From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Feb 28 00:30:51 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i1S5UoG27538; Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:30:51 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:30:51 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200402280530.i1S5UoG27538@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #93 TELECOM Digest Sat, 28 Feb 2004 00:31:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 93 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Internet Society Launches New Workshop (Internet Society) TiVo Introduces 140-Hour TiVo Series2 Digital Video (Monty Solomon) Internet Lawsuit Could Have Global Effect (Monty Solomon) RegisterSite.com and Seven Other Registrars Sue ICANN (Monty Solomon) Re: Memories: Enterprise -vs- Zenith Numbers (Al Gillis) Re: Vonage Troubles (Sammy@nospam.biz) Vonage Question [was VoIP Phone] (Joe Wineburgh) Re: VoIP Phone (BrianEWilliams) Re: Coin Phones (Tony P.) Re: Coin Phones (Sammy@nospam.biz) Re: Memories: Old Fashioned Three Slot Coin Phones (Joseph) Re: Memories: Old Fashioned Three Slot Coin Phones (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Verizon Land Line International Rates (Scott Dorsey) Re: Verizon Land Line International Rates (John R. Covert) Re: Outsourcing From OTHER Perspective (Justin Time) Re: Anyone Know of a ISDN/PRI or SIP to GR-303 'Converter' (K Daniels) Re: Home Phone System: Talkswitch, KX-TD308 Alternative? (Carl Navarro) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Internet Society Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 09:25:33 +0100 Subject: Internet Society Launches New Workshop Announcement: Internet Society launches new Workshop Resource Centre Geneva, Switzerland - February 25th, 2004 - The Internet Society (ISOC) today announced the launch of the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre, a new web-based portal supporting organisers of network technology workshops worldwide. On-line now at http://ws.edu.isoc.org the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre provides a repository for sharing multi-lingual network training materials as well as a range of planning tools and information for trainers on how to set up and organise workshops. It also provides access to a directory of trainers and their competences and encourages interaction between members of the training community. "Today's announcement once again highlights ISOC's commitment to sustainable Internet technology education initiatives. ISOC has a long and successful track record in education, and our programs which began in 1993 have helped bring Internet connectivity to most of the world's developing countries. The ISOC Workshop Resource Centre not only allows us to bring the education materials used in these programs to a much wider audience than was previously possible, but it also provides a single source of valuable resources and tools for trainers and workshop organisers," said Lynn St. Amour, ISOC's President and CEO. "We believe that the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre will allow faster and more efficient deployment of network training while empowering many other training efforts locally." Development of the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre was made possible thanks to support from the Public Interest Registry ( http://www.pir.org ) and sponsorship by Qualys Inc. ( http://www.qualys.com ). "Qualys' support of ISOC and the new Workshop Resource Centre is consistent with our belief that education and training, particularly when it comes to Internet security, must be accessible on a global level," said Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO of Qualys. "With ISOC's leadership, we have the ability to expand the knowledge of advanced Internet technologies to new areas of the world where education is critical. Qualys is pleased to work with ISOC to expand its current base of programs." Specific features of the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre allow users to: - Upload and download materials for network training workshops - Find tools and checklists to plan educational programs - Search for potential workshop instructors - Review archived presentations and teaching materials from various events around the world - Participate in on-line planning discussions for upcoming events - Obtain peer review for lab exercises and curriculum - Locate sources for lab equipment and technical books Technical development of the ISOC Workshop Resource Centre was carried out by a team from the Network Startup Resource Centre ( http://www.nsrc.org ) at the University of Oregon. Materials available now were supplied from previous courses and by instructors from across the globe. For further information about the site, or for details of how to submit educational materials to the portal, please send email to: admin@ws.edu.isoc.org. ABOUT ISOC The Internet Society ( http://www.isoc.org ) is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1991 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 12 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time. ABOUT QUALYS Founded in 1999, Qualys, Inc. is a market-leading Web Service Provider offering on-demand network security audits and vulnerability management. More than 150 Fortune 1000 