TELECOM Digest     Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:08:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 348

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Internet Security Gets Injunction vs. Former Worker (Reuters NewsWire)
    Hackers Race to Expose Cisco Internet Flaw (Andy Sullivan)
    Cincinnati Bell Sets New Rules in Wireless Plan (James Pilcher)
    Internet Ad Pioneer Now Shunning Pop-Ups (Anick Desjanun)
    Web Audio Book Leader Faces Competition (Monty Solomon)
    Parking Meters Get Smarter (Monty Solomon)
    Information Security/Where the Threats Are (Monty Solomon)
    Re: E-911 Making Headway In VOIP (David)
    Re: Cell Phone For VOIP - Home Device Imitates Provider Signal (Bonomi)
    Re: Cell Phone For VOIP - Home Device Imitates Provider Signal (Levine)
    Re: Bell System and GTE Telephone Operator? (Steven Lichter)
    Re: Nextel False Advertising (John R. Levine)
    Re: Nextel False Advertising (Garrett Wollman)

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

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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: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Internet Security Gets Injunction vs. Former Worker
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 19:57:00 -0500


A U.S. court ruling has barred a former Internet Security Systems
employee from further disseminating research he has already disclosed
on how computer hackers could undermine Internet equipment made by
Cisco Systems that is vital to the operation of the Internet.

The ruling by a U.S. District Court in San Francisco permanently bars
former employee Michael Lynn and the Black Hat conference organization
from disseminating, in any form, the presentation Lynn gave at the
conference on Wednesday, Internet Security Systems Inc. said in a
statement on Friday.

Internet Security and San Jose, California-based Cisco, the biggest
maker of gear used to direct traffic over the Internet, filed a joint
request for the court injunction after Lynn gave the
presentation. Lynn made the presentation after he had tendered his
resignation to Internet Security.

The conference, in Las Vegas, is a big gathering of computer security
enthusiasts who mull the latest and greatest trends in tech security.

The ruling forbids Lynn from making further use of, or disclosing, any
of the research in the presentation that he conducted while employed
by Internet Security, the company said.

It said the information Lynn presented did not disclose a new
vulnerability or flaw with Cisco Systems Inc.'s_(Nasdaq:CSCO - news)
Internetwork Operating System software but was a description of ways
to "expand exploitations of known security vulnerabilities" affecting
Cisco's routers, which are vital to moving Internet traffic.

Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems provides protection for these
Cisco vulnerabilities.

The companies were not immediately available to comment on whether
Lynn's presentation had caused any increased efforts to undermine
Cisco's equipment.

Prior to the start of the conference, Lynn had informed the Black Hat
organizers that he would not make a presentation at the show because
Internet Security had determined that further research needed to be
conducted on the topic to be presented, Internet Security said.

Internet Security is known for its network intrusion prevention
software that offers big companies in industries like banking and
automotive protections to keep Internet menaces like viruses and spam
from getting inside corporate networks.

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: Andy Sullivan <reuters-newswire@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Hackers Race to Expose Cisco Internet Flaw
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 19:54:23 -0500


By Andy Sullivan

Computer hackers worked through the weekend to expose a flaw that
could allow an attacker to take control of the Cisco Systems Inc.
Angered and inspired by Cisco's attempts to suppress news of the flaw
earlier in the week, several computer security experts at the Defcon
computer-security conference worked past midnight Saturday to discover
and map out the vulnerability.

"The reason we're doing this is because someone said you can't," said
one hacker, who like the others spoke to Reuters on condition of
anonymity.

Cisco's routers direct traffic across at least 60 percent of the
Internet and the security hole has dominated a pair of conferences
that draw thousands of security researchers, U.S. government employees
and teenage troublemakers to Las Vegas each summer.

The hackers said they had no intention of hijacking e-commerce
payments, reading private e-mail, or launching any of the other
malicious attacks that could be possible by exploiting the flaw.

Rather, they said they wanted to illustrate the need for Cisco
customers to update their software to defend against such
possibilities. Many Cisco customers have postponed the difficult
process because it could require them to unplug entirely from the
Internet.

Security researcher Michael Lynn first described the flaw on Wednesday
at the Black Hat conference over the objections of Cisco and his
former employer, Internet Security Systems Inc. 

