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TELECOM Digest Tue, 6 Dec 2005 14:15:00 EST Volume 24 : Issue 550
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
Pity the Poor Phone Company (Scott Bradner)
Time Warner and Microsoft Near an Ad Deal (Reuters News Wire)
Strowger Switch Identification? (Dave Hunter)
IIR's Revenue Management 2006 (Cellular-News)
Will Going to Higher Speed RoadRunner Offering Help Vonage? (pattyjamas)
FTC Do Not Call List (Felix Tilley)
Default COCOT Behavior (Michael Helmeste)
Cellular-News For Tuesday 6th December 2005 (Cellular-News)
Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Brad Houser)
Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Robert Bonomi)
Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Vcc Ground)
Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (David Quinton)
Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet (DevilsPGD)
Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet (G Welsh)
Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line (GlowingBlue)
Re: Don't Call It Spyware (Steve Sobol)
Re: Executive Has an Answer to Phone System Cheat Sheet (DevilsPGD)
Re: Who Owns the Music? (DevilsPGD)
Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line (NOTvalid)
Telecoms Turn Attention to Converged Services (USTA Daily Lead)
Last Laugh! Simpson's Episode With Stamp Museum (davidesan)
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: Scott Bradner <networkworld@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Pity the Poor Phone Company
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:42:44 -0600
This story appeared on Network World at
http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2005/120505bradner.html
'Net Insider
Pity the poor telephone company?
By Scott Bradner, Network World, 12/05/05
From a distance it looks like a good time to be a traditional phone
company in the United States. The FCC has given these companies an
open license to exploit their dominant market positions. The
U.S. House and Senate are running down a path to empower them to
destroy the Internet. The International Telecommunication Union's
standards division is defining technology that will let phone
companies block "free" use of "their" networks by interlopers such as
Google and Vonage. Billions of dollars are being spent on takeovers
and being poured into deploying new video services. But maybe things
are not as rosy as they seem.
I'm writing this just as SBC's $16 billion takeover of AT&T has been
consummated, and as Verizon's $8.5 billion buyout of MCI is getting
the last of the state approvals. That is a lot of money being spent to
buy up failing long-distance companies just as the whole concept of
long-distance is in its dying days.
If Congress continues on the path it is on, we will soon get a new
telecom regime that will let the big telcos and cable companies block
third-party use of the Internet connections that their customers buy
from them, all in the name of protecting their networks and helping
law enforcement. Unless something drastic happens, this will destroy
the Internet, at least for most residential and small-business
users. But since most residential users think the Internet is just the
Web, most of them will not notice unless they have subscribed to
non-carrier VoIP services. Small-business owners are likely to notice
quite well their reduced options for alternate phone service.
At the same time, the technology that enables the phone companies to
offer extensive video services is well-enough developed for them to
start widespread deployment and thus have a hook into tens of billions
of dollars of cable TV revenue. Sounds like a great time to be a phone
company. But things may not be quite as great as they appear.
More and more, residential users are dumping their landline phones in
favor of cell phones. Once the cell-phone E911 service becomes
generally deployed, many more customers will follow them. The In-Stat
research group reports that close to 10% of the U.S. population
already uses a cell phone as their primary line, and that over half
are willing to consider the option. There goes the cream of the
residential phone business -- unless you happen to have a wireless
division. And even when that is the case, there is a lot of
competition, so the profits will be a lot less.
Businesses are moving in droves to VoIP, with ZDNet Research reporting
that 75% of them have tried it out and 75% of those who adopted it
like what they got. And there is no requirement that a business get
its VoIP from the carrier that provides its Internet connectivity or
even from a carrier at all.
Then there is the video dream. Verizon is spending billions of dollars
to bring fiber to the home so that it can offer what residential users
already have from cable TV and satellite companies -- hundreds of
channels with little on them and video-on-demand. The New York Times
reports that content owners want more from you phone companies than
they get from your competitors, and your competitors can always reduce
their fees to match anything you can do.
Maybe it's not a great time to be a phone company after all.
Disclaimer: It's (almost) always a great time for Harvard to be
Harvard, but the above muse is my own.
Bradner is a consultant with Harvard University's University
Information Systems. He can be reached at sob@sobcomcom.
