TELECOM Digest     Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:58:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 528

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    AIM Worm Spreads; Getting Worse (Matthew Broersma)
    Mirrors to Banish Town's Winter Darkness (George Jahn)
    Broadband Service Ready to Board Corporate Jets (Roger Yu)
    New AT&T Stakes Future on Internet (USTA Daily Lead)
    Technology Lets High-End Hotels Anticipate Guests' Whims (Monty Solomon)
    How to Tame an Inflated Entertainment Budget (Monty Solomon)
    How Google Tamed Ads on the Wild, Wild Web (Monty Solomon)
    City to Use Cameras in Bid to Fight Crime / Chinatown (Monty Solomon)
    Is it Time to Buy That 50-Inch Plasma TV? / Prices Dropping (Monty Solomon)
    Cellular-News For Monday 21st November 2005 (Cellular-News)
    Re: Nokia 6340i Cell Phone (John Levine)
    Re: Alger Hiss et al. (Henry)
    Re: Mtn. View Accepts Google's Offer of Free WiFi (harold@hallikainen.com)
    Re: Lingo Phone Can't Port Number (John Levine)

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
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included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article
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               ===========================

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: Matthew Broersma <techwor@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: AIM Worm Spreads; Worse Than Expected
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 10:47:23 -0600


Matthew Broersma, Techworld.com

The W32/Sdbot-ADD worm infecting some users of AOL Instant Messenger
is more dangerous than previously thought, and more persistent than
ever in spreading, according to Facetime Security Labs, the
researchers who discovered the worm in October.

The rootkit installed by the worm, lockx.exe, is allowing systems to
be further compromised by a group of attackers based in the Middle
East, according to Facetime researchers. The attackers are installing
additional malicious code capable of stealing personal information,
according to the group.

At least tens of thousands of systems appear to be infected, Facetime
said.  The company's president and chief executive, Kailash Ambwani,
said that the network of infected machines could, like other large
botnets, be used to carry out denial of service attacks against
particular Web sites.

"We have delivered detailed research information to the U.S. federal
authorities and are fully cooperating with their efforts," Ambwani
said in a statement.

Facetime has published an online scanning tool that can detect and
disable lockx.exe, the company said.

How Worm Works

The worm attacks via AIM, asking users to open a link, apparently at
the request of one of the user's "buddies" or contacts. Clicking on
this the initiates infection sequence, which starts with the dropping
of a number of adware files, and the rootkit software itself,
lockx.exe.

Once on the PC, the malware attempts to shut down antivirus software,
install software that allows the PC to be remotely controlled by IRC,
and open a backdoor for future attack. It also contains an SMTP engine
with which to collect email addresses.

Facetime's newer research has found that lockx.exe is being actively
used as a backdoor to install additional malware on systems. The
additional malware can steal usernames, passwords,and other
information, and can be controlled via the IRC messaging system,
Facetime said.

One of the files installed via lockx.exe, called ster.exe, specifically
allows attackers to upload, download and monitor the infected PC, said
Facetime. Other files allow theft of Outlook Express passwords, keystroke
logging, and launching additional attacks on Web sites or networks.

A group in the Middle East appears to be behind the additional
malware, according to Facetime. The group has compromised servers in
various countries around the world to distribute the new malware.

Ambwani noted that the Instant Messenger progam of America Online
(AIM) should generally be regarded as dangerous because of the
'hospitality' it shows to W-32/sdbot-ADD and its rootkit 'lockx.exe'.
He recommended scans to search for and destroy this worm, as soon as
possible. As always, avoid opening attachments from strangers, and
often times even people you know will unwittingly pass it along.


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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For more information go to:
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------------------------------

From: George Jahn <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Mirrors to Banish Town's Winter Darkness
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 10:43:32 -0600


By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer

The sun has stopped shining in Rattenberg. But with the aid of a few
mirrors, the winter darkness that grips this small town could soon be
brightened up with pockets of sunshine.

That's because sun is plentiful less than 10 minutes' walk from the
town and from Rat Mountain, the 3,000-foot hill that blocks its
sunlight between November and February each year.

The solution: 30 heliostats, essentially rotating mirrors, mounted on
a hillside to grab sunshine off reflectors from the neighboring
village of Kramsach.

Bartenbach Lichtlabor GmbH, the Austrian company behind the idea, has
already used mirrors for lighting projects around the world -- sunshine
into European basements and railroad stations or nighttime
illumination of a mosque in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

It says the reflector technology is now advanced enough to justify the
company's first attempt to bring sunshine into a village.