Lynn helped Cisco develop a fix but wanted to discuss it publicly to
raise awareness of the problem, according to associates, going so far
as to quit his job with ISS so he could talk freely.

"What (Lynn) ended up doing was describing how to build a missile
without giving all the details. He gave enough (details) so people
could understand how a missile could be built, and they could take
their research from there," said a security expert who gave his name
only as Simonsaz and who said he is not involved in the hacking
effort.

COURT ORDER

After his presentation Cisco and ISS obtained a court order barring
Lynn and the Black Hat organization from further disseminating details
of the flaw.  Cisco employees ripped Lynn's presentation from the
conference program, according to witnesses, and Black Hat handed over
its video recording of his talk.

"ISS and Cisco's actions with Mr. Lynn and Black Hat were not based on
the fact that a flaw was identified, rather that they chose to address
the issue outside of established industry practices," said Cisco
spokeswoman Mojgan Khalili, who added that the company is committed to
protecting its customers.

But those efforts have only inspired other security experts to take a
crack at Cisco's software.

"It's really saddening and disheartening to see Cisco taking this
approach, because it leaves their customers less secure," one of the
hackers said.

In one of the hackers' hotel room, several Cisco routers sat
surrounded by plastic beer cups on a coffee table. Two laptops on the
floor displayed the software's source code, an endless blur of
numbers.

If they don't figure out how to take over Cisco's Internet Operating
System software by the end of the weekend, their counterparts at a
hacking festival in Europe will certainly do so, the hackers said.

Some experts said the flaw has been blown out of
proportion. Malevolent attackers are more likely to focus on easier
targets such as home computers rather than the complex routers that
direct traffic across the Internet, said Jon Callas, chief technical
officer of PGP Corp., a provider of encryption software.

"An awful lot of the buzz that is going around is buzz because of the
use of lawyers and injunctions and lawsuits rather than the actual
thing itself," said Callas, who is not involved in efforts to hack the
software.

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: James Pilcher <enquirer@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Cincinnati Bell Sets 'New Rules' in Wireless Plan
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 17:52:02 -0500


By James Pilcher, Enquirer staff writer

New Plan:

Cincinnati Bell will unveil Monday a new calling plan, allowing
unlimited calls to and from any Bell wireless or land-line number
within the local calling area. All the plans include no contract,
nationwide roaming, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls, domestic long
distance, voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and unlimited incoming
text messages. Activation fees apply; off peak hours are 9 p.m. to 6
a.m Monday-Friday and weekends.

Here are the details (plans are also available for 1,000 peak minutes
and 3,000 peak minutes):


            Plan  Unlimited Bell calling  Plus 500

            Peak mins.  Plus 1,500 peak mins.
            Monthly rate $39.99 $59.99* $99.99
            Nights & Weekends unlimited Unlimited unlimited
            Add'l. minute charges 20 cents 40 cents 25 cents
            Add'l. users $25/mo. $10/mo.** $10/mo.**
            Max. no. of users 5 5 10

      * offered at an introductory rate of $49.99 for the first 3 months
      ** or $25/mo. for a Cincinnati Bell calling user

"In Network?" "Friends & Family?" Cincinnati Bell thinks it's beaten such
calling programs.

The area's main telephone company -- and market leader for cell phone
customers -- Monday will unveil a network and pricing initiative that will
allow wireless subscribers to call any Cincinnati Bell phone, either
land-based or wireless, for one flat monthly fee.

It is thought to be the first program of its kind in the country,
because other regional telephone companies either don't not offer cell
phone service or are too large to pull off such an initiative.

"We are very uniquely positioned for this," said Bell's recently
installed chief operating officer Rodney Dir. "How important is it for
a customer to be able to call potentially up to 2 million other
customers without having it charge against their wireless minutes?"

The move is seen as a way for Bell not only to boost sagging wireless
subscriptions, but also to further defend its primary franchise - its
land-line business, which is under attack from cable companies and
other providers using Internet-based technology for home phones.

"The value of having a land line goes up immediately for people," said
Andy Castonguay, senior analyst with The Yankee Group, a Boston-based
the technology consulting and analysis firm. "It also helps their
branding from a standpoint that it encourages people to understand
Cincinnati Bell as a total entity offers a converged, simple, one-stop
shop."

