TELECOM Digest     Mon, 4 Jul 2005 17:11:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 307

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    New Wireless Broadband 'Whispers' Below the Radar (Lisa Minter)
    Al-Jazeera Launching All-English News Channel for United States (Minter)
    NASA Cheers Probe's Direct Hit on Comet (Lisa Minter)
    T-Mobile AOL IM Settings? (Bill)
    Panasonic T7436 and K1234 (JeffW)
    Calling Packet8 Virtual Office Users (Chasman)
    Direcway Internet Experience Anyone? (Chasman)
    Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes (Tony P.)
    Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes (Paul Coxwell)
    Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes (John Hines)
    Re: Calling Packet8 Virtual Office Users (Clark W. Griswold, Jr.)
    Re: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again. (mc)
    Re: DO NOT! DO NOT Use Cingular Go Phone (Tim@Backhome.org)
    Re: Ombudsman on N. Korea Food Story (Justa Lurker)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: New Wireless Broadband 'Whispers' Below the Radar 
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 11:02:35 -0500


By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent

A new communications tool that "whispers" on busy radio channels could
enable broadband Internet services for on-the-go wireless devices or hook-up
homes that cannot yet get fast Web access, its inventor said.

xMax, the latest innovation in broadband communications, is a very
quiet radio system that uses radio channels already filled up with
noisy pager or TV signals, said inventor Joe Bobier.

"xMax is trespassing radio frequencies, although trespassing is not the
right word, because we're allowed to transmit a signal if it doesn't
interfere with other, stronger signals," said Bobier.

What is unique about the system is that it can emit signals that are
too weak to be picked up by normal antennas, but that can be "heard"
by special aerials which know where to "listen," thus enabling dual
usage of the same scarce radio spectrum.

The technology could interest a telecoms or Internet operator with no
radio spectrum because it can begin a wireless broadband service with
very few base stations and add more stations and increase density as
demand rises.

It is also appealing for rural areas which operators find too costly
to cover with the current third generation mobile phone networks which
need base stations every few miles.

"We're talking about a 400 to 500 percent improvement in range,"
Bobier said, adding that this was still much better than Flash-OFDM,
also touted as a rural area broadband system.

XG Technology, the Florida-based company which owns xMax, is in
discussions with several chip makers and equipment makers to build the
hardware.

Radio chips for devices should be in the $5-$6 range when built in
volume while base stations will be around $350,000. Those prices are
competitive considering the range covered.

LOW FREQUENCY BANDS

Stuart Schwartz, an electrical engineering professor at Princeton
University, said xMax is not an efficient system to transport data
through the airwaves, "but it is doing it in a benign way. You won't
even know it's there. It's very clever."

The advantage is not only that radio spectrum can be used twice and
that xMax needs no special radio band of its own, but especially that
it can sit in the valuable low frequency bands which
characteristically carry very far and through buildings.

Other new broadband Internet technologies, such as WiMAX and
Flash-OFDM, need dedicated radio frequency bands. If they are situated
in frequency ranges above 1 Gigahertz, the signal has trouble
penetrating buildings and other obstacles, or traveling over distances
longer than a few miles.

"We offer long range as well as high speed," Bobier said.

The radio technology can also be used in higher frequencies, and even
in wired systems, but the company aims at low frequency wireless
networks first.

"The sweet spot for xMax happens to be in the lower frequencies," said
Rick Mooers, executive chairman of XG Technology.

Bobier found a way to put one bit of data on one radio frequency cycle
and recover that weak signal with a newly invented filter. If xMax
uses a powerful carrier signal -- which does require a dedicated,
albeit very narrow radio band -- it can even extend its range and
capacity.

The first xMax network is currently being built in Miami and Fort
Lauderdale where one base station can deliver broadband Internet over
a 40 square mile area.

The capacity of that wireless network is not bigger than any other
wireless technology, which means that more base stations need to be
added if a certain number of people are using the network -- typically
several hundreds to a 1,000 users.


Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Al-Jazeera Launching All-English Channel for United States
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 13:09:42 -0500


By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer

Al-Jazeera is nothing if not bold. It has fought repeatedly with
Washington, which says its exclusive broadcasts of Osama bin Laden
speeches show an anti-American, pro-terrorist bias. Its freewheeling
broadcasts have decimated state-run TV stations across much of the
Arab world, leading some countries to close its bureaus down. So what
does such a network do next?  Plan a massive expansion.

By March, the network will launch Al-Jazeera International, a
satellite channel that will beam English-language news to the United
States -- and much of the rest of the world -- from its base in tiny
Qatar.

The ever-contentious Middle East will be its specialty. And the news,
including coverage of Israel, will be served up from an Arab
perspective, Al-Jazeera executives say.

With a touch of the evangelist, perhaps, the station's executives say
their mission is nothing less than reversing the dominant flow of
global information, which now originates on TV channels in the
West. They will be looking especially at Fox News and CNN.

"We're the first news channel based in the Mideast to bring news back
to the West," said Nigel Parsons, managing director of Al-Jazeera
International.  "We want to set a different news agenda."

The station's research shows some of the world's one billion English
speakers, including Americans, thirst for news from a non-Western
perspective.

Outside America, the station plans to compete with CNN International
and BBC World, the two chief English-language satellite news channels,
as well as at Fox News. The new station will be headquartered in Doha
and operate broadcast newsrooms in London, Washington and Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.

But breaking into the U.S. market, with its established channels,
might be more difficult. The station's anti-American reputation may
win some early "curiosity" viewers, Parsons said.

Overall, Al-Jazeera executives contend negative American opinions are
based on "irrational and erroneous information from CNN, BBC and Fox
News." For instance, Parsons said, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
lambasted the station for showing beheadings by Iraqi insurgents. 
Actually, Al-Jazeera has aired portions of insurgent videos but as of
yet, never a beheading in progress, he said.

Another irritant is Al-Jazeera's often-gory coverage of Iraq from both
perspectives. Before it was banned, the network embedded reporters
with both Iraqi insurgents and with U.S. troops.

Nevertheless, Americans have shown curiosity. Al-Jazeera's English-
language Web site gets most of its traffic from U.S. visitors, Parsons
said.

In the end, Al-Jazeera might coax viewers from an elite segment of
American TV watchers, perhaps those who tune into the BBC, some
observers say.

But most Americans want to be comforted by the news, not challenged by
it, said Jon Alterman, who heads the Middle East program at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 

If Al-Jazeera is a tough sell in the United States, it has natural
audiences elsewhere. The world counts 1.2 billion Muslims, most of
whom don't speak Arabic. That means Al-Jazeera stands to find quick
popularity in countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Alterman believes Al-Jazeera will help unite the world's far-flung
Muslim communities, giving them a common, alleged truthful news source.

That's not necessarily what the station is after. "We're not a Muslim
channel," said Parsons, a Briton who, like many Al-Jazeera Interna-
tional staff, does not speak Arabic.

Indeed, the station is even less popular with governments in Muslim
countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Tunisia, which currently
ban it.

Those countries' rulers suggest it incites violence by giving airtime
to opposition politicians and radical clerics.

At one time or another, Al-Jazeera has had bureaus closed in 18
countries and its signal blocked in 30. Its revenues still suffer
under an advertising boycott, believed to originate from Saudi
government pressure.

The station has had three bureaus destroyed by bombings, two of which
were destroyed by the U.S. military.

Two staff in Iraq have been killed. Two others were locked in Iraq's
Abu Ghraib prison and released without charge. A third is being tried
in Spain on charges of working for the al-Qaida terrorist group.

Yet because it is based in Qatar, an energy-rich Persian Gulf country
of less than a million, the station has little opportunity to upset
its home government.

"They're in a unique position," said Mustafa Alani, director of
security and terrorism studies at the Gulf Research Center in
Dubai. "They can criticize everybody."

Arab viewers who previously had only staid state-run broadcasters to
watch have apparently liked that, flocking to the station since its
1996 debut.

It now reaches more than 40 million viewers, and if it weren't for the
advertising boycott, Al-Jazeera's network would bring in some $35
million in yearly ad revenue, enough to wean it from Qatar government
money, said managing director Wadah Khanfar.

