TELECOM Digest     Sat, 3 Dec 2005 00:50:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 545

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Yahoo Uses Online Behavior to Target Ads (Reuters News Wire)
    Lawsuit Accuses AOL of Illegal Billing (Jim Suhr)
    Microsoft Works on Comcast Email Problem (Associated Press News Wire)
    textually.org: "Smog" From Mobile Phones (Marcus Didius Falco)
    textually.org: French Mobile Phone Firms Fined (Marcus Didius Falco)
    T-Mobile, was: Verizon, GTE, etc, etc (Bob Goudreau)
    NEC Electra 616 Technical Specs (Mario Gomikian)
    Who Owns the Music? (Michael Quinn)
    Re: When is TDMA Being Phased Out? (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
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: Yahoo Uses Online Behavior to Target Ads
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 22:28:36 -0600


Yahoo Inc. aims to boost the effectiveness of its advertising -- and
rates -- by targeting ads to users based on their surfing behavior on
its site, the company's advertising sales chief said on Thursday.

"The new, new thing at Yahoo, even though we've had variations of
this, is getting much more into behavioral targeting," Yahoo Executive
Vice President Greg Coleman told the Reuters Media and Advertising
Summit in New York.

Search functions on Yahoo and rival Google Inc base ad placement on
words searched, but the Yahoo behavioral targeting would use other
factors.

The Web portal company does not give personal information to
advertising clients but tracks a few types of behavior by its users,
including search queries, movement through Yahoo sites and the
specific ads clicked. That lets it decide on the fly what ads are most
appropriate for a user.

For instance, a person who searches for information on cars is likely
to be sent an auto ad, Coleman said.

Traditionally, Yahoo's advertising targeting have focused on customer
demographics or geographic location instead of behavior.

Advertisers will pay more for placement of the right ad at the right
time at the right place, said Coleman, who emphasized that the
targeting would be done anonymously based on behavior.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

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

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

From: Jim Suhr <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Lawsuit Accuses AOL of Illegal Billing
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 22:31:06 -0600


By JIM SUHR, AP Business Writer

A lawsuit seeking to potentially cover hundreds of thousands of
America Online Inc. subscribers accuses the Time Warner Inc. unit of
illegally billing customers by creating secondary accounts for them
without their consent.

The lawsuit, filed last month in St. Clair County Circuit Court on
behalf of 10 AOL customers in six states, claims the company confused
and deceived customers about the charges, stalled them from canceling
unauthorized accounts and refused to return questioned fees.

"AOL exploits its subscribers' confidential billing information to
unlawfully generate additional revenue by charging subscribers for
additional membership accounts that they neither order nor request,"
the lawsuit alleges, calling the scheme "common, uniform and
continuing."

The lawsuit, seeking class-action status, mirrors more than a dozen
other actions that have been pending in state and federal courts
throughout the country, said Stuart Talley, a Sacramento, Calif.,
attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Illinois lawsuit. All of
the federal cases were consolidated in California two years ago,
Talley said.

Nicholas Graham, an AOL spokesman, said the Dulles, Va.-based company
considers the Illinois lawsuit "a legal rehash that has as much legal
value as refiling your personal income taxes from four years ago."

"The important thing is that we deny the allegations now as we've done
several times, and we will defend this case as we have other cases
accordingly," he said, noting that AOL "takes extraordinary efforts to
resolve any issues the members raise."

"We have safeguards in place now that prevent unauthorized charges,
and we have credit and refund policies that do justice to the
consumer," he said.

The lawsuit also names ICT Group Inc., a Newtown, Pa.-based
outsourcing company AOL retained to respond to customer complaints and
billing matters.  Messages with ICT seeking comment were not
immediately returned Friday.

Plaintiffs include an Illinoisan, two Californians, three Tennesseans,
a West Virginian, two Alabamans and a New Yorker.

No hearing date has been set on the Illinois case, which accuses AOL
of violating Illinois' Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices
Act.

The latest lawsuit alleges that AOL misrepresented that subscribers
may add up to seven different screen names to a membership account for
free. But AOL "in many instances" spun off those screen names into
additional membership accounts without the subscribers' knowledge,
then charged and collected a separate monthly fee for each account.

The company requires members to pay charges and fees by credit card,
electronic withdrawals from their bank accounts or by adding to their
telephone bills, giving subscribers no opportunity to review a bill
before making a payment, the lawsuit claims.