The plan, dubbed "New Rules," calls for wireless customers to pay
about $40 a month for access to the network.

Then all calls to all Cincinnati Bell wireless and land-line phones
are free, as long as they are made within the local calling
area. Calls to customers of other cell phone providers or to land
lines operated by someone other than Bell or outside of the local
network would cost 20 cents a minute. Long distance and roaming remain
free.

But Dir said that customers could pay an additional $20 a month to get
500 out-of-network minutes, adding that the $60 overall plan could be
the company's new "sweet spot."

"Our (revenue per user) for wireless is about $46 today," Dir said.

"This really could raise that, especially since we feel this takes the
worry out of having to make sure you're not going over on your
minutes."

In addition, Bell is revamping its traditional plans for those
customers who don't want the free-calling feature, lowering its price
for a standard 500-minute plan to about $40, which Dir says offers
more minutes for the money than two of its major competitors in the
market, Verizon and Cingular.  And its traditional plans will include
options for up to 6,000 minutes a month, which will cost about $200 a
month.

"And believe me, there are customers out there who want that kind of
plan," said Dir, who previously served as an Atlanta-based vice
president for national retail sales and operations for wireless
operator T-Mobile.

Bell lost $3 million in the first quarter, with the wireless division
reporting flat revenues. It also reported that 2.6 percent of its
customers left for other carriers.

Dir said that the effects of the new efforts probably won't be seen
until the fourth quarter, but that the hope is that the new plans will
help build Bell's wireless subscriber base, which in turn could mean
more wireless revenue.

But Castonguay said that the new network plan could keep customers
from wanting to shut off their land lines and just use cell phones or
change home service to other operators such as Time Warner.

"It really capitalizes on that fixed-line network and makes it more
valuable," he said.

Program has risk to Bell

The company already had introduced free calling between Bell wireless
customers, matching programs such as Verizon's "In Network." Bell also
has offered free calls to a specified home number from a Bell cell
phone since late last year.

The extra charge Bell is asking for out-of-network calls could be a
risk, however.

"It's difficult to know how customers will react for that jump from
$40 to $60 for those extra 500 minutes, and that's a gamble," said
Castonguay.

"But on the flip side, it could be a big hit with their business
enterprise customers as well."

At the same time Bell is launching the "New Rules," the company is
launching a marketing offensive touting its local wireless network as
the best in Cincinnati.

While saying that the new pricing and network plans as well as the new
ad campaign were positive moves overall, Castonguay said there are
concerns with setting expectations too high for customers.

"Those can be difficult to manage, with people thinking their bill
could be lower and then they call a bunch of out-of-network friends,"
he said.

"This is true for all the national wireless guys with major plans.

"Still, this changes the whole value proposition of a home phone line
combined with a cell phone," he said.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com

Copyright 2005, The Enquirer

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
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articles daily.

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

From: Anick Jesdanun <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Internet Ad Pioneer Now Shunning Pop-Ups
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 19:55:45 -0500


By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer

A pioneer of software that tailors pop-up ads to Internet users'
browsing habits is beginning to shun a practice that has invited much
derision and plenty of lawsuits. A new service Claria Corp. is
launching this month will still deliver advertising to the computer
desktops of Web surfers. Only this time, they won't be annoying
pop-ups.

So-called personalization -- targeting surfers with ads based on their
online outings and errands -- was always Claria's goal, says its
co-founder and chief executive, Jeff McFadden.

Pop-ups delivered via adware, which is often criticized as sneaky in
its installation, were merely a stepping stone as Claria waited for
the technology to improve and the behavioral-targeting market to
ripen, he said.

"It was never a destination," McFadden told The Associated
Press. "There's a lot of people who aren't fans of the pop-up model."

Some might consider that an understatement from the head of a company
whose name has become synonymous with adware, which many consider a
cyberparasite or worse.

Although Scott Eagle, Claria's director of marketing, said market
forces ultimately drove the decision, he acknowledged the new strategy
could help improve the image of a company that has bothered more than
consumers.

The New York Times Co. and L.L. Bean Inc. are among businesses that
have sued Claria for delivering pop-up ads that they said subverted
paid advertising or lured visitors to rivals. Claria even changed its
name in 2003 from Gator Corp., though the company insists it wasn't a
response to mounting criticism.