The station is expected to be privatized in a few years. But as long
as it remains close to the Qatari royal family, the boycott poses few
funding worries.

Yet despite its protests to the contrary, Al-Jazeera is already
softening its aggressive coverage of Saudi Arabia and other countries,
Alani believes.  The reason? It must regain access to those countries
to boost its English broadcasts, Alani said.

"If you're banned from half the Arab world, your ability to break news
is limited, but some of that will be made up by USA viewers we win
over from Fox and CNN on American cable systems", Alani said.

On the Net:
http://english.aljazeera.net

Copyright  2005 The Associated Press.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: NASA Cheers Probe's Direct Hit on Comet
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 13:24:17 -0500


By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer

It sounded like science fiction -- NASA scientists used a space probe
to chase down a speeding comet 83 million miles away and slammed it
into the frozen ball of dirty ice and debris in a mission to learn how
the solar system was formed.

The unmanned probe of the Deep Impact mission collided with Tempel 1,
a pickle-shaped comet half the size of Manhattan, late Sunday as
thousands of people across the country fixed their eyes to the
southwestern sky for a glimpse.

The impact at 10:52 p.m. PDT was cause for celebration not only to
scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, but also
for the more than 10,000 people camped out at Hawaii's Waikiki Beach
to watch it on a giant movie screen.

"It's almost like one of those science fiction movies," said Steve
Lin, a Honolulu physician.

The cosmic smash-up did not significantly alter the comet's orbit
around the sun and NASA said the experiment does not pose any danger
to Earth -- unlike the scary comet headed for Earth in the 1998 movie,
"Deep Impact."

Scientists at mission control erupted in applause and exchanged hugs
as a voice on a speaker proclaimed, "Team, we got a confirmation."

It was a milestone for the U.S. space agency, because no other space
mission has flown this close to a comet. In 2004, NASA's Stardust
craft flew within 147 miles of Comet Wild 2 en route back to Earth
carrying interstellar dust samples.

"A lot of people said we couldn't do this or wouldn't be able to pull
it off," said Rick Grammier, the mission's project manager. "It
happened like clockwork and I think that's something to be proud of on
America's birthday."

Rough images by the mothership that released the probe on its suicide
mission 24 hours earlier showed a bright white flash from the comet
upon impact, which hurled a cloud of debris into space. When the dust
settles, scientists hope to peek inside the comet's frozen core -- a
composite of ice and rock left over from the early solar system.

In Darmstadt, Germany, David Southwood of the European Space Agency
congratulated NASA and controllers erupted into applause upon impact.
"The Deep Impact mission brought the world together in an excellent
opportunity to make a new step into the advancement of cometary
science," he said.

The European agency was observing and photographing the comet  collision
with its Rosetta spacecraft, which will attempt to rendezvous with a 
comet in 2014.

"I had some doubts, quite frankly, but it was quite spectacular and a
deserved success," said Manfred Warhaut, who heads ESA's Rosetta
mission.  "The whole thing was so flawlessly put in place and executed
it deserves some respect."

The camera of the Deep Impact probe temporarily blacked out twice,
probably from being sandblasted by comet debris, NASA scientists
said. Still, the probe -- on battery power and tumbling toward the
comet, using thrusters to get a perfect aim -- took pictures right up
to the final moments, revealing crater-like features. The last image
was taken three seconds before impact.

The energy produced from the impact was equivalent to exploding five
tons of dynamite and it caused the comet to shine six times brighter
than normal.

Scientists had compared the barrel-shaped probe's journey to standing
in the middle of the road and being hit by a semi-truck roaring at
23,000 mph. They expect the crater left behind to be anywhere from the
size of a large house to a football stadium and between two and 14
stories deep.

Soon after the crash on the comet's sunlit side, the mothership
prepared to approach Tempel 1 to peer into the crater site and send
more data back to Earth. The spacecraft was to fly within 310 miles of
the comet before activating its dust shields to protect itself from a
blizzard of debris.

Comets are frozen balls of dirty ice, rock and dust that orbit the
sun. A giant cloud of gas and dust collapsed to create the sun and
planets about 4.5 billion years ago and comets formed from the
leftover building blocks of the solar system.

