by
finally using the viewer to look at the pictures.  It's hardly
something that he could have done by accident.

I don't disagree, BTW, that there *have* been incidents where a BBS
sysop met children over the BBS and then used that connection to meet
and sexually exploit them.  From what I've heard of this situation,
however, it looks more like the kid downloaded some dirty pictures
from the BBS of his own free will, and then either asked his mom about
them or had them discovered.  Either way, the sysop hasn't done
anything wrong (other than having pirated copies of copyrighted
pictures on his BBS).  He is no more deserving of an obscenity charge
than your average neighborhood adult bookstore.

> That does not excuse the sysop for not making a better effort to
> voice-verify his users, but it certainly mitigates the sysop's
> liability.

*What*?  Since when did it become the sysop's responsibility to ensure
that people don't see something on his BBS that offends them?  And
since when are BBS sysops required to voice-verify their users?

Libraries don't ask for I.D. before they'll provide a copy of Playboy
or similar magazines (and most decent libraries *do* get Playboy); in
fact, it's a direct violation of the Library Bill of Rights for a
library to restrict access to materials based on age.  Why should a
BBS, which is also a repository of information for the public, be any
different?

> I don't think a response of 'whacking his ass' would be appropriate
> if he told his mother in a forthright way what happened.

Actually, you're right.  But his mother shouldn't have called the
cops, either.  Instead, she should have discussed with her child what
he had seen; obviously he was curious if he downloaded the pictures,
so this provides a perfect opportunity for her to talk to him about
sex in a sane manner.  Instead, she has in effect told her child that
he did something wrong, for which someone else is being punished.  Is
curiousity really something that should be discouraged at all costs?


Marc Unangst, N8VRH      [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Libraries don't ask for identification to let you
read books on thier premises, although to remove the book from the
premises you need a library card and identification to have one in
your name. Neither do newspapers ask for identification to sell you a
paper. Neither do bookstores ask for identification when selling you a
magazine or a book. But BBSs are not libraries, nor are they magazines
or bookstores or libraries. Maybe they should be on the same par but
at the present time generally the laws are interpreted in such a way
that they are not. All the theories I've heard and read about 'sysop
rights' are very nice and very comforting, *if there were such things*,
but presently most courts say there are not. To compound things in the
case at hand, they have this dude on several charges. All the stuff
about distribution of pornography to a minor is a misdemeanor. The
felony charge involves the violation of Playboy's copyright. The one
serious misdemeanor charge involves possession of marijuana. He's
going to have a hard time working around those two items regardless of
the existence or not of any 'sysop rights' where his BBS is concerned.

That is why, IMHO, when his day in court comes (or actually his five
minutes or so) if the mother/son don't follow through on the complaint
or don't express any particular interest in the outcome (very likely
when the prosecutor asks them they will say they don't care how the
court chooses to deal with it), I think if his attorney, the judge
and the prosecutor suggest resolving the matter in conference that he
go along with them. If he has no prior convictions, when everyone gets
back from lunch and the court begins disposing of the several cases
resolved in conference that morning, he can stand there, get bawled
out good by the judge and receive a fine and/or six month's paper, most
likely unsupervised. It won't be the happiest day in his life, but he
will walk out after it is over, and although it will seem longer, he
may be in front of the judge for two minutes on the afternoon call
while the judge yells at him and tells him something to the effect of
'next time you are here, you get a trip to the penitentiary'. If he
chooses to be problematic by raising issues about what sysops ought to
be able to do, it is likely the judge will find a bed for him in the
already overcrowded Cook County Jail on the possession charge.  In
other words, a very pragmatic solution. When your own hands are not
clean, you are hardly in a position to argue constitutional law, par-
ticularly with a judge in Cook County who has got a dozen more just
like you to dispose of before quitting time. PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX)
Subject: Re: New AM Band Violates No-Intercept Rule?
Organization: Omen Technology INC, Portland Rain Forest
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 06:26:16 GMT


> [Moderator's Note: According to my friend William Pfieffer, Moderator
> of the rec.radio.broadcasting newsgroup, there *are already* some
> broadcast stations operating up there licensed by the FCC. Does anyone
> know who they are?  That was news to me.   PAT]

If there are any, they must be East Coast daytimers.  I've checked the
band several times over the last few months and haven't heard anything
except a highway information station for a dam in Washington.  The
last broadcast station I heard in the 1620-1700 band was WMAD in Alton
IL in the fall of 1961.  WMAD/WMAS used to beoadcast from/to Western
Military Academy on 590, but a real station took over that freq during
the summer.  Fish and I couldn't find another quiet spot on the dial,
so we moved up to 1620 kilocycles.  Our 50 foot antenna worked much
better at that frequency, well enough to reach the FCC field office in
St. Louis, or so the Commandant of Cadets told us ...


Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX          ...!tektronix!reed!omen!caf
Author of YMODEM, ZMODEM, Professional-YAM, ZCOMM, and DSZ
  Omen Technology Inc    "The High Reliability Software"
17505-V NW Sauvie IS RD   Portland OR 97231   503-621-3406

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 01:52 GMT
From: Christopher Zguris <[e-mail]>
Subject: What do People Think About the AT&T Breakup?


        I wasn't on this list that far back, so what is the general
perception out there about the break up of AT&T to allow competition
from companies like MCI, SPRINT, etc.

        I seem to get the impression from the various posts (including
the theme song thing) that the feeling is it was better when AT&T was
the only kid on the block! Am I wrong here or is this lists' general
feeling that everything was better when AT&T was in one piece running
the show and renting us our phones? No flames please, just the facts.


Christopher Zguris   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Well Chris, as you expect, it depends on who you
ask and what their own applications are and what their own personal
interests in the matter are. On this list, I think it runs about 50/50
with half saying divestiture was good, the others saying it was not
that good. Some feel the competition was a good idea but the breaking
up of the Bell System in the process was not wise. Certainly, we have
profited greatly in the past decade from the technological advances
some people insist would never have occurred had AT&T not been forced
to implement them to stay even with the competition. We've had many
long discussion threads here on this topic and never any definitive
answers.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Paul Morrison)
Subject: How Were N.A. Area Codes Allocated?
Date: 21 Jul 1993 01:11:33 GMT
Organization: UBC Electrical Engineering - Radio Lab


How were area codes laid out in North America (well, USA and Canada)?
Darts? Random draw? There isn't any correlation with geography or
alphabetical order that I can see.


Thanks,


 John Paul Morrison       University of British Columbia, Canada
 Electrical Engineering    [e-mail]      VE7JPM


[Moderator's Note: I'll defer to Carl Moore for a comprehensive answer
on this; he has a raft of files on the topic and maintains the 'history
of area codes' file for the archives. Remember, when area codes started
most people used pulse dial phones. The idea was to give the bigger
cities 'short pull' codes since they were likely to be the most often
called. To this extent, New York got 212 (five pulses) and Chicago got
312 (six pulses), as did Los Angeles (213). There were other rules such
as the use of 0 or 1 as the middle digit, not having two codes right
next to each other, and other considerations. Carl will no doubt write
to you and perhaps share the correspondence with us here.  There were
reasons for the codes being laid out as they were. PAT]

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

Date: 21 Jul 1993 08:57:48 -0800
From: Hector Myerston <[e-mail]>
Subject: Translation Help Needed with Telephony Terms in Spanish


I am badly in need of official (CCITT ?) Spanish language translations
for the following terms:

Echo Return Level
Singing Return Loss

and the ever present: TIP & RING.  I know this varies from country to
country.  I have run into PUNTA, ANILLO, NUCA and "A & B". Any ideas?


[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Eli S Bingham)
Subject: USR Sporster Fax 14400 - Any Good?
Organization: Calif State Univ/Electronic Information Services
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 05:11:39 GMT


I am about to replace my aging 1200 baud Hayes with a 14.4k modem. I
have been leaning towards the USR Sporster becuase the price is right.
Can anyone out there give me some idea of it's quality and
compatibility?  Right now I'm using Telix v3.21 for Comm software.

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

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 11:26:14 +0000 (GMT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: What is the TAP-Protocol?
Organization: PTT Research, The Netherlands


Can anyone provide me with information on the TAP-protocol?
(Telelocator Alphanumeric Procotol)

This protocol is said to be appropriate for radio paging applications.


Thanks in advance,

 Cyril    [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 16:49:00 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Brian Oplinger)
Subject: Sources Needed For Cellular Accessories
Organization: GE Corp. Research & Development, Schenectady, NY


I remember seeing here, every so often, info for people with or
looking to buy cellular phones. I, in particular, am looking for
sources of Motorola accessories. Is there a FAQ or file in the
archives or something that would be of help? I had a newsprint style
catalogue given to me by a friend at work but it was more than a year
old when I threw it away last month. Now I could use it.


Thank you.

brian    [e-mail]
<#include standard.disclaimer>

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

From: [e-mail] (Paul Houle)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 12:58:00
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice


> This 'feature' is a lot more hype than substance.  If you wern't
> able to to an A/B comparison, you wouldn't notice it was there.

        Well, the impression that I had was that the demo didn't
actually implement "TrueVoice", but that the "TrueVoice" side of the
demo was an ordinary connection, and that the "regular" side actually
had a bass cut.  I think that I could have told the difference in a
stand-alone context, but I have some experience as a sound engineer,
and I align tape decks and diagnose FM transmitters by ear, so I might
have better hearing than average.

        I think the recordings for the whole thing were probably done
in a studio and maybe given a bit of bass boost before being put onto
a voice mail system.  I know you can get long distance sound quality
as good as the demo if you record off a good mike, use an EQ in
recording it, and connect a tape deck properly to your phone.

        The amusing thing is that when you speak to an AT&T
representative after the end of the demo, the sound quality is
horrible!  I called it twice, and both people that I spoke to seemed
very ignorant, and could only tell me that the patent for Truevoice
was on file at the FCC; they couldn't tell me anything about how it
worked, or if it would work with my modem.  Because the recorded voice
said that "Truevoice is part of the 'i' plan", I asked if that was so,
and they told me that it was going to be on all AT&T calls.


 * Origin: NETIS [phone]/432-0922 (HST/V32) (1:132/189)

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

From: [e-mail] (Brett Frankenberger)
Subject: Re: AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1993 21:37:37 GMT


I finally got around to trying AT&T's TrueVoice demo last week ...
some observations:

It will no effect on high speed data modem communications (v.32 etc.)
The same modem carrier detection routines that they use to eliminate
echo cancellation on modem calls will cut out the true voice
enhancements on data calls.  (This seems logical, and has also been
confirmed by AT&T employees in alt.dcom.telecom).

Some people have wondered if AT&T has some specialcodecs that use a
different d-to-a conversion that the standard mu-law used by LEC's.
It's nothing that complicated ... they all use the same coding scheme
  ... AT&T just adds some DSP in the line for true voice.

The interesting thing is most calls now are digital for the entire
path except the local loop on bath ends.  Thius, AT&T adds absolutly
NO distortion to a call now.  All the distortion comes from the local
loop.  With true voice, Long Distance calls should now sound "better"
than local calls.  (Without TrueVoice, they should sound identically,
since for local or LD, you have two analog loops connected via a
digital network.  The number of hops in the digital network is not
relevant).  Thus, TrueVoice is little more than a gimmick.  It would
make just as much sense for a LEC to offer it.

As for what it does, I hope it is more than a volume booster/low
frequency (bass) booster, but that's what it sounds like.  (Desiging a
digital filter to boost base is a trivial undergraduate electrical
engineering exercise ...)

Also, what happens with conference calls.  Suppose I create a
three-way call to two long distance numbers (via AT&T, of course).
(We will call them party A and party B, and the caller in the middle
who set up the three-way will be Party C).  When party A says
something, it travels over AT&T's network to party C's CO, and gets
true-voiced.  Then Party C's CO sends it out to party B, over AT&T's
network, where it gets true-voiced again.  If you have multiple people
with three-way calling, you could end up with someone's voice being
true-voiced several times.  That could really distort the signal ...

I certainly know I won't be giving any AT&T any extra business just
because of this ...


 (formerly [e-mail])   Brett Frankenberger   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (John Hawkinson)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Date: 21 Jul 1993 10:20:47 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Willie
Smith) writes:

> I called, they gave a little spiel, said "In order for us to know
> where you are calling from, please enter your home phone number."
> Figuring AT&T probably has ANI, I typed nothing, got a customer
> 'service' rep who was adamant that they had no idea where I was
> calling from, so I hung up on him.  I called back, told the robot the
> information it just _had_ to have, and couldn't tell much difference
> except that "TrueVoice(SM) is louder.