All contents copyright 1995-2005 Network World, Inc.
http://www.networkworld.com
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: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Time Warner and Microsoft Near an Ad Deal
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 11:00:35 -0600
Time Warner Inc is closing in on a deal with Microsoft Corp. to team
up on an online advertising service to compete with Google Inc, the
Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with
the talks.
The paper said the two companies were now focusing on a deal that
would combine their advertising-related assets, with little or no
money changing hands.
It said they expected to reach an agreement before the end of the
year, but that it was still possible that Time Warner's America Online
unit could strike a deal with competitor Google instead.
Time Warner has been holding talks with both Microsoft and Google over
AOL, sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters and other
media.
Sources familiar with the matter had said that Time Warner's initial
discussions included the possible sale of a stake in the Internet
unit, but recent media reports said that the two likely buyers may be
backing away from such an investment in favor of smaller-scale
partnerships with AOL.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been critical of Time
Warner's strategy, has also said that he would hold Time Warner board
members personally responsible if they forged a deal for AOL that
valued the Internet provider too cheaply.
The Journal said that, under negotiations between Time Warner and
Microsoft, AOL would drop Google as its main Internet search provider
and switch to Microsoft's MSN service.
Under their current agreement, Google derived about 11 percent of its
first-half revenue from AOL, which also generates substantial revenue
from the contract.
The Journal said Microsoft and Time Warner are also negotiating to
create a joint advertising sales force to sell online ads across both
the AOL unit and Microsoft's MSN. Both services would remain under the
control of their current owners, according to the report.
People familiar with the talks told the newspaper that the companies
expected to announce a deal by the third week of December.
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.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:04:45 -0400
From: Dave Hunter <dhunter@isn.net>
Subject: Strowger Switch Identification?
Hi all!
I know, I know, Strowger is dead.
Yesterday in the mail I received a Northern Electric Strowger
switch unit, with the following numbering inside:
ED3286-31 GD WD NE-585D
Does anyone have the specs for this switch? I suspect it is a
connector -- would this be correct?
The contact bank is missing, and the wipers have been all but
destroyed by being shipped unprotected, but even if it is unuseable,
it would still make a nice visual display unit for the museum if I can
find a stand for it ...
Dave
The Telephone on Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/phones.html
The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
------------------------------
Subject: IIR's Revenue Management 2006
Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 21:27:37 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>
IIR's Revenue Management 2006
23-26 January 2006
Radisson SAS, Nice France
http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=367
I am delighted to announce that the brochure for this year's Revenue
Management 2006 is available for you to download at
http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=369 As you will see,
this year's event boasts 18 SERVICE PROVIDER case studies from key
players including:
*BT * Vodafone UK * China Unicom * Telecom Italia * T-Online
International * T-Mobile UK * Iceland Telecom * * The Carphone
Warehouse * Eurotel * Cellcom * Qwest Communications * Telenor
International Mobile * Sprint * VimpelCom * *MTN Group * mobilkom
austria * Telkom SA * Cable & Wireless *
IIR's Revenue Management, 23-26 January 2006, will enable you to
progress your revenue, risk and credit management strategies to
identify new areas for revenue grow whilst safeguarding against fraud
and revenue loss from next generation networks and services.
For full details of the speakers, topics and event sponsors, please
see http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=367
To download the event brochure visit
http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=369
To register for this event please call our Customer Services
department on +44(0)207 915 5055, email
registration@iir-conferences.com or register online at
http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=368 Please quote
CG2250CNEM when you register.
------------------------------
From: pattyjamas@gmail.com
Subject: Will Going to Higher Speed RoadRunner Offering Help Vonage?
Date: 5 Dec 2005 15:46:50 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Will going to higher speed RoadRunner offering help Vonage?
Have had Time Warner Road Runner (roadrunner) for years and added
Vonage a few days ago. Had a few disconnects (fast busy), a tiny bit
of echo (can live with), and today there was a 30 second period where
the caller could not hear me.
I also have a wireless router-Linksys WRT54GS (ver 4 firmware) but it
is inactive about 90% of the time. By inactive, I mean, no one is
using it except a few hours a week (Tivo and my laptop).