companies, federal and state agencies, and hundreds of small to medium businesses use Qualys services to measure and enforce network security effectiveness, reduce risk and comply with federal regulations. ABOUT PIR Public Interest Registry ( http://www.pir.org ) is a not-for-profit Corporation created by the Internet Society (ISOC) to manage the .ORG top-level domain. PIR's mission is to manage the .ORG domain in a manner that supports the continuing evolution of the Internet as a research, education and communications infrastructure, while educating and empowering the non-commercial community to most effectively utilize the Internet. PIR is based in Reston, Virginia. ABOUT NSRC The Network Startup Resource Centre (NSRC), a non-profit organisation, has worked since the late 1980s to help develop and deploy networking technology in various projects throughout Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the New Independent States. Partially supported by the US National Science Foundation, the NSRC provides technical and engineering assistance to international networking initiatives building access to the public Internet, especially to academic/research institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The NSRC is based at the University of Oregon. ________________________________________________________________________ FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Internet Society: http://www.isoc.org Peter Godwin Senior Program Manager E-mail: godwin@isoc.org Internet Society 4, rue des Falaises 1205 Geneva Switzerland Tel: +41 (22) 807 14 47 Fax: +41 (22) 807 14 45 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 09:39:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Introduces 140-Hour TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder for $349 After $50 Rebate Increased Capacity Gives Consumers Ability to Record Even More Episodes of Their Favorite Shows SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the pioneer in digital video recording (DVR) services, today introduced a 140-hour model of the popular TiVo(R) Series2(TM) DVR that will allow consumers to record even more of their favorite programs, and further enjoy the control and ease of use of the TiVo service. The 140-hour Series2 DVR is priced at a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $399, but, after a $50 mail-in rebate offered by TiVo, consumers can get the 140-hour DVR for as low as $349 with the purchase of TiVo service through the end of May 2004.* The 140-hour unit can be purchased today directly from TiVo either online at www.tivo.com or by calling 1-877-BUY-TiVo. It will be coming soon to consumer electronics retailers including BestBuy.com, CircuitCity.com, Amazon.com and Good Guys. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40704019 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 22:34:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Internet Lawsuit Could Have Global Effect By ANICK JESDANUN AP Internet Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- On its face, the latest showdown between the company that runs much of the Internet's core and the organization that oversees key aspects of the global network is a basic contractual dispute. But whatever a federal court in Los Angeles decides could have broad implications over whether financial or public interest ultimately drives decisions on how Internet users worldwide visit Web sites and send e-mail, legal experts say. On Thursday, VeriSign Inc. sued the oversight body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, saying ICANN's decisions have impeded efforts by VeriSign to offer new, moneymaking services. The contract between VeriSign and ICANN is indeed vague, and both sides have strong arguments, said Jonathan Weinberg, a Wayne State University law professor who follows Internet policy. A decision could set precedent over whether ICANN has legal authority to halt emerging Internet services that it considers "good for VeriSign and bad for the Internet as a whole," Weinberg said. VeriSign, based in Mountain View, Calif., sought injunction relief and unspecified damages against ICANN, which the U.S. government designated in 1998 to handle domain names and other Internet addressing policies. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40713641 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 22:38:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: RegisterSite.com and Seven Other Registrars Sue ICANN SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2004-- Internet Governing Board Set to Vote March 6 in Rome A second lawsuit has been filed in as many days against ICANN, the global governing body for the internet. This suit, filed by an ad-hoc group of eight internet domain name registrars, seeks to enjoin the governing body from artificially installing a system of reassigning expired internet domain addresses that is "anti-consumer, anti-competitive and unnecessary." - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40712749 ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Memories: Enterprise -vs- Zenith Numbers Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:10:07 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Nick - That was great work! And, of course, you win the Bonus points! Use them wisely! Some comments and