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TELECOM Digest     Tue, 30 Aug 2005 15:06:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 393

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Katrina Overwhelms Weather Web Sites (Reuters News Wire)
    Ireland Has World's First Disposable 'Credit Card' (Paul Hoskins)
    Is Malware Hiding in Your Windows Registry? (Elizabeth Montalbano)
    Consumers Also Want to Watch TV Programs on Their Mobile (Monty Solomon)
    United Mileage Plus Visa Cards With 'Blink' (Monty Solomon)
    DISH Network Delivers Six Networks Simultaneously to Interactive (Solomon)
    OpenTV Builds Enhanced Home Portal Application for DISH (Monty Solomon)
    Overseas Phone Calls Get Cheaper (Monty Solomon)
    Microsoft, S-A Ink IPTV Deal (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy (Lisa Hancock)
    Telecom Scam (Eric Shoaf)
    Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones? (William Cattey)
    Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones? (William Warren)
    Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones? (Joseph)
    Re: RIP, Sussex Cellular (Joseph)
    Re: History of Phone Billing (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing (Tony P.)
    Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Juk Email (Tony P.)
    Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working (Tony P.)

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.  

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

From: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Katrina Overwhelms Weather Web Sites
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:19:40 -0500


Several U.S. weather and news Web sites were deluged by heavy traffic
as hordes of people went online seeking emergency information and news
on Hurricane Katrina, which battered the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Weather.com was largely unavailable from 6 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. EDT on
Sunday night (2200 GMT Sunday to 0115 GMT Monday), as the storm was
approaching its Louisiana landfall, according to Keynote Systems Inc.,
which monitors Internet performance.

But a spokesman at Weather.com disputed that contention. He said
availability was close to 100 percent, but the time needed to retrieve
the site's entire home page spiked to as long as 9 seconds on Monday
morning, during the height of the storm, as people came back to the
office and started checking the news.

Keynote was not immediately available for comment.

Availability of the National Weather Service Web site www.nws.noaa.gov
fell to 29 percent from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. EDT Monday (1515 to 1545
GMT) from its usual 94 percent to 98 percent, according to Keynote.

News sites CNN.com and USAToday.com showed some degradation of
performance on Monday morning, with their home pages loading at 6
seconds and 10 seconds respectively for short periods of time, and
availability of ABCNews.com went as low as 52 percent from 2 to 2:30
p.m EDT (1800 to 1830 GMT) on Monday.

These sites usually load at 3 or 4 seconds, said Keynote. Keynote's
Business 40 Index Internet Performance Index measures the average
download time for the home pages of 40 important U.S.-based business
Web Sites.

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.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We also had, hee on Sunday night and
Monday morning a higher than usual amount of traffic as people looked
for whatver details they could recieve. PAT]

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

From: Paul Hoskins <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Ireland Gets World's First Disposable 'Credit Card'
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:21:42 -0500


By Paul Hoskins

If you've ever been nervous about using your credit card to order the
latest bestseller online or buy roses for a loved one over the phone,
an Irish bank thinks it has solved the problem.

Permanent tsb said on Tuesday it will launch the world's first
pre-paid, disposable credit voucher, opening up Internet and telephone
shopping to those previously put off by the security implications of
handing over their credit card details.

In the same way that owners of pre-paid mobile phones top up their credit at
shops, registered users of the new service will be able to buy vouchers for
between 20 and 350 euros at retail outlets.

Each voucher will carry its own unique number which can then be used
to shop online, by phone or by mail with any retailer who accepts
cards issued by Visa.

The scheme, which is the brainchild of Ireland's 3V Transactions
Services Ltd, also aims to attract those who do not hold traditional
credit cards.

"This new voucher will enable both sets of people to avail of all the
benefits of shopping online or on the telephone in a controlled,
prepaid way and without any security issues," said Niall O'Grady, head
of marketing at permanent tsb bank.

Alphyra -- an Irish-based processor of mobile phone payments and the
parent company of 3V Transactions Ltd -- said the consortium planned
to roll out the facility nationwide in the coming weeks before
targeting other European countries.