It's costly, however. The European Union is footing half the $2.4
million bill, and the company says it will pay the $600,000 cost of
planning the project, gambling that success will attract more
business.

"I am sure we will soon help other mountain villages see the light,"
says Markus Peskoller, Lichtlabor's director.

In the Tyrol region of the Alps alone, about 60 communities suffer the
same fate in winter as Rattenberg. Peskoller says about six other
towns in Austria and neighboring Switzerland have expressed interest.

The technology requires pinpoint beaming, and even the most modern
mirrors have slight distortions and are vulnerable to strong winds.

Peskoller says those problems can be compensated for. But it would
take a mirror the size of a football field to light up all of
Rattenberg, "and we cannot cover the mountain with mirrors to bathe
the whole town in light," he says.

So Lichtlabor plans to create about a dozen "hotspots" -- areas not
much bigger than a front yard scattered through the town, where people
can gather and soak up rays. The mirrors would also reflect at various
times of day onto building facades to show daylight slowly turning to
dusk.

Rattenberg was built between the hill to the south and the Inn River
to the north starting in the 1300s for protection against
marauders. Back then, lack of sunshine was a small price to pay for
relative security.

But as such dangers diminished, dozens more settlements sprang
up. Some, like Kramsach, are just half a mile away and all enjoy a few
hours of sun on a clear winter's day.

Rattenberg's demographics reflect the pull of the sun.

The town 25 miles east of Innsbruck is Austria's smallest_ and getting
smaller. Its population has dropped by about 20 percent to 440 in the
last two decades, and both Peskoller and Mayor Franz Wurzenrainer
attribute that at least in part to lack of sunshine.

The mayor remembers how in the 1950s, when not everyone had a car,
townspeople would trek over the bridge on the Inn River to Kramsach on
a Sunday "to tank up on some sun."

In a poll of four years ago, about 50 percent of Rattenbergers listed
lack of winter sunlight as their biggest disadvantage.

"We all complain, although those who have lived here into old age can
put up with the problem," says Maria Auer, 91. "But the young folks
are moving away."

Christine Margreiter runs a florist's shop in town but lives in a
sunnier town nearby where she makes up for sunless weekdays by hiking
and gardening.

"It's unpleasant to come here for me," she says. "Dark and cold."

On the Net:

Bartenbach Lichtlabor GmbH: http://www.bartenbach.com

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.

More news reports from Associated Press at:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html

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

From: Roger Yu <USAToday@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Broadband Servic Ready to Board Corporate Jets
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 10:49:14 -0600


By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

Executives who travel on corporate jets may soon be finding in-flight
high-speed Internet a common feature.

Only Annapolis, Md.-based Arinc is on the market now with a broadband
service for corporate jets. But competition is set to intensify in 2006.

 . Radio equipment maker Rockwell Collins and aviation giant Boeing
have teamed to introduce theirs next spring.

 . Inmarsat, a British avionics maker that now has a dial-up-speed
Internet service for corporate jets, will roll out a broadband product
later in the year.

Special plane antennas link to satellites to provide the Internet
access.  Driving the new interest providing the service in the
corporate jet market:

 . Productivity. High-level executives can ill afford to be away from
the Internet, particularly e-mail, for long flights. "It's become an
extension of office," says corporate pilot Mike Moore, who flies a
Gulfstream G4 for a West Coast technology firm.

 . Cost. The service remains costly, but it's coming down. Howard
Lewis of Satcom Direct, a reseller of in-flight Internet and phone
services, estimates hardware and installation of the current Inmarsat
service can cost up to $400,000. A connection runs about $8 a
minute. Initially, broadband equipment is unlikely to be cheaper,
though per-minute rates will be less, says Lewis.

 . Technology. The new generation of services will be much improved,
says Steve Pope, an editor at Aviation International News. Initially,
only the owners of large jets -- such as Gulfstream G450, Bombardier
Global 5000 and Dassault Falcon -- will buy, he says. The tail-mounted
antennas are too big from smaller jets.

 . Airlines. The market is flat for commercial jets, diverting
suppliers' interest to business jets. Connexion by Boeing, the
aerospace giant's wireless unit, has managed to attract some foreign
airlines like Lufthansa and Singapore to the broadband service it
rolled out in 2004. About 100 foreign commercial airplanes have been
outfitted.

So far, financially struggling U.S. carriers have not offered
in-flight broadband, though United has plans to offer it by the end of
2006.