Would it behoove me to go to the highest (faster) bandwidth Road
Runner for $20 more to assist with any issues with Vonage??
Thank you,
Patty
------------------------------
From: Felix Tilley <ftilley@cyberbromo.int>
Subject: FTC Do not Call List
Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 19:41:16 -0700
Organization: i.delete.spammers.int
I called 1-888-382-1222. After I entered my phone number, the voice
said the calls would stop in 3 weeks, My understanding is that it is 3
months.
Felix Tilley
MAJ, LARTvocate
Fanatic Legions
1-800-555-LART
------------------------------
From: A Reader <elf@notchur.biz
Subject: Default COCOT Behavior
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 03:20:54 -0800
I have an interest in telephony, and to further it, I recently bought
a COCOT for personal use to play around with.
One interesting thing I discovered about the way this particular unit
came programmed was that when you'd dial numbers such as 1-800-
COLLECT or 1-800-CALL-ATT, it would dial an AOS instead (one that
didn't announce any company name). This seems deceptive at best, and
possibly even illegal(?). I think it is rather obvious why the phone
was programmed this way, but it's disappointing. Also, dial-around
numbers appear to confuse it, and are not usable. Isn't there any kind
of regulation on the industry that produces or sells this equipment to
ensure that they follow FCC regulations?
Another interesting behavior I've noticed is that while you're dialing
a number, but before you deposit any money, it beeps out the DTMF for
the number to be dialed extremely slowly over the line. If you don't
deposit any money by the time the number is about to be completely
dialed, it will hang up. After you deposit the money, it will pick up
again and dial the number quickly. Does anyone have any explanations
for why it would do this? The circuit board inside is described as an
"Elcotel Series 5," if anyone is curious.
Despite all the oddities, having your own pay phone sure is fun.
[Note to moderator: please withhold name/e-mail]
=====
My firewall got too hot and it burned a hole in my ethernet, and my
token ring fell out. Can you help?
------------------------------
Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 6th December 2005
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 07:43:48 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>
Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com
[[ 3G ]]
Telecom Italia, Samsung To Trial 4G Mobile Handsets
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15104.php
Telecom Italia said Monday its mobile unit, TIM, signed an agreement
with Samsung Electronics Co. to run trials of the new wireless
broadband mobile phones -fourth-generation mobile handsets -at the
Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. ...
Nokia Powers Eurotel's WCDMA Network, Makes HSDPA Tests
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15105.php
Finland's Nokia Oyj Monday said it is powering Eurotel Praha
spol. s.r.o.'s third generation WCDMA network in the Czech Republic,
after successfully testing the network in October and after entering a
deal in September to provide the core networks. ...
Operators Protest At Ukrtelekon's 3G License Award
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15110.php
Ukraine's two top cellular operators, Kyivstar and UMC, Monday said
they had written to the President objecting to state-owned operator
Ukrtelekom receiving a 3G license without a tender. ...
Huawei Wins New Zealand 3G Agreement
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15111.php
China's Huawei Technologies says that it has been selected by Econet
Wireless New Zealand as the latter's strategic partner for WCDMA
networks deployment. This is the first 3G network deployed by EWNZ in
New Zealand, and is the first 3G network for i...
[[ Financial ]]
NTL Mulls 323P Offer For Virgin Mobile
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15099.php
NTL said Monday that further to recent press speculation, it has
approached Virgin Mobile regarding a potential offer to combine ntl
and Virgin Mobile. ...
Swisscom To Draw Up New Corporate Plan After Government Veto
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15101.php
Swisscom Monday said it will draw up a new corporate strategy after
the Swiss government's veto on foreign acquisitions late November. ...
T-Mobile Confirms Support For Possible NTL, Virgin Deal
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15102.php
T-Mobile International AG Monday said it would support a deal under
which Virgin Mobile Holdings (U.K.) PLC, would merge with U.K. cable
operator NTL Inc. ...
LONDON MARKETS: Virgin Mobile Rivals Lower On Possible NTL Deal
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15103.php
Virgin Mobile surged in London on Monday, but other telecoms lost
ground, after NTL sparked bidding war hopes and raised competitive
fears by saying that it may buy the company for $1.4 billion. ...