I'm curious. Everyone who's posted about this seems to have actually
dialed their own number. I just punched in about ten ones and listened
to the demo ...


John Hawkinson    [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Greene)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 22:23:57 GMT


> Why would they be asking for a phone number?  I cannot believe that
> AT&T's not getting ANI for the call.

They are probably just trying to make people oh and ah at the tech by
making a usless interective feature.  I entered a pager number and it
didn't care that it wasn't the same as the ANI (or in their database
at all) and just went wih the demo.


Justin Greene <[e-mail]> Finger for PGP 2.x public key

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 10:19:29 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Why the AT&T TrueVoice Demo Asks For Your Number
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I think the AT&T TrueVoice demo asks you to enter your home number
because some people calling the demo line are calling from their
office line, a payphone or someone else's home.


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


[Moderator's Note: But what possible difference could it make?   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #495
******************************










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Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 23:58:03 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #496

TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Jul 93 23:58:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 496

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    FEMA Releases Summary of Flood-Related Information for July 19 (N. Allen)
    TELECOM Adventures in the Slovak Republic (Richard Budd)
    Telecom Companies Provide Flood Assistance (NETSCOM via Curtis Bohl)
    U.S. Cuts Off the Canadian-Cuban Connection (David Leibold)
    AT&T Rate Increase Coming (Ken Jongsma)
    Incoming Calls to Airphone? (Aviation Week via Ken Jongsma)
    DID Service Rates/Policy (Steve Crossley)
    Canadian Proposal For 511/711 TDD Access Numbers (David Leibold)
    Paging System Help Needed (Arley R. Hamilton)

                     ----------------------
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The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on
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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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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 19:34:25 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: FEMA Releases Summary of Flood-Related Information for July 19
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


I thought people would like to see some official announcements on the
flood.

Here is a press release from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
I downloaded it from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834.

   FEMA Releases Summary of Flood-Related Information for July 19
   Contact: The Federal Emergency Management Agency, 202-646-4600

   WASHINGTON, July 19 -- A summary of new information gathered today
from situation reports from FEMA's Emergency support Team, Federal
response agencies and the states affected by flooding in the midwest.

General:

   -- Nebraska and South Dakota became the sixth and seventh
Midwestern states to be declared major disaster areas as a result of
flooding this summer ... FEMA estimates that 36,600 homes have been
damaged or destroyed in the seven states where President Clinton has
declared major disasters.

   -- FEMA Director James Lee Witt was in Illinois today for
discussions with state officials about the status of the disaster
response and recovery efforts and to tour flood sites and visit with
victims.  Witt has said that "federal response efforts in the flooding
will be compassionate, reasonable and efficient."

   -- C-band satellite, Galaxy 7, transponder 23, has been added to KU
band, SBS 6, transponder 6, for transmitting "The FEMA Disaster
Channel." Daily programming from 1 to 4 p.m. EDT includes information
about agencies involved in the Federal Response Plan, as well as
interviews with agency representatives.  To ask questions of anchor
Don Jacks or his guests during air time, call [phone].

   -- The National Weather Service forecasts that the unprecedented
rain in the Midwest will continue.  The likely result will be that the
rivers will not drop significantly and, where rain accumulations are
four to five inches, second crests may occur.

   -- FEMA Disaster Application Centers (DACs) and toll-free telephone
numbers have received 21,314 applications for aid from people affected
by the flooding.  Included are 8,620 requests for temporary housing
assistance and 3,061 for individual and family grants ... The agency
is also processing requests for major disaster declarations from
Kentucky and Texas.

   -- The American Red Cross reports it has served almost a
half-million meals at feeding stations throughout the flooded region
and is operating 44 shelters today.  The Salvation Army has opened
nine shelters and served 140,000 meals.  Media contact: Susan Pyle,
703-838-8914.  Many other volunteer organizations are also helping
flood victims, with everything from "mud-out" teams and childcare
providers to food, clothing and cash donations.

State-by-State Status

   -- Iowa: To meet the need at feeding stations, the U.S.  Department
of Agriculture ordered an additional 10 truck loads of food to be
delivered July 18 or 19.  Commodities in the National School Lunch
Program are also being utilized at many of the Red Cross feeding
sites.  By day's end, the Emergency Food Stamp Program was expected to
be activated in a total of 57 counties.

   -- Illinois: Late Sunday, the Nutwood Levee on the Illinois River
near Grafton was breached, exposing 11,000 acres.

   -- Minnesota: A DAC Will open in Windom on Tuesday, with a mobile
DAC to support the elderly population north of this location... Five
additional counties were added to the disaster declaration Monday.
They are Clay, Big Stone, Stevens, Swift and Traverse.

   -- Missouri: A 30-foot section of the levee on the River Des Peres
in South St. Louis was breached Sunday, causing flooding.  The levee
had protected 25 city blocks, where residents had been evacuated.  An
advanced technological system that includes house-by-house data has
helped officials in dealing with the emergency there.

   -- Wisconsin: Nearly 2,000 applicants have registered for disaster
aid, including 536 at the DACs and 1,304 who used FEMA's toll-free
registration number.

   -- Kansas: The weather outlook is bleak in northeastern Kansas,
including Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie counties and the City of
Manhattan.  With heavy rains falling today and anticipated later in
the week, flooding is expected on the Kansas River, which flows into
the Missouri.  Dams are close to overflowing.  Hundreds of residents
have been evacuated.  A request for a presidential disaster
declaration is expected later in the week.

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

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


[Moderator's Note: Thanks for sending that along. Later in this issue
an article on what telephone companies are doing to assist in the
emergency in the flood areas.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 11:41:35 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: TELECOM Adventures in the Slovak Republic
Organization: CSAV UTIA


Don't think I didn't have any TELECOM adventures in the Slovak
Republic.  Among other things, I spent the first week in July wiring
my modem to the telephone lines in Kral'ovsky Chlmec.

First, let me describe this town.  It's English translation is the
'King's Sand Dune', but you can more aptly describe the town as the
'King's Armpit'.  About 10,000 people live here of whom 80% are
Hungarian, 15% are Slovak, and the rest Czech, Ruthenian, or Gypsy.
There are not many telephones in town and the quality of the line is
surprisingly good for what you can expect in the region.

It wasn't too difficult to get an adapter to connect an RJ11 phone
plug to a CS (Czech/Slovak) outlet.  The adapters cost Kc50 and you
can get them at any decent-sized electrical store in a large city.
American telephones are not hard to get either.  A shop in Kosice, 100
kilometers northwest of KC was selling Panasonic telephones with the
answering machine built in.  It comes complete with American style
push buttons (1; 2 ABC; 3 DEF, etc.) as mentioned before.

What we did was take out the telephone and unscrew the plate from the
top of the telephone outlet.  You will then see four screws for which
two have wires attached which come out of a sheathed cord coming out
of the wall.  It is possible to attach wires to all four screws and
have two telephones or a telephone and a fax machine coming from the
same outlet.  I have seen both arrangments here.

The adapter has a one red and one green covered copper wire going to
an RJ11 plug.  You attach both wires to the screws where the outlet
wires are attached.  It makes no difference to which screw the red or
green wires are attached.  Then your done.

When we began testing the modem to see if it would work, the modem
would go on- hook, we would hear the the phone connect, and then the
screen would return a 'NO DIAL TONE' error.  I set the modem to go
on-hook at command, but forgot the command to say to use any dial
tone.  Could anyone send it to me.  I could not find it in the book.

After setting the speed to 1200 bps and typing in ATDP(number) about
five times the modem got dial tone, sent out its pulses, and we got
through to the other party.  Since there are no other modems in
Kral'ovsky Chlmec, we dialed a friend in the next apartment and got
through.  Of course, with him having no computer and we no telephone
on the line, we could not speak to each other.  However, we were able
to fax a message to a furniture store in town which has a fax machine.
So far, so good.

Of course, that means that anyone can fax me as soon as I have a
telephone line in my apartment.  The next test is to see if we can
dial the Technical University of Kosice where we hope to have an
Internet address in September.  Tibor, my next-door neighbor who
teaches computer science and is under contract to Microsoft to produce
a graphics package (there are hundreds of Hungarian programmers
creating software packages for the major American information system
companies at about a fifth of the salary of American programmers), did
not believe we could transmit data any faster than 300 bps.  However,
I have been able to get displays in Prague at 1200 and 2400 bps, and
the quality of line in KC is better than Prague because of lower
usage.

Once I get an e-mail address in Slovakia, I'll let you know how we
made out.  Anyone who wants to e-mail me can still do so at
[e-mail].  Like Bill Clinton's address, your messages will
be printed out and the hard-copy mailed to my address in Slovakia.
Right now, I am having a telephone sent over from the United States
that will be plugged into the computer.  Once that is in place, people
will be able to fax me.


Richard Budd
After 7/21/93 please send e-mail to [e-mail]
or use snail mail to Kossuth ut. 69  077 01 Kral'ovsky Chlmec, SLOVAKIA

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

From: [e-mail] (Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs)
Subject: Telecom Companies Provide Flood Assistance
Organization: University of Missouri
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 21:24:49 CDT


As a part of the flood assistance effort from our University Extension
service, I received the following news releases:

The following messages of flood interest were posted to the International
Association of Fire Chief's electronic bulletin board, ICHIEFS.


CELLULAR ONE AIDS FLOOD RELIEF EFFORT
U.S SPY SATELLITES MONITORING FLOOD CONDITIONS
MCI SENDS MOBILE PHONE CENTER TO DES MOINES
AT&T GIVES $100,000 TO RED CROSS FLOOD RELIEF


Posted with permission from Dave Fowler's NETSCOM

CELLULAR ONE AIDS FLOOD RELIEF EFFORT

 Cellular One's Telecommunications Disaster Services (TDS), is
shipping cellular telephones, antennas, batteries and other support
equipment to the St. Louis chapter of the American Red Cross. Cellular
One will continue supplying cellular communications support to this
region until all needs are met. The Cellular One TDS program provides
cellular equipment, service and technical consultation to the business
community and emergency management/public safety organizations free of
charge in times of crisis.

U.S SPY SATELLITES MONITORING FLOOD CONDITIONS

 The National Weather Service and Defense Department are combining
images from their satellites to monitor the floods in the Midwest.
Data from the Defense Meteorological Satellites is sent to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration processing center in
Suitland, Md., where it is combined with images from NOAA satellites.
The combined flood monitoring is part of a military-civilian program
to share weather information.

MCI SENDS MOBILE PHONE CENTER TO DES MOINES

 A portable MCI communications center outfitted with 24 phones and a
satellite uplink facility is en route to Des Moines from Richardson,
Texas.  It will be set up outside a Red Cross shelter at the Western
Hills Community School in West Des Moines to provide free long
distance phone calls for flood victims, residents and emergency
officials. The satellite uplink facility will enable MCI to offer free
calls without adding an extra call to the local system in Iowa,
already taxed with extensive calling in and out of the flooded
Midwest.

AT&T GIVES $100,000 TO RED CROSS FLOOD RELIEF

AT&T is also working with government and volunteer relief agencies to
assess continuing needs in the area. AT&T said it is looking at ways
to provide emergency communications and computing assistance to relief
agencies, businesses and residential customers. The AT&T long-distance
network has not been disrupted by torrential rains and flooding
sweeping through the Mississippi, Raccoon, Des Moines and Missouri
River valleys.  Severe damage has been reported along these rivers
from Minnesota south to Missouri. Calling volumes have been heavier
than normal for the past week, according to AT&T's network operations
engineers.


Curtis Bohl                      Computer Programmer/Analyst
[e-mail]           4-H Youth Development
Alternate: [e-mail]                   Programs

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 10:35 EDT
From: [e-mail] (woody)
Subject: U.S. Cuts Off the Canadian-Cuban Connection


A Canadian Press report last week said that the main U.S. carriers
(AT&T, MCI, Sprint) will be cutting off 800 number access to Canadian
services that offer access to Cuban telephones. A Toronto company like
Telecaribe would set up an 800 number reachable from the U.S., then
offer U.S. callers a connection to Cuba (for a price!). The U.S.
government ordered the blocking of the 800 service via the Treasury
Department. There is a U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba but
Canadian-Cuban trade is relatively unrestricted.


David Leibold

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 14:16:52 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: AT&T Rate Increase Coming


 --- Forwarded From Reuters News Service ---

    NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuter) - American Telephone and Telegraph Co,
in announcing sweeping rate hikes, signaled that it believes the price
wars in long distance telephone service are coming to an end.

   Its rivals in U.S. long distance phone service, MCI Communications
Corp <MIC.O> and Sprint Corp <FON.N> several hours later said that
they, too, believe that competition for customers has moved away from
price to products and service.