To maintain its customer base, according to the lawsuit, AOL has
instructed customer-service contractors such as ICT to prevent AOL
subscribers from canceling their accounts "at all costs" and to resist
giving refunds.  Customers who complain are offered at least one month
of free AOL Internet service instead of refunds or credits, while
"unsatisfied customers who insist on canceling or terminating their
AOL memberships are obstructed and delayed from doing so," the lawsuit
claims.

New York-based Time Warner -- the world's largest media company -- has
been holding exploratory talks with companies including Microsoft
Corp. about a potential investment in or sale of AOL, which has become
a hot property because of its booming advertising sales and ability to
draw in large audiences online.

AOL long was seen as a drag on Time Warner due to the steady decline
of the dial-up Internet access business. But in recent months AOL
successfully has been revamping its business model, moving away from
the subscription business and selling more online advertising.


On the Net:
America Online, http://www.aol.com
ICT Group Inc., http://www.ictgroup.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.

For more headline news from Associated Press please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html

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

From: Associated Press News Wire <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Microsoft Works on Comcast Email Problem
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 22:33:03 -0600



Microsoft Corp. said Friday that some people who use its Hotmail and
MSN e-mail services are not receiving e-mail sent from Comcast
Corp. accounts and other Internet service providers.

Brooke Richardson, a group product manager with Microsoft's MSN online
division, said the problem appears to be due to an increase in e-mail
volumes, which it is attributed in part to the Sober Internet worm.

She said the high volumes are causing e-mail to either be delayed or
not make it to MSN and Hotmail users at all.

Richardson said the problem began earlier this week. She would not
name the other Internet service providers besides Comcast whose users
were encountering the same problem. She also couldn't say when the
problem would be fixed.

"Our hope is that things get better in the coming day or days, but we
don't have exact details," she said.

Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said the problem is primarily
affecting Comcast e-mail being sent to the MSN and Hotmail accounts,
and that other e-mail is getting to recipients without delay.

She said the company is working with Microsoft to resolve the problem,
"but right now we do not know what the problem is."


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.

For more news from Associated Press, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html  (or)
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/TDNewsradio.html

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

Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 20:50:44 -0500
From: Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: textually.org: "Smog" From Mobile Phones


http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/12/010787.htm

"Smog" from mobile phones makes you suicidal

Cell phones have been blamed for many ills, including
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/cat_health_issues_and_sms_alerts.
htm

http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/001977.htm making children fat,
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/001632.htm causing poor sleep, 
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/001631.htm making one senile',
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/001673.htm leading to a 
sex disease or,
http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/000032.htm bringing on
Alzheimer's -- even Electromagnetic "smog" from mobile phone networks and
whitegoods could affect mood and behaviour, a psychiatrist says, reports
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/microwaves-govern-us/2005/11/30/1133311107131.html Sydney Morning Herald via http://www.theinquirer.net/?article28047
Inquirer.

Michael Berk, of the University of Melbourne, has found a link between
the suicide rate and increases geomagnetic storms, triggered by solar
flares.

Professor Berk, who treats patients with bipolar disorder, analysed
suicides in Australia from 1968 to 2000 and matched them to data on
solar flares.

The finding meant it was feasible that electrical and communications
equipment could affect mood, Professor Berk said, though not
inevitably for the worse."

John McGrath, professor of psychiatry at the University of Queensland,
said the finding was important but it was hard to know how magnetism
might biologically affect suicidal behaviour."


*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of
which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This
Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group
members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary,
educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and
educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of
the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.
Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the
copyright owners, as listed with each item shown.

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Direct replies are unlikely to be read. To reply use the address below:
falco(underscore)md(atsign)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

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

Date: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 20:53:56 -0500
From: Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: textually.org: French Mobile Phone Firms Fined


http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/12/010788.htm

December 01, 2005

French mobile phone firms fined

Three of France's leading mobile phone firms have been fined a total
of 534m euros ($630m) after being deemed guilty of market collusion,
reports the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4487430.stm .

"France's Competition Council concluded that Orange, SFR and Bouygues
Telecom shared commercial information between themselves, distorting
competition.

The three firms have denied that they compared and fixed their prices.