Including Inmarsat's dial-up-speed service, an estimated 600 corporate
jets now have Internet service.

Arinc executive Bob Thompson estimates about 1,500 corporate jets -
about 17% of corporate jets worldwide - have tail sections large
enough for the current technology. As the size of antennas shrink with
technological improvements, he says, the market for broadband will
expand.

"After a year or two, the number of business jets (with broadband
Internet) will far outstrip the number of commercial airlines," says
Thompson.

Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. 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.

For more news headlines from USA Today, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:59:26 EST
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: New AT&T Stakes Future on Internet


USTelecom dailyLead
November 21, 2005
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/yrkIatagCyeYqFPkKi

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* New AT&T stakes future on Internet
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Skype inks marketing deal with RadioShack
* Telcos eye Africa amid signs of growth
* Analysis: IPTV deals on the horizon
* AT&T updates logo for modern telecom era
* Judge's ruling favors Nextel Partners
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Subscribing to USTelecom dailyLead was smart.  Joining USTelecom is even smarter
HOT TOPICS
* SBC's CFO talks strategy with BusinessWeek
* Startup exits stealth mode to announce fixed-mobile solution
* Sony launches Internet phone service
* Cisco to buy Scientific-Atlanta
* Telstra announces IP, 3G roadmap
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* Verizon Wireless, Disney team up for "Lost" mobisodes
* AtomShockwave debuts ad network

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/yrkIatagCyeYqFPkKi

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

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:14:46 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Technology Lets High-End Hotels Anticipate Guests' Whims


By KEN BELSON

When regulars like Dr. Laurence Wiener check into the Mandarin
Oriental in Manhattan, they get more than a smile from the concierge
and a mint on their pillow. Dr. Wiener's hotel room knows how warm he
likes it -- 68 degrees. It welcomes him with a personal message on his
television set. It even loads his most frequently dialed numbers onto
the phone.

And the bellhop did not have to do a thing.

At the Mandarin and other high-end hotels, new computer systems that
connect individual rooms to network servers can now keep track of
guests' preferences and change the room conditions automatically.

These "smart" systems can learn whether a frequent guest likes the
lights dimmed, the curtains closed or the room toasty warm. They can
also personalize the electronics in the room so that John Coltrane,
for instance, greets jazz buffs when they enter their rooms. And
sensors in refrigerators alert maids when the minibar is running low
on soda.

While much of the underlying technology is not new, it is still rare
in private homes because the equipment is expensive, especially the
controllers that connect all the devices. But by incorporating such
technology into their guest rooms, luxury hotels are starting to
provide a glimpse of what networked homes may look like over the next
decade.

The backbones of these smart rooms are the data networks that hotels
are installing to carry phone calls, video and Internet connections.
The networks, for example, make it possible to offer Internet
television services that store programs on servers and let guests
watch shows on demand (a guest from Chicago could watch a Cubs game in
London or Tokyo).

The networks also allow hotels to connect the lights, air-conditioners
and other room devices to a central computer so they can be remotely
monitored or controlled.

As the price of this technology declines, some homes could start to
look like these smart rooms. Already, more than 35 percent of American
households have broadband lines, and developers are integrating home
servers and high-speed cables into high-end new homes.

In time, appliances linked to such home networks could be programmed
to adjust to a homeowner's likes and dislikes. Companies like Crestron
already sell controllers that automate and centralize control of
electronics and appliances.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/technology/16hotels.html?ex=1289797200&en=407f73f556fcd20f&ei=5090

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

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:21:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: How to Tame an Inflated Entertainment Budget



Your Money

By DAMON DARLIN

You probably spend more on entertainment than you do on groceries,
clothing or gasoline.

If you don't believe it, take a few minutes to total your monthly
costs, starting with the services that have you locked in: basic cable
television, and any premium channels, like HBO or Showtime; Netflix to
rent videos; TiVo for digital recording; your high-speed Internet
connection; and perhaps, satellite radio and streaming music like
Yahoo Music. You are already up to about $200 a month, or $2,400 a
year.

Don't forget your iTunes music and video downloads, plus magazines,
movie rentals, movie tickets, live shows and sporting events.

Add in your cellphone and any of its video, data and premium content.

The average American spends more on entertainment than on gasoline, 
household furnishings and clothing and nearly the same amount as 
spent on dining out, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among the affluent, the 20 percent of households with more than 
$77,000 a year in pretax income, more money is spent on entertainment 
- $4,516 a year - than on health care, utilities, clothing or food 
eaten at home.