NASA's fleet of space telescopes, including the Hubble Space
Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope, and
dozens of ground observatories recorded the impact.

Deep Impact launched Jan. 12 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its 268
million-mile voyage. Scientists say the choice of the mission name was
a coincidence and not inspired by the movie.

On the Net:
Deep Impact mission: http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

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

From: Bill <wherrera@lynxview.com>
Subject: T-Mobile AOL IM settings?
Date: 4 Jul 2005 08:24:05 -0700


Hello, I'm trying to re-configure a V220 phone for T-Mobile service.
The AIM application which came with the (originally not T-Mobile) phone
requires the following manually configured settings, which T-Mobile
customer support cannot get me:

GPS APN: _________
User Name: (for all tmobile users of wap): ______________
Password: (for all WAP login): _______________
IM Server: _________________
IM Port: ________
Post URL: ________________

Anyone know these, please?

Bill

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

From: JeffW <jeff@wardmail.com>
Subject: Panasonic T7436 and K1234
Date: 4 Jul 2005 10:01:32 -0700


I want to use Outlook to place calls for me through the modem and
through the above phone system. The call gets made with no problem,
however I can not pickup the extension. How can I get around this?

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

From: Chasman <xarush@omelas.com>
Subject: Calling Packet8 Virtual Office Users
Date: 3 Jul 2005 13:24:42 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


I currently use Vonage and I am thinking of switching to Packet8.

The functionality I need is quite simple. I need 4 phones. One central
line. But this is the most important.  I want people who call in to be
able to route themselves by either their interest and or the name of
the person they want. Can it do this?

ie

Press 1 for support (it then goes on a hunt through three extensions
and then on to VM)
Press 2 for Sales (it goes onto one extension and then onto voice mail)
Press 3 for a name directory

Etc

Then route the call appropriately.  Please any information is greatly
appreciated.  

Regards,

Chasman

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

From: Chasman <xarush@omelas.com>
Subject: Direcway Internet Experience Anyone?
Date: 3 Jul 2005 13:27:05 -0700


Does anyone have experience of the Direcway 2 way satellite internet
connection? Can you share your experiences? 

Please any information is greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Chasman

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

From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes
Organization: ATCC
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 19:33:49 -0400


In article <telecom24.306.1@telecom-digest.org>, 
choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com says:

> Ten years ago I happened to discover a potential of 0.25 VAC between
> the grounding electrode under my electrical entrance and the one under
> my telephone entrance.  To protect my computer from lightning, I
> bonded them with twenty feet of wire.  It paid off in 1998 when
> lightning struck a tree thirty feet from my electrical entrance.  I
> was online and suffered no damage.

> A telco man restored service by replacing a fuse on the utility pole.
> When I asked the company's policy on bonding, he beat around the bush
> twenty minutes before saying the electrical code required it but the
> telco didn't like it because they would have to replace more fuses.

> Neighbors went online five years ago.  Each time they've lost a modem
> or surge protector, they have asked me for an explanation and I've
> told them ground surges will keep getting them until they clamp a wire
> between their phone and power electrodes.  They have always ignored my
> advice.

> I was online Monday during a quiet rain when lightning hit my chimney,
> blowing masonry and shingles sixty feet in all directions.  My screen
> froze with a weird tint, but things were fine when I restarted.

That weird tint was the monitor being influenced by the magnetic field
generated by the lightning strike. Sort of like moving a large speaker
near the monitor, except in this case it was probably several orders
of magnitude higher.

Your monitor probably degausses when powered on so that's why it 
cleared. 

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

Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 12:25:25 +0100
From: Paul Coxwell <paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes


> Article 250.54 of the NEC says local supplemental grounding
> electrodes (such as the one for phone service) must be bonded to
> the primary electrode.  Where does the NEC apply?  According to
> what the telco man admitted seven years ago, I assume our county
> code says the same thing.

As I understand it the NEC applies in any state, county or local
jurisdiction which has adopted it -- which is most.  There may be
local codes which explicitly amend any NEC requirement though.

