For your convenience in reading: Subject lines are printed in RED and
Moderator replies when issued appear in BROWN.
Previous Issue (just one)
TD Extra News
Add this Digest to your personal
or 
For your convenience in reading: Subject lines are printed in RED and
Moderator replies when issued appear in BROWN.
Previous Issue (just one)
TD Extra News
Add this Digest to your personal
or
TELECOM Digest Wed, 3 Aug 2005 23:58:00 EDT Volume 24 : Issue 352
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Telecom Update - Canada - August 3, 2005 (Angus TeleManagement Group)
NYT's Friedman Calls For Better Wireless Access (Lisa Hancock)
Tuning Into the Times / Mobile Phones New Features (Monty Solomon)
IPTV May Be Springboard For Telcos (USTelecom DailyLead)
Typical Business Telephone Sets Today? (Lisa Hancock)
Looking For Good International Conference Call Service (John R Levine)
Re: Bell System and GTE Telephone Operator? (mc)
Re: Credit Reports, was Re: AT&T Customers Taken Over (C. Cryderman
Re: Identity Theft: Big Enough to Steal Lawmakers' Attention (S Sobol)
Re: Personal Opinion Telegram and Mailgram - Discontinuance (Kaminsky)
Re: Personal Opinion Telegram and Mailgram - Discontinuance (Greenberg)
Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits? (Diamond Dave)
Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits? (Justa Lurker)
Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits? (Robert Bonomi)
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. 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 are 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 04:51:47 -0700
Subject: Telecom Update - Canada - August 3, 2005
From: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca>
Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca>
************************************************************
TELECOM UPDATE
************************************************************
published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group
http://www.angustel.ca
Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial
support from:
** ALLSTREAM: www.allstream.com
** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/en/
** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca
** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/
** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca
** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/
** SPRINT CANADA: www.sprint.ca
** UTC CANADA: www.canada.utc.org/
************************************************************
IN THIS ISSUE:
** Telcos Ask Cabinet to Deregulate VoIP
** Telus Workers on the Picket Line
** Entourage Strike Ends
** Local Phone Competition Spreads
** Telecom Policy Review to Include Public Hearings
** Bell Mobility Relaunches Solo
** Telus Strike Boosts Wireless Sales
** Mitec, SR Telecom CEOs Resign
** Thieves Hit Phone Equipment Vendors
** Wireless Fuels Rogers Growth
** Aliant Sales Edge Up
** Allstream Swells MTS Revenue
** Aastra Revenue Doubles
** Hall of Fame to Debut at Telemanagement Live
============================================================
TELCOS ASK CABINET TO DEREGULATE VoIP: On July 28, Aliant, Bell
Canada, SaskTel, Telebec, and Telus filed a joint petition to Cabinet
asking it to eliminate the "economic regulation" of VoIP services that
the CRTC ordered in Telecom Decision 2005-28 (see Telecom Update
#481). The telcos want to be able offer VoIP services without filing
tariffs and without restrictions on "winback" activities or
promotional offers.
www.bce.ca/en/news/eventscalendar/webcasts/2005/20050728/index.php
** The Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association
immediately urged Cabinet to reject the telcos' appeal.
www.ccta.ca/english/view.asp?t=&x=150&id=1209
TELUS WORKERS SET UP PICKET LINES: The Telecommunications Workers
Union calls it a lockout. Telus calls it a strike. What's certain is
that after five years without a contract, thousands of unionized Telus
employees are now walking picket lines. B.C. and Alberta courts have
barred the TWU from picketing in a manner that "blocks, obstructs or
impedes access" to and from Telus premises.
** Telus blocked all of its Internet customers from accessing
voices-for-change.com, a website that is "run by and for
Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) members." The B.C.
Civil Liberties association condemned Telus for
"leveraging its power as a telecommunications service
provider to censor a specific group." Telus ended the
website block after an Alberta Court ordered the website
to remove photos of Telus employees who cross picket
lines.