minor nits: ---The company that held forth in the upper middle states was Northwestern Bell, with the two Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. --- In the Pacific Northwest of the US it was (what else?) Pacific Northwest Bell (Oregon, Washington and part of Idaho). In the far eastern part of Oregon and some places in Idaho there was a little operation called the Malhuer Home Telephone Company. I used to see references to it in Oregon PUC tariff filing information) --- I think the C&P companies were all separate at the end (1984) but were surely all one company in the early days. How else would they all get that exquisitely arcane name? (That sort of reminds me of the full name of the A&P supermarkets: "The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company"! That name certainly has more class than most of the names in vogue today, don't you think?) --- What state was the "Diamond State"? I'm guessing Rhode Island... (and here's another exquisitely arcane name: "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". That was its name when King Charles II released control of the place). --- Nevada Bell was a separate entity until 1984, when the Californians got it. Do you suppose Nevada Bell was the smallest BOC in terms of number of lines? --- It's interesting to me that in some cases many states were served by one company (Mountain Bell and Northwestern Bell, for example) but in lots of cases a Bell company was confined to a single state. I suppose this was because of taxes or regulation but it might just have been some agreements made with previous owners as companies were purchased before the Kingsbury Commitment came into the fore. So thanks!! PAT! MARK! Anything to add to Nicks information? And Pat, thanks for adding your information about back office functions spread across the System. (Sorry this is getting so long!) Al Nick Landsberg wrote in message news:telecom23.92.11@telecom-digest.org: > Al Gillis wrote: >> Hi All... > [SNIP] >> And here's a couple of bonus questions ... Who can name all the 22 >> Operating Companies of the Bell System? What was the name of the >> metal recovery company the Bell System used to recover copper, lead >> and other metals resulting from their disconnects? > I'm guessing about the ones with ? after them. > New England Telephone > New York Telephone > NJ Bell > Bell of PA > Chesapeake and Potomac of Virginia > C & P of DC > C & P of Maryland > C & P of W. Va. > (or were all of these considered one company?) > Diamond State Telephone > Southern Bell > South Central Bell > Illinois Bell > Indiana Bell > Michigan Bell > Ohio Bell? > (I think Cincinatti Bell was an independent, > but I'm not sure) > Wisconsin Bell? > Don't know about Minnesotta? :( > Southwest Bell > Pacific Tel and Tel (wonder if Nevada Bell > counts as a separate company?) > Mountain Bell > Northwest Bell. > Totally lost on which company served the great plains states. > And a portion of SNET (about 20%) was also owned > by AT&T, I think. (Southern New England Telephone) > and the answer to the bonus question is ... > Nassau Smelting! >> Thanks, Pat! >> Al ------------------------------ From: Sammy@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Vonage Troubles Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 06:02:27 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications Rich Greenberg wrote: > In article , > wrote: >> I've had Vonage for 11 months now, and have used it at two different >> locations (Cable modem and DSL). >> I lose dial tone occasionally and have found, every time, that if I >> reboot the Cisco and perhaps the cable modem, it comes back just fine. > And if you do nothing but wait about the same length of time, does it > still come back? Don't know, because if I need to use it I don't hang around and wait. ------------------------------ From: Joe Wineburgh Subject: Vonage Question [was: VoIP Phone] Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 11:21:11 -0500 Has anyone actually set this up and used it this way? I'm ordering the service and this was exactly what I was thinking of doing per the comments on the Vonage web site suggesting it was possible and would like to get some feedback from others who are using it in this configuration. Thanks. #JOE [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am in the process of thinking it through now. When the weather gets a bit warmer and daylight lasts a little longer, I am certain I will do it. Just take care that you use a pair which is totally idle and does not have dialtone anywhere on it. If telco dialtone gets on that line, sure as the world it will fry that ATA box. I'll have to first go to the phone demarc outside my house on the wall, and *completely disconnect* the spare pair which drops in from the telephone pole, tie it up out of the way. Then I will take the phone box in my computer room (with only one pair on it) and attach the second pair to the back side of the Vonage ATA box. Those two pairs (one idle, the other in use) go through the wall to the outside where they snake up to the demarc. Then its back outside to the demark and make sure the connections are correct there. At that point one set of (four) wires runs around the house to my bedroom and the other set of (four) wires runs under the house to the other side where wires come up