 If ATT -- or its competitors -- can raise prices without losing
business or calling traffic, then the prices hikes will benefit
earnings, analysts said.

    But neither MCI nor Sprint would say whether it will raise prices.
"MCI prices will remain competitive," Collins said.

    ATT cited inflation and higher costs of doing business as the
reason why it believes it needs to raise prices.

    But the higher costs accumulated over time from a number of events
and features added to the network. "Nothing specific happened to raise
our costs," said ATT spokesman Mark Siegel.

    ATT seeks to raise charges to businesses by an average 3.9 percent
and to consumers by about one percent.

    Within the one percent, however, are some significant hikes,
including a three percent increase on all calling card and operator
assisted calls and a 15 percent hike for calls made to the United
States from outside the country.

    Price hikes are subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission.

    While ATT has increased prices for various services and calling
times gradually, today's proposal is the most comprehensive it has
proposed for some years, Granieri said.

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

Kenneth R Jongsma               [e-mail]
Smiths Industries          [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan               [phone]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 08:58:12 EDT
From: Ken Jongsma <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Incoming Calls to Airphone?


In the current {Aviation Week} there is a small article entitled "UAL
Adding Airfones." It wasn't particularly interesting, until the second
to last sentence. Excerpts follow:

United Airlines will offer global inflight telephone and facsimile
service on many of its Boeing 747, 737-300 and new 777 aircraft under
a recent agreement with GTE Airfone and Comsat Corp.

Under the agreement, more than 100 aircraft used for international
service will be outfitted with GTE Airfone's new digital GenStar to
provide airground service over the continental US via GTE's network of
109 ground stations. When beyond the range of GTE stations, aircraft
also equipped with satellite communications avionics will use Inmarsat
satellites and earth terminals provided by ComSat Aeronautical
Services.

[...]

GTE says the GenStar system will soon permit ground initiated (!)
calls to be directed to inflight passengers and conference call
capability. GTE will provide the cabin telecommunications unit, which
manages passeneger communications flow and the video programs
available to first and business class passengers.

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

Kenneth R Jongsma               [e-mail]
Smiths Industries          [e-mail]
Grand Rapids, Michigan               [phone]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Droman)
Subject: DID Service Rates/Policy
Organization: V-Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 21:50:35 GMT


Does anyone have a summary of DID installation and service rates and
policies from the different RBOCs?

I know Pac Bell has something like a 36-month termination charge
associated with DID trunks and I am wondering if other RBOCs have
similar charges, or weighted installation.

I will summarize and post if enough interest.

Thanks in advance.


David Droman         V-Systems, Inc.
[e-mail]  [phone] voice
uunet!vsi!droman  [phone] fax

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 21:46 EDT
From: [e-mail] (woody)
Subject: Canadian Proposal For 511/711 TDD Access Numbers


[from Bell News, 19 July 1993 - content is Bell Canada's]

New proposal offered for national numbers for the deaf

Bell and owner companies of Stentor have submitted a proposal to the
Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN) to introduce national
numbers for the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Under the proposal, persons who are deaf or hard of hearing will be
able to use one three-digit number, namely "711", to access relay
services from virtually anywhere in Canada.

Today, depending on the call's origin, persons must use up to 18
different 1-800 numbers to access relay service offered by Bell and
other Stentor members.

This proposal is in response to a request made to the CRTC by the
Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD). CAD have asked for a
standardized access to relay services by TDD/TTY (teletype) users.

In addition, the proposal also recommends that a new national 800
number be used to enable the hearing community to access relay
services.

The new national 711 and 800 numbers would be assigned in addition to
relay services access numbers currently used by Bell.

Subject to its adoption as the North American standard, the number
"511" has been reserved for potential use by the hearing community to
access relay services in the future.

The CSCN must report back to the CRTC with a plan to implement
standardized national access numbers by July 26, 1993. A public
awareness program is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 1993.

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

Date: 21 Jul 93 08:21:00 CST
From: A. R. Hamilton <[e-mail]>
Subject: Paging System Help Needed


     We've run into a problem with the paging adapter at the U.S.A.
Doctors Hospital. It's a VALCOM model V-2006 and periodically it drops
the page when the override is used but only if the telephone operator
tries to use it from the console or the ROLM phone in the office. The
zone paging from the floors appears to work fine. The whole works is
behind a Rolm 9751 switch with 9005.xx software hanging on a COT trunk
card setup for loop start.

     Working with Valcom we've tried various configuration changes,
both in the adapter and the switch, changed the COT card, and in
desperation tied an analog phone to the adapter (which works fine :( ).

     If anyone in the web has any ideas on the subject or a solution I
can be reached at:

     Email:  [e-mail]    Arley Hamilton
                                        University of South Alabama
     Phone:  [phone]              Telecommunications Dept.


Thanks, Arley

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #496
******************************










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Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 01:15:29 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #497

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 22 Jul 93 01:15:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 497

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Conference Announcement: Computers, Freedom and Privacy (Willis H. Ware)
    Bell Canada to Offer New Messaging Service (David Leibold)
    AT&T Direct Connect From Directory Assistance (Long Distance) (L. Gregg)
    N.Y. Pager Fee (Leroy Donnelly)
    Multi-Carrier Service From Cincinnati Bell (Douglas Luce)
    SNMP MIBs For PBX's (Urban Surfer)
    Early Cheesebox Operation (Don Montgomery)
    16MHz Digital Clock From T1/E1 Line (Conor Foley)
    Disconnecting Unanswered Calls After 20 Rings (Douglas W. Martin)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Sean Slattery)
    Assistance Needed With PLANITU Software (Zakaria Lahjomri)
    I Need Some Telephone Statisticts (Aaron Woolfson)
    Employer Representation in Messages (Raj Sanmugam)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Conference Announcement: Computers, Freedom and Privacy
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 11:07:05 PDT
From: Willis H. Ware <[e-mail]>


Forwarded for publication at the request of the conference chairman.

  From: [e-mail]
  Organization: John Marshall Law School
  Date: 14 Jul 93 11:04:30 CST
  Subject:  CFP94

             Conference Announcement and Call for Papers
                 Computers, Freedom, and Privacy 1994
                           23-26 March 1994

Announcement

     The fourth annual conference, "Computers, Freedom, and Privacy,"
will be held in Chicago, Il., March 23-26, 1994.  This conference will
be jointly sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
and The John Marshall Law School.  George B. Trubow, professor of law
and director of the Center for Informatics Law at The John Marshall
Law School, is general chairman of the conference.

     The series began in 1991 with a conference in San Francisco\
Burlingame, and subsequent meetings took place in Washington, D.C. and
again in San Francisco\Burlingame, in successive years.  Each
conference has addressed a broad range of issues confronting the
"information society" in this era of the computer revolution.

     The advance of computer and communications technologies holds
great promise for individuals and society.  From conveniences for
consumers and efficiencies in commerce to improved public health and
safety and increased knowledge of and participation in government and
community, these technologies are fundamentally transforming our
environment and our lives.

     At the same time, these technologies present challenges to the
idea of a free and open society.  Personal privacy is increasingly at
risk from invasions by high-tech surveillance and monitoring; a myriad
of personal information data bases expose private life to constant
scrutiny; new forms of illegal activity may threaten the traditional
barriers between citizen and state and present new tests of
Constitutional protection; geographic boundaries of state and nation
may be recast by information exchange that knows no boundaries as
governments and economies are caught up in global data networks.

     Computers, Freedom, and Privacy '94 will present an assemblage of
experts, advocates and interested parties from diverse perspectives
and disciplines to consider the effects on freedom and privacy
resulting from the rapid technological advances in computer and
telecommunication science.  Participants come from fields of computer
science, communications, law, business and commerce, research,
government, education, the media, health, public advocacy and consumer
affairs, and a variety of other backgrounds. A series of
pre-conference tutorials will be offered on March 23, 1994, with the
conference program beginning on Thursday, March 24, and running
through Saturday, March 26, 1994.

     The Palmer House, a Hilton hotel located at the corner of State
Street and Washington Ave. in Chicago's "loop," and only about a block
from The JoMonroe Street School buildings, will be the conference
headquarters.  Room reservations should be made directly with the
hotel, mentioning The John Marshall Law School or "CFP'94" to get the
special conference rate of $99.00, plus tax.

                     The Palmer House Hilton
               17 E. Monroe., Chicago, Il., 60603
      Tel: [phone];  1-800-HILTONS;  Fax [phone]

Call for Papers and Program Suggestions

     The emphasis at CFP'94 will be on examining the many potential
uses of new technology and considering recommendations for dealing
with them.  Specific suggestions to harness the new technologies so
society can enjoy the benefits while avoiding negative implications
are solicited.

     Proposals are requested from anyone working on a relevant paper,
or who has an idea for a program presentation that will demonstrate
new computer or communications technology and suggest what can be done
with it.  Any proposal must: state the title of the paper or program;
describe the theme and content in a short paragraph; set out the
credentials and experience of the author or suggested speakers; and
should not exceed two pages.  If an already completed paper is being
proposed for presentation, then a copy should be included with the
proposal.

Student Papers and Scholarships

     It is anticipated that announcement of a student writing
competition for CFP'94 will be made soon, together with information
regarding the availability of a limited number of student scholarships
for the conference.

Timetables

     Proposals for papers and programs are being accepted at this
time.  It is intended that program committees will be finalized by
August 1, 1993.  Proposals must be received by October 1, 1993.

Communications

Conference communications should be sent to:

                             CFP'94
                    The John Marshall Law School
                       315 S. Plymouth Ct.
                        Chicago, IL 60604

(Voice: 312-987-1419; Fax: [phone]; E-mail: [e-mail])

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 21:49 EDT
From: [e-mail] (woody)
Subject: Bell Canada to Offer New Messaging Service


[from Bell News, 19 July 1993 - content is Bell Canada's]

Star Messenger:

Trial planned for new long distance message service.

Bell has asked the CRTC for approval to test a new message delivery
service.

Called Star Messenger[tm], the service provides a message-delivery
option for customers who make certain types of long distance and local
calls and cannot get through to the called party.

Star Messenger is geared to customers who make operator-handled,
Calling Card[tm], collect or billed-to-third-number calls, but cannot
get through because the line is busy or there's no answer.

With Star Messenger, they would be able to leave a message rather than
calling again and again until they get through.

The company plans to offer the service to customers in the 418 (Quebec
City), 514 (Montreal), 819 (Laurentian and West Quebec), 416
(Metropolitan Toronto), 905 (Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga,
Halton-Peel, York and Durham Regions),519 (Southwestern Ontario) and
705 (Central Ontario) area code territories.

Star Messenger would be introduced on a phased basis starting in
Montreal on September 15 and in Toronto in November. The trial would
end on April 30, 1994.

How it works:

With Star Messenger, which would be available to customers making
several types of long distance calls, an invitation to use the service
would be played automatically when a caller reaches a busy signal or
the call is not answered.

To reach Star Messenger, a caller would press the star (*) button on a
Touch-Tone telephone or depress and quickly release the switch hook
on a rotary dial set. By following voice prompts, the caller would be
able to record a message of up to one minute in duration (an operator
would be available if help is needed).

The Star Messenger system would attempt to deliver the recorded
message at 20-minute intervals for the next four hours.

The message would be delivered successfully when the recipient answers
and accepts the message by responding "yes" or "oui" to a voice
prompt, or the message is given to a telephone answering machine or
service.

The caller would be charged only if the message is delivered
successfully. A called party could refuse to accept an unwanted
message by answering "no" or "non" to the appropriate voice prompt or
operator query. If the message is not delivered, the caller would not
be charged for the use of Star Messenger.

The basic service, plus two optional delivery features, are designed
to help give callers greater control over the outcome of their long
distance calls.

Those options are registered delivery of a message by an operator to a
designated person, and scheduled delivery, which would allow a caller
to specify a start time for delivery attempts.

By dialing a 1-800 number any time during the 48 hours following use,
a Star Messenger customer could check the delivery status of a
message.

Star Messenger customers would be able to send messages to recipients
located anywhere in the area served by Bell Canada, any other location
in Canada where there is a telephone line, or in the continental
United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

Star Messenger is more advanced than similar voice messaging services
currently available in the U.S. Offered only when calls are being
billed to cards, those services are not available "on-line" and
require customers to dial a 1-800 number or a special code.

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

Date: 22 Jul 93 00:36:24 EDT
From: Lynne Gregg <[e-mail]>
Subject: AT&T Direct Connect From Directory Assistance (Long Distance)


Re: Carl Moore's posting ...

Excerpt from AT&T Press Release ...