"It is a little naive of them to believe they can introduce a product
and have the sins of the past forgotten completely," said Jeff
Lanctot, vice president of media at Avenue A/Razorfish, an
ad-placement agency whose sister company makes behavioral-targeting
technology that could compete with Claria's.

"They have to be completely aboveboard and take extra steps other
companies don't have to do to gain trust back," said Ari Schwartz,
associate director with the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Many of Claria's critics remain skeptical.

Claria's new services will still require a software download "just
like the old Claria software," said Ben Edelman, a Harvard University
student who specializes in spyware research. "The question is how
sneaky they are going to be about it."

Claria's software typically comes bundled with free products such as
its own eWallet password-storage program and file-sharing software
like Kazaa.  Though licensing agreements disclose the ad components,
many computer users don't bother reading them. And that prompts
complaints that Claria isn't doing enough to obtain consent.

In the new model, Claria will work with developers of toolbars and
instant-messaging programs as well as reputable Web sites - and
largely have them bear responsibility for branding and getting
consumer consent.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau says pop-ups peaked at 6 percent of
all online advertising two years ago and have been declining
since. America Online Inc. stopped selling pop-up ads in 2002, and
most Web browsers now block them.

Even so, Claria claims it commanded 20 percent of the adware market
with $100 million in revenues last year, mostly from pop-ups delivered
through software on some 40 million computer desktops.

The 7-year-old company, which has 235-odd employees at its Redwood
City, Calif., headquarters and other locations, began a pilot in May
of a new ad network called BehaviorLink that serves banner ads
targeted to a user's interests.

With software for it installed, someone reading online news articles
on maternity might get pitches for baby products.

And while Claria's pop-up ads sometimes covered up someone else's Web
site, BehaviorLink ads come with the site's permission. In some cases,
Claria buys ad space and resells it at a premium; in others, Claria
works out a revenue-sharing arrangement.

Companies like Revenue Science Inc. and Tacoda Systems Inc. also offer
behavioral-targeting services but they use browser "cookies" instead
of software downloads, meaning they could potentially reach more users
overall but won't have Claria's across-the-Web targeting capabilities.

The product Claria is launching this month, in a test version, is
called PersonalWeb.

It generates "personalized Web portals" on the fly so that a user who
just checked baseball scores and movie show times might get a page
pulling top items from ESPN and Moviefone.

The page will also display targeted ads from BehaviorLink.

An existing portal can also buy Claria's technology to incorporate
personalization. Though Yahoo Inc. and others now have customization
features, they rely on users to set preferences and are not automatic.

BehaviorLink and PersonalWeb combined, Eagle said, will mean more time
spent on each site and more value for each ad.

Traditional advertising has up to 30 times the potential of adware
pop-ups, he said, making Claria a possible target for acquisition. He
insisted, though, that Claria was happy to remain independent, and he
refused to comment on reports that Microsoft Corp. has been in talks
to buy Claria.

Claria still must navigate some challenging terrain on privacy and
consent, and many key decisions still need to be worked out.

For example, although Claria said it would obtain permission before
activating PersonalWeb, it is negotiating on a site-by-site basis
whether that permission would be limited to a specific site that runs
PersonalWeb or cover the entire network.

Claria says its data on browsing habits are all anonymous, but it is
open to letting partners link such information with personally
identifiable information.

Whatever happens, users will be fully informed before they accept,
said Reed Freeman, Claria's chief privacy officer. Benefits to the
consumer, he said, will be easier to explain than the previous
trade-off between free software and more pop-ups.

Larry Ponemon, one of three outside privacy consultants hired by
Claria, said complaints about privacy stem more from annoyance with
pop-ups rather than any data collected. Non-adware companies might
capture more data but get fewer complaints, he said.

Claria still must win over the Web sites that once sued it. Eagle said
most have been willing to listen, even if they have yet to sign deals.

Advertisers that have shunned pop-ups, meanwhile, have been more
willing to run traditional ads through Claria, Eagle said, though he
declined to name any of the 250 advertisers participating in
BehaviorLink's pilot.

Elias Plishner, head of the interactive group at Universal McCann ad
agency, said many companies that previously weren't willing to "dip
their toes into behavior marketing" might now be willing to give
Claria a chance.