through the floor through the wall to the wall phone in my dining area. Now my landline phone will be on the one pair running to the bedroom and under the house to the kitchen and to my computer room (formerly a back bedroom) on the third set of wires. Ergo, Vonage on one set of wires, telco on the other set of wires. I'll need to buy, or inherit a few two-line phones with a hold button on them. I think the Vonage ATA box can handle a REM of 3 but I guess I will find out. Even though the last time I checked it, three months ago or so (when fall weather was here) that second pair which used to be my mother's phone when she lived here had no dial tone on it -- just battery -- I never know but what Southestern Bell may have since grabbed it to use elsewhere and not bothered to cut the multiples here in my demarc. Probably not, but I would hate to waste a Cisco ATA box by having it fried some day. I did a similar thing in Chicago several years ago, but with an old Melco PBX. That was technically 'wrong' I guess, even before the divestiture when landlords inherited all the house pairs in an apart- ment building; or the rule on 'conduits in common' took effect. I found some multiples up and down Greenview Street that telco had forgotten to open and still had deserted the cable in place. So my Melco served a couple buddies in the apartment building down the street from me, and when dialing zero on the phone attached to that PBX they reached Operator Pat. You know how much people squawk about telco problems. If most people had *any idea* how many multiples there are out there on their (so called) private phone which wind up getting terminated as an 'unused pair' in someone else's house, it would be a terrible scandal. My assumption was if Illinois Bell had ever had a technician ring out those lines my PBX was on, he would hear dial tone and 'just assume' plant had made an error in their records and select another pair for his job. (Not an unreasonable assumption if you know about the age-old street cables in Chicago.) In one of the old apartment buildings where I filched a pair from the inside box in the basement I found some pairs tied together with a string and a little tag by a phone man dated **1931**, long since forgotten about. PAT] ------------------------------ From: sorry_no_email@yahoo.com (BrianEWilliams) Subject: VoIP Phone Date: 26 Feb 2004 13:42:24 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Thanks for the info. My responses are inline below. sorry_no_email@yahoo.com (BrianEWilliams) wrote in message news:: > I am looking to add a second phone line to use in my home office. > Since the phone company charges a setup fee, and then every little > extra is more money, I thought I might use one of the new Voice over > IP phones/systems that are available. > I looked at Vonage (www.vonage.com), and the features are nice at a > decent price, but my home network makes it a little awkward. The > cable modem is in my basement, which then feeds into a router that > feeds all the rooms. Having the Vonage device in my home office means > that Vonage can't ensure service quality by prioritizing phone traffic > over other traffic. Having the Vonage device in the basement doesn't > work at all. If you are interested, here are some schematics: > http://www.vonage.com/installation_multiple.php > http://www.vonage.com/installation_multiple_alternate.php > Anyway, I thought there might be a phone that just plugs into my USB > port, which would be pretty slick if it works, although it means > leaving my computer on if I want to get calls. Any suggestions? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you want to prioritize traffic to > make the phone work better, then a USB port where it will be fighting > all the time with the other stuff (on that computer) is NOT the way to > go. Good point, and I think I will rule out a USB phone. > And what does your *home office* have to do with it (as opposed > for example to an 'office' office? I wasn't too clear. My home office happens to be on the second floor, and that is where I want the equipment to make installation simple. > And why is the cable modem in the basement? That is where I installed my "telecom closet" when we built the house, and I also have a secondary office down there, although it isn't very comfortable. The cable modem in the basement feeds into the Linksys router which then feeds into an ethernet patch bay which runs cable from the basement into all the rooms. > Or conversely why can't you use a somewhat longer ethernet > connection in order to put the Cisco ATA box (or whatever kind of > adapter you would get with Vonage) at some place that was more conven- > ient for you to use. If I use the preinstalled wiring, then I couldn't have internet access in all the other rooms of the house. I *could* patch the cable modem signal up to the ethernet port in my home office, but then how would I get it from there to the rest of the house? I suppose I could get a wireless network, but I have been spoiled by my wired 100 mbs ethernet. > And instead of running off that box a relatively short distance to > the nearest phone connection (which if it were in the basement would > be more awkward for you) use the modular connecting plug on the back > of the ATA box to a spare addtional pair to your incoming phone > terminal