Which edition of the NEC are you looking at?  In the 2002 edition
article 250.54 relates to supplementary electrodes which MAY be
bonded, not MUST.  250.58 does seem to correspond with 250.54 in
earlier editions though, so that could be the section you are looking
at.

Chapter 8 of the NEC also relates specifically to communication systems.
Article 800.40(D) in the 2002 edition states:

QUOTE
Bonding of Electrodes.  A bonding jumper not smaller than 6 AWG copper
or equivalent shall be connected between the communications grounding
electrode and power grounding electrode system at the building or
structure served where separate electrodes are used.
/QUOTE

> Is this a recent addition to the NEC?

No.  I don't know how far back the requirement goes, but the 1971 NEC
says much the same thing in article 800-31(b)(7):

QUOTE
Bonding of Electrodes.  A bond not smaller than No. 6 copper or
equivalent shall be placed between the communication and power grounding
electrodes where the requirements of (5) above result in the use of
separate electrodes.
/QUOTE

Disclaimer: Being British I'm just an outside observer to the NEC.  I
could post your query in a Stateside electrical forum where we have
some NEC experts though, if you wish.


- Paul

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

From: John Hines <jbhines@newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: Supplemental Grounding Electrodes
Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 15:24:13 -0500
Organization: www.jhines.org


Choreboy <choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com> wrote:

> Is this a recent addition to the NEC?  How is a citizen supposed to find
> out local code requirements?  How is a citizen supposed to know his
> electrodes are not bonded or that it's necessary?  If the telco assures
> a customer that there is nothing wrong with grounding which in fact is a
> code violation, does the telco have any liability?

Local codes are based on the NEC, for example town XYZ has adopted
(made into law) NEC code YYYY.

The NEC does get revised periodically, 2002 the most recent.

Grounding and bonding have been revised in the last few years.  In
summary, the service entrance has to have a ground rod installed, and
this is bonded to the electrical system at one and only place at the
main box, this is the grounded conductor aka neutral.

Additional #6 bonding wires are required from the main panel over to
where the water service enters, if you have metal service.
Furthermore large metal objects, like a cast iron tub, need to be
bonded to everything else, if metal piping doesn't do it already.

The idea is to bond all the items together into a single unified
circuit, which is grounded by the rod into the ground.

The NEC does call for the ability to connect up the phone and other
systems to the grounding electrode system, with #10 cu wire.

The codes only apply to people when they build, rebuild or remodel, so
it is more up to pulling permits and getting inspections, that enforces
the codes.

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

From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. <spamtrap100@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Calling Packet8 Virtual Office Users
Date: Sun, 03 Jul 2005 16:38:44 -0600
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com


Chasman <xarush@omelas.com> wrote:

> What I want to know is how sophisticated is the IVR on the virtual
> office. I need to basically be able to have some one choose between
> support, sales or a name directory and then do a call hunt on support
> or sales.

> That's can we do it and do it reliably?

I came across this site http://www.nuvio.com/centrex.php on
www.dslreports.com and thought you might find it interesting. They
seem to get pretty good reviews there, but I don't know anything about
them.

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

From: mc <mc_no_spam@uga.edu>
Subject: Re: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again.
Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2005 21:17:56 -0400
Organization: Speed Factory (http://www.speedfactory.net)


>> Here I think there is a market for cell phone *detectors*.  Cell
>> phones transmit every few minutes even when you're not making or
>> receiving a call, in order to keep the tower apprised of where they
>> are.  "Turn off your cell phone" could have more teeth if equipment
>> were in use to detect cell phones that were still turned on.

> How do you figure?  My phone *never* gets turned off.  Period.  Not in
> theatres, not in churches, not in other places of public assembly.

You'd better turn it off on airplanes and near sensitive electronic
equipment when told to.  It transmits every few minutes even when you
are not using it and it is not making noise, as long as it's turned
on.