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. Associated Press and other headlines also available at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html.

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

Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 21:06:17 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Web Audio Book Leader Faces Competition


By JEFFREY GOLD AP Business Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Mary Lou Kalbow started listening to books while
driving a five-hour rural postal route in Minnesota about five years
ago. Now she downloads titles by Janet Evanovich, Jonathan Kellerman
and James Patterson to her portable MP3 player and listens all day
while she works as a massage therapist.

"I like to be entertained. Mystery, action, a love story. Something
that keeps me on the edge of my seat," said Kalbow, 52.

Kalbow is one of the thousands of devotees of Audible Inc., a pioneer
in the listenable literature business that remains the Internet's top
provider of audio books.

The company is about to need plenty more people like her.

Just as Audible is finally beginning to show profits, the prospect of
stiff competition looms from Amazon.com Inc., a partner that now plans
to launch its own audio book store.

Another loss came with the departure of National Public Radio, whose
programs are no longer available to download from Audible's Web site.

Many investors revolted when Audible plowed several million dollars in
revenue back into developing such services as partnerships with XM
Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. for taking
audio books on the road, including on next-generation cell phones.

      - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=50811481

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

Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 21:16:21 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Parking Meters Get Smarter


Wireless Technology Turns Old-Fashioned Coin-Operated Device Into a
Sophisticated Tool for Catching Scofflaws and Raising Cash

By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Technology is taking much of the fun out of finding a place to park
the car.

In Pacific Grove, Calif., parking meters know when a car pulls out of
the spot and quickly reset to zero -- eliminating drivers' little joy
of parking for free on someone else's quarters.

In Montreal, when cars stay past their time limit, meters send
real-time alerts to an enforcement officer's hand-held device,
reducing the number of people needed to monitor parking spaces -- not
to mention drivers' chances of getting away with violations.
Meanwhile, in Aspen, Colo., wireless "in-car" meters may eliminate the
need for curbside parking meters altogether: They dangle from the
rear-view mirror inside the car, ticking off prepaid time.

These and other innovations are reshaping the parking meter, a device
that dates to 1933, when an Oklahoma inventor named Carl Magee,
working with some colleagues, came up with the coin-operated,
single-space mechanical meter as a means of freeing up parking spaces
in downtown Oklahoma City. Two Arkansas companies have dominated the
industry: POM Inc., of Russellville, which traces its lineage to Mr.
Magee and his band of inventors; and Duncan Parking Technologies Inc.,
of Harrison.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112008647932273412-wcgfanaRACAlCq6aTdEWvysXWoY_20060701,00.html

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/MK-AE705B_METERS06292005200218.jpg

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

Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 21:51:12 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Where the Dangers Are / The Threats to Information Security


Where the Dangers Are
The threats to information security that keep the experts up at night 
-- and what businesses and consumers can do to protect themselves

By DAVID BANK and RIVA RICHMOND
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 18, 2005; Page R1

In the world of cybercrime, the bad guys are getting smarter -- and 
more ambitious.

In recent months, hackers have carried out a flurry of increasingly
sophisticated attacks, highlighting the vulnerability of key computer
networks around the world.

Criminals penetrated the database of CardSystems Solutions Inc.,
nabbing up to 200,000 Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover
card numbers and potentially exposing tens of millions more. Leading
high-tech companies in Israel allegedly planted surveillance software
on the computers of their business rivals. British security officials
warned of a computer attack aimed at stealing sensitive information
from banks, insurers and other parts of that country's "critical
infrastructure."

Security experts fear things will only get worse. As technology gets
more complex, more vulnerabilities are springing up in computer
networks -- and more criminals, terrorists and mischief makers are
rushing to exploit them.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112128442038984802-lh_hMWcw_kpdRcSHfQ8KRQuAoZA_20060719,00.html

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

From: David <FlyLikeAnEagle@United.Com>
Reply-To: FlyLikeAnEagle@United.Com
Subject: Re: E-911 Making Headway in VOIP
Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2005 01:26:23 GMT


On Sun, 31 Jul 2005 07:03:41 UTC, Tim@Backhome.org wrote:

> Wayne Rash wrote:

>> Things change when you're not connected to the phone company's
>> lines. Cell phone users, for example, are connected to their wireless
>> provider. Until recently, the best the wireless company could do was
>> to have a general idea of the area of the caller, accurate perhaps to
>> several square miles. Now, with more accurate location being mandated,
>> phones can be located using other means, including GPS (Global
>> Positioning System) receivers embedded in many phones.