(JULY 16 BUSINESS WIRE)

" AT&T said Friday it will begin to charge users of AT&T USADirect(R)
Service for access to AT&T Directory Assistance and AT&T DIRECTory
Link Service.

   AT&T DIRECTory Link Service gives callers the option of being
connected automatically to the number they received from directory
assistance without having to hang up and dial again.  If callers use
the service there they will be charged $1.25 if the operator completes
the call and 85 cents if customers complete the call themselves.

   The prices become effective Aug. 30, pending approval by the
Federal Communications Commission. "

               _______________________________

I'd like to solicit some TD reader feedback on DA Call Completion
Services like AT&T's for long distance calling and others offered by a
number of RBOC's for local calling area service.

Valuable service?


Regards,

Lynne

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 05:12:56 CST
From: [e-mail] (Leroy Donnelly)
Subject: N.Y. Pager Fee
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Inns of Court, Papillion, NE


> From the July 12th issue of Radio Communication Report

JUDGE REJECTS MONTHLY FEE ON PAGERS IMPOSED BY STATE OF NEW YORK

NEW YORK - The state of New York's $1-per-month pager fee has been
deemed illegal by a judge who ruled the fee is actually a tax and
therefore violates state and federal laws.

New Your Supreme Court Justice Shirley Fingerhood ruled last month
that the fee, unlike legitimate government fees, does not relate to
any service the state performs for the user.  She labeled the $1 per
month charge as a tax.

New York legislation notes that the state must have a substantial
connection with any activity that it taxes, and only proportionate
shares of interstate use can be taxed.

The law also conflicted with certain due process clauses of the U.S.
Constitution, the judge said.

In the case of the pager tax, many people carrying the pagers used
them out of state, thus, there was no substantial connection.  Also,
regardless of in-state or out-of-state use, the fees levied where the
same and not proportionate.

The pager fee took effect in June 1992.  It was opposed by the Radio
Common Carriers of New York Inc., a state RCC association.


inns.omahug.org     [phone] (1:285/27)

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Multi-Carrier Service From Cincinnati Bell
Date: 21 Jul 1993 22:33:54 -0400
Organization: Telerama Public Access Internet, Pittsburgh, PA


Yesterday I got a call from someone at Cincinnati Bell.  This person
was plugging their innovative new long-distance service.

Apparantly, they havqe a special switch which selects the cheapest
long distance carrier (based on time of day and destination of call)
at the time the call is made.

They broker time from the five major long-distance carriers (MCI,
Sprint, etc) and some regional carriers.  They wholesale this time
through their special switching equipment, somehow making sure that
their customers get the best deal.  They also offer calling cards and
other normal carrier incentives.

This person went on to say that Cincinnati Bell is one of the few
(perhaps the only) Bell Operating Companies that was allowed to do
long distance businesss after the Bell breakup.

Does anyone know about this product?  Is this sort of deal
particularly remarkable?  Is he hiding something about Cincinnati Bell
being a BOC and allowed to do long distance?


Thanks,

Douglas Luce  Telerama

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 10:43:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Urban Surfer <[e-mail]>
Subject: SNMP MIBs For PBX's


I'm a data network manager and I've just assumed responsibility for
voice management at my company.

For data devices, SNMP is a helpful tool for management. Are there
SNMP MIBs available for any of the major PBX's? I am especially
interested in ROLM, but I would also like to know if NT, AT&T, Mitel
or any others have SNMP or are working on it.


Thanks,

Matt Holdrege                [e-mail]
Pacificare Health Systems    714-229-2518

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

From: [e-mail] (Don Montgomery)
Subject: Early Cheesebox Operation?
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 18:02:33 GMT
Organization: HP Sonoma County (SRSD/MWTD/MID)


Does anyone know how the 1920's style cheeseboxes worked?  I can think
of several ways to do this with modern electronics, but how can you
implement this function with only a few relays and a Strowger switch
or two?

Did the caller have to do anything after the first connection was made
or was it somehow automatic?


Don Montgomery   [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 13:58:33 EDT
From: telenet!daisy![e-mail] (Conor Foley)
Subject: 16MHz Digital Clock From T1/E1 line


G'day folks,

I am in search of the method of generating a 16.384MHz digital clock
from a T1/E1 line. I can recover the T1/E1 clocks and an 8 kHz frame
pulse. I believe that I will want to use the 8 kHz pulse since this is
the common denominator. Perhaps you know of a circuit that would
multiply this up or sync it to a 16.384 Mhz crystal using a PLL. You
may even know of a component that will do the job. Any leads would be
most grateful.

I'd appreciate it if you would respond directly to me. If you can not
then the newsgroup is just fine.


C.Foley    dasiy![e-mail]   Hardware Development
Alcatel Data Networks (formerly Sprint International)
Tel: [phone]     Fax: [phone]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 15:54:10 -0700
From: [e-mail] (Douglas W. Martin)
Subject: Disconnecting Unanswered Calls After 20 Rings


     I got a strange recording, and hope someone can explain it to me.
I live in San Diego (619) prefix 223, and was attempting to call
Bakersfield Ca (805) prefix 324.  This number is a pay phone near
where a homeless person I know spends a lot of time.  Anyway, nobody
answered the pay phone, and after about twenty rings I got a recording
saying, "Your party is not answering.  Sorry, your call will now be
disconnected. 213-7T".  I use AT&T, and have no idea about the pay phone.

Questions: Would calls be routed through LA (213)?  Also, how does
this fit with Larry King's "let the phone ring. We'll answer when it's
your turn."?  Is it common practice for carriers, even the major ones,
to cut off unanswered calls?  Please help.


Doug Martin    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: You can thank Larry King for causing this to happen.
For how many ever years, he was telling his listeners to 'let it ring
until it is your turn, that way you won't have to pay AT&T for a 20-30
minute call ... '  AT&T finally said nuts to that; they rightfully want
payment for the time their equipment is tied up. Now obviously there
will be a few seconds or even a minute when the equipment is in use
but in a non-revenue situation; you can't expect people to pounce at
their phone the instant it rings just so that AT&T won't have non-
revenue time, but with Larry King the 'system time' (as opposed to the
connect, or revenue producing time) was quite excessive. AT&T got
tired of doing the work King's production assistant should have been
doing by answering the calls, placing them in a queue for air time,
etc.  So the new way of doing things is answer in X rings or X minutes
(I forget which way it actually works) or get cut off. As a side note,
when AT&T put this into effect some time back, King was absolutely
livid; he foamed at the mouth for a couple of nights about it and told
his listeners to 'start using Sprint when you call me ...' AT&T's
unofficial response to that was 'oh, he is going to stick Sprint with
all that wasted non-revenue producing time and expense?  Good!'  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 12:11 GMT
From: Sean Slattery <[e-mail]>
Subject: MLS


In # 492 Bruce Sullivan [e-mail] writes:

> I have accounts on both MCI mail and CIS. Unless policies have
> changed  -- and I believe they have not -- you cannot send from
> one mail service  to another via a third.

> In other words, I can't send to [e-mail] from
> Compuserve  via Internet, nor can I send to
> [e-mail] from MCI  mail via Internet.
> Technically, it's possible. However, neither  service will let
> you do it.  It's more likely a billing issue than  anything
> else. If I send to my MCI account from my CIS account via
> internet, who does MCI bill?

I manage a REMS account on MCI (a gateway to our internal WP Office
email). I also have a CI$ account.  When I try to send a message from
one to the other routed via Internet I get a very nice computer
generated apology which says that it is against AUP for the Internet
to be used as transport for messages between two commercial email
services (a reasonable policy).  In both cases the apology seems to be
generated by the service from which the message was sent.

CI$ users can send to MCI users by using an X400 format address.  I
have never tried to send from MCI to CI$ but chances are you can, it
will, of course, be "for a price". :-)

Last time I checked incoming messages (internet => CI$) were free
regardless of volume (though CI$ mailboxes are small and will loe_&l
messages when full.  Internet => MCI message are free, otherwise I
couldn't afford to subscribe to this Journal.

I hope this helps.


Sean Slattery ([e-mail])
Network Administrator   Airflow Research & Mfg.

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

From: [e-mail] (Zakaria Lahjomri)
Subject: Assistance Needed With PLANITU Software
Date: 21 Jul 1993 13:47:53 GMT
Organization: Irisa, Rennes(FR)


I'm looking for documentation about the PLANITU software.


Thanks in advance.

Zakaria LAHJOMRI                   Phone:  [phone]
IRISA / INRIA U.R. Rennes          Fax:    [phone]
Campus Universitaire de Beaulieu   Telex:  UNIRISA 950 473F
35042 RENNES CEDEX - FRANCE        E-mail: [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Aaron Woolfson)
Subject: I Need Some Telephone Statisticts
Date: 21 Jul 1993 08:56:04 -0700
Organization: University of the Pacific


I have a question regarding long distance trunks and the telephone
companies.  For a report I am doing, I would like to have the
following figures:

        1) It is my knowledge that no long distance telephone
        company has ever gone out of business; just been taken
        over by larger ones.  Is this true?  If not, I need the
        numbers of long distance companies which went out of
        business and why they went out (i.e. poor management,
        no advertising, etc.)

        2) How many long distance carriers are doing business in
        the United States?  By this I mean long distance carriers
        which are tariffed to carry long distance traffic.

        3) What is the average yearly amount of money involved in
        long distance telephone services?  I have heard $200 billion,
        but a nearly exact figure would be great.

        4) The average growth rate, or expected growth rate, per year
        for the long distance market.

        5) How many lines the average telephone company has in ratio to
        the number of customers they have. i.e. does AT&T have two lines
        for every five customers it provides access to?

        6) What is the %-in-use, or utilization, of the telephone lines
        which a long distance company has?  Does AT&T see, at any given
        time, 5% of their lines in use, or is it more line 1% or 10%?

Thank you!  I appreciate the anticipated responses.


Respectfully,

Aaron Woolfson    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: If long distance carriers work with the same ratio
of common equipment to subscribers that most telcos use, then it is
likely they can service five to ten percent of their subscribers
maximum during 'busy hours' ... most telcos have what? Three or four
percent of their subscribers using the phone at any given time or is
that a high estimate?  Is it more like one or two percent during off-
peak hours and maybe ten percent during busy hours?  Most telcos max
out at full capacity around that point. Any readers remember the
Erlang stuff well enough to comment?   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Raj Sanmugam)
Subject: Employer Representation on This Digest
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Ericsson Communication Inc.
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 15:12:20 GMT


Hi,

I have been wondering why some members make statements like: " My
opinions do not represent those of my employer ...". I guess it
would be avoid any legal ramifications. Is it necessary?


[Moderator's Note: I guess there are still people out there who feel
if they include an organization in their header or .signaturanything
they say will somehow be tracked back to their organization. I've
always assumed that everyone else assumed each person speaking here
was doing so as a private individual and not as a representative of
their comany or organization unless explicity stated otherwise. One
Digest I am thinking of states in its opening masthead that all
messages therein are by individuals speaking for themselves, then he
truncates all the .signature and disclaimer stuff. I drop signatures
as a rule to free up about 15 percent of the space for another article
or two in each issue, but I've left the disclaimers alone since some
people feel so strongly about it.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #497
******************************










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Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 02:55:07 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #498

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 22 Jul 93 02:55:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 498

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Richard Budd)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Mike King)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Arthur Rubin)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Christopher Zguris)
    Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet? (Bruce Sullivan)
    MCI to Compuserve and Back (Joshua E. Muskovitz)
    Commercial Services - Internet Mail (Gary Breuckman)
    Is MCI Mail Blocking Internet (was Re: Is CIS...) (Paul Robinson)
    Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up! (Mike King)
    Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (John J. Butz)
    Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (Mike King)
    Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (Andy Sherman)
    Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance (Ehud Gavron)
    Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year (Dan J. Declerck)
    Re: Do We Have a Theme Song? (Carl Moore)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 12:00:36 EDT
From: Richard Budd <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
Organization: CSAV UTIA


So far as I know the Commonwealth of Independent States is very
pleased to be connected to the internet; or at least those republics
that can get it.  Any problems reaching CIS accounts may be more
caused by the quality of the telephone system or the propensity of
Russians and Ukrainians not to answer their e-mail :-) ;-)

This will be my last message to TELECOM Digest for a while since I
leave tomorrow for the Wild East.  Technology and phone systems
willing, I hope to return sometime in the autumn.  Thank you for
providing an education in telecommunications and networking and some
humor as well.  I'll miss this group very much.