ENTOURAGE STRIKE ENDS: The four-month strike by 1,400 employees of
Entourage Technology Solutions, now part of Bell Canada, has
ended. The union says the settlement is $3.5 million better for its
members than Bell's pre-strike offer; CRTC statistics show that
service-related complaints against Bell more than doubled during the
strike.
LOCAL PHONE COMPETITION SPREADS: Local phone service from cablecos
Shaw, Rogers, and Cogeco is now available in more areas. Shaw has
begun selling Digital Phone in Winnipeg, Rogers has added six
communities in Ontario and three in B.C., and Cogeco has added Three
Rivers.
** Vonage Canada has begun offering local telephone numbers
from Brampton and Mississauga, Ontario.
TELECOM POLICY REVIEW TO INCLUDE PUBLIC HEARINGS: The
Telecommunications Policy Review Panel (see Telecom Update #482, 485)
has announced two public consultations. The first, on September 9 in
Whitehorse, will focus on broadband access issues. The second, on
October 24-26 in Ottawa, will consider broader telecom policy issues
including regulation, adoption of information and communications
technologies, and productivity.
www.telecomreview.ca/epic/internet/intprp-gecrt.nsf/en/rx00027e.html
BELL MOBILITY RELAUNCHES SOLO: Bell Mobility will launch Solo Mobile
service August 2, featuring free text messaging, $1-a-day
walkie-talkie service, exclusive handsets, and a free ringtone each
month. The revived Solo brand targets 13- to 24-year-olds.
TELUS STRIKE BOOSTS WIRELESS SALES: MetroBridge Networks, a B.C.-based
wireless broadband provider, says its volume of customer inquires has
increased 15-fold since Telus workers walked out. The company says it
is receiving orders from companies that are moving or setting up new
offices, and from others that want back-up facilities in case of
service interruption.
MITEC, SR TELECOM CEOs RESIGN: The chief executives of two
Montreal-based wireless equipment makers have resigned:
** Rajiv Pancholy has resigned as President and CEO of Mitec
Telecom. CFO Keith Findlay becomes interim CEO; Stefano
Bazzocchi is acting CFO. Mitec has announced losses of $25
million on sales of $58 million for the year ended April
30.
** Pierre St-Arnaud has resigned as President and CEO of SR
Telecom. William Aziz, the company's Chief Restructuring
Officer, has been named interim CEO.
THIEVES HIT PHONE EQUIPMENT VENDORS: Toronto fraud squad investigators
say that a ring of thieves has been calling in orders for quantities
of business phones, collecting the orders, and paying with worthless
cheques or money orders. Seven thefts have been reported; other
victims are asked to call the police.
WIRELESS FUELS ROGERS GROWTH: A 47% jump in wireless revenue enabled
Rogers Communications to increase second-quarter sales to $1.73
billion, 29% more than a year earlier. The wireless division, which
added 125,000 subscribers, made up 56% of Rogers sales. Results
include the former Microcell but not Call-Net.
** Rogers bundle discounts, formerly 15% across-the-board,
now range from 5% to 15%.
** Rogers Telecom (formerly Call-Net) reports Q2 2005
revenues of $217 million, up 8% over the same quarter in
2004, with growth in both consumer and business service
revenues and a 41% increase in EBITDA.
** Rogers' July 1 acquisition of Call-Net (see Telecom Update
#488) triggered several change-of-control provisions,
including vesting of stock options ($4.1 million) and
senior executive payments ($3.4 million). The company's
agreement with Sprint (U.S.) will end September 29.
ALIANT SALES EDGE UP%: Aliant Inc. had 2Q net income of $49.8 million,
24% higher than the second quarter a year earlier, during which Aliant
experienced a strike. Sales rose 1.2% to $517 million. Wireless sales
increased 14%; Internet sales, 6%. Aliant says 693 employees have
accepted buyout packages.
ALLSTREAM SWELLS MTS REVENUE: Manitoba Telecom 2Q revenue of $502
million was 60% higher than a year ago, before its purchase of
Allstream. On a pro forma basis, revenue in Manitoba was up 4.3%, that
of the national division (Allstream) down 3.9%. Net income: $111.5
million.