"Within the next 12-18 months we plan to launch the product in the UK,
Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Greece,
Romania, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic," said Seamus Minogue,
head of financial services at Alphyra.

Permanent tsb, the retail banking arm of Irish Life & Permanent,
expects the idea to prove popular in Ireland, where 67 percent of
adults do not have a credit card and those who do incur an annual
government levy of 40 euros.

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.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not know why they are referring to 
this as the "world's first disposable credit card". Those cards,
issued through banks with the VISA logo have been available here in
the USA for at least a couple years; here in our town, they are sold
as 'gift cards' by Commerce Bank and a couple other banks. You can get
them in various denominations and they make ideal gifts for someone
when you do not know what else to get the person. They're good anywhere
a VISA card is good. I've both received them and given them a few
times at Christ Mass over the past two years. PAT]

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

From: Elizabeth Montalbano <idg@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Is Malware Hiding in Your Windows Registry? 
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:26:02 -0500


by Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service

Security experts have found a vulnerability in the Windows operating
system that could allow malware to lurk undetected in long string
names of the Windows Registry.

According to a security advisory by Denmark-based IT security company
Secunia, the weakness is caused by an error in the Windows Registry
Editor Utility's handling of long string names. A malicious program
could hide itself in a registry key by creating a string with a long
name, which would allow the malicious string and any created after it
in the same key to remain hidden, according to Secunia. Keys are
stored in the Windows Registry, which saves a PC's configuration
settings.

Secunia has confirmed that the vulnerability affects the "Run"
registry key, according to the advisory. Malicious strings in this key
will be executed when a user logs in to the PC.

Affected Systems

The vulnerability affects Windows XP and Windows 2000 and has been
confirmed to exist on fully updated XP systems with Service Pack 2 and
Windows 2000 systems with Service Pack 4, according to Secunia.

Microsoft issued a statement on the vulnerability saying it is
investigating the weakness and is not aware of any malicious attacks
that have exploited it.

Moreover, the company asserted that the vulnerability by itself could
not allow an attacker to remotely or locally attack a user's
computer. It could only be exploited if the computer had its security
compromised in some other way or was already running malicious
software.

In its advisory, Secunia provided several solutions to avoid
exploitation of the vulnerability, one of which is to ensure that
systems have up-to-date anti-virus and spyware detection software
installed.

The security company also said it is possible to see the hidden
registry strings with the "reg" command-line utility of the Windows
Registry, and that the "regedt32.exe" utility on Windows 2000 is not
affected by the weakness.


Copyright 2005 PC World Communications, Inc.

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.

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:14:56 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Consumers Also Want to Watch TV Programs on Their Mobile


NOKIA PRESS RELEASE August 30, 2005

Consumers also want to watch TV programs on their mobile

Espoo, Finland - Results announced today from one of the world's first
commercial mobile TV pilots in Helsinki, Finland reveal the popularity
and willingness to pay for mobile TV services, underlining the
potential of this exciting new mobile application. 41% of pilot
participants would be willing to purchase mobile TV services and half
thought that a fixed monthly fee of 10 euros was a reasonable price to
pay. Over half (58%) said that they believed broadcast mobile TV
services would be popular.

Digita, Elisa, MTV, Channel Four Finland (Nelonen), Nokia, TeliaSonera
Finland and YLE jointly conducted the pilot in Finland between March
and June 2005 with 500 users accessing mobile TV using the Nokia 7710
smartphone and DVB-H technology.

Content is king

According to the pilot results, pilot participants not only wanted to
watch familiar program offerings, but they would also welcome mobile
TV content that is suitable for short and occasional viewing.
Familiar programs available through national Finnish television
channels proved to be the most popular followed by sports and news
channels (CNN, BBC World, Euronews). The Ice Hockey World cup games,
the San Marino and Monaco Formula One as well as the UEFA Champions
League match between Liverpool and AC Milan were among the top 10
programs viewed during the pilot.

Viewing patterns

In general, mobile TV users spent approximately 20 minutes a day
watching mobile TV, although more active users watched between 30 to
40 minutes per session. Participants also watched mobile TV at
different times than traditional TV peak hours.