Vodafone Confirms Bid Submitted For Turkey's Telsim
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15106.php
U.K.-based telecommunications firm Vodafone Group PLC Monday said it
has submitted a sealed bid to buy Turkish mobile telecom operator
Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon. ...
[[ Legal ]]
Executive says Telenor may take legal action vs VimpelCom soon
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15108.php
Norway's telecommunications company Telenor may take legal action
against Russia's second-largest mobile operator VimpelCom for its
acquisition of Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS) after it has received a
response from VimpelCom's management, Senior Vic...
Russian IT sector regulator Reiman denies WSJ article
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15109.php
Russian Information Technology and Communications Minister Leonid
Reiman Monday said an article written about him by The Wall Street
Journal was "initiated by an unprincipled investor." ...
[[ Mobile Content ]]
Mobile Marketing Across Borders - report
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15113.php
Marketing initiatives targeting the mobile consumer must integrate
communications and content in order to have the greatest impact,
according to a study published this week by researchers at the
International University of Japan. Based on the results...
3D Pac-Man Game for Mobile Phones
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15114.php
Namco Europe's Web & Mobile Content division has announced the launch
of PAC-MANIA, the 3D sequel to the world famous video game PAC-MAN. In
PAC-MANIA, PAC-MAN can jump in all four directions. Competitors now
have to keep an eye out for bonus fruits ...
[[ Network Contracts ]]
WiMAX Network Planned for Finland
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15115.php
Omnitele says that it has been contracted by two local Finnet group
telephone companies, Mikkelin Puhelin and Kajaanin Puhelinosuuskunta,
to carry out the radio network planning of the first two extensive
WiMAX-implementations in the world....
[[ Offbeat ]]
T-Mobile Paints a Plane
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15118.php
T-Mobile has taken to painting an entire plane to advertise their
German network. The company is re-branding an Airbus A319 operated by
the German low-cost carrier, Germanwings with its colour scheme and
logo. The "Spirit of T-Mobile", as the jet is ...
[[ Personnel ]]
Vodafone Chairman to Step Down Next Year
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15119.php
Vodafone has announced that the company Chairman, Lord MacLaurin will
be retiring next July. He will be succeeded as Chairman by Sir John
Bond, currently Group Chairman of the banking group, HSBC Holdings and
a non-executive director of Vodafone. Sir...
[[ Regulatory ]]
Russia Min: VimpelCom Has Priority For Far East Frequency
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15107.php
OAO Vimpel Communications will be given top priority when new
frequencies become available in Russia's far east, Russian Information
Technology and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said Monday. ...
Indian Interconnection Congestion Alarming - report
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15117.php
The Indian telecoms regulator, TRAI has been monitoring mobile network
congestion at the interconnection points between the operators. The
operators are required to achieve a benchmark of ...
[[ Statistics ]]
Vodafone Portugal Claims 50% 3G Market Share
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15120.php
Vodafone Portugal says that it recently exceeded the figure of 4
million customers registered with its mobile network, an increase of
around 12% over the last 12 months. The number of customers in the
Portuguese mobile market grew by around 8% in the...
[[ Technology ]]
NEC Electronics Develops Advanced Chip Production Tech
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15100.php
NEC Electronics Corp. said Monday that it has developed advanced
technology to produce semiconductors with circuit widths as narrow as
55 nanometers. ...
Fujitsu Develops GaN HEMT Technology for Base Station Amplifiers
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15112.php
Fujitsu Laboratories has announced the development of the world's
first gallium nitride (GaN) high electron-mobility transistor (HEMT)
with insulated gates capable of practical output levels of 100 watts
(W) or higher. By reducing gate leakage curren...
Keep Your Mobile Number When Using Laptop VoIP Services
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15116.php
Tatara Systems has launched a mobile VoIP solution to enable nomadic
VoIP services using a subscriber's mobile phone number across any IP
network, with the first application as an integrated laptop solution
for mobile operators. Tatara has entered ma...