The average income of households in that quintile is a little more
than $127,000. Because they account for a disproportionate share of
spending in the economy, they are the group that trend watchers and
marketers focus on. (From the unexplained fact department: People in
the western part of the country spend about 20 percent more on
entertainment than the national average, the government statisticians
also show.)

Over the last 10 years, outlays for entertainment outpaced overall
expenditures. Spending on health care and education, which almost
doubled in that period, grew faster.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/19/business/19money.html?ex=1290056400&en=971361775bc0c739&ei=5090

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

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:36:30 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: How Google Tamed Ads on the Wild, Wild Web


Digital Domain

By RANDALL STROSS

FIVE years ago, Web advertisers were engaged in an ever-escalating
competition to grab our attention. Monkeys that asked to be punched,
pop-ups that spawned still more pop-ups, strobe effects that imparted
temporary blindness - these were legal forms of assault. The most
brazen advertiser of all, hands down, was X10, a little company
hawking security cameras, whose ubiquitous "pop under" ads were the
nasty surprise discovered only when you closed a browser window in
preparation for doing something else.

Today, Web advertisers by and large have put down their weapons and
sworn off violence. They use indoor voices now. This is a remarkable
change.

Thank you, Google.

Without intending to do so, the company set in motion multilateral
disarmament by telling its first advertisers in 2000: text only,
please. No banner ads, no images, no animation. Just simple words,
which would go either at the very top of the page, above the search
results or, alternatively, as the experiment evolved, at the far
right. These "sponsored links" had to conform to strict limits on
length and aggressiveness in punctuation and phrasing. If you wanted
to claim in your ad that you were the "best," you had to display the
third-party authority that authenticated the claim.

Google introduced these ads at the very moment when X10 ads were
strewn like chewed gum on every square of sidewalk. X10's pop-unders
were accepted at mainstream sites run by companies including
Microsoft, Yahoo and The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/business/yourmoney/20digi.html?ex=1290142800&en=8dfa1d5415f0b05d&ei=5090

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

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:56:10 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: City to Use Cameras in Bid to Fight Crime


City to use cameras in bid to fight crime
Chinatown, other sites to get device

By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff  

By January, Boston will install about 40 sophisticated surveillance
cameras in Chinatown, along Boston Harbor, and in high-crime areas,
probably including Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he believes the digital cameras
can be an effective tool against crime. "Any technology or any
operation that we can use that will help us combat violence in the
streets of our city, we're going to look at very seriously," he said
in an interview.

Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole said yesterday that the city
eventually plans to link its cameras with others already in
transportation hubs, housing developments, and private businesses to
help stem a surge in crime.

"We hope to be creative," she said in an interview. "If the drug 
unit wants to monitor cameras in the areas where there's been drug 
activity, they can do that."

The cameras to be installed in coming weeks were purchased for and
used during the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, but have
been shelved since. Police originally said the cameras would go up in
Chinatown in February.

The delay, officials said, involved getting permission from businesses
and homes to mount the cameras, as well as the technical difficulties
of wiring the cameras.

Civil libertarians, however, said Boston should keep the cameras on
the shelf.

Sarah Wunsch, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts, said yesterday that cameras have not been effective in
combating crime in Britain, where they have been commonplace since the
1990s. She also said the public should be concerned about the cameras'
power to give the government more information on individual habits.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/19/city_to_use_cameras_in_bid_to_fight_crime/

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

Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:57:31 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Is it Time to Buy That 50-Inch Plasma TV? / Prices Dropping


Is it time to buy that 50-inch plasma TV?
Prices have steadily fallen on HDTV models with new brands and 
increased production

By Keith Reed, Globe Staff 

Should you or shouldn't you this holiday season?

New brands, deep discounts, and increased production are pushing
prices of high-definition television sets even lower this year.
Consider: Circuit City is offering a 42-inch Samsung plasma for
$2,700, slashing $800 off the regular price, and Best Buy is peddling
newcomer Maxent's 42-inch, HD-ready plasma for $1,800. And last month,
Fujitsu of America rolled out rebates of $500 or $1,000 on each
purchase of its high-end plasma models.

"There's more players in the market, there's more display 
technologies, and if you look at most of the manufacturers' lines, 
we're seeing less standard definition and a lot more high definition 
being produced," said Joni Blecher, an analyst at technology and 
consumer research firm Jupiter Research in New York.