Richard Budd
After 7/21/93 please send e-mail to [e-mail] or
snail mail to c/o Rajna  Kossuth ut. 69  077 01 Kral'ovsky Chlmec, SLOVAKIA


[Moderator's Note: And I will miss your submissions very much also,
Richard. As we discussed in email, I hope you are able to make a linkup
with us again in a couple months.  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 08:36:16 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


Pat asked if someone from CI$ or MCI can explain why CI$ is blocking
mail addressed to <userid>@mcimail.com, when routed via Internet.  I'm
not a CI$ rep, nor do I play one on TV, but I've been a long-time
subscriber, and here's the explanation given some time ago on CI$:

The gateway between MCI Mail and CI$ is separate from the Internet
gateway, and CI$ has historically surcharged for sending mail to MCI
Mail subscribers.

At some point later, it became possible for both services to send and
receive via the Internet.  But since CI$ has a direct gateway to MCI
Mail, for which they can charge, why (in their mind) should they
permit a user to bypass it and send mail to MCI Mail subscribers via
the Internet?

If LECs weren't required by their state regulators to allow dialing
10xxx on an intra-LATA toll call, would they?


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?
From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin)
Date: 21 Jul 93 17:08:43 GMT
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Arthur Rubin)


In <[e-mail]> a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur
Rubin) writes:

> I talking to someone on CIS about that a while ago.  Apparently, CIS
> quietly drops mail to "Internet" with "mcimail" in the address, to
> avoid not being paid for the mail questions.

> [Moderator's Note: Let me see if I understand your terminology. Are
> you saying that CIS discards mail to MCI Mail if the subscriber routes
> it via mcimail.com?  Is that what you mean by 'drop', ie, drop = discard
> or throw out? All moderators get accused of 'dropping' mail they don't
> feel like using in their digests, etc. Or did you mean something else,
> such as perhaps their mailer is smart enough to diddle mcimail.com into
> something else and send it direct?   Please clarify. I think it would
> be quite interesting to receive factual evidence that CIS was throwing
> out mail. Surely you did not mean that, or did you?   PAT]

Yes, I was told that CIS's incoming Internet router quietly discards
mail with the string "mcimail" in the address, and that CIS's outgoing
internet router bounces mail sent to >INTERNET:[e-mail] (their
internet gateway format).  I don't recall whether CIS discards
outgoing mail with mcimail in the user_name field of the address.  All
of this was about two years ago, so they may have such mail to bounce
rather than being quietly deleted.


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.


[Moderator's Note: Well, I think it is *terrible* when any site,
private, public, commercial or whatever simply throws away mail. Acts
like that cast suspicion on the integrity of the public email network
in general.  I'm not saying any site or network should handle mail for
any other site or network if they don't want to (although I think it
is to the advantage of all sites to freely exchange mail for all other
sites in return for having their own mail handled in the same
courteous way). But if a site is not going to handle some specified
type of mail, at the very least they should bounce it, or refuse to
accept it at all and make some site ahead of them bounce it. All users
deserve that much courtesy to at least know if they did something
wrong in the way they addressed their mail and get it back undelivered.
Would *you* want to work hard preparing some document or manuscript or
whatever and have it vanish because some site just tossed it away?
I get a huge volume of mail here at telecom and it is physically im-
possible for me to use it all. I feel badly about this, but at least
by sending an autoreply the sender knows if their (possibly diligently
prepared) article got here or not. They don't have to wonder about
that and send duplicates, etc. *If* CIS just drops mail they don't
want to deal with -- and I do not know that they do this at all --
then shame on them. Their customers -- especially their customers --
pay too much money to get that kind of treatment. I hope, Arthur,
that what you are saying is not their custom now, if it ever was.  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 14:03 GMT
From: Christopher Zguris <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


        I use MCIMail to access the Internet. I get several e-mail
digests through LISTSERVers and have never had any problems with
messages being "blocked". One digest I get runs about 100K a day and
it gets through fine.  The only problem I have had is ftpmail@decwrl.
MCIMail has no direct facility for FTP so I have to ftpmail
(CompuServe users do the same thing) and these requests sometimes
fail, but I don't think its an MCI problem.

        As far as payment goes, I pay for messages I create and send
based on "message units". There's a base price plus an add-on for
special services like express mail, fax, etc. I've heard that MCIMail
and others are thinking about reforming their pricing policies becuase
 -- I presume -- they are are not making money on messages received.


Christopher Zguris     [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: I think I send you close to 100 K of text each day
Chris. The only trouble I've ever had with MCI Mail was when they used
to have one bad name on my list and bounce *everyone* on the list as a
result. That has not happened lately (although I've not had any nixies
on the MCI segement of the list for quite awhile), so hopefully they
changed their way of doing things. They said they were going to fix it
the last time I complained.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 22:51 GMT
From: Bruce Sullivan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Is CIS Blocking Internet?


In C.D.T V13 #492 Pat noted:

> {Moderator's Note: But I send several dozen copies of each issue of
> this Digest to MCI Mail accounts from here. Who does MCI Mail bill
> now? I send many copies to subscribers who wish to receive the Digest
> in their CIS mailbox. Who does CIS bill? At least in the case of CIS
> mail from the Internet -- regardless of *who gave it to the Internet
> or it originated on the Internet itself* -- is billed to the subscriber
> and counted against their mail allowance. I don't think either service
> cares *who* gave the mail to the Internet; it just that they know they
> can't collect from the sender, so they collect from the recipient.  Of
> course I could see why Internet would have objections to being a third
> party delivery service under the circumstances.   PAT}

Pat,

In neither case do I pay for incoming mail, either with MCI or CIS.
MCI charges for outbound mail only; CIS charges for connect time only,
regardless of what you're doing (I understand that some, newer, CIS
accounts DO work as you describe: Mine (about ten years old) doesn't).

> {Moderator's Note: Could we please have a responsible employee from
> both CIS and MCI Mail respond to this thread?  Thank you.   PAT}

I checked with a contact that I have at MCII (the MCI mail people). He
said there IS policy on it, though it's not MCI's alone. Rather, it's
more of an agreement between the major mail carriers. (disclaimer:
This is my interpretation of what he said: not a verbatim quote) He's
generously offered to dig up a copy -- when it's convenient -- and
send it on to me. I'll in turn route it to you.  I'll also see what
the folks at FEEDBACK at CIS have to say about it.  However, I don't
expect a great deal initially from the droids there.


Bruce ([e-mail] OR [e-mail])


[Moderator's Note: If you had one of those $8.95 per month 'basic'
accounts from CIS, wouldn't they charge inbound mail from Internet
against your mail allowance account, the way they do outbound from
CIS to anywhere?  Please send along what replies you get.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 10:22:33 EDT
From: Joshua E. Muskovitz <[e-mail]>
Subject: MCI to Compuserve and Back


Well, I work on (but don't actually operate) a small listserv on the
Internet, and I have subscribers from both MCIMail and CompuServe on
it.  The listserv simply forwards mail, so the original header is
retained.  Here's what happens.

Mail sent from an Internet address to the listserv gets forwarded to
all addresses just fine.  Mail from the Internet to MCI and CIS work
fine.

Mail sent from MCI to the listserv goes to all Internet addresses.
All MCI addresses on the list (including the original sender) bounce
when they get rerouted to MCI, because the gateway recognises the
mcimail in the sender's address.  The funny part of it is that in
order to bounce it, it has to go back across the net!  Mail to CIS
gets through, I believe, but I'm not sure.

Not having a CIS account, I don't know what happens to that mail.

I've had EXTENSIVE discussions with the technical people at MCIMail,
and have determined that it is CLEARLY a policy issue to them, and not
a technical one.  Despite my threats to take away all of the accounts
of the people on my list to one of their competitors, they didn't seem
interested in budging on the issue.  Our solution was to modify the
listserv to modify the original headers, thus fooling the MCI and CIS
gateways.


josh

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 06:20:19 -0700
From: Gary Breuckman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Commercial Services - Internet Mail


Compuserve charges for mail that you SEND, and also charges for
Internet mail that you RECEIVE, at the same rate as if you had sent
it.  You have the option of discarding Internet mail (based on the
subject/from line) without reading it, and not paying for it.

This isn't as bad as it first sounds for the casual user.  Under
Compuserve's 'standard' pricing plan, you pay $8.95 per month which
gives you unlimited access to many areas at data rates up to 9600
without additional cost.  Other areas are charged at an hourly rate
depending on the bps rate you call at.  They give you a mail
'allowance' of $9.00 per month, which is enough for 60 three-page
messages, and you are only charged for excess over the allowance
amount.  This would not be good for items like the Digest, but for
person-to-person mail is not really a problem.

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

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 93 00:28 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Is MCI Mail Blocking Internet (Was: Is CIS...)


I sometimes send out messages to some mailing lists, especially ones
on Bitnet.  I have sometimes received my messages bounced back to me
because there were subscribers of the list on MCI Mail and the message
was stated that "You can't send to MCI Mail subscribers from MCI Mail
via the Internet."

Once, I tried sending a message to an address on Compuserve, via the
address [e-mail] address on Internet, and it was
bounced saying that you can't send messages to Compuserve via the
Internet.  The same thing also occurred on messages sent to AT&T Mail.

Pat, I have forwarded the three messages from TELECOM Digest as well
as this one to Mci Help ([e-mail]) and we will see if
there is a response from them soon.  I know they have been helpful in
fixing problems with bad mailing addresses and misdirected headers
indicating the sender is [e-mail] .  I
suspect they can give us an answer about this.


Paul Robinson -- [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Thanks. Let's see what they have to say. They have
been helpful in the past when I've ranted about them having one nixie
in a list of several dozen and responding by bouncing the whole load
back to me -- and I mean the whole load! Talk about getting mail daemons
up the kazooey. I only get three dozen or so bounce-backs each day as
it is that have to be deciphered. :) I guess I have time to remail an
issue to everyone at MCI! :)    PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 12:30:36 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Prodigy Internet Gateway is Up!


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #492, David Appell <[e-mail]> wrote:

> Last week's issue of {Communications Week} had a cover story on
> this topic.  CIS has already instituted charges similiar to Prodigy,
> and other big commercial providers (they quoted EasyLink) are
> considering it.  Since they all carry much more inbound traffic from
> the Internet than outbound traffic (the nature of the beast), you
> really can't blame them -- the "sender pays all" method, and
> subsidization of the Internet, doesn't work for them.

CI$ only charges for receipt of Internet mail for those users on the
new "standard" plan, which is Prodigy-like in structure.  There's a
monthly rate of $8.95, and an hourly charge of $8 (2400 baud or less)
or $16 (9600 baud or greater) for services not considered basic.
However, there is a $9 mail "allowance" applied against the sum of
mail charges (Internet or otherwise).  Sadly, one doesn't get to keep
the portion of the allowance that exceeds the mail charges. <g>

Both hourly rates are less than the pay-as-you-go rate for the old
(now "alternative") plan, which are $12.80/$22.80, with a monthly fee
of $2.50.  IMHO, since people on the alternative plan pay for the time
they spend reading mail, it's right they should not have to pay a
surcharge to read mail arriving via Internet.

CI$ does give you the option of either ignoring or deleting incoming
Internet mail (it's flagged in the summary); if you don't read it
within 30 days, it'll go away by itself.  Unread mail carries no
charge.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 10:14:16 EDT
Subject: Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance


Carl Moore <[e-mail]> writes:

> I am in Mensa, and recently got some calling-card plan from them.
> Mensa is for people in the upper 2% of the population with reference
> to intelligence.

I am in the Continental Airlines OnePass Frequent Fliers club, and
recently got some info on receiving 2,500 bonus miles if I sign up for
Capital TeleTravel dial 1 and calling card long distance services.
OnePass is for that percentage of the population who fly too much with
reference to the ground.

Do I dare forsake my employer, so I can get those 2,500 miles to make
'Bronze Elite Status' and get a free 1st class upgrade on my next
flight?  Will I take those 2,500 miles and dump Capital TeleTravel
after two months knowing that food and cocktails are free in 1st
class?  Shall I be able to tolerate the fact that Sprint is the only
LD carrier available from the GTE Airphone, making my Capital
TeleTravel card useless when I'm in flight?  Will all the above
companies catch on to my little scam and bump me off my next flight
from O'Hare to Newark leaving me cold, lacking an LD company, and
stranded in Chicago with nobody to turn except Pat Townson?

I'd better stop now while I'm ahead.


J Butz            ER700 Sys Eng
[e-mail]    AT&T - CCS

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 12:54:39 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance


In TELECOM Digest, V13 #494, Carl Moore <[e-mail]> wrote:

> I am in Mensa, and recently got some calling-card plan from them.
> Mensa is for people in the upper 2% of the population with reference
> to intelligence.