------------------------------
From: Brad Houser <bradDOThouser@intel.com>
Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously
Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 15:55:39 -0800
Organization: Intel Corporation
Reply-To: bradDOThouser@intel.com
On 5 Dec 2005 10:25:24 -0800, jonfklein@gmail.com wrote:
> Here is the problem,
> I have two telephone lines. I want to make both of these lines ADSL
> connections to the internet and use these connections to provide
> internet access to several wireless laptop computers. A maximum of
> about 20 laptops would be connected to the system at once. I would
> like the laptops to be able to use both lines simultaneously so that I
> don't have one line overloaded and one underloaded (ie: I want to
> balance the traffic on the lines at any given time).
> Anyone have any suggestions on how to set up something like this?
> -Jonathan
You should look for a router that does per-packet load balancing.
Brad Houser
------------------------------
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomni.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:50:05 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.
In article <telecom24.550.3@telecom-digest.org>, <jonfklein@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here is the problem,
> I have two telephone lines. I want to make both of these lines ADSL
> connections to the internet and use these connections to provide
> internet access to several wireless laptop computers. A maximum of
> about 20 laptops would be connected to the system at once. I would
> like the laptops to be able to use both lines simultaneously so that I
> don't have one line overloaded and one underloaded (ie: I want to
> balance the traffic on the lines at any given time).
Without assistance from the 'other end' of the DSL lines, you cannot
reliably accomplish load balancing.
Absent some 'special' arrangements, each DSL line will have it's own
address space. When a laptop connects to the wireless LAN, you can
assign it an address from one space or the other, and _attempt_ to
balance things by using addressing from the 'least busy' (at that
time) circuit. *BUT* the traffic loads can change _while_ that address
is assigned to that laptop.
Now, if you're using NAT/PAT on a per-connection-to-the-outside-world
basis, the *same* problem can occur -- the "window of vulnerability"
is merely "somewhat" narrower.
'Flipping' a laptop from one address-space to the other one is fraught
with peril -- even if it occurs 'between' connections to the outside
world, there may be a 'logical session' involved that spans those
connections. Having the IP address of the machine change _during_
the "session" MAY fatally confuse the machine on the other end.
Now, *IF* there are ways to control the type of traffic to/from those
laptops, then with _sufficient_knowledge_ of what they are doing, you
can come somewhat closer to being able to do 'dynamic' balancing of
your circuit utilization.
It's *really* easy, if you have 'co-operating' smarts on the far end
of the lines -- postulating that both lines go to the _same_ place,
that is. :)
------------------------------
From: Vcc Ground <vccground@yahoo.co.in>
Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously
Date: 6 Dec 2005 00:14:17 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com
I believe you need a router that does WAN interface bonding (akin to
ISDN B-channel BONDING) using ML-PPP or something. Anyway, this is my
assumption: don't know for sure if such bonding is possible with
asynchronous links like ADSL. As far as I know bonding is possible in
synchronous DSLs like HDSL/SDSL/G.Shdsl. Hope I am not wrong and it
helps.
------------------------------
From: David Quinton <usenet_2005D_email@REMOVETHISBITbizorg.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:50:56 +0000
On 5 Dec 2005 10:25:24 -0800, jonfklein@gmail.com wrote:
> Anyone have any suggestions on how to set up something like this?
I am no expert, but why not bond them?
<http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/adsl/multiline.html> do this in the UK.
Locate your Mobile phone: <http://www.bizorg.co.uk/news.html>
Great gifts: <http://www.ThisBritain.com/ASOS_popup.html>
------------------------------
From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:37:47 -0700
Organization: Disorganized
In message <telecom24.550.9@telecom-digest.org> TELECOM Digest Editor
noted in response to nospam4me@mytrashmail.com :
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been told GPS does not work that
> well _inside a house or an office_; that its optimal use is when
> attached to an outside thing. Most VOIP set ups are indoors, are they
> not?
Given enough time, a highend GPS receiver can typically get a lock
almost anywhere that gets sunlight. Since I suspect most VoIP gear is
installed and left in place most of it's life, so it would probably
work most of the time.
I've never had a problem getting a GPS lock on a $90 bluetooth GPS
receiver in a hotel, or even in most offices, so I suspect it's
doable.
It might take a few minutes to get a lock, but not being able to make
a 911 call for several minutes after an ATA is powered up shouldn't be
a big deal.