Mobile TV was most popular while traveling on public transport to
relax or to keep up to date with the latest news although it also
proved popular at home for entertainment and complementing
participants' main TV watching.

http://press.nokia.com/PR/200508/1008920_5.html

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:29:06 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: United Mileage Plus Visa Cards With 'Blink'


     Chase, United Are First to Offer Airline Rewards With 'blink'
     Technology; United Mileage Plus Visa Cards with 'blink,'
     Increased Speed, Convenience for Travel, Home
     - Aug 30, 2005 08:00 AM (BusinessWire)

WILMINGTON, Del. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2005--Chase Bank
U.S.A., N.A., a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and
United announced today that the United Mileage Plus Visa* card is the
first airline rewards card to feature "contactless" technology called
"blink." The United Mileage Plus Visa cards with blink were first
issued this summer to over 200,000 cardmembers in Colorado, a United
hub destination.

To use United Mileage Plus Visa cards with blink, Colorado cardmembers
simply hold their card near a special point-of-sale terminal at
checkout, instead of swiping their card or handing it to a store
employee. As cardmembers hold their card with blink near the
point-of-sale terminal, the terminal will quickly emit a tone and
light up to signal payment confirmation.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=51448452

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:30:17 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: DISH Network Delivers Six Networks Simultaneously to Interactive


     DISH Network Delivers Six Networks Simultaneously to Interactive
     TV Viewers; Mosaic of Popular TV Channels and Interactive
     Features Entice Viewers
     - Aug 30, 2005 08:00 AM (BusinessWire)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2005--EchoStar
Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) and its DISH Network
satellite TV service today unveiled a new feature that will give
customers the ability to watch six TV channels and use an interactive
menu, all at the same time. The mosaic of six networks and interactive
channels on DISH Home, Ch. 100, is a convenient way for subscribers to
watch and interact with their TV.

DISH Network pioneered the interactive mosaic -- six mainstream TV
channels integrated with interactive features -- during the 2004
Summer Olympics and again for the 2004 Presidential Elections.

DISH Network viewers can select windows of popular networks including
CNN, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, E! Entertainment, Bloomberg and Court
TV through DISH Home. Full-screen video with audio automatically
appears when viewers select a network window. Viewers can still go to
their favorite interactive channel for customer service, news,
shopping, sports, games and entertainment on DISH Home.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=51448763

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:31:24 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: OpenTV Builds Enhanced Home Portal Application for DISH Network


New DISH Home Delivers Six Channel Mosaic of Popular Networks With
                 Interactive Services

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OpenTV Corp.
(Nasdaq: OPTV), one of the world's leading providers of technologies
and services enabling the delivery of digital and interactive
television, announced today that it developed and integrated an
enhanced digital interactive application for EchoStar Communications
Corporation's (Nasdaq: DISH) DISH Network(TM). Available to all of
DISH Network's subscribers at channel 100, the new DISH Home channel
will allow viewers to simultaneously watch six video windows of
popular networks including CNN, The Weather Channel and E! displayed
on an attractive full-motion video background.

The OpenTV-developed service allows viewers to navigate through each
of the six video windows using the remote control's directional
arrows. As they navigate, the audio changes to correspond with the
currently highlighted video window. Full-screen video and audio
automatically appears when a network window is selected. Viewers can
access the wide selection of interactive services from the DISH Home
channel, including customer service, news, and shopping and games. In
addition, a text ticker allows EchoStar to provide up-to-the-minute
news and events.

The new DISH Home channel is configurable, enabling EchoStar to
refresh the six video services, interactive offerings, banner ads, and
background and text ticker with new content at any given time. For
example, DISH could swap out the six video windows with six different
video feeds of a single event and update the full-motion video
background to reflect the theme of the event.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=51448989

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 09:16:03 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Overseas Phone Calls Get Cheaper


International Wireless Rates Are Finally Starting to Fall; Six Cents a
Minute to the U.K.

By SARMAD ALI
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 30, 2005; Page D1

The last shoe is about to drop in the telephone price wars.