Since HDTV technology hit the mass market in the late 1990s, the
average cost -- especially for lightweight, flat-panel models -- has
fallen by several thousands of dollars. Last year, the average sale
price of HDTV sets dropped to $1,416.90, nearly 11 percent less than
in 2003 and 55 percent cheaper than in 1998, according to Consumer
Electronics Association, an Arlington, Va., trade group. Analysts say
HDTV prices have continued to decrease considerably this year.

Twelve percent of American households had at least one high-definition
television at the end of last year, but that is projected to double to
more than a quarter of US homes by the end of 2006, according to
Jupiter's latest report on the topic. Much of the growth, the report
said, will be fueled falling prices.

And prices don't have to go that low for people to take the HDTV
plunge. Among consumers who plan to buy a high-definition set in the
next 12 months, the largest chunk -- 42 percent -- said their budget
for the purchase was between $1,001 and $2,500, according to Jupiter
data. Twenty-two percent planned to spend between $500 and $1,000, and
only 4 percent planned to spend more than $5,000.

No wonder HDTVs will account for more than 70 percent of television
sales by 2010 the study estimated.

Another reason: Congress intends to shut off traditional analog
signals in 2009, forcing broadcasters to transmit in a digital
format. HDTV is by far the clearest and most popular of digital
standards.

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/11/20/is_it_time_to_buy_that_50_inch_plasma_tv/

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

Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 21st November 2005
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 07:44:18 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>


Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com

======================================================================

[[3G News]]

Denmark Invites Bids For 3G License
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14904.php

Denmark's National IT and Telecom Agency Friday published an
invitation to companies to bid for a fourth third-generation mobile
telecom license. ...

Austria's First 3G Videomail Service
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14910.php

Hutchison 3G Austria (H3G) says that it will launch the first mobile
Videomail service in Austria one month ahead of Christmas, just in
time to send festive video-greeting to friends and relatives. The
service is facilitated by LogicaCMG's uOne solut...

Lithuania to Award 3G Licenses
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14912.php

Lithuania's Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) has announced a
public tender for granting 3G licenses, using the "beauty contest"
method. The tender shall be aimed at identifying three winners which
will be granted the right to use radio frequ...

Motorola Shows Upgraded 1xEV-DO System
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14913.php

Motorola has unveiled its prototype CDMA 1xEV-DO Rev. A solution. With
downlink speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps,
CDMA 1xEV-DO Rev. A provides new capability for operators to offer
enhanced services such as simultaneous vi...

[[Financial News]]

KPN Acquires Assets From Photo Chain Kral
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14900.php

KPN says that it has reached an agreement with the receivers about the
acquisition of important assets from the bankrupt photo chain
Kral. ...

Deutsche Telekom: No Concrete Plan For Any US Buy Now
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14902.php

Deutsche Telekom AG said Friday it isn't considering large
acquisitions in the U.S., but could be interested in small regional
mobile operators. ...

Alltel In Pact To Buy Midwest Wireless For $1.075 Billion
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14903.php

Alltel Corp. agreed to buy rural wireless carrier, Midwest Wireless,
for $1.075 billion in cash. ...

Telecom Italia: Brazil Unit EBITDA Margin Over 30% - Chairman
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14905.php

Telecom Italia sees its Brazilian mobile phone unit reaching a margin
on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
above 30% but under 40%, its chairman said Friday. ...

Sprint, Nextel Partners Must Reveal Appraisal Numbers
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14906.php

A Delaware judge Friday said Sprint Nextel Corp. and Nextel Partners
Inc. must reveal the numbers their appraisers come up with in a duel
over how much Sprint must pay for the 68% of Nextel Partners that it
does not own. ...

FOCUS: Russia's VimpelCom Q3 results solid, not spectacular 
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14907.php

Russia's second-largest mobile operator VimpelCom posted financial
results Thursday for July-September, as calculated under U.S. GAAP,
with the company's net profit jumping 93% on the year to U.S. $194.8
million and revenue increasing 50.5% on the ...

[[Mobile Content News]]

I-Mode Launched in Singapore
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14909.php

DoCoMo has reported that Singapore's StarHub launched its i-mode
service over the weekend. The service, which will be offered over
StarHub's GPRS and W-CDMA networks, marks the opening of the 15th
market for i-mode, following Japan, Germany, the Neth...

Developing an Anti-Virus Program for Smartphones
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14911.php

Kaspersky Lab has launched a pilot project aimed at providing
antivirus protection for smartphones. This new service, which is
already being offered to OEM partners, precedes the release of
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Mobile, a universal antivirus solution ...