> GPS works only outdoors in a relatively open area.  It never works
> indoors except perhaps when right next to a very large window with
> plain glass.

> This is the problem with technology that is not well understood by
> those who propose using it for solutions under less than robust
> circumstances.

The basic problem with the VOIP Technology, as it relates to 911 and
related emergency services, is that the location of the caller needs
to be known to help deliver the call to the desired destination.  In
the USA, calls to 9-1-1 (general emergency, police, fire, and
ambulance) and related local service numbers (information, local
services) would need to have the callers location available.  Ideally,
this would be in a form that the destination system could use.  Local
service numbers might need a community address.  The USA definition of
E9-1-1 would prefer a more specific address or possibly a less
definite GPS origin.

There are many possible solutions to this problem.  Unfortunately
there is no widely established standard for a VOIP Device or internet
connected computer system to specify its location.  Since no standard
exists, many competing standards are likely to emerge that will solve
some portion of the problem but not for everyone.  It will take a few
years for a unified response to the problem of locating internet based
callers.

I have seen solutions that enable VOIP Devices to be identified within
known network bounds -- say a building or company address.  Certainly
VOIP Devices used as a replacement for standard wireline phones will
be easy to locate.  However, as such phones move into the wild, as a
Vonage-like phone is intended to be used, the location quickly becomes
unknown.

As a few unfortunate callers have learned, a standard such as "calling
911" is only as good as the underlying system that supports it.
Hopefully the powers-that-be will encourage the necessary components
to be linked together to establish a workable system.  Until then, try
to understand the limits of whatever system you choose to use and what
the proper methods of contacting local services would be.

David

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

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone For VOIP - Home Device Imitates Provider Signal
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 23:46:43 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.347.11@telecom-digest.org>, jhedfors
<jhedfors@gmail.com> wrote:

> I wonder if such a device is feasible?

> Could there be a device that gives give off a home network signal that
> your cell phone can connect to as it does your service provider?  You
> could then user your cell handset for VOIP calls when near such a
> device.

> There is talk of special wi-fi enabled phones doing this, but this
> could be used with any phone, and could possibly be wi-fi enabled as
> well.

> Any thoughts?

"Feasible"??  H*LL NO!!  

It would be a commercial transmitter.  This requires FCC 'type
acceptance' or (in special cases) acceptance testing of the specific
transmitter.  Costs are in the high-5-to-middle-6-figures left of the
decimal point.

A FCC station _license_ for that device would also be required.  The
costs for generating the supporting data needed for the license are
'non trivial', to put it mildly.

That's _before_ considering the 'design' costs of such a device.
That's going to be _another_ high-5-to-middle-six-figure amount --
DESPITE the fact that you can use the basic design of a standard cell
station.  You have to have 'something' to replace the functionality
for determining which cell answers a call, 'validating' the phone,
managing inter-cell hand-off, etc.  Even if you're not using the
particular facilities for call management, you have to provide the
basic 'control' functions to the cell station for *it* to operate
properly.  There's a *lot* of software to design/build/test, for
'emulating' the un-needed/un-used head-end functions required by a
standard cell base-station.

Next, you've got the tooling and start-up costs for the production
line to build the d*mn things.

Direct manufacturing cost is going to be in the low hundreds of
dollars, *minimum*.  Plus 'overhead' costs -- things like advertising,
etc.  Plus something towards recouping the 'development' costs
mentioned above. Plus distributer/wholesaler mark-ups.

If you peg the total development/start-up cost at 'a few million
dollars', you have to sell a few thousand of these devices a year,
_at_a_PROFIT_ of over $100/unit, just to cover 'debt service' on the
development costs.

Totalling: several hundred manufacturing cost, minimum $100 for debt
service, plus 'something' towards retiring that debt, plus 'overhead'
 -- mgmt, marketing, etc., plus distribution costs -- I don't see _how_
such a device could carry a 'street' price much below $1,000 (probably
_considerably_ higher). Considering that the buyer also has all the
expenses of getting that FCC station license, I really question
whether the sales of 'several thousand units/year' that the
debt-service figure was predicated on is reachable.  If the market is
only 10 units/year, then you've got to get circa $10-25,000 per unit
_just_ for the 'debt service'.