Rates for most land-line and cellphone calls have been falling for
years. A smart consumer can, for example, make overseas calls from a
home phone now for essentially local rates, or even less.
International cellphone calls have been a big exception, however, with
overseas wireless rates remaining stubbornly high over the years.

Finally, that is changing, too.

Some of the big cellular providers, including Cingular Wireless -- a
joint venture between San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. and
Atlanta's BellSouth Corp. -- and Nextel Communications Inc., have
started heavily discounting their international rates. In some cases,
it is now cheaper to call overseas on a cellphone than a land line.

This latest development is part of a rapidly changing landscape that
includes a wide range of discount options for international calling,
such as prepaid cards and Internet calling, known as voice over
Internet protocol, or VOIP, where a regular phone is adapted to use a
high-speed Internet connection.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB112536357996626281-VVqM2yVRXYgdsAcVntv7_FkCKJc_20060830,00.html

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:57:04 EDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Microsoft, S-A Ink IPTV Deal


USTelecom dailyLead
August 30, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24230&l=2017006

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Microsoft, S-A ink IPTV deal
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Apple, Motorola to unveil iTunes phone next week
* Intelsat's proposed deal for PanAmSat could face hurdles
* Sprint Nextel takes affiliates under its wing
* Wi-Fi spreads as cities, providers jockey for position
* Report: Vonage may seek a buyer
* Prices drop for overseas cell phone calls
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT 
* Telecom Crash Course -- The must-have book for telecom professionals
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Analysis: Verizon Wireless' EV-DO ready to explode?
* A peek at the Internet of the future
* Japan, China collaborate on 4G
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Huawei addresses India's security concerns
* Advocacy group presses FCC on private data guidelines

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24230&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: Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy
Date: 30 Aug 2005 07:32:55 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


My local PBS showed clips from old shows.  The telephone figured in
some of them.

In one clip, the group got into an argument over the names of the
Seven Dwarfs from Snow White.  One man makes a few phone calls to ask
around.  He dialed 5 or 6 digits, but spun the dial very quickly, not
letting it properly return.  The man then made another call, this time
dialing only three digits.  "Long Distance?  Get me Walt Disney in
Hollywood!".  The man repeatedly emphasizes he's spending $3 on long
distance to find out the info ($3 was maybe $30-$40 today).  He gets
Walt Disney on the phone (who didn't know the answer), and mentioned
again he was calling long distance for $3.

The clip was also interesting for the social world it shown.  The gang
was headed out for the evening when they got into this argument.  They
were hollering at each other, and it reminded me of adults of that
day, which seemed to be hollering at lot more than they do today
(maybe it was only my world).  Also, they were all dressed up very
nicely -- men in suits, women in nice dresses.  Today people go out to
dinner or a movie in beach clothes; we forget in those days people put
on a necktie or dress quite often when they left the house.

Another clip was a monologue about a night on the town.  It starts off
with him calling his girlfriend for a date, and he made exagerated
sounds of dialing, ringing, etc.

Those old shows were done live.  When something fouled up -- which
happened often (forgotten lines, prop would fall down -- the actors
had to be quick and improvise to keep the sketch moving.  By today's
standards the humor could be a little bland and the jokes very old.
But the shows have a kind of vitality often not seen today.  The
comedy groups were a tight-knit team.  They also could be funny
without resorting to sex or even politics.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One of my favorite telephone gags is
when the person _merely pretends_ to call someone, but actually has
his finger holding the hook down while he makes a big production of
dialing then speaking to whomever (only supposedly), and then mid-way
through the supposed conversation with the supposed person, the phone
_actually rings_ with a real call coming in, and of course the
pretender is quite embarassed at being caught in this obvious lie. I
first saw this routine in an old Jack Benny show from the 1930's, then
I saw it again in an "I Love Lucy" show. The third time I saw it was
when John Ritter (in his role as Jack Tripper, on "Three's Company")
got caught in that lie on one of the "Three's Company" shows. Viewers
will recall that poor Jack was always getting in some hassle or
another on that show, and his two female roomates would always have to
rescue him. 