Duh, ok, so is there anything for those of us in Densa?  <g>


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 15:48:33 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Andy Sherman)
Subject: Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance


In article [e-mail], [e-mail] (Carl Moore) writes:

> I am in Mensa, and recently got some calling-card plan from them.
> Mensa is for people in the upper 2% of the population with reference
> to intelligence.

Given the nature of most affinity plans, this may merely be a further
demonstraton of the limits of IQ tests in measuring intelligence.


Andy Sherman   Salomon Inc  -  Unix Systems Support  -  Rutherford, NJ
[phone]  -  [e-mail] or [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Ehud Gavron)
Subject: Re: The Next Step: Affinity Long Distance
Date: 21 Jul 1993 20:35 MST
Organization: ACES Research Inc.
Reply-To: [e-mail]


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

> I am in Mensa, and recently got some calling-card plan from them.
> Mensa is for people in the upper 2% of the population with reference
> to intelligence.

Not exactly.  Mensa is for people who want to pay money every year to
think themselves in the minority of intelligence.

Surveys show the average {Reader's Digest} reader can not only pass
Mensa's exams, but also is too smart to pay the yearly money ...


Ehud Gavron   (EG76)  [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Fraud Losses Triple in a Year
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 16:24:56 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> upchrch![e-mail].
ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) writes:

> [e-mail] (Dan J. Declerck) writes:

>> Hmmm spoken by a true Infrastucture manufacturer (grin).  Mobile and
>> portable phones use surface mount technologies, and replacing the
>> EPROMS would probably cost more than the phone is worth. Even if this
>> were possible, it would take YEARS to get all the old ones off the
>> street.

> Is it just me or does surface mounting the firmware sound really dumb?

Considering the cost, it is much cheaper to use Surface-mount with
solder paste, than use through hole with DIPS or PLCC carrier. You
save the cost of the carrier, and the cost of mounting it, along with
gettting higher quality, due to the fact that removable parts can fall
out from vibration, jarring, etc.

If you think I'm kidding, look at a modern disk-drive microcontroller,
the controller that runs your microwave oven, VCR, etc.

> Most boards I've seen the ROM's will be socketed even if everything
> else is surface mounted. I'm not an EE, but I'd think that if I had to
> surface mount the ROM I'd use an EEPROM and design it so I could
> reprogram it in place. I doubt that someone is going to like hearing

EEPROM costs at least 2X EPROM on a per byte basis. EEPROM also has
lower access time (slower), thus causing a potentially higher cost.

This is why FLASH memories are so popular ... faster access time.

But FLASH is a new invention, and very few AMPS phones have flash in
them.

> that their $1,000 phone's problem can't be fixed because the firmware
> can't be updated. Especially when a lot of the people that own them
> are lawyers that drop a class action suit on you so fast your head
> would spin.

Most phones cost less than $1,000, and the phones aren't broken, just
obsolete, given the new technology.

Along the same lines, are you going to sue Intel to give you a new
microprocessor when a faster version of a 486 comes out??

My comments, and opinions are not representative of Motorola, its
subsidiaries, or customers.


Dan DeClerck       EMAIL: [e-mail]
Motorola Cellular APD     Phone: [phone]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 8:03:24 EDT
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Do We Have a Theme Song?


I recall Judy Holliday (not Judy Garland) in "Bells Are Ringing".


[Moderator's Note: You are correct and I stand corrected regards the
movie. But I still liked Judy Garland a lot when she was alive.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #498
******************************










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Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 03:49:47 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #499

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 22 Jul 93 03:49:45 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 499

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Shawn Grover)
    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Alan M. Gallatin)
    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Robert Aaron Book)
    Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA (Mike King)
    Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House (Theodore M.P. Lee)
    Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada? (Gerry George)
    Re: Incident at a COCOT (Ray Normandeau)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Richard Nash)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Laurence Chiu)
    Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice (Dave Grabowski)
    Re: Big Rivers (Dave Niebuhr)
    Newsgroup of Interest: alt.current-events.flood-of-93 (Nigel Allen)
    Wrong Kind of Lineman? (Col. G.L. Sicherman)

                     ----------------------
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].
 All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.
nwu.edu -- 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: mwk![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Date: 22 Jul 93 08:57:19 GMT
Organization: M. W. Kellogg, Houston TX


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Marshall Levin) writes:

> Are there any carriers out there that will give me a calling card
> without having my own phone number?  I am living with my parents now
> but travel often and need to make calls on the road.  I'd prefer not
> to use their card.  At school we have a phone system in which the
> school has a main number and students have extensions which do not
> correspond to a real telephone numner or line.  Students do not have a
> real line and cannot choose their carrier or order special services
> like at some other schools -- it's all "in house".

Originally, my Sprint calling card was set up as you described.  When
I did get a phone, I had 1+ for it added to the same Sprint account.
My Sprint bill was (and still is) separate from my phone bill, mailed
to me.


Shawn

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

From: [e-mail] (Alan M. Gallatin)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Date: 21 Jul 93 22:40:19 GMT


Robert Aaron Book ([e-mail]) wrote:

> MCI has a service called VisaPhone [...]

> Calls through Visaphone are *CHEAPER* than MCI's normal
> calling card rates.  It is a flat .22/.15/.10 per minute for
> Day/Evening/Night respectively, plus .70 surcharge per call.

The average day rate for inter-state calls is generally $.23/minute,
which is a bit more than Visaphone.  However, the evening rate here is
a bit MORE than the average $.14ish/minute for direct dial (and,
therefore, calling card as well).  The $.10/minute here is the same as
the lowest available direct dial rate through any of the discount
calling plans and is lower than anything you'll ever find on a calling
card.  Also, note the $.70 is less than the $.75 for MCI's normal
calling card.

> MCI also has similar arrangements with MasterCard (called MasterPhone)
> and American Express.

American Express' service is called Connect Plus (1-800-444-1004) --
The rates are the same as Visaphone, but you get you're MCI itemi-
zation as added pages to your Amex bill instead of in a second
mailing.  They also let you add your direct dial calls onto the same
account (so everything goes on your Amex statement) and I think they
even discount the base rate for the Prime Time program.

> AT&T also has its (in)famous "Universal Card" which is a MasterCard/
> Calling card combination.  They give you a (free) MasterCard

(or Visa ...)

> If you want to be *really* weird, you could even set up your AT&T
> Universal Card as an MCI MasterPhone Calling Card!

I thought you tried this and found out MCI won't let you do that since
"that bank (Universal Bank) is not participating ..."

By the way, in your original message, you mentioned that Visaphone
won't let you get American Airlines AAdvantage miles.  If you go
through American Express and set up a Connect Plus account, even if
only as a card account, they WILL let you use your AAdvantage number
to earn five miles per $. I'm surprised Visaphone doesn't do this as
they are supposedly parallel services.

Anyway, once-upon-a-time, Visaphone/Masterphone/Connect Plus used to
be the steal of the century ... The rates were formerly:

  $.70/call plus:  $.18/min day ; $.13/min eve ; $.10/min night

Then add on the notorious F&F to knock off 20%, and you get killer
rates!


Alan M. Gallatin   <[e-mail]>
Duke University School of Law; Durham, NC

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

From: [e-mail] (Robert Aaron Book)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA
Organization: Rice University
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 17:23:31 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Robert
Aaron Book) writes:

> If you want to be *really* weird, you could even set up your AT&T
> Universal Card as an MCI MasterPhone Calling Card!

I take it back; this doesn't work.  I tried it.  MCI took my card
number, tried to set it up, and then told me that the number was from
a bank that wasn't participating or something.  Apparently, this only
works with participating banks.  I don't know if most or only a few
banks participate, but I know for sure that CitiBank, Household, and
Chase are all included.

It would seem, then, that the only way to charge an MCI call to an
AT&T Universal Card would be to use one of those airport phones that
let's you swipe your card and then select the carrier from a dedicated
button or a 10XXX sequence.

Question: Why should a bank have to "participate" in the VisaPhone/
MasterPhone program?  Couldn't MCI just issue a calling card number
with the same digits as the customers credit card (plus PIN, of
course), and then bill the customer's credit card?  That way, they
wouldn't have to pay a kickback to the bank unless the bank was
participating.


Robert Book    [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 12:37:31 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Mike King)
Subject: Re: Calling Card Without a Phone Number, or Using VISA


Several people have written describing charging calling-card calls to
various forms of plastic.

I read in {Teleputing Hotline} a couple of weeks ago that Sprint has
inked a deal with VISA International to allow people to place calls
charged to VISA by dialing 10VSA + 0 + 10D, and using a VISA number
plus PIN.

I assume details will be forthcoming from your VISA issuer or Sprint.


Mike King           |  [phone]            |  I don't speak for my
Software Sourcerer  |  [e-mail] or           |  employer.  My employer
Fairchild Space     |  [e-mail]  |  doesn't speak for me.

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 23:03:19 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Theodore M.P. Lee)
Subject: Re: Standard Practice For Wiring House


Twenty or so years ago when we had our house built the local Bell
company (Northwestern Bell, now an unnamed part of US West) came out
and wired it for us.  They had us put stickers on the studs where we
wanted the boxes (we were allowed something like eight).  They ran a
cable with at least six pair around the house, starting near the
utilities entrance and winding around to every marked place.  I don't
remember now whether I put the junction boxes in or they did.  I'm
pretty sure they just ran the cable in one piece with no T junctions
or splices anywhere.

At least, whenever now I've added new phones I've just had to pull out
the cabling, find the pair I want, and either strip a little off in
the middle or connect it directly to one of those knife-like
connectors.  When I added my second line a few years ago they came
out, discovered the extra yellow and green in the underground cable,
did a little wiring at the box in the rear of the lot, terminated it
on the old black four-lug terminal block (no fancy modular demark
here), checked it had dialtone, and left me to the rest of it.  There
is a fair amount of crosstalk between the two lines, but not bad
enough I've bothered to try to track down where it is, especially
since it's most likley in the wiring or my phones.


Ted Lee   612-934-5424   [e-mail]
Trusted Information Systems, Inc.
PO Box 1718   Minnetonka, MN  55345

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

From: [e-mail] (Gerry George)
Subject: Re: How Can One Dial a US 1-800 Number From Canada?
Date: 22 Jul 1993 01:04:24 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA


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

> On a related topic, now that many ITU folks have joined us, what's the
> exact status of an international toll-free country code? Are there
> serious plans to get something like an 800 country code assigned for
> international calling?

I was just talking to the manager of commercial services at Cable &
Wireless in St. Lucia (C&W is a government approved monopoly in most
of the English-speaking Caribbean islands). She informed me that toll
free service will be available soon to businesses (or anyone who wants
to pay ...).  Access is determined by zones: zone 1 being the Eastern
Caribbean islands (Trinidad in the south thru to Antigua or is that
St. Kitts as the northern-most island). Zone 2 extends to include
Jamaica *and* the US (not sure but also includes Canada), etc.  I
asked what the dialed numbers would be like and I was told --
1-800-xxx.xxxx

[BTW, while their general rates are ridiculously high IMO, *and* they
are a monopoly, they do not have any restrictions to the number of
lines they will feed to a residence, as long as they have the circuits
available -- good news for me.  Soon ...]


Gerry George  Internet: [e-mail]  HomeNet: [e-mail]

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

Subject: Re: Incident at a COCOT
From: [e-mail] (Ray Normandeau)
Date: 21 Jul 93 12:36:00 GMT
Organization: Invention Factory's BBS - New York City, NY - 212-274-8298v.32bis
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ray Normandeau)


> [Moderator's Note: Actually, the stickers are available already I
> think for anyone to print out. Look in the Telecom Archives for the
> file on this; pull the files which begin with 'cocot'.  The archives
> is accessible using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu.  Nice idea though; you
> think I should sell those too?  :)  PAT]

For those of us who do not have ftp capability, how about posting text
of sticker here. Can't be more then six or eight lines.


[Moderator's Note: Okay, I might do that soon.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1993 22:14:25 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Reply-To: [e-mail]


Not wishing to be connected to an AT&T service rep, (I used a good ol
fashioned rotary), I decided that the preamble probably was the
TrueVoice processed signal anyways. (Someone tell me differently
please?)  My impression of the voice selected, was that it tried to
give the listener the feeling that they were listening to a person who
actually worked on the TrueVoice project, complete with hints of
slightly indecisive phrasing, as if to suggest this individual didn't
address the masses on a professional basis.

  The tonal quality of the speaker was excellent! The speaker was
completely intelligible. What I felt that I heard was a frequency
sensitive time delayed signal.  The bass was still there, but delayed
so as to enhance the sybillant energy spectrum. The lower spectrum was
still provided to give the pleasing bottom end roundness, almost
musical in structure.