** John MacDonald, President of the MTS national division,
returns from a medical leave August 2.
AASTRA SALES DOUBLE: Aastra Technologies, based in Concord, Ontario,
had 2Q revenue of $126 million, 94% higher than a year earlier. Net
income: $7 million. During this year, Aastra bought the PBX business
of EADS (which includes the former Intecom); two weeks ago it paid $51
million for the PBX business of Berlin-based DeTeWe.
HALL OF FAME TO DEBUT AT TELEMANAGEMENT LIVE: The inaugural ceremonies
for Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame will be held in Toronto
on October 17, in conjunction with the Telemanagement Live conference
and trade show. The first eight inductees to the Hall of Fame will be
announced at a gala co-hosted by the Coalition for Competitive
Telecommunications.
** Online registration for Telemanagement Live, Canada's
premier annual conference on business telecom and
networking, is now open at www.telemanagementlive.com.
Participants who register before August 31 save $300 off
the full conference fee.
============================================================
HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE
E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca
===========================================================
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE)
TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two
formats available:
1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late
Friday afternoon each week at www.angustel.ca
2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge.
To subscribe, send an e-mail message to:
join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com
To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send
an e-mail message to:
leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com
Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add
or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave
subject line and message area blank.
We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail
addresses to any third party. For more information,
see www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html.
===========================================================
COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2005 Angus
TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further
information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please
e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca.
The information and data included has been obtained from sources which
we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no
warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy,
completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on
interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If
expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a
competent professional should be obtained.
------------------------------
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: NYT's Friedman Calls For Better Wireless Access
Date: 3 Aug 2005 10:22:14 -0700
A New York Times columnist, Friedman, calls today (8/3/05) for better
wireless access in the United States. He says many foreign countries
have better systems than we do and they will have the competitive edge
on the US as a result.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:46:39 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Tuning Into the Times / Mobile Phones New Features
Tuning into the times
Mobile phones could soon feature up to 10 radios, delivering a host
of services. But the industry must ensure it doesn't frustrate
consumers. By Peter Judge
Thursday July 14, 2005
The Guardian
Most mobile phones already have at least two radios inside them, and
some have three or four. In the future, they could have nine or
10. That will be a headache for the handset makers, the silicon
vendors and the operators -- and perhaps for you.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1527517,00.html
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 13:35:29 EDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: IPTV May be Springboard For Telcos
USTelecom dailyLead
August 3, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=23562&l=2017006
TODAY'S HEADLINES
NEWS OF THE DAY
* IPTV may be springboard for telcos
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* BellSouth simplifies DSL pricing
* Cable targets small business
* Motorola, Nortel fund Wi-Fi company
* Sirius announces push for 3M subscribers
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act -- What It Means to Your Business -- Friday, Aug. 5, 11 to 12:30 p.m. (ET)
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Broadband penetration to reach 62% by 2010, study says
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Court issues new ruling in RIM patent case
* Nextel seeks e911 delay
Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=23562&l=2017006
Legal and Privacy information at http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp
SmartBrief, Inc.
1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005
------------------------------
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Typical Business Telephone Sets Today?
Date: 3 Aug 2005 12:14:48 -0700
My department at my employer uses plain 2500 style telephone sets
under a Centrex system. I kind of assumed they were still common
place, but I understand now that they're kind of unusual? I heard
caller-ID is very common on business phones, is that true?
[public replies, please]
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Caller ID _is_ very common on business
phone systems these days. For instance, when I call either Atmos
Energy (gas supplier) or Westar (electric utility) they answer with
voice mail of course, but after a couple minutes of chatter while they
tell me 'our menu has changed, listen to all options' then the voice
mail on both tells me "based on your caller ID, you are located at
(street number); if yes, press one, if no, press two", etc. And far
from using 'old fashioned' 2500 style sets, they sit in a room with
little keypads attached to computer terminals. They seem to emphasize
your address, since they need to know where to show up to work on the
wires or gas pipes, etc. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: 3 Aug 2005 18:15:43 -0400
From: John R Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Looking For a Good International Conference Call Service
Twice a month I'm on a conference call of about fifteen people, maybe
five in the US, and the rest scattered all over the world, Italy,
Argentina, Chile, China, Japan, and usually a couple in Africa.