The odd part was that on the show where Jack got caught 'with his
finger on the hook while making a call' (because the phone rang), when
it happened, the audience roared with laughter, poor Jack looked very
humiliated as always, but on the 'outakes' (not used in the show but
available on the video of 'outakes' several years later) who should
walk on the set at that moment but Lucille Ball -- not normally on the
show except two or three times as a special guest) and she sternly
said "John, you stole one of my better laughs!" and Ritter replied,
"but my writers got it from the same guy you did, Jack Benny!". Miss
Ball gave him a dirty look and stalked off the stage. The audience
loved it; because the applause for Lucille Ball and the laughter on
account of the joke went on for so long the producers had to cut it
out of the tape entirely. You are correct, Lisa, they could tell jokes
and have funny situations in a clean way on television in years gone
past.  PAT]

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

From: Eric Shoaf <Eric.Shoaf@ssa.gov>
Subject: Telecom Scam
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 10:33:45 -0400


I just received this today. I called to see what the deal was. They
required that I made over 50k, I bring my spouse to an office at 1250
22nd Street NW, DC with two forms of ID. No Children. I would have to
set through a 90 minute presentation. I felt this might be a scam, so
I did a search on the phone number that I called on the internet and
found Telecom Digest.

Message as follows ...

Eric, 

Please call me at 1-866-677-4100. I previously tried to contact you at
410xxxxxxx, but was unable to reach you. This is reference to an entry
form you filled out, either on-line or at a major mall or movie
theater.  I actually have some decent news in regards to the Global
Adventure and Ford Explorer contest. I have an address, claim number,
and further details for you. Since all prizes are well over $500, I
will need a few moments of your time to cover all related lottery-type
information from procuring your prizes due to any tax issues on them.

Sincere congratulations! 

The Prize Claim Coordinators 

P.S. For your convenience, we are available 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Central
Standard Time, Monday to Friday 
199.173.226.228 Jul 20 2005 6:26AM 

Please follow url below to stop further emails
http://www.prizeclaimcenter.net/cgi-bin/frame1.cgi?email=eshoaf@comcast.net
<http://www.prizeclaimcenter.net/cgi-bin/frame1.cgi?email=eshoaf@comcast.net
>  
Sender: 

The Prize Claim Coordinators 105 South River Rd North Aurora, IL, 60542 


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for passing it along, but it is
a total _scam_. I hope you did not get too much into it.   PAT]

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

From: William Cattey <wdc@MIT.EDU>
Subject: Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones?
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:54:53 -0400


On the subject of Verizon phones shutting down, a couple weeks ago my
Kyocera 7135 quit making outgoing calls.  But it was not due to a
broken phone.  (I guess that since it's an expensive phone they let
customers talk to technicians who know what they're doing before
trading them in.)

For some reason my phone spontaneously decided to sign onto a Sprint
cell tower. The tell-tale symptoms were: Much stronger signal than I'm
used to for that location, and the time of day being 6 AM instead of 2
PM.

The first technician I spoke to attributed no significance to the time
of day difference, but after we went through all she could think of,
she transferred me to someone who was going to take my info for a new
phone.  Instead we retraced a few steps, and re-initialized the
phone's identity, at which point it called home to the proper mama and
has been fine ever since.

-wdc

"Like my father before me, I shall remain 5 years old till the day I 
die!"

P.S.  I think this is my first posting to Telecom digest, but I've been 
an avid reader since the early days (Hi Pat!  Hi Jon!).  Thanks for a 
GREAT digest!


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am glad you like this little digest
of news and opinion each day. Having messages like yours makes it very
worthwhile for me. And yes, often times just a simple reset of your
phone will clear up those problems like you described.  PAT]

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

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 10:31:21 -0400
From: William Warren <william_warren_nonoise@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones?


Shalom Septimus wrote:

[snip]

> Hypothesis 2, the more paranoid one: Some people have been suggesting
> that Verizon have been deliberately breaking these phones. The reason
> given is that they aren't E911 compliant, and if they were still
> functional, Verizon would have to *give* you another one in order to
> be in compliance with the minimum 85% that the FCC wants. Now that
> it's "broken", they can *sell* you another one, or lock you in to a
> new 2-year contract. (Note that this doesn't necessarily contradict
> the first theory.)