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

From: Tim@Backhome.org
Subject: Re: DO NOT! DO NOT Use Cingular Go Phone
Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 03:07:29 -0700
Organization: Cox Communications


shwekhaw wrote:

> DO NOT USE CINGULAR GO PHONE!! I had a lot of problems with GO Phone
> and know another two people who are getting ripped off.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You could have been telling my story. I
> have _two_ Cingular phones; the one works okay with an _Independence,
> KS_ 620-330 number. The other phone is a former AT&T (now Cingular
> Prepaid phone I think it is called 'Free to Go'.) Both phones are the
> older digital Nokia 5165 phones, the difference is only that one is
> prepaid via AT&T, the other is a 'regular' cell phone. Starting Friday,
> the prepaid phone quit fuctioning. It has a Wichita KS 316-841 number
> on it, with, I might add, twenty dollars in credit. Cingular customer
> service, which appears to be located in India these days, absolutely
> insisted I could not have a prepaid wireless phone since they had no
> wireless coverage in my area. They said "as soon as you get back in
> the Wichita area, your phone will start working again." I asked them
> if that was so, then (if the towers could not reach me) why wasn't
> voice mail kicking in to take the messages?  They just kept repeating
> their stupid answer: because we have no service in your area. I
> finally said 'being an ignorant ##*@ based in your native land
> somewhere, you probably would not know much about our cell phones
> here.' They had just a few minutes earlier taken a twenty five dollar
> payment from my credit card. Those Cingular/AT&T/SBC customer service
> reps are so incredibly stupid it is beyond my comprehension. I said
> well, if you do not have service in my area, then please arrange to
> refund the twenty dollars you just now took on my account. And
> wouldn't you know it, the sweet dear little Indian lady who referred
> to herself as 'employee ID 627' insisted 'we do not give any refunds
> on prepaid service'. You will this time, I told her, Small Claims
> Court here in Montgomery County is just four block down the street
> from my house, and I do not have to sue you in California or Texas
> or India or wherever, _I just sue your local resale agent here in
> Independence_.  Hopefully your superiors will screw up and not make
> any response to the suit. She finally came up with a post office
> box address (no phone nor fax nor email address available) for some
> entity called 'Cingular Free to Go' in Anaheim Hills, CA and I fired
> off a letter to them yesterday making demand for the return of my
> money _or_ preferably, a working phone with my 316-841 number since
> someone else told me the only service they will now initiate in
> 620 is GSM. I will tell you, if Ignorance was Bliss, then Cingular
> customer service people would be the happiest in the world.   PAT]

I have been a Cingular customer for about 19 months now.  I have the
lowest monthly plan that includes rollover minutes.  I just upgraded
my phone.  Although I was not eligible they graciously allowed the
upgrade since I also bought a Bluetooth wireless headset.  That was
done in-person in a company store (I have learned to avoid agency
stores like the plague and the Cingular web site makes that
distinction in the store selection page.

I also have recently had several phone contacts with customer service
and each contact has been pleasant and helpful.  After the last
contact a survey organization contacted me to question me about my
satisfaction with the latest phone contact to customer service.

I have found Cingular's customer service to be far better than when I
signed on a year and a half ago.

Perhaps they don't like to deal with pay-as-you-go or prepaid phones.

But, my experience has been good, and I go in thinking they will be
lousy.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, here an an interesting anomaly.
My experience with Cingular Wireless _on the 'regular service' side_ 
is also very good.  A couple minor items of confusion now and then; 
(my service is billed and paid for in the Chicago area, but
permanently used in the Tulsa market. Some of the reps seem to have
a hard time understanding _why_ I am paid for out of Chicago, but with
a 'Tulsa Market' [of which s.e. Kansas is part] area 620 number.) Once
we deal with that, then they otherwise are very effecient. But it is
the _prepaid_ side I have hassles with.