People call in if there's a local number in their country (US and
Europe mainly), and the conference service is supposed to call out to
the rest of them.
We've been using MCI, but their service is just awful, voice quality
is flaky, they consistently fail to call out when they say they're
doing so, they tell people who call in at the correct time that the
conference is already over. So we're not going to use them any more.
Can anyone suggest an international conferencing service that really
works, with decent voice quality, international access, and the
ability to call out (preferably by an operator) to international
numbers? Price isn't a big issue, nothing that works is going to be
cheap. Online conferencing stuff is no good, since several of the
callers are in places with limited Internet and people are frequently
travelling and are using their cell phones.
TIA,
John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator of The Internet for Dummies,
Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor
"I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly.
------------------------------
From: mc <mc_no_spam@uga.edu>
Subject: Re: Bell System and GTE Telephone Operator?
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 10:55:43 -0400
Organization: Speed Factory http://www.speedfactory.net
> The Chicago Transit Atrocity -- oops, I mean 'Authority' was formed by
> an act of the Illinois Legislature in 1947 as a independent government
> in its own right (_not a government agency, but an actual government_)
Yes ... presumably a "district" that is administratively like a
county, but instead of governing a portion of the state the way a
county does, it governs a particular set of government services, and
has the authority to levy taxes in specified places. For example, we
have had a "school district" here (Clarke County, Ga.) for a long
time, to get around the problem that the county is small but the city
and county governments were not originally consolidated. There are
also "sewer districts" etc.
Definitely one of the odd points of American politics.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In Chicago, in addition to the CTA or
Chicago Transit Authority (thus situated), there is also the CHA (or
Chicago Housing Authorty) which is a _true_ atrocity if there ever was
one. CHA has been in 'federal receivership' now for a few years due
to the unbelievably awful living conditions in the 'homes' and the
amount of crime on its property. Originally very nice _but plain_ living
accomodations, the CHA was started in 1941 and its first commissioner
was a woman who was a protege of Jane Addams of Hull House fame. CHA
was intended to be _temporary, transitional_ housing for needy people;
then after the second war ended, the idea was to provide _temporary,
transitional_ housing for military veterans returnin from military
duty. Since about 1960 or so, these high-rise (fifteen or twenty story
buildings; a cluster of a dozen or so in each location) have been
almost exclusively for black people; many of whom of course have
extensive criminal histories and their families; quite often the only
person in the 'home' (all seven or eight thousand of them in an
aggregate total) is the Mother. Nearly every one of them has one or
more sons or fathers currently in prison or recently released. The little
kids run around wild and rather delinquent as one would expect. The
television series of the 1970's, _Happy Times_ (written by Norman
Lear) is now in endless re-runs on TV-Land . The former commissioner
of the mess, a man named Charles Swibel, a rich, white older guy from
the northern suburbs had some problems of his own in keeping the CHA
money accounts in order, barely escaped going to prison himself, but
did get CHA tossed into federal recivership (a sort of bankruptcy
chapter used for governments) when the feds 'evicted' him from office.
Then there is the Chicago Park _District_ (rather than 'authority'),
started in the 1940's as well, with its own can of worms. And there
is the Chicago School _Board_ (also rather than 'authority') with the
same sort of government arrangements. When the school board came up
several million dollars unaccounted for, Mayor Daley (312-PIG-3000 if
you ever wish to dial him direct) had a solution for that; a whole new
layer of control called the Chicago Schools Finance Authority whose
only job was to make the School Board obey the law on deficit
spending. The Finance Authority has to sign off on the School Board
budget each year, and not approve it unless the school board has the
books in order. The board is apparently incapable or unwilling to
obey the law all on their own.