  Did anyone do a FFT analysis on the pre and post comparision?


Richard Nash     Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8
UUCP:            [e-mail]
Amateur Radio:   ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15]

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

Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 22 Jul 93 00:15:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


Don Hackler said:

> Once the demo got to the comparison phase, they were using a
> professional male announcer's voice, instead of the female voice that
> was used occasionally in the introduction and instruction phase of the
> demo.  I suspect the effect of the 'feature' would have been
> negligible on her.

As a point of interest, wasn't the "professional male announcer" none
other than AT&T's current spokesman and erstwhile TV PI Tom Selleck?


Laurence Chiu
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Dave Grabowski)
Subject: Re: New AT&T Feature: TrueVoice
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 07:34:04 GMT


  More fun with TrueVoice(tm):

  I called the demo yesterday (from a payphone) and listened to it.
Sounded like Tom Selleck was in the room with me. Oh, joy.

  I called back today, and this time talked to an AT&T rep. Could
barely hear him. I wanted to know more about how TrueVoice was
patented. He referred me to Customer Service. (Oh, BTW -- he asked me
for my phone number and I said I didn't want to give it to him. He
said "Okay, I can process without your phone number ...")

  So I call customer service and talk to who seemed to be a nice lady.
She asks for my phone number. I tell her I don't want to give it to
her.  We actually ARGUED about this. So, I gave her the phone number
of our payphone and asked her about the TrueVoice patent. According to
her, it's patented with the FCC. Huh? I wanted to get a patent number
so I could perhaps get a copy of the patent. She says that she has no
number, but that the FCC can give me a copy of the patent just by
referring to TrueVoice (I had no idea that the FCC was in the patent
business).

  Then she asks me if the number I gave her is a business number.
"Well, not really," I told her. "Okay, so I lied. I don't want you
guys calling me up bugging me to switch to AT&T."

  THEN she goes into the good ol' sales pitch about how AT&T is
competitive with everyone else and bla bla bla this that ...

  I told her that the only reason I'd switch is when LD companies
offer me those nifty $50 checks. Sure, I'll switch for $50 ... until
the next company sends me a check.

  TrueVoice: A lot of hype, but not worth listening to.


Dave    [e-mail]   [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 07:20:44 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Dave Niebuhr)
Subject: Re: Big Rivers


In TELECOM Digest V13 #492 [e-mail] (David Roe) said:

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Erik. A
> Speckman) wrote:

>> Since the middle of this century the army core of engineers have been
>> fighting the river with massive, earthen and reinforced concrete
>> control structures.

> Erik,

> We took those levees for granted until floods came.  Across the
> Mississippi from St. Louis, there is an enormous levee that follows
> the "Great River Road" that must be at least 50 feet above the
> highway, with water within a handful of feet from the top of the other
> side.  We drove down behind the River Wall at the Arch last night--
> there was a stream of water coming out of a seam in the Wall, roughly
> the diameter of your thumb, shooting out a couple of feet.  Orange
> paint around it; presumably a "known problem".  My son asked "if that
> broke, would these windows on these stores break too?".  We didn't
> stay long.

Actually, I wouldn't put much stock in the Army Corps of Engineers for
correcting a bad situation anytime soon.

Remember the December, 1992 and March, 1993, storms on Long Island?
Everything was signed sealed and ready to be delivered to take care of
the breaks along Fire Island.

In April (I think), the COE backed out saying that they wanted to
study the problem some more.  The COE was hauled into Federal Court in
Manhattan and the highest ranking official who had signature authority
was ordered to appear and give reasons why the breaches weren't
closed.

Well, its now almost August and Big Pike's Inlet is almost closed and
Little Pike's Inlet is now over 1/2 mile wide and growing at the reate
of 100 feet per day at the least.  One big storm now, especially
during hurricane season, will wreak havoc on Long Island.

I could go on and on about the COE, most of it negative, but I just
don't want to get started.

PAT mentioned a little later in the issue about the Mississippi
changing its course to link up with the Missouri a little farther
north than what it did.

The Missouri did that in the 1800's with Iowa and Nebraska at Omaha.
Originally, the Missouri made an indentation into the Nebraska side,
but then (maybe due to flooding) moved to the east toward Iowa and
looped back in such a way the people having to go to the Omaha airport
from the south and west (correct me if I'm mistaken) had to go through
Carter Lake, Iowa and then back into Omaha.


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: Wed, 21 Jul 93 22:21:09 EDT
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Newsgroup of Interest: alt.current-events.flood-of-93
Organization: Echo Beach
Reply-To: [e-mail]


For more information on the effects of the Mississippi River flood,
people may want to read (and perhaps contribute to) the newsgroup
alt.current-events.flood-of-93.


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


[Moderator's Note: Thanks for bringing this up. Although talking here
about the flood is very interesting, it gets considerably away from
the charter of this group, and the best place to continue flood-
related articles would be in the 'alt' group noted by Nigel. I regret
that like many 'alt' groups it does not get wide circulation. Ask your
system administrator to start carrying it if possible.   PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 93 22:55:28 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Wrong Kind of Lineman?
Organization: Save the Dodoes Foundation


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

>> Paul Robinson writes:

>> Sorry, "Wichita Lineman" is about an electric lineman.  Paul, you
>> should know phone lines don't get overloaded, circuits do

> Really?  Why does Glen Campbell sing:

>    "I hear your singing in the wire/I hear you singing on the line..."

Maybe she likes to sing at 60 hertz.  Besides, that song is obviously
a rip-off of "Topeka Lineman," as introduced by Enrico Caruso at A
Century of Progress:

    I'm not lyin'
    When I say I'm fryin'
    When I touch that line
    But my heart is flyin'
    'Cause you look so fine
    That's why I'm tryin'
    To make you mine,
    That's why I'm tryin', tryin', tryin',
      tryin', tryin'
    TOPEKA LINEMAN
    Doot de doot de doot doot doot
    Doot doot doot doot de doot ...

> ... I was going to include the song "Step by Step" by Eddie Rabbitt,
> but ...

And I was going to post a copy of the venerable hymn "The Old Rugged
Crossbar," but unfortunately I lost my hymnbook at the local pool hall.


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


[Moderator's Note: How outrageous!  I did note however your mention
of the Century of Progess Exhibition. It was sixty years ago this
summer along Chicago's south lakefront. We'll never see another grand
affair like that again. None of the World's Fairs since have come
close, and the only one before it which came close was the Columbian
Exposition, also here in Chicago a hundred years ago this summer. I do
want to thank you for giving the benediction to this issue of the
Digest. By the way, what kind of a Colonel are you, Col. Sicherman?
A popcorn kernel? :)  Can we call you Colonel Popcorn from now on?  :)
I'm going to bed now, and will start this process all over again in a
few hours when I wake up.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #499
******************************










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Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 17:01:11 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #500

TELECOM Digest     Thu, 22 Jul 93 17:01:00 CDT    Volume 13 : Issue 500

Inside This Issue:                        Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    A Proposal: Standardizing Area Code Databases (Graham Toal)
    Internet BYPASS Makes its Debut - For Transmission of FAX's (G. Goodfellow)
    Hughes Wins More Contracts in China (Washington Tech via Paul Robinson)
    Not Guilty Plea in 'Fake ATM' Case (Washington Post via Paul Robinson)
    "Terminal Compromise" Now Available as Shareware (A. Padgett Peterson)
    Canada is Another Country (Bob Frankston)
    Special Tariffs For Distance Education? (Jane Fraser)
    Local Ringback Code Wanted (Mark Juric)
    Cellular Roaming Experience (Laurence Chiu)
    Capturing Call ID Data (Clarke L. Sheen)
    Callback Services (Gowri Narla)
    Dangerous Telepassport Account (Using Major Credit Card) (Dirk Vanoucek)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Graham Toal)
Subject: A Proposal: Standardizing Area Code Databases
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 15:17:31 +0000


Hello Telecom Folks,

   I'm working on a (PD) program to gateway email into any arbitrary
command-line-driven faxmodem.  One of the things I want my program to
do is be able to do a gross error check on the phone number given and
reject any that are obviously illegal, such as the local emergency
services.  Well, it turns out the safest way to do this is not only to
list what's illegal, but to list what's legal too -- in fact, to build
up a file of country codes and exchanges and expected number of digits
in a number.

Now, I need this data for my own project, and I started putting it
together from various net sources including our very own telecom
archives, and I quickly realized that the information out there is,
quite frankly, in a mess.

So what I think we need is a standard file format that can contain
everything you could possible want to know in a telecom-friendly
program, in as simple and easily maintained a format as possible.

Well, I've made a start on this.  I'm not going to suggest we form a
working group or a committee or anything because in my experience that
always slows things down to a halt.  I'll just go ahead and produce
something myself, and when it's done, if I'm lucky, people will say
'hey, that looks useful -- maybe I should prepare *my* data in that
form'.  However, having said that, I'm willing to listen to anyone
with suggestions on what to include.

At the moment the format looks like this:

<regular expression> <keyword> {<keyword>}* ; comment

The regular expression is used to match a phone number when you look
anything up; the keyword is some sort of token telling you perhaps
something useful about what you found, and the comment is just that.
For a phone number it would probably be 'Country: place name'

Here are a few examples ... (taken randomly from the collected file):

+1#[23456789]#* invalid-before-1995 ; US codes not yet allocated.
+1* country ; USA, Canada, some Caribbean islands
+1011* international ; USA: [ International Access Code ]
+1200* reserved ; USA: [ Reserved - Service Access Code ]
+1202* normal ; USA: Washington, District of Columbia
+44334###### normal ; UK: Strathkinness (6 digit numbers)
+4433488### normal ; UK: Boarhills (3 digit numbers)
+44462* normal ; UK: Baldock
+4446276### normal ; UK: Offley (3 & 4 digit numbers)
+44580* normal ; UK: Goudhurst
+44580* normal ; UK: Staplehurst
+4458080* normal ; UK: Frittenden
+44726###### normal ; UK: ST AUSTELL
+44726* normal ; UK: St Austell
+4484782* normal ; UK: Castletown (Caithness)
+4484786* normal ; UK: Forss
+496151* normal ; West Germany: Darmstadt
+49621* normal ; West Germany: Ludwigshafen, Rhein

For my fax application, I would allow a fax through if it matched a
pattern with '###'s only, not '*', and the tag was 'normal'

The numbers ending in * are because they came from a source that
didn't explain how many digits were to follow; ideally I'd like to
replace all those in the database with numbers of explicit length.

An interesting thing I realized (as I hacked out a quick apprlication
to do the traditional number lookup) was that it's a natural extension
to use the file as a phonebook too, eg,

[phone] voice ; Scotland: Graham Toal's office phone

Fax-serving sites could also use this mechanism to block calls to
specific numbers if there had been problems reported.

Here's the list of tags I've found useful so far:

directory emergency free funny government international invalid
invalid-after-1995 invalid-before-1994 invalid-before-1995 local
mobile national normal obsolete premium reserved satellite unused

If people think this format is worth supporting, I'll write it up
properly and document what the tags are for.

I have about 400K of data already prepared from the net.  If anyone
wants to look at it and decide if they can usefully use the format in
some program they've written, mail me and I'll arrange for you to get
a copy.  I haven't written much code to use the data yet myself; I'll
be doing that this coming weekend.  (I've done a major module of the
fax server each weekend for the last three weeks; this is almost the
last bit to go in  ...)


Graham <[e-mail]>

PS Pat, how would I upload something to the telecom archives at lcs.mit.edu?


[Moderator's Note: Your project sounds rather fascinating and if it is
prepared properly should be a valuable addition. Maybe some of the
readers with a particular interest in area codes will send some
additional suggestions your way. Ever since a couple years ago when a
hacker broke in at lcs.mit.edu and messed up a bunch of stuff, the
Telecom Archives has been read-only except for myself. To put stuff
there you send it to me here and I install it.   PAT]

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

Subject: Internet BYPASS Makes its Debut - For Transmission of FAX's
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 13:25:53 +0100
From: Geoff Goodfellow <[e-mail]>


Today's {San Jose Mercury News} Business Section had the following
front page story (From the {New York Times} - by John Markoff):

        "USERS AVOID FAX COSTS WITH INTERNET MESSAGES"

   The dividing line between paper facsimile documents and electronic
mail is vanishing.

   Thanks to the volunteer efforts of a group of computer network
designers, the network of networks known as Internet now permits users
to send an e-mail message to be printed out on fax machines at a
growing number of sites around the world.

    Because transmission charges on the Internet are minimal compared
with those of the long-distance phone calls normally used for faxes,
the system is a cheap way to send faxes across the country or around
the world.