Who wants another $90-$200 added to their VoIP gear's price simply for
the convenience of not having to type your address into a website?
> Or, another approach might be for the TA unit to 'listen'
> for '911' being dialed, and then instantly breaking the connection and
> redialing 911 via a landline phone nearby?
If you're wanting to roll this out, and assuming that your ISP
actually knows where you are. Many people VoIP over dialup on a very
regular basis (PPPoE), which doesn't give the ISP any clue about where
you're actually located, but they can still get you to the right call
center which is all the current proposals really attempt to do anyway.
This could be implemented relatively easily with existing
infrastructure if everybody cared enough to make it work.
Establish a domain, lets call it example.com since this is an example.
You could perform a DNS lookup of a magic keyword "local.example.com"
which participating ISPs would CNAME to the correct city/state/country's
location. The default record (in example.com's zone, for
non-participating ISPs) would route you to a call center equipped to
put you in touch with correct emergency services providers.
Anycast could be used to assist routing for non-participating ISPs.
When you dial 911 (or 112), your ATA would lookup local.example.com and
connect the call to the appropriate location.
The DNS records returned could be in the form of "TXT PSTN
+1.4035551234" (meaning that the call needs to be terminated like any
other VoIP to PSTN call) or "TXT <protocol> 1.2.3.4" forms, where
protocols are assigned and managed by the central authority controlling
this system.
The VoIP adapter would also have the ability to perform lookups for
city.state.country.manual.example.com records, to provide the
information for a specific locality rather then an unknown/generic
record. An ATA might not be able to use this, but a PC-driven
emergency system could. It would also allow a user to specify the
appropriate call center by city name (for travelers who don't want to
rely on local ISPs).
Since DNS is hierarchical, the number of segments could vary, it could
get as detailed as suburb.city.state.country if needed, the word
"rural" could be used instead of a city if applicable, or a ZIP code
lookup could be done by looking up
12345.zip.country.manual.example.com"
If the VoIP adapter isn't capable of performing the lookup it would
get passed up to the VoIP provider (when applicable) and the VoIP
provider could route it based on account information if applicable.
The advantage of this system is that it takes very little additional
infrastructure, DNS access is basically a given already, plus it
allows an ISP to mirror the zone so things still work when the base
provider is down (so a DDoS won't take out 911 for the entire VoIP
network)
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One question ... you stated above that
'many people use VOIP over dialup frequently', and that confuses me.
I _thought_ the idea of VOIP was to be able to avoid (for whatever
reason) telco landlines. And frankly, although VOIP works over a
dialup line just as it does with broadband, I really did not think
that dialup was 'wide enough' of fast enough to do a very good job. I
know that even with a bigger pipe (let's say, for example, DSL or
cable internet) if you get too much traffic on the line at one time
(for example two or three computers all going at once), as they all
contend for space in the pipe, times get tough. And this is what I
thought was a chronic condition when using something like dialup to
feed your VOIP. Assuming that is not correct, then why wouldn't one
simply use the telephone (on the dialup line) to call 911 and eliminate
all the subsequent steps in the interim you propose?
Now assuming dialup is _not_ a feasable way to run VOIP and that you
are using broadband as I (most people?) do; you _still_ have some
ISP don't you? In my instance, it is Cableone.net, (a national ISP
just like aol.net or others.) Can't they be used -- assuming they
would cooperate, etc -- to intercept any '911 dialing' on the VOIP
line and route it back to local authorities, etc? The local ISP would
be in the best position to know where to route the call, etc. PAT]
------------------------------
From: Geoffrey Welsh <reply@newsgroup.please>
Subject: Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 11:35:02 -0500
Organization: UseNetServer.com
nospam4me@mytrashmail.com wrote:
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been told GPS does not work that
> well _inside a house or an office_; that its optimal use is when
> attached to an outside thing. Most VOIP set ups are indoors, are they
> not? What advantage and disadvantage would there be to equipping VOIP
> terminal adapters either with a small antenna capable of receiving GPS
> coordinates (although you might have to mount the GPS receiver either
> next to a window or preferably _outside_ with a wire running in to the
> TA itself)?
How many people would do it? Not many, I fear.