After all that, there is the 'minor' issue of how that base station
'knows' what the particular phone's "home network" _is_.  and how to
send the right 'magic incantations' associated therewith.

*AND* the matter of either 'co-ordinating' with the "real" cell-tower
network so that call-handling is 'handed off' to this device, *or* of
providing an over-riding signal such that the phone 'cannot see/hear'
the real network when in range of this device.  In the latter
scenario, you have a *major* problem in ensuring that the "effect" of
your base-station doesn't extend to anybody else's phones -- going by
outside.  (Not to mention the 'minor matter' of it being illegal to
intentionally interfere with the transmissions of another licensed
station. <wry grin>)

*AND* the "problem" that arises when two people -- in adjacent
apartments, say -- *both* try to install such a device.  and one
person finds that in half his apartment, he's "closer" to the other
person's base station than he is to his _own_ station. Oh, yeah, their
phones are both on the same 'real' carrier, so you can't even
differentiate by 'home' network.

To make this idea "workable" -- in a theoretical sense -- you'd need
to re-design the cell *phone* itself.  with a separate "mode" of
operation, where it locked up to this 'private' base-station, and made
no attempt to query the "common-management" and/or use an alternate
cell with a "better" signal.

If there is *one* thing that this 'crazy idea' is not, that thing is
'feasible'!  "Feasible" means 'practical, from a _financial_ point' --
and 'finances' do look to be a real 'killer' for this project.  Not
the only one, but a killer nonetheless.

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

Date: 31 Jul 2005 22:35:41 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone For VOIP - Home Device Imitates Provider Signal
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> Could there be a device that gives give off a home network signal that
> your cell phone can connect to as it does your service provider?  You
> could then user your cell handset for VOIP calls when near such a
> device.

Technically?  I suppose so, although the device would have to spoof
your phone's preferred carrier to get the phone to connect.  But in
practice, there's no way this would happen since the frequencies in
question are licensed to the cell carriers, and they would not be at
all amused at freelance low-power competition that would steal their
calls.

> There is talk of special wi-fi enabled phones doing this, but this
> could be used with any phone, and could possibly be wi-fi enabled as
> well.

WiFi is different, since it uses the same unlicenced band as 2.4MHz
cordless phones.  For that matter, why screw around with WiFi?  Just
make it a cell/cordless phone.


R's,

John

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

From: Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com>
Reply-To: Die@spammers.com
Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc.  (c) 2005 A Rot in Hell Co.
Subject: Re: Bell System and GTE Telephone Operator?
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:38:57 GMT


hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> Back in the 1960s, the Bell System employed a great many telephone
> operators in different roles.  Some of the jobs looked very
> interesting, such as overseas or toll operator on a cord switchboard.
> Others looked extremely boring, such as directory assistance or ONI
> (caller's number entry).  I was wondering how an operator got assigned
> to the different roles and if pay scales differed for the different
> roles.

> To me, Directory Assistance and Intercept seem awfully boring.  It's
> just looking up numbers in the various phone books.

> The worst would be ONI.  Before ANI (automatic number identification
> became common) an operator had to come on line and ask their caller
> for their number.  She would key it into the system which would use it
> for AMA billing.  Her console for that did nothing else.

> The most exciting, and available only in a few places, would be an
> overseas operator.  The technical handling of different countries
> would be a challenge as well as speaking to overseas parties.  Now
> it's no big deal but back then it was.

> The middle of the road would be toll and assistance on a cord
> switchboard.  These operators would handle trouble with local calls,
> coin collection from all payphone calls, and operator handled toll
> calls (collect, time & charges, person-to-person, 3rd billing, etc.)
> While most toll calls were directly dialed and no big deal to set up,
> occassionally a call would have to be specially built-up the old
> fashioned way.

> As the 1960s went into the 1970s operator jobs were reduced.  Bell
> charged for directory assistance and operator handled toll calls,
> reducing the volume.  Computerized switchboards such as TSP/TSPS
> streamlined the function and "took the fun out of it".