Little Britain on Little Screens
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14914.php

ROK Player has signed a licensing deal with BBC Worldwide, the BBC's
commercial arm, adding to the company's portfolio of entertainment
content with two cult comedies. The arrangement sees Matt Lucas and
David Walliams' hilarious and often risquit...

[[Network Contracts News]]

Ericsson In Deal With Sun Cellular
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14901.php

Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Telefon AB LM Ericsson
Friday said it has extended its managed service partnership with Sun
Cellular to include Ericsson's hosted enterprise solution for push
e-mail and Personal Information Management, or P...

No Escape from Cellphones While On a Cruise
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14915.php

SeaMobile has signed an agreement with Silversea Cruises to enable
mobile phones to work when out at sea. The first Silversea ship to
deploy the SeaMobile services will be the Silver Whisper. Passengers
and crew aboard the ship will be able to use th...

[[Network Operators News]]

Virgin Mobile Expands Retail Presence
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14916.php

Virgin Mobile UK has said that it is opening 12 further Virgin Mobile
concessions in WHSmith High Street stores, creating 36 new jobs. These
12 new concessions take Virgin Mobile's presence in WHSmith High
Street stores to 19, following a successful ...

[[Statistics News]]

Increasing Numbers of Women See Their Mobile as a 'Lifestyle Tool'
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14908.php

According to a study commissioned by Mobilkom Austria, for 44% of
women, their mobile is a "status symbol" - Far more women than men
never switch their mobile off - The reason: they want their friends
and family to be able to reach them - Manufacture...

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

Date: 21 Nov 2005 03:43:39 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Nokia 6340i Cell Phone
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> The 6340i was originally a GAIT phone: Modes AMPS 800 / GSM 800 / GSM
> 1900 / TDMA 800 / TDMA 1900 and could be used on Cingular GAIT plans,
> specifically.

> However those plans no longer exist, ...

You can't sign up for them any more, but for those of us on a GAIT
plan, we can stay on it indefinitely.

These days my phone goes into TDMA mode very infrequently.  The last
time was in a marginal area near Alexander Bay on the US/Canada border
even though both Cingular and Rogers had GSM nearby.

R's,

John

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

From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry)
Subject: Re: Alger Hiss et al.
Date:  Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:13:42 +0200
Organization: Elisa Internet customer


Henry <henry999@eircom.net> wrote:

> <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

>> A single person from Syracuse NY, who owned some grocery stores,
>> somehow managed to terrify the film/radio/TV business into firing
>> fingered communists. 

> Oops, you've lost me now. Who's this, then?

Laurence Johnson was his name.

I just chanced upon this Molly Ivins story, which fortuitously answers
my question. Since you didn't really know either, I thought I'd share.

> An outfit of professional commie-hunters called AWARE, Inc., run by a
> guy named Vincent Hartnett ... to vet performers for commie
> sympathies ...
> Should a network or agency refuse to play along, Hartnett's friend
> Laurence Johnson, a grocery magnate from upstate New York,
> would pull the sponsor's products from his grocery shelves until they
> caved in.

http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=2081

cheers,

Henry

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

From: harold@hallikainen.com 
Subject: Re: Mtn. View Accepts Google's Offer of Free WiFi
Date: 21 Nov 2005 08:33:23 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Does anyone know how Google or other wide area 802.11 systems are
tying the whole thing together and getting the system on the internet?
I can imagine a mesh network with a bunch of links to the internet
(perhaps wired, perhaps point-to-point radio). I visualize such a
network like the surface of a tent with internet backhauls as poles
holding the tent up and the wireless access points along the surface
of the tent.  Communications that needs to go to the outside internet
works its way to the nearest pole. My question is: What is the ratio
of wireless access points to links to the internet? How are these
links done (point to point radio, fiber, twisted pair telco, etc.)?

Another question ... How will they limit spammers from using the access?

Harold

FCC Rules updated daily at http://www.hallikainen.com

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

Date: 21 Nov 2005 03:56:15 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Lingo Phone Can't Port Number
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> The neighbor is directly across the street and also has a number that
> was a Sprint number before Vonage ported it. Others in my immediate
> neighborhood have been ported from Sprint (a.k.a. Carolina Telephone)
>to Time Warner's voip service.

The problem is that Lingo uses Level3 which has numbers in a lot of
nearby rate centers, but not his.  Vonage uses another CLEC, probably
Telcove, which has a different set of rate centers.

R's,

John

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


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