    To use the system, begun this month as an experiment in remote
printing, computer mail users include a fax telephone number in the
address portion of their message. The message, which may include both
text and graphics, will then be automatically routed to a site that
has agreed to serve a local geographic "cell" for delivery of the fax
message.

    So far, participating regions include all of Japan, Australia, the
Netherlands and Ireland, and in the United States, metropolitan
Washington, Silicon Valley and parts of the San Francisco Bay area, as
well as other pockets of the country.

    Leading the project is Marshall T. Rose, a computer communications
consultant at Dover Beach Consulting in Mountain View, Calif. He has
worked with another Internet researcher, Carl Malamud, who has created
Internet Talk Radio, a weekly commercial audio program that is
distributed internationally and can be played on computer work
stations.

    The fax cell sites are computers on the Internet that are also
connected to inexpensive computer-controlled fax modems that can route
the files to virtually any fax machine.

    Each site can designate the size of the area that it will serve --
whether an entire city or just the fax machines within a particular
company.

    So far, in keeping with the utopianism that still permeates
Internet culture, none of the fax middlemen and -women are charging
for their services. Rose noted that the blurring of fax and electronic
mail would raise thorny questions.

    "Is this global and local bypass of the telephone companies using
the Internet?" he asked rhetorically. "Is this legal? We need to think
about this."


(Information on Internet Fax Bypass can be obtained by sending a
message to   [e-mail]).

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

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 12:56:07 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Hughes Wins More Contracts in China
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


 From {Washington Technology}, 7/16 Page 5,

"Hughes Network Systems of Germantown, Md., continued to garner new
business in the People's Republic of China.  The company was selected
to provide a very small aperture terminal network for the People's
Bank of China, China's central bank.  With 300 remote locations and
the possibility of expanding to more than 1000 sites, the installation
is the largest satelite network of it's kind for the PRC.  The 300
sites, including 62 where no terrestrial phone connections are
possible, are due to be operational by the end of 1993.

The firm would not disclose terms for the deal.

Meanwhile, HNS's primary competitor, GTE Spacenet Corp., [of]
McLean, Va., announced a reduction of 350 positions, leaving about
750 employees with the company ..."

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

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 13:04:07 -0400 (EDT)
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Not Guilty Plea in 'Fake ATM' Case
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


{Washington Post} Digest, Page C2, 7/20:

"A 28-year old college student pleaded not guilty to federal charges
he helped set up a fake automated teller machine in a shopping mall to
bilk unwitting bank customers.  Charles R. Lyons, a student at Hunter
College in New York City, was charged with conspiracy to commit bank
fraud and to produce counterfeit ATM cards.  Two other men were
arrested earlier."

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

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 93 10:16:23 -0400
From: [e-mail] (A. Padgett Peterson)
Subject: "Terminal Compromise" Now Available as Shareware


Passing this along since I feel that it is important: first as an
excellent techno-thriller (read the whole 560 pages in one sitting) and
since it is available on the net (ARCHIE found it at knot.queensu.ca as
/wuarchive.doc.misc/termcomp.zip (612K)). ENJOY.


Warmly,

Padgett


      THE WORLD'S FIRST NOVEL-ON-THE-NET (tm) SHAREWARE!!!
                       By Inter.Pact Press

                      "TERMINAL COMPROMISE"
                        by Winn Schwartau

     A high tech thriller that comes from today's headlines!

"The Tom Clancy of computer security."
          Assoc. Prof. Dr. Karen Forcht, James Madison University

"Terminal  Compromise" is a highly praised novel about the  inva-
sion of the United States by computer terrorists.

Since  it was first published in conventional print form,  (ISBN:
0-962-87000-5)  it has sold extremely well world-wide,  but  then
again,  it never hit the New York Times Bestseller  List  either.
But that's OK, not many do.

Recently,  someone we know very well came up with a  real  bright
idea.   They suggested  that INTER.PACT Press take  the  unprece-
dented,  and maybe slightly crazy, step to put "Terminal  Compro-
mise" on the Global Network thus creating a new category for book
publishers.   The  idea is to offer  "Terminal  Compromise,"  and
perhaps  other titles at NOVEL-ON-THE-NET SHAREWARE(tm) rates  to
millions  of people who just don't spend a lot of time  in  book-
stores.   After  discussions with dozens of people -  maybe  even
more than a hundred - we decided to do just that.   We know  that
we're  taking a chance, but we've been convinced by  hackers  and
phreakers and corporate types and government representatives that
putting "Terminal Compromise" on the net would be a fabulous step
forward  into  the Electronic Age, (Cyberspace if you  will)  and
would encourage other publishers to take advantage of  electronic
distribution.   (It's still in the bookstores, though.)


NOVEL-ON-THE-NET SHAREWARE Fees For The People:

The suggested donation for individuals is $7.  If you hate Termi-
nal Compromise after reading it, then only send $6.50.  If you're
really, really broke, then tell a hundred other people how  great
it was, send us a rave review and post it where you think  others
will enjoy reading it, too.  If you're only a little broke,  send
a few dollars.  After all, this is how we stay in business.  With
each  registration, we will also send a FREE! issue of  "Security
Insider Report," a monthly security newsletter also published  by
Inter.Pact Press.

Please forward all NOVEL-ON-THE-NET SHAREWARE fees to:

     INTER.PACT PRESS
     11511 Pine St. N.
     Seminole, FL., 34642

Communications:

     Phn: 813-393-6600
     Fax: [phone]
     E-Mail: [e-mail]
             [e-mail]

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

Archie only reported TERMCOMP.ZIP at knot.queens.ca but the opening
screen there recommends that outsiders use wuarchive.wustl.edu. I can
verify that right now it is there as /doc/misc/termcomp.zip.


Padgett

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

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Canada is Another Country
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 03:35 -0400


I thought the Telecom readers would appreciate the problems of
accidently being in another country.

While on a flight from Boston to Seattle, the plane made an emergency
medical landing in Toronto. The flight phones had been temporarily
removed so they could install seat phones (why no overlap??). But I
had my cellular and tried to dial my 800 number home. Of course, it
was domestic only and didn't work. I then tried my phone credit card.
No go. I finally resorted to collect.

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

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 17:01:04 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Special Tariffs For Distance Education?


Have any LECs filed tariffs for lower rates for educational
organizations doing distance education?  Are any regulatory agencies
exploring allowing such tariffs?

Thanks for any leads.


Jane Fraser    Center for Advanced Study in Telecommunications
Ohio State University  Columbus, OH   [e-mail]   614-292-4129


[Moderator's Note: Jane, are any more of your conferences or seminars
coming up soon? Be sure and send notices as early as you can.   PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (Mark Juric [MSAI])
Subject: Local Ringback Number Wanted
Organization: AI Programs, University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 14:38:46 GMT


Hi all,

  I'm looking for a number or "trick" to ringback my number.  You
know, something like dialing a 9 as the first digit of your number and
then hanging up ... I used to have one when I lived up North, but I'm
not familiar with Southern Bell.  Anyone know about this?

  Reason I need it is I'm trying to configure a callback for my PC and
I'm really tired of running across the street to the phone booth.  Not
to mention the quarters!

Area code (706) Prefix: 613, Athens Georgia.


Mark Juric          A.I. Programs
[e-mail]   University of Georgia   Athens, Georgia 30602

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

Subject: Cellular Roaming Experience
From: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)
Date: 22 Jul 93 00:15:00 GMT
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: uttsbbs![e-mail] (Laurence Chiu)


I finally got a chance to experience cellular roaming though I suspect
in my case it was not one of the difficult scenarios.

My cellular carrier is GTE Mobilnet in the Bay Area. I had occasion to
travel to Portland OR which is also a GTE area. When I arrived there,
sure enough my phone's ROAM indicator came on. I duly dialed *18 to
activate Follow Me Roaming and a voice assured me that now all my
calls would be directed to this location. I then tried making a call
back to my home area code by just dialing the seven digit number. An
intercept appeared saying with this kind of roaming I needed to dial 1
+ NPA + number. This worked fine.  Interestingly enough, my wife was
able to dial my phone just using the seven digit number. Only one
strange thing: When I deactivated roaming using *19 there was no voice
prompt.  When I got back to the Bay Area I tried to call GTE Customer
Service using *611 and got the Highway Patrol! I am certain did not
dial *111 or anything like that.

I am not sure of the costs -- I think it was $2/day roaming charge,
airtime billed at my normal air time rate (since both cities are GTE
country) plus applicable LD charges.

Apart from the costs, this seemed like a reasonable easy arrangement.
I have no idea what I would endure should I go to LA (cf previous
posts re roaming in LA).


Laurence Chiu
The Transfer Station BBS [phone] & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines)
Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access

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

From: [e-mail] (Clarke L. Sheen)
Subject: Capturing Call ID Data?
Organization: National Capital Freenet, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Tbu, 22 Jul 1993 17:16:48 GMT


I am looking for a method of capturing the Call-ID data from incoming
calls. What I am hoping to do is to display the information in a
window on my PC. Is there source code out there that I can base a
program on?  Help!


Clarke Sheen    P.O. Box 188    Vernon, Ont.

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

From: [e-mail] (Gowri Narla)
Subject: Callback Services
Organization: Purdue University
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 15:33:09 GMT


I had ftp-ed a file titled "800.collect.callbacks" hoping to find
information on a recently introduced service by some upstarts on the
eastern seaboard. But the file only had FCC stuff on 900 services.

For references sake, the service I'm talking about is one which
enables overseas customers to call into the service provider (probably
a 1-800), who will have the called party connected to the caller. The
tariff applied the overseas caller will be the US tariff, thus beating
the high ratess overseas. I hope I made it clear; atleast, that's the
little I know about it.)  I would appreciate if someone can help me
know more about the service: the feature, the business, the players,
regulation.  Any information will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.


Gowri Narla    Dept. of Chemistry   Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47906    [phone]


[Moderator's Note: One of the services you are talking about is called
Telepassport, and I am one of their representatives. I sent you the file
by email earlier today. Telepassport seems to be catching on. I won't
go so far as to say my days of sending across the street to McDonalds
for dinner are over, but TP is very promising.   PAT]

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

From: Dirk Vanoucek <[e-mail]>
Subject: Dangerous Telepassport Account (Charged to Credit Card)
Date: 22 Jul 1993 12:28:07 GMT
Organization: CCG Music Production
Reply-To: Dirk Vanoucek <[e-mail]>


> Moderator's Note: All the telcos will issue Calling Cards
> to people who are willing to pay via conventional credit cards such
> as VISA, MC, AMEX or EUROCARD. Why, I'll even open a Telepassport
> account for anyone who agrees to let me charge their bank account
> for it from time to time, even if my contract to use the EFT network
> does cause 'special concern' to California Cowboys and their bankers.

What could happen?

I don t know if there is really a risk in using these Calling Cards
that are given to non-US-citizens.  AT&T here in Germany told me that
in case there are amounts charged from my bank that I didn't phone the
following happens:

- I would have to declare that I didn't phone;
- the whole thing would be handled like a stolen credit card;
- I had to pay 100,- DM (approximatly $70), no matter how many calls
have been illegaly made by some other person on my account.

This sounds pretty good, but is it true, does anybody have experience
in such a thing happening? Because how could you prove that you didn't
do the calls, would the provider of the card be supposed to believe
you?  How long would it take to get your money back.  What PAT says is
absolutely right, and causes a bad feeling in the stomach, they can
simply get the money from your bank account without asking you.


Dirk Vanoucek  (NeXT)-E-mail: [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: In many respects, EFT is safer than credit cards
simply because once you tell your bank to discontinue honoring them,
that's it. In the case of TP, there is a user-defined 'credit limit'
which is not a credit limit in the sense of open account credit, but
rather is intended to act as additional security against fraud. Even
if your credit card had a very high limit or your bank account had a
lot of money, once the 'credit limit' you define (on the service app-
lication when you open the account) has been reached, the account is
shut off until the start of the next month *or* you tell us to raise
the limit and identify yourself in the process.

With either credit card billing or electronic funds transfer (if your
account is in a US bank or selected foreign banks), TP sends a rather
detailed billing analysis to your attention several days before the
transfer or charge is put through. If you advise the bank not to pay
it, you are out nothing. A third option we offer (mainly for people
outside the USA without a credit card or a US banking connection, but
anyone can use it) is the establishment of a trust fund account. You
decide on a credit limit, deposit funds equal to two month's limit,
and replenish it as you see fit based on our billing advices. Once you
stop putting money in it and the money runs out, then the service
stops. This is perhaps the best way to avoid problems. If you put $100
in your trust fund account, that is the absolute limit you incur.  PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #500
******************************