In his greed and unmitigated gall a few years ago, Mayor Daley and the
City Council got the notion of 'municipalizing' Commonwealth Edison,
the electric utility. So the people who run our transportation system,
our subsidized 'homes', our parks and our schools would then be in
charge of our nuclear power plants as well ... that did not go off
very well; the unwashed masses complained bitterly at the idea, but
most important, several very large industries who depend extensively
on their electrical power began making arrangements to _close up their
shops and split town_, unwilling to risk possible loss of electrical
service. At that point, Mayor Daley blinked and backed off. PAT]
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Credit Reports, was Re: AT&T Customers Taken Over By Alltel
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 14:11:18 -0400
From: Charles Cryderman <Charles.Cryderman@globalcrossing.com>
As Steve and I continue our conversation:
I wrote:
> Yes Steve, it is my understanding that this is a Federal Law.
Then Steve came back with:
> Ahh, ok. The unconditional you-get-one-free-report-per-year law is new,
> though. The law that's been in effect for years is "you're entitled to a
> free report at any time if you've been denied credit or employment
> within the last thirty days, based on your credit report." I assume
> that's the law that you just referred to?
No Steve I am not talking about that one, though I do know about it.
Back in 1986 I was the Training Sergeant for a US Army Communications
unit on Okinawa, Japan. I would receive the Army Times and other
publications which I reviewed for training subjects for my unit. In
one issue of the Army Time there was a article about the credit
reporting company TRW. In it they talked about how many military
personnel would have credit issues due to deployment. It also stated
that all "Credit Reporting Companies" were required to provide, upon
written request, copies of your credit report (address was provided
for TRW). I then sat down and requested a copy to see if it
worked. About 6 weeks later I did receive a copy and saw that only the
credit I had requested was posted and that I was in good standing. I
wanted to have a training session on this but the guy I worked for
didn't like it. Wasn't military enough for him so I copied it and sent
it out to the read files for each department in my unit. Now I don't
remember if it was stated that this was a Federal or not but was
someone's law that I was able to use.
Chip Cryderman
------------------------------
From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Identity Theft: Big Enough to Steal Lawmakers' Attention
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 18:05:40 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com
Warning: a major rant follows.
> She recalls a Macy's representative calling to ask about a $2,400 bill
> on her new store card. "I asked them, 'How could you open an account
> in my name if I already have an account there?' "
Because I don't believe the store reps care.
No one at Carson Pirie Scott apparently gave a crap when someone
showed up with my stolen drivers license (ok, lost, but then someone
found it and left the state with it) and applied for a card.
I was living in Cleveland at the time, and had never lived further
west than southwest Ohio. CPS, a Chicago-based chain, never had any
Ohio stores except a few in Toledo which had closed years ago, and the
only reason I even recognized the name when I got a letter from them
was because they used to buy flooring supplies from my father.
It apparently meant nothing that the criminal trying to screw me was
quite a ways from Ohio and attempting to get credit with an Ohio
license.
> Credit-freeze laws growing
> One rising form of legislation, the one being considered here in
> Massachusetts, allows consumers to freeze third-party access to their
> credit reports.
That's a great idea and I hope someone ends up passing a federal law
of that nature. It would give a lot of control back to the consumer.
> While lauded by many consumer advocates, such measures hint at the
> challenges of combatting ID theft. Opponents say such laws are
> intrusive measures that clunk up business practices.
And I'd like to tell those people that they can kiss my ass. The only
reason I wasn't completely screwed back in 1998 when I lost my DL was
because my credit was terrible back then -- and I was never happier
about that than when I found out that the idiot had stopped after
applying for three department store cards.
> Representatives from credit-card companies disagree that such steps
> are needed. J.P. Morgan Chase, for example, has stated that
> cardholders will not be contacted unless the firm believes they are
> victims of, or highly susceptible to, fraud.
The banks can kiss my ass too, and I say that as a consumer AND a
merchant. The merchants are the ones who lose money if there are
chargebacks. Not the consumers, not on chargebacks -- they get their
money back. Certainly not the banks. They get to charge more because
now the merchant is "high-risk." Or if you're talking about American
Express, well ... I got dumped by Amex after one chargeback. ONE. No
recourse, couldn't dispute the chargeback, nothing.