> Or, another approach might be for the TA unit to 'listen'
> for '911' being dialed, and then instantly breaking the connection and
> redialing 911 via a landline phone nearby?
I know many people who don't have landlines because they use cellphones;
surely many VOIP users won't have landlines, either.
Maybe the FCC should mandate extremely low-cost 'emergency only'
landlines?!?
> Or, have the 911 interception be done at the local ISP (whose lines
> you were on anyway) and have the ISP forward your call to the local
> 911 authorities along with its records of who you were, where you
> were at, etc? PAT]
If you never moved from your original ISP, your VOIP provider would already
have your address and be able to provide it to the 911 authorities... and
that would be simpler (& cheaper) than having ISPs intercept calls.
How about having TAs that 'remember' their last GPS reading (e.g. in
NVRAM)? When in buildings where GPS doesn't work, it would at least
remember the position of the entrance to the building. There are
situations where the TA would be shielded from GPS for long distances
(e.g. subway rides) and, if the user doesn't need to step outside
after those trips, this locating system would not work. I leave it as
an exercise for the reader to determine whether this is more effective
or more harmful than any other proposal (or the status quo.)
Geoffrey Welsh <Geoffrey [dot] Welsh [at] bigfoot [dot] com>
Never leave until tomorrow what can wait until next week.
------------------------------
From: GlowingBlueMist <nobody@invalid.com>
Subject: Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line
Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 18:33:10 -0600
Organization: Octanews
"Chasman" <xarush@omelas.com> wrote in message
news:telecom24.550.6@telecom-digest.org:
> I want to figure a simple way of being able to dial in on one work
> number and then dial out on another work line.
> The reason is that I want to be able to call international from my
> cell phone really cheaply or free. So I want to make a local call to
> my office and then reroute that call somehow through my VOIP phone to
> wherever I want to dial. This way I get the benifit of really cheap
> rates.
> Thanks for any ideas.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The device you want is known as a
> 'call extender' or 'WATS extender'. The name comes mainly from many
> years ago when long distance calls were quite expensive but using the
> office 'WATS line' allowed a long distance call to be 'free'. Essenti-
> ally, call in on a local line, get hooked either to a PBX-type line
> from whence you would dial the WATS code (then out on WATS) or else
> just connect direct to the WATS line itself. A smart user would always
> have a passcode request in there somewhere, to avoid having the WATS
> (or other network services) abused. I got one of these devices once
> from Mike Sandman http://sandman.com and after a bit of tweaking it
> worked reasonably well. You can adjust it via a capacitor on the top
> so it knows when to answer the incoming line and how long to hold the
> line open, and when to disconnect it. The prototype Mike let me use
> was easy enough to adjust the cap for pickup and disconnect and wait
> to restart. But the volume level was not very good, at least on my
> prototype (some manufacturer was trying to talk Mike into reselling
> these devices), and I do not think they ever got the volume level
> adjusted as desired. It would not make a lot of difference on good
> quality WATS lines or a decent PBX, etc. The transmission level would
> go down a little, but you could live with it. However, I was trying to
> use mine to connect landline, via a PBX to a VOIP line outbound, and
> this was _before_ (or maybe still?) VOIP was able to share bandwidth
> with computers, etc on internet and sound good quality. So I had two
> problems: VOIP outbound (with the older style Vonage TA's) sounded
> dreadful, IMO, and the 'call extender' didn't help it any.
> Commercial or industrial grade call extenders used to be quite
> expensive; you had to be able to amortize its cost versus your toll
> charges; now the cost for a unit is almost nothing; but then again,
> so are toll charges, even international ones. You might check with
> Mike Sandman (mailto: mike@sandman.com) or check his web site
> httpw://sandman.com and find out if the transmission quality
> problems have been corrected, and does he still have those little
> units. (About the size of a package of cigarette, weight a couple
> ounces; just plug an incoming and and outgoing line into it.) PAT]
You might want to check out the DialMate CM1003 at
http://www.woodtel.com/CM1003f.html.
They were flashing a price around $130 when I last looked.
You can read the user manual at http://www.woodtel.com/cm1003.html for more
information.