> So: What do y'all think about this? Is there any evidence for one or
> the other scenario?

I just went through some of the same trouble, but for a different
reason: I left my phone behind at my folk's house, which is about an
hour's drive away, and tried to activate a spare Motorola 120C that a
friend gave me a couple of months ago.

Verizon flat-out refused to turn it on, saying that it isn't E911 
compliant, and that their system won't activate any phone that doesn't 
comply.

FedEx solved the short term problem: I now have my original 120C back
and am able to use it. However, this episode raises lots of questions.

E911 has been simmering for years now, and I don't know what happens
to non-compliant instruments when the deadline is finally here. A
quick web search turned up an FCC date of December 2005, and a
requirement that 95% (not 85%) of phones must comply by the end of
this year. Verizon has chosen, according to the search results, to use
GPS-enabled phones to comply, while other companies are putting the
location hardware in their cell sites.

So, the questions:

1. 95% or 85%?
2. Is December 2005 still the deadline?
3. What happens to those of us on Verizon's network without
    GPS-enabled phones (such as, apparently, the Motorola 120C).

William

(Filter noise from my address for direct replies)

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

From: Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones?
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 07:22:49 -0700
Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com


On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 23:42:00 -0400, Shalom Septimus
<sacrificial_trap@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hypothesis 2, the more paranoid one: Some people have been suggesting
> that Verizon have been deliberately breaking these phones. The reason
> given is that they aren't E911 compliant, and if they were still
> functional, Verizon would have to *give* you another one in order to
> be in compliance with the minimum 85% that the FCC wants. Now that
> it's "broken", they can *sell* you another one, or lock you in to a
> new 2-year contract. (Note that this doesn't necessarily contradict
> the first theory.)

You may have some validity in wondering about the second.  In many
mobile forums that I've gone to I've heard it mentioned that Verizon
will no longer activate any handset on its network that doesn't
incorporate GPS tracking in it.  The older handsets did not
incorporate this and Verizon has a mandate that by a certain time
95%(?) of their subscribers must have this type of handset.  Verizon
will not at present activate any non-compliant non-GPS capable handset
on their network.  For a while you could get around this by using the
on line tool on the web to do this, but last I heard that's not even
possible any longer.  Since they have a mandate to have it done they
may be doing this.  

It's not the first time a cellular company has used underhanded
practices to force people to buy new equipment and not re-emburse them
for doing so.

Cingular has done that with their acquired AT&T Wireless subscribers
in many cases.

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

From: Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: RIP, Sussex Cellular
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 06:51:20 -0700
Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com


On 29 Aug 2005 00:37:58 -0000, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:

> Are there any other analog-only carriers in the US at all?  I can't
> think of any.  Even the little carriers in Alaska seem to be doing
> TDMA or CDMA.

If you go to http://www.wirelessadvisor.com and put in the ZIP code
for rural locations such as in Maine or New Hampshire you'll see 800
AMPS only providers listed.  Curiously for many locations you'll also
see the company Nextwave at 1900 Mhz listed as well even though they
have no service!

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

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: History of Phone Billing
Date: 30 Aug 2005 07:19:28 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Michael Hyman wrote:

> I am looking for information on pre-computer and early computer
> toll/call billing systems.
> Also, information on early call detail reporting/recording systems.

Remember that before computers there were IBM punched-card tabulating
machines (widely available and sophisticated by the mid-1930s and
perfect for this kind of work) and these were extensively used to
prepare telephone bills.  The tab machines remained in use to
supplement electronic computers well into the 1970s (a punched card
was included with the bill that you returned with your payment).
Before tab machines there were accounting machines (kind of a
supersized cash register); so in larger areas bills were automated for
years.  I presume in small areas they either used the facilities of
large cities or did bills by hand.

Keep in mind that before the 1960s toll calls were expensive and
people made a lot fewer of them.  Making a toll call was serious
business back then.  So, undoubtedly many subscribers had no toll
charges at all and the phone bill was much simpler.  I would not want
to be a clerk doing nothing but hand-figuring every telephone bill all
day long, but back in the 1950s and earlier a great many people were
employed doing just that in all kinds of industries.