> Critics warn that such laws could hold unintended consequences for
> consumers.
> "This should be about meeting consumer expectations," said Eric
> Ellman, director of government relations for the Consumer Data
> Industry Association, testifying against credit-report freezes in
> Massachusetts. In emergency situations where credit is crucial, frozen
> reports would slow access to funds, he says.
Like what, Mr. Ellman? Gee whiz, can't the house or car purchase wait?
Free clue, jerkoff ... it's not a life-or-death issue. There are no
credit checks if you get into an accident and get Life-Flighted to the
emergency rooms. Hospital ERs ARE REQUIRED TO ACCEPT PATIENTS. Just
about everything else can wait.
> In addition, obstacles to credit would deter companies from pushing
> promotional deals, like 10 percent discount cards.
Waaaaahhhhhh.
> But state lawmakers were skeptical. "It seems there's a very
> paternalistic theme to those comments, which is 'We know what's best
> for consumers,'" said Massachusetts state Rep William M. Straus.
> He said the issue should be turned over to the victims of ID theft:
> "Would they trade a 10 percent discount from Sears for everything
> they've been through?"
Bravissimo, State Representative Strauss! Someone who Gets It.
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I definitly feel consumers should have
the absolute right to lock up their credit bureau files so _no one_
can see them. Your application for credit, along with your password,
would serve as your permission for a business to look at and act upon
your credit. There would be no more of these credit card promotions
where cards are just sent out willy-nilly because some store or credit
card company said 'you meet our criteria; do you want a card?' If I
want a card I have to specifically ask for one. PAT]
------------------------------
From: The Kaminsky Family <kaminsky@kaminsky.org>
Reply-To: kaminsky@kaminsky.org
Organization: None Whatsoever
Subject: Re: Personal Opinion Telegram and Mailgram - Discontinuance?
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:35:52 GMT
Wesrock@aol.com wrote:
> Now, mail between Lawton, Oklahoma, and Wichita Falls, Texas, about 40
> miles apart and considered a single market area, takes two days.
> Unless you use the curious and unusual mailbox at the Lawton post
> office marked "Wichita Falls only," which presumably bypasses the
> mechanized system and goes directly from Lawton to Wichita Falls,
> rather than making a mechanized stopover in Oklahoma City and another
> one in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. (Yes, they have three mailboxes
> rather than the usual two -- "Local," "Out of Town." "Wichita Falls
> only."
> Wes Leatherock
> wesrock@aol.com
> wleathus@yahoo.com
We have a similar situation here. Sunnyvale and Santa Clara are
adjoining cities, but served by different main post offices (San
Francisco and San Jose, respectively, if memory serves -- rather a
gamble these days). Mail from one to the other can take three to five
days for delivery. Even Sunnyvale to Sunnyvale often takes two days,
because all the mail is trucked up to San Francisco. There used to be
a "Sunnyvale only" box at the main Sunnyvale post office, but they
removed it a couple of years ago. They said something about
"efficiency".
As my wife says, the handbasket is accelerating.
Take care.
Mark
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Does anyone remember when we used to
have _two_ mail deliveries each day as a routine thing, and when
postage cost only a few pennies at that? PAT]
------------------------------
From: richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Personal Opinion Telegram and Mailgram - Discontinuance?
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 19:47:30 UTC
Organization: Organized? Me?
In article <telecom24.351.7@telecom-digest.org>,
<hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> I feel a traditional letter gets more attention than an email because
> (1) a letter has a physical presence instead of fleeting bits on a
> screen, and (2) the recipient knows you went to the trouble of writing
> and mailing it while an email is easy to knock off en masse. However,
> writing to Washington today may be bad because letters are secured
> before delivery and they can be seriously delayed.
What I have heard is that the preferred media is Fax. As effective as
snail mail and no quarantine. Also cheaper. I can send a 1 page fax
for 3-6 cents vs 37 cents for a letter.
Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L
------------------------------
From: Diamond Dave <dmine45.NOSPAM@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits?
Organization: The BBS Corner / Diamond Mine On-Line
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 18:01:12 -0400
On 2 Aug 2005 14:10:34 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> By how, I mean what physical medium is chosen and how is it routed.
> Do they use satellite, microwave, fibre optic, coax, plain wire? Are
> there direct routes or must it go to intermediate switching centers
> and transferred there? What happens if the primary circuits are busy
> -- do they go to a lot of trouble to reroute or just cut me off? Does
> AT&T still have a big network control center in Bedminster? Does
> anyone even have such control centers or are they not needed anymore?
1. Its all fiber these days. Maybe digital microwave as a backup on
some routes, but these are rare, few and far between.
2. It all depends on what carrier you use and how long the call is.
Calls may go through an intermediate tandem if the call is cross
country, or crosses from one country to another via a "gateway"
switch.
3. Rerouting is almost not an issue anymore. There is so much extra
capacity that if there is more than one route to a destination,
rerouting is automatic.
4. As far as I know, the NOC in Bedminster still exists. After SBC
takes over, who knows?
5. I'm sure that these centers are still needed to maintain large
networks. I'm sure MCI and Sprint have similar NOCs.
> By whom I mean does my designated long distance carrier actually
> physically carry the call or do they merely sublet to someone else who
> actually owns the wires to where I'm going. Who manages the switching
> centers? I suspect a heck of a lot of long distance traffic is
> carried by someone other than the designated carrier.
These days, everyone buys from everyone else, so who knows where your
call actually goes. Also, there are many wholesale providers that work
with any and all LD providers (Level 3 comes to mind as one of these).
Its not as cut and dry as it once was.
Dave Perrussel
Webmaster - Telephone World
http://www.dmine.com/phworld
------------------------------
From: Justa Lurker <JustaLurker@att.net>
Subject: Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits?
Organization: AT&T Worldnet
Date: Thu, 04 Aug 2005 00:14:09 GMT
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> By how, I mean what physical medium is chosen and how is it routed.
> Do they use satellite, microwave, fibre optic, coax, plain wire?
The vast majority of domestic "long distance" calls today would, of
course, go over fibre optic transmission systems. There are also some
digital radio (e.g., microwave) routes still out there where they make
economic or technical sense. Satellite routes are used predominantly
for overseas traffic to countries not served more directly by optical
fibre transport, or perhaps to some extremely remote locales (in for
example, the state of Alaska) which do not have fiber connectivity.
Satellite is also still used as backup for some of the submarine
cables, should they fail pending repair or perhaps during maintenance
[although increasingly infrequently --- since (a) many of the new
submarine cables tend to use SONET ring technology which greatly
increases availability and minimizes the need to use any sort of
satellite restoration, and (b) there is often extra capacity on other
undersea fiber systems which can be pressed into service by rerouting
traffic over them].
For a historical perspective, check out the URL
http://long-lines.net/
... if you haven't already. Lots of good stuff there.
> Are there direct routes or must it go to intermediate switching
> centers and transferred there? What happens if the primary circuits
> are busy -- do they go to a lot of trouble to reroute or just cut me
> off?
Take a look at
http://perso.rd.francetelecom.fr/chemouil/gcn_ieee/DynRout20.pdf
... for a throrough description written by 2 genuine experts.
> Does AT&T still have a big network control center in Bedminster?
Yes. In fact, it was enlarged and moved to a new building a few years
ago. For example, see:
http://www.extron.com/company/archive.asp?id=featureappatt
http://www.christiedigital.com/recentInstallations/networkOperation/att/att_noc.asp
http://www.emeapress.att.com/library/images/att_noc_01.jpg
> Does anyone even have such control centers or are they not needed
> anymore?
Certainly they serve as much of a "PR" (Public Relations) function as
anything else. Not to mention the "we always did it that way" factor.
And big execs like to build their empires to show off. Certainly, one
could debate whether (given today's technology) that all of those
people need to be (or even should be) in one physical location.