The Council said the three firms had regularly exchanged commercial
information about the mobile market between 1997 and 2003. This
enabled the firms to protect their position in the market, the Council
said, to the detriment of consumers. Their actions had caused
"significant damage" to the economy, it added. "

*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of 
which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This 
Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group 
members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included 
information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, 
educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and 
educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of 
the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. 
Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of 
your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the 
copyright owners, textually.org

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Direct replies are unlikely to be read. To reply use the address below:
falco(underscore)md(atsign)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

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

From: Bob Goudreau <BobGoudreau@notchur.damn.biz>
Subject: T-Mobile, was: Verizon, GTE, etc, etc
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 23:01:43 -0500


Danny Burstein wrote:

[PAT, please anonymize my email address as always.]

>> Voicestream changed into T-Mobile. I understand that there was even a
>> name used prior to being called Voicestream but I can't remember what
>> it was.

> There was also Western Wireless in the Pacific Northwest.

> Western merged/bought up Omnipoint as well as a few small facilities
> here and there.

> Soon afterwards, Deutche [sic] Telecom [sic] (German based) bought 
> up Western and added more licenses.

The real story is a bit more convoluted than that.  Various sources on
the web, such as
http://www.businessweek.com/it100/2005/company/WWCA.htm and
http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/analysis/CompanyProfile.aspx?HOID=911
shed more light on it.

In brief, Voicestream was spun off from Western Wireless in 1999.  Deutsche
Telekom later purchased Voicestream and rebranded it as T-Mobile.
Meanwhile, Western Wireless itself continued to exist as a regional carrier
until being acquired earlier this year by Alltel.

Bob Goudreau
Cary, NC

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

Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 17:36:29 ART
From: Mario Gomikian <mario_gomikian@yahoo.com.ar>
Subject: NEC Eelectra 616 Technical Specs


Dear Sirs:
   
I would appreciate you to send me technical data, specifications and
wiring info on the telephone system (NEC Electra 616), or if there is
someplace on the net which may have information on it.
   
We are a non profit organization (EET2 Tres de Febrero, a highschool,
I mean), and though I know the system above is rather obsolete, this
is the only way we have to communicate.
   
Thanks in advance. I really appreciate any and all responses,

Yours sincerely,
   
Mario Gomikian
		
 1GB gratis, Antivirus y Antispam
 Correo Yahoo!, el mejor correo web del mundo
 Abr tu cuenta aqu

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

Subject: Who Owns the Music?
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 18:33:33 -0500
From: Michael Quinn Michael <quinnm@bah.com>


The recent discussions about Sony led to some interesting discussions
among my colleagues about the used CD market:

- if I buy a new CD, I am presumably entitled to record it for local
(computer/IPOD/backup/whatever) use.  If I do that, am I (legally or
otherwise) prohibited from reselling or giving away the CD?  There is
a huge used CD market out there. And my kids keep taking my Frank
Sinatra and Pink Floyd CDs.

- if I resell or give away the CD, what about the next buyer/owner --
is he or she entitled to record it, as above, and then pass it on to
the next user?

- if I made a recording of the originally purchased CD, may I bequeath
that to the above mentioned kids?

The point may be moot -- one of our Thanksgiving dinner companions
suggested that in 5-10 years, CDs will be as obsolete as 8-track
tapes, and that all storage will be on volatile media (flash drives,
virtual drives, external hard drives, etc); I for one am going to miss
the album notes and lyrics, but hell, they'll be on-line as well.

Thoughts invited.

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

Date: 3 Dec 2005 01:28:21 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: When is TDMA Being Phased Out?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> Does this mean a cell phone bought today won't have analog capability
> as a backup if the digital signal isn't available?

Yes.

> When buying a cell phone, how can one tell what the handset can do?
> The clerks at cell phone kiosks will say anything to get a sale.

Look at the manual, either in the box with the phone, or get the model
number and look it up on the manufacturer's web site.

>> If you live in a big city, Sprint and T-Mobile are a little cheaper,
>> but if you travel out of the cities and off the freeways, you're out
>> of luck.

> What happens -- the phone is dead?  That doesn't sound good.

T-Mobile will roam to Cingular, particularly if you have a dual-band
phone.  Sprint, you lose.

> There were many news reports that digital signals had lots more "dark
> spots" than analog signals did, even in well developed areas (or
> because of well developed areas).

That's more an 850 vs 1900 mhz issue than analog vs digital.  Modern
phones are all 750mw, old bag phones went up to 3w, but in developed
areas, dead spots are due to shadows, not tower distance.


Regards,

John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 330 5711
johnl@iecc.com, Mayor, http://johnlevine.com, 
Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail

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


TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm-
unications 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

              ************************

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

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 #545
******************************