> Our retired small town telephone operator started as a teenager during
> WW II.  She enjoyed working the town's local manual switchboard and it
> was just like in the movies -- calls handled by name and keeping track of
> where the doctor and policeman were in town.  When the town went dial
> in 1954, she was transferred to a nearby city where it was a completely
> different atmosphere -- very structured and disciplined.  When I toured
> some Bell central offices in the 1970s the operator's areas didn't seem
> quite as 'tight' as the 1950s is described.

> The last manual boards in my area -- in suburban towns -- were retired
> around 1962.  One area was fairly built up and would've had a lot of
> traffic, enough to justify the "A" and "B" boards (calls received by
> an "A" board, then passed to the appropriate "B" board for final
> connection).  I wonder if those locations were disciplined.

I worked in the COs with GTE and many of the large ones had operators,
and yes they were ran like the Bells were as many of the managers were
former Bell people that left for one reason or another, that went for
the stockings and such, no pants until the late 70s.

As you said when TSPS systems came online things changed.  I worked a
lot of the TSPS conversons, the directors had to be modified and
tested then we had to move 800 and payphone detection systems and
convert them for TSPS.  As the changes were made fewer and fewer
offices Toll offices and a few remotes.  I remeber one cut, it was and
the Redondo Beach, Co, which was in Hermosa Beach; right at the
boarder.  As we cut offices into the TSPS offices, there were less
operators on shift and less for them to do, the last office to cut in
that area was Redondo and when we cut it all the boards went dark.  I
remember some of the operators coing into the CO to see what we were
doing, they were either very young kids or older woman who had been
operators for years, they were transfere to other offices and jobs, it
was really said.

The same came as we converted our offices to EAX.  The good old days.

Well I'm retired for the most part, I do some COEI contracting when I
feel like it, it is just not the same.

> I also wonder what city switchboards (not tiny towns) were like under
> General Telephone and other independent companies.  Did their city
> switchboards have the same discipline as the Bell System have the same
> strictness?  [In the computer world, IBM was very formal while its
> competitors were not.]

> Historically, there wasn't much of a career path for a telephone
> operator.  Often young women took the job for a few years until they
> got married or had kids, and then they quit.  Some returned after the
> kids were grown.  A few would get promoted to be supervisors.  Others
> would leave and get jobs as PBX operators -- almost all large PBX
> installations required an operator to be "Bell trained" and have Bell
> Telephone experience to get hired.  As a PBX operator, one might have
> career advancement within the particular company depending on her
> skills and the attitude of the company (ie going from operator to
> office secretary).

The only good spammer is a dead one!!  Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2005  I Kill Spammers, Inc.  A Rot in Hell Co.

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

From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine)
Subject: Re: Nextel False Advertising
Date: 31 Jul 2005 18:28:45 -0400
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> I believe the NYS Attorney General recently hauled them into court for
> false advertising. 

If he did, he managed to do so without issuing a press release nor
without anyone in the media noticing, which is rather unlikely.

Last year he did complain that Nextel was buying new spectrum too
cheaply, but that's an entirely separate issue.

He did force Verizon to add some anti-cramming protections earlier
this year.  Perhaps that's what you're thinking of.

R's,

John

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

From: wollman@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Subject:  Re: Nextel False Advertising
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2005 22:31:56 UTC
Organization:  MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory


In article <telecom24.347.18@telecom-digest.org>, PAT writes:

> (2)"Although we do serve a large portion of the public and are
> considered 'nationwide', we only serve mostly people centered near
> major interstate highways and in larger cities successfully"

Look closely at the advertising and you'll probably find that they do
say that.  There's probably some fine print to the tune of "nationwide
coverage claims based on 89% of US population".  That means that they
don't claim to serve the least-economical 11% of the country, as
determined by population, which is of course a huge land area.  They
could exclude all of Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas and still meet
that claim.  (In actuality, they probably do serve, KCK, Wichita,
Omaha, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, Fargo, and Bismarck -- just not the
hundreds of miles of small towns and farms in between.)

Their Web site is quite honest about this (much more so than most
carriers' coverage maps that I have seen):

<http://www.nextel.com/en/coverage/index.shtml>


Garrett A. Wollman    | As the Constitution endures, persons in every
wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own
Opinions not those    | search for greater freedom.
of MIT or CSAIL.      | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)

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


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