> By whom I mean does my designated long distance carrier actually
> physically carry the call or do they merely sublet to someone else who
> actually owns the wires to where I'm going. Who manages the switching
> centers?
Depends on your choice of designated long distance carrier, and the
extent to which it owns and operates its own facilities vs. buying
capacity 'wholesale' from one of the big guys or perhaps a "carrier's
carrier" (Wiltel comes to mind here).
> I suspect a heck of a lot of long distance traffic is carried by
> someone other than the designated carrier.
Once again, it varies from virtually none to virtually all, based upon
who you've specifically selected as your LD carrier. As a very rough
first-order estimate, next time you are out on your bicycle or driving
around the countryside, take a look at those little signs which are
posted along fiber optic right-of-ways ... do you see your carrier's
name on many (any) of them ? Certainly that's not a 100% foolproof
way to answer your question since there is a lot of capacity swaps &
dark fiber/optical wavelength leasing & reselling of bandwidth between
carriers, but it may give you a crude sense of who owns what in a
relative sense.
------------------------------
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Today's Long Distance Circuits?
Date: Wed, 03 Aug 2005 11:27:32 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.
In article <telecom24.351.4@telecom-digest.org>,
<hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> This came up before but perhaps things changed.
> I call, say Wilmington Delaware to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. How and who
> is the call physically routed and connected between the two cities?
> What about a shorter call, say Harrisburg PA to Erie PA (a few hundred
> miles)?
> By how, I mean what physical medium is chosen and how is it routed.
> Do they use satellite, microwave, fibre optic, coax, plain wire?
"Yes". One or more of the above. _Probably_ fiber.
> Are there direct routes or must it go to intermediate switching
> centers and transferred there?
The proverbial 'it depends'. On the specific locations involved.
Generally there are a number of intermediate centers involved.
> What happens if the primary circuits are busy -- do they go to a
> lot of trouble to reroute or just cut me off?
Re-route/alternate route is _common_. "All circuits are busy, please
try your call again later" generally indicates an issue *very*close*
to one end or the other of the call.
> Does AT&T still have a big network control center in Bedminster?
> Does anyone even have such control centers or are they not needed
> anymore?
They're still needed. The nature of the beastie has changed
considerably, over the years, however. Lots more 'smarts' in the
hardware, allowing automation of much of what used to require 'manual
intervention'. People are still required, for when the
'unexpected'/'unanticipated' occurs. automation doesn't deal well
with things that it -hasn't- been programmed to handle. <grin>
> By whom I mean does my designated long distance carrier actually
> physically carry the call or do they merely sublet to someone else who
> actually owns the wires to where I'm going.
"It depends." On _who_ the LD carrier is. Some have their own
networks, some just buy 'wholesale' from those who do have their own
physical infra- structure.
> Who manages the switching centers?
Whomever owns the network involved.
> I suspect a heck of a lot of long distance traffic is carried by
> someone other than the designated carrier.
Probably true. There are a lot more LD sellers than there are
physical "national" networks.
------------------------------
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. All the contents
of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in
some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work
and that of the original author.
Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest
Post Office Box 50
Independence, KS 67301
Phone: 620-402-0134
Fax 1: 775-255-9970
Fax 2: 530-309-7234
Fax 3: 208-692-5145
Email: editor@telecom-digest.org
Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org
Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org
This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm-
unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and
published continuously since then. Our archives are available for
your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list
on the internet in any category!
URL information: http://telecom-digest.org
Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/
(or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)
RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html
For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308
and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest
*************************************************************************
* TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from *
* Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate *
* 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. *
* http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com *
* Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing *
* views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. *
*************************************************************************
ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased.
One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com
Copyright 2004 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.
************************
DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO
YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST
AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest !
************************
Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your
career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
(MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35
credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the
skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including
data, video, and voice networks.
The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College
of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the
College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has
state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus
offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes
are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning.
Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at
405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at
http://www.mstm.okstate.edu
************************
In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert
have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and
enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order
telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has
been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very
inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request
a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.
End of TELECOM Digest V24 #352
******************************
| |