box, then tie that pair all around your house so you used > it at your convenience, as a line appearance on various phones. Not a bad idea. The phone terminal box is just outside the garage. I will look into this. > And there is a 'bandwidth adjustment' on the Vonage website which you > can reach from the Vonage dashboard. But it is confusing the way it > appears on your screen: Mine defaulted exactly in the center of the > gauge with 'more bandwith' being to the right and 'less bandwidth' > being to the left (on this slider thing which ran from 30 Kbs on the > left up to 120 Kbs on the right side.) People would complain they > could not hear/understand me, so I (I thought logically) kept cranking > the slider to the right: more bandwidth! More! More!! But it just > kept getting worse. Then the Vonage people explained to me I had to > move it to the *left*, not right. "Move it all the way to the left, > at 30 Kbs, reboot the Cisco ATA and wait a few minutes (like 15-20) > for everything to catch up you, then try it, and don't forget to > install the TFTD and SIP things in your firewall." When I did all > that, and waited a few minutes for Vonage to 'catch up with me' it > all worked *much better*. > Not certain it would work correctly, I put in a call to the one > chronic complainer I talk to a lot who *always* knows when I am on > Vonage 'because it always sounds so crappy' and even he this time > said 'It sounds a lot better now, what did you do to it?' before I > told him I had done anything at all. He said that before I made the > adjustments Vonage gave me, whenever my weather station via the > Windows 95 would let loose with an FTP transfer to my display at > http://weatherforecast.us.tf or http://weatherforecast.n3.net it > would always blank out my voice talking on the Vonage. Now, he says, > it only ever so occassionally 'clips' a word here and there. Of > course I am running not only the weather station and its camera to > the net, but also a camera view of my computer room all the time for > anyone who gets their kicks by spying on me http://patricktownson.us.tf > so I do put a load on the cable, yet I do not have that much trouble > with it since I made the recommended (by Vonage) adjustments. PAT] Sounds like Vonage is not what I want. My current land line doesn't cost much more, with unlimited local and long distance, call waiting, 3-way, and voice mail. I thought I could save a few bucks by switching, but I think I will give it some more time. Thanks for the help. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But for anyone who thinks Vonage may fit their application, they can get a month of free service from me by asking for an e-coupon. But do me a favor. Don't sign up for Vonage *then* ask me for a free month of service. You have to use *my e-coupon* to click on in order to get the free month. I'll get you the coupon right away in return email. Email to ptownson@telecom-digest.org and ask for a Vonage free trial. No obligations. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Coin Phones Organization: ATCC Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 06:37:13 GMT In article , graycg@okstate.edu says: > Further to the discussion on why so many coin phones were assigned > NXX-8/9XXX. > For companies/corporations that used a PBX or CCSA they invariably > used 9 to access an "outside line". In many cases, an entire NXX > would be assigned to the company. Some used 8 for access to their > private network. Sometimes they would use 99 for outside, and 98 for > private network access. In either case, since 9XXX could never be > used as part of the company's internal dial plan, the telco used these > number blocks for pay phones. Otherwise, they might not have been > assigned at all. Interesting. When I worked for Ernst & Young, LLP they initially used 9 for local, 8 for LD. Then when we finally linked a bunch of switches together the requirement to dial 8 went away and we had 4 digit dialing among the Providence, Boston and Manchester offices. This was in the time frame of 1995 to 1997. ------------------------------ From: Sammy@nospam.biz Subject: Re: Coin Phones Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 15:27:27 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications Charles G Gray wrote: > Further to the discussion on why so many coin phones were assigned > NXX-8/9XXX. > For companies/corporations that used a PBX or CCSA they invariably > used 9 to access an "outside line". In many cases, an entire NXX > would be assigned to the company. Some used 8 for access to their > private network. Sometimes they would use 99 for outside, and 98 for > private network access. In either case, since 9XXX could never be > used as part of the company's internal dial plan, the telco used these > number blocks for pay phones. Otherwise, they might not have been > assigned at all. Ah yes, especially 9xxx. Then, they slowly released those to residential use. I recall, perhaps in the early 1980s, making a person call from an associate's house who had XXX-9XXX. The operator balked and said I must be calling from a pay phone. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Memories: Old Fashioned Three Slot Coin Phones Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:18:09 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:38:21 -0700, jbl wrote: > Here in the west the premium numbers were more likely to end in two or > three "1"s, e.g. MAin 4-8411. Nobody had the patience to pull all > those zeros, so the highly valued numbers ended in the shortest > possible pulls. > Thousand-ending numbers were not very common in the areas I lived. That's not really why you had numbering that way. It's likely that the central offices in that area were step-by-step (Strowger.) In Strowger offices all lower to upper numbers were from 1 to 0 and numbers that automatically stepped would step in the direction 1>2>3> etc. So, you'd very rarely see businesses with XX00 or X000. In step offices there were dedicated number grouping for numbers that would auto step to the next in the hunting group e.g. in Portland, Maine the Maine Medical Center had SPruce 5-5454. The 54XX selectors/connectors were for numbers that hunted. You'd never see businesses with multiple lines in a step office with the initial number being X000 or XX00. OTOH in cities where they had either panel or crossbar offices you'd commonly see businesses with XX00 or X000 (e.g. PEnnsylvania 5-6000) because the switch counted from 0-9 rather than 1-0 as would be the case for step-by-step/Strowger switches. remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 20:20:11 EST Subject: Re: Memories: Old Fashioned Three Slot Coin Phones jbl writes on Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:38:21 -0700: > Here in the west the premium numbers were more likely to end in two or > three "1"s, e.g. MAin 4-8411. Nobody had the patience to pull all > those zeros, so the highly valued numbers ended in the shortest > possible pulls. > Thousand-ending numbers were not very common in the areas I lived. The reason large groups ended in "11" was that they were served by step offices. Step offices count from 1 to 10, so a hundred line group starts with 11, not 00. A dial pull of zero (0) is 10 pulses, and a number ending in 00 would be the very last number on the connector, and could only be a single line. Most of the west and southwest did indeed use step equipment originally, including southern California and the L.A. area, which is why large rotary groups in our areas ended in 11, giving a possible trunk group as large as 100 rotary lines. (Going beyond a 100-line group in a step office had numerous complications.) The difficulty of the customers' tedious dial pulls and the greater holding time did not come into it. Most customers, particular large customers, did not like to change their numbers when common control equipment came to these areas and replaced the step equipment, so many numbers ending in 11 still exist. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Verizon Land Line International Rates Date: 27 Feb 2004 10:38:17 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Ray Normandeau wrote: > Tony P. wrote in message > news:: >> In article , rnadgor@email.com >> says: >>> To make a long story short: My girlfriend is in Spain for the >>> semester, and I have a Verizon landline in my house. I went on their >>> website to see how much it would cost to call, and it said $0.10 a >>> minute and a $4 fee. Sounded very cheap to me, so I made several hours >>> of phone calls. I got my bill yesterday: $630. Called Verizon. They >>> told me that I needed to call them and agree to pay the $4 to activate >>> the international calling for that price. Since I did not, I was >>> charged $3.09 a minute. > You musta meant 30.9 CPM! No. AT&T charged me $2/minute on a call to Canada because I did not have the international calling plan. I could see $3/minute to Spain being in the same general range. AT&T refused to reimburse me the call, and I lost in Small Claims Court since I did indeed not purchase the international calling plan and the judge agreed with the AT&T lawyer that although the charge was high it was standardized. You can believe that I will not be using AT&T long distance service again, nor will many of my friends. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 14:19:50 -0500 (EST) From: John R. Covert Subject: Re: Verizon Land Line International Rates Roman had written: > To make a long story short: My girlfriend is in Spain ... > so I made several hours of phone calls. I got my bill yesterday: > $630. Called Verizon. They told me that I needed to call them and > agree to pay the $4 to activate the international calling ... > Since I did not, I was charged $3.09 a minute. > ... on their website there is no mention of calling them ... > or that there is a different rate if you don't pay it ... > I'm a poor college student who simply can't afford that type > of payment. I have no idea what to do. and Steven J Sobol thought he would help: > File complaints with your state attorney general ... Waste of time. I'd suggest you get a part-time job. Although Pat's suggestion that an appeal to the chairman might work, I doubt it. You were charged the advertised rate. The Verizon web site is very clear: "For the occasional international caller, we offer basic international rates for no Monthly fee. If you do not choose an international plan when you sign up for a domestic long distance plan, you will be charged the following flat rates..." http://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHome/ld/plan_basicintlrates.asp You must have been