Now I would think that a prepaid customer was the best possible
customer; no credit problems for the company to worry about; they
probably have a few million dollars in effect 'loaned' to them on a
revolving basis each day that they do not yet have to account for. As
with the bank float time on money orders: Amex and others have your
money for a few days to use as they wish until the money order gets
presented for payment. I don't know about you, but if one or more
persons wanted to loan me a few million dollars -- for a couple days,
or even several hours -- I'd be quite happy, and would use that 
interest-free loan to make a lot more money, even in just a day or
so. I would not hassle customers like that; I would encourage more
of them. But the greedy money order people want a 'handling fee' for
their thing, and the cellular phone companies tack on all kinds of
stipulations on their prepaid service also. How many of you get paid
in advance for a job you are supposed to do, which your employer may
not even ask for. How many of you are in a position to refuse to 
return such money (under those paid for in advance conditions) in the
event your employer changes his mind?  To add insult to injury, the
cell phone people even route their prepaid customers through some
idiot service bureau in an international place.  PAT]

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

From: Justa Lurker <JustaLurker@att.net>
Subject: Re: Ombudsman on N. Korea Food story
Organization: AT&T Worldnet
Date: Mon, 04 Jul 2005 00:24:54 GMT


> Anyway, have a happy Independence Day, and wish for a time
> (hopefully in our lifetimes) when there will be _true independence
> for all_ in this land; not just the ones who say the right words and
> have the right thoughts.  PAT]

No one is stopping you (or anyone else) from leaving.  So if you are
so unhappy and dissatisfied here in the USA as you seem to be based
upon your constant snide comments and whining, then by all means I
suggest you move to some other country more to your liking.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You make a very good point there.
Canada would be an excellent choice, as would Switzerland. Because I
personally feel more 'Americanized' in attitude and culture, I suppose
Canada would be a better choice for me. (Well, _most_ provinces, that
is, there is a notable exception to that rule). Canada is affording
full freedom to _all_ its citizens; there are no second-class
residents there, as happens in the USA. And although I _could_ move to
Canada and continue to receive my (USA-based) Social Security Disability
and Retirement payments, and I have been invited by friends to migrate
there, there are some serious obstacles: because my health is so very
poor (why in the hell I did not _just die_ in the brain aneurysm I do
not understand; that is a common result of those things) I am much too
unsteady on my feet to get that far without a _lot_ of help in the
moving process. If you went around all the time in a chronic, constant
state of 'dizzyness' you'd know of what I am speaking. Had I known in 
1995 or even 1998 what I know and believe about the USA _today_ I 
would probably have hopped on a bus and migrated to northern Ontario
or perhaps the eastern provinces; but smart we grow too late and very 
sickly too soon. November, 1999 (Black Tuesday) was probably the end
of the line for me relocating anywhere. 

My brother, Dan, the relatively well-to-do commercial artist in
Chicago has offered to pick me up here at my home, move me,
lock-stock-and-barrel back to Chicago to live, but I told him that was
an insane idea. Even if I somehow had the money to survive in that
town (rents alone three to five times higher than here; he paid a
little over 250 thousand for the condo he and his wife and child live
in) I am not sure I would have the stomach to deal with the politics
of the place. I imagine I could induce him to pick me up, and move me
to Canada as well, but I just would not impose in that way. If it were
still 1995 or 1998 I would not have to ask him. I was making sort of
semi-regular trips to visit friends in New York and San Francisco and
Los Angeles every couple weekends back in the 1960's, so I do know how
to get around. I was even in this general area (Junction City, Kansas
at Fort Riley Army Base) -- had gotten there on my own -- when the
brain aneurysm struck me down in 1999.

The last movie Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made was in 1950; it was 
called 'Utopia' and was about them being ship-wrecked on a desert 
island with two other guys. It was an ideal place to live, but since I
cannot live in Utopia, nor even the village of 'Perfect' as the man
on TV-Land talks about,(although _he_ had to settle for having a
24/7 Walgreens nearby), I had to compromise by living here in the
little town of Independence, where all things being equal, conditions
are rather good; a magical little town which is a hybrid cross between
Utopia and the mythical village of 'Perfect', and by golly, we are even
getting our very own 24/7 Walgreens at 10th and Main Streets downtown,
due to open in November. They are building it, fresh from the ground
up now.  They tore down and relocated the two businesses which were
there to further west on Main Street, out by Walmart. Considering I
was born in this general vicinity, and had honestly considered
retiring here (although the brain aneurysm made some premature adjust-
ments to _my_ timetable), I somehow get by okay. As much as I would
love to live in Canada (or even Switzerland) I guess I will endure 
rural southeast Kansas.  But thanks for the suggestion.  PAT]

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


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