In cities, message units were used to tally up local and suburban
calls.  There was a meter attached to each line which would increment
for calls and time of call.  The meters were photographed and the
values processed and a single amount transferred to the bill.  The use
of message units instead of itemized billing saved considerable
paperwork.

In Los Angeles, they used itemized billing and in the 1940s they
developed ANI (auto number ID) and a crude AMA (auto message
accounting).  Tapes were printed of call activity.

In the 1950s they developed sophisticated AMA that prepared punched
tapes which could be processed by machine.

Surprisingly, there was less standardization in bill preparation
across the Bell System than I would expect.  Bills in different places
had different formats in the 1960s.  Different places used different
kinds of computers -- some Univac, some IBM.  Although Bell Labs
developed many computer systems for the business office, it appeared
billing software was programmed independently.  Some billing formats
may have been mandated by individual state PUCs so variation had to be
allowed for that.

By the way, very recently the New York Times had a story on complex
phone bills and ridiculous charges they add in.

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

From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing
Organization: ATCC
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 14:31:04 -0400


In article <telecom24.384.4@telecom-digest.org>, spamsucks@crazyhat.net 
says:

> In message <telecom24.383.16@telecom-digest.org> Dave Garland
> <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> wrote:

>> It was a dark and stormy night when Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:

>>> You don't see people railing against the power companies
>>> for running high voltage transmission lines through neighbourhoods
>>> "ruining" their property values either.

>> Around here you do.  Not for property values, but for health concerns.

> To me, there is a simple solution: If they don't want high voltage
> lines, don't give them any.

> Unplug the complainers from the grid completely.  

> *shrugs*

Or bury the lines about 8+ feet underground, as they should have done
in the beginning.

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

From: "Tony P." <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: The Luncheon Meat Associated With Junk Email?
Organization: ATCC
Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2005 10:37:45 -0400


In article <telecom24.389.11@telecom-digest.org>, 
paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk says:

>> The "Columbia Journalism Review", a magazine for reporters, often has
>> ads by corporations reminding people about using trademarks as
>> everyday words.  I guess the most common example today is using
>> "Xerox" as a verb ("go xerox this letter") or a noun ("I'll send you a
>> xerox of the letter").  It is a trademark and is properly used to
>> describe a particular brand of copier machine or the company that
>> makes them: ("I'll run them off on our Xerox machine").

> Xerox isn't used in a generic sense quite so much in Britain as in the
> States, but we have plenty of other examples.

> "Hoover" is commonly used both as a generic name for any sort of
> vaccuum cleaner, and as a verb, e.g. "I'll just hoover up" or even
> "I'm going to do the hoovering."  The Hoover name never became generic
> for any of the other types of appliances they made, such as irons and
> refrigerators.  Had the latter been the most widely associated product
> of the company, maybe today people would talk about "Getting some milk
> from the Hoover."  Sounds weird, but it could have happened.

Sort of how the big joke during the heyday of DEC's VAX computers was
the ad by a European (Quite likely British) manufacturer of vacuum
cleaners titled "Nothing sucks like a Vax".

That ad made it into quite a few VAX shops. 

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

From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working
Organization: ATCC
Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2005 14:35:05 -0400


In article <telecom24.385.8@telecom-digest.org>, 
wollman@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu says:

> In article <telecom24.384.6@telecom-digest.org>,
>  <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

>> So, if a telecom provider wants to bundle services, why shouldn't it?

> Because the market for residential communications services cannot
> support what economists call "effective competition".  The barriers to
> entry in "local loop" services are so high that allowing bundling
> stifles competition on the services built on top.

> What should have been done back in 1984, and wasn't, is the unbundling
> of outside plant from telephone service (with both by preference
> provided by separate companies).  By the late 1990s, most states
> understood this, and implemented a similar model for energy
> deregulation: you buy your energy from a competitive supplier, who
> then must contract with a regulated distribution company to deliver it
> to you.

Here in Rhode Island they broke the electrical distribution network
from the generating plants.

Have our bills gone down, even discounting increased fuel costs? No. 

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


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