looking at the "International Choice Calling Plan". http://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHome/ld/plan_ICPWEST.asp Notice the "order" button. That was your clue that you had to order the service to get something other than the basic rates. /john ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Outsourcing From OTHER Perspective Date: 27 Feb 2004 07:06:49 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com grub@internet.charitydays.co.uk wrote in message news:: >> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/opinion/26FRIE.html >> "How can it be good for America to have all these Indians doing our >> white-collar jobs?" I asked 24/7's founder, S. Nagarajan. >> Well, he answered patiently, "look around this office." All the >> computers are from Compaq. The basic software is from Microsoft. The >> phones are from Lucent. The air-conditioning is by Carrier, and even >> the bottled water is by Coke, because when it comes to drinking water >> in India, people want a trusted brand. On top of all this, says Mr. >> Nagarajan, 90 percent of the shares in 24/7 are owned by U.S. >> investors. This explains why, although the U.S. has lost some service >> jobs to India, total exports from U.S. companies to India have grown >> from $2.5 billion in 1990 to $4.1 billion in 2002. What goes around >> comes around, and also benefits Americans. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Benefits American shareholders. > Does it benefit American workers ? > Or do American workers own so many shares in outsourced companies, > they don't need a job ? > Best newsgroup for debates on the topic of Job Outsourcing & Job Sorcery > alt.computer.consultants Hmmm ... My Random House Dictionary defines Sorcery as: sor•cer•y (sôr‚sƒ rŽ) n., pl. -cer•ies the practices of a person who is thought to have supernatural powers granted by evil spirits; black magic; witchery. [1250–1300; ME sorcerie < ML sorceria. See SORCERER, -Y3] Which, I guess, describes the job of a consultant? Rodgers Platt ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 10:26:25 -0800 From: Kelly Daniels Reply-To: telco44@comcast.net Organization: Kelly Daniels Subject: Re: Anyone Know of a ISDN/PRI or SIP to GR-303 'Converter' ?? Brett wrote: > Hi there, > I know this may seem silly, and I know it's much more complicated than > I'm making it, but here's my situation. I have a Sonus softswitch and > I want to provide GR-303 trunk groups. I'm not opposed to an external > solution, however I want to be able to provide service to traditional > GR-303 RDTs. Multiple groups are prefered. > Any help would be appreciated. > Thanks, > Brett > Please reply to list or: brett+dated+1079033735.ccdfd2@nemeroff.com Most GR-303 interfaces are still pretty much COT/RDT related. You will need to develop an emulation interface in the trunk group assignments of the Sonus if the RDTs are existing. Part of the GR-303 interface is the signaling interface for oss interface. While it can be ignored, the GR-303 inteface provides the main line side enhancments through these assignments. I moved from IXC to LEC switch tech and network design. I had trouble understanding the differences between TR-1 and GR-303 interfaces. I was forever trying to provide the GR-303 interfaces from either the line-side part of the switch or the TR-1 interfaces before GR303 was developed. There was always a way but often a remote mux needed ringing and some flash-hook control. What are your VoIP options? I am not that fully familiar with Sonus. Kelly ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Home Phone System: Talkswitch, KX-TD308 Alternative? Reply-To: cnavarro@wcnet.org Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:56:30 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 17:51:47 GMT, Susan wrote: > I currently use a Talkswitch and previously had a Panasonic 308 (and > still have all the handsets). My family is unhappy with the Talkswitch > since you have to memorize all the codes to make it perform the most > basic functions (I've tried countless ways to program the wireless > phones to make it easier, but nothing beats the simplicity of a hold > button that actually puts the phone on hold). Since I have a base > investment in the KX-TD, I could reacquire all the KSU equipment -- > but it is expensive, and I have the same problem with the wireless > phones (unless I buy the very expensive Panasonic digital wireless). > Key needs beyond the usual are: one at home business, simplicity for > family and guests, intercom so you can tell someone to pick up the > phone without yelling, flexibility to mix wired and wireless. > Should I stick with the Talkswitch, reacquire the Panasonic -- or is > there a better option to consider? You sort of answered your own question. You hold the telephones for a Panasonic system, yet you spent more money for a Talkswitch controller that you (or your family) hates. Are you into punishment that you want to try a THIRD alternative? I'd look for another TD. I confess, my SOHO system is a TD-308 tied to a CID cordless so I can roam throughout the house and get office calls. I have 1 or 2, depending on the season, digital phones and all the rest single line devices on the system. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. 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