------------------------------
From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Don't Call It Spyware
Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:51:23 -0800
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com
Monty Solomon wrote:
> Three years ago the company was considered a parasite and a scourge.
> Today it's a rising star
In whose opinion? (Not mine.)
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Nor mine. There is no such thing as the
rehabilitation of a spyware/spam company. PAT]
------------------------------
From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: Executive Has an Answer to Phone System Cheat Sheet
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:08:10 -0700
Organization: Disorganized
In message <telecom24.550.1@telecom-digest.org> Monty Solomon
<monty@roscom.com> wrote:
> To show that automation can be good and turn English's assault into a
> business opportunity, Zirngibl put out his own cheat sheet for
> businesses on how to create customer-friendly systems. Among the tips:
> never hide the option for speaking to a live agent and never require
> callers to repeat personal information once they reach a human being.
Personally, I repeat information exactly one time. If that
representative cannot tell me how to get to a human and bypass the
system next time, they will either transfer me to a manager that will
give me that information or they will close my account.
That being said, I rather prefer automated systems for a lot of queries,
if I have a choice of any automated system or a person I'll almost
always take the automated system. However, when I do need to go beyond
the scripted voice system, I want more then a meat-driven voice response
system (in other words, they need to think, not follow a script) and
they need to have the information I already gave the system.
You'll notice differences in companies though.
If you call my power company, the first words out of the IVR system tell
you that no human is available, when a human will next be available,
then it offers to help you automatically (and their automated system is
great, you can actually move service with it in some cases, and I have
*never* repeated anything to a human that the system already asked me)
This is great, if I know that the system can't help me (or if I happened
to be too ignorant to use an automated system), I can hang up right now.
Alternatively, if I want something the system can do, I can still do it.
Oh yeah, it will also put me through to a voicemail or let me request a
callback. If you swear at it, you get a rep right away too :)
If you call my telco, even if the very first button you push tells the
system with 100% certainty that you will need to speak to a person, it
still needs your phone number, and account type (didn't I just give you
my phone number? Ever hear of a database?) and a few other details
before it can tell you that the department you need is closed, then it
hangs up. No voicemail. Oh, and if you swear at it, it doesn't
understand.
This benefits the company because they can get stats about who is
calling and why, so they can look at what areas would be served by
longer operating hours, at the expense of wasting a bunch of my time
only to not even try to help me.
It's about corporate attitude. It's possible to make very smart, very
adaptive phone systems which can address many/most calls, but it needs
to be done with the customer in mind, not as a cost savings measure
for the company (the cost savings come due to lower employee costs,
but that should not be a primary goal)
------------------------------
From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: Who Owns the Music?
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:08:10 -0700
Organization: Disorganized
In message <telecom24.550.10@telecom-digest.org> Steven Lichter
<shlichter@diespammers.com> wrote:
> DevilsPGD wrote:
>> Common sense may tell you that, but in my jurisdiction you'd be very
>> wrong.
<snip>
> I was not posting legal advice and besides this has to to with Federal
> Law!! Read the other postings that came before mine and after. Also
> title 17 of the US Code which others have listed is really open on
> that, since as was said it covers mostly software, not music, but the
> lines are mixed now with all the online access to music and video.
And if the US were the whole world, I might care about your federal
laws. Since it's not, I don't.
------------------------------
From: NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us
Subject: Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line
Date: 6 Dec 2005 08:12:20 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com
A WATS extender is a good opportunity for phreaks.
On my cell I use OneSuite.
Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM!
Hong Kong 2CPM. Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls
from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com/
No monthly fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: "FREEoffer23"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 13:06:39 EST
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Telecoms Turn Focus to Converged Services
USTelecom dailyLead
December 6, 2005
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zAhUatagCznffBxeIs
TODAY'S HEADLINES
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Telecoms turn focus to converged services
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Analysis: Virgin deal would give NTL quadruple play
* Verizon's directory auction likely to draw a crowd
* Ericsson wins major deal with Britain's 3
* Time Warner Cable tops 1M VoIP subscribers
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Buy Now: Telecom Management Crash Course
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* MCI takes security to the next level
* At long last, Qualcomm joins Wi-Fi Alliance
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* TWC opposes a la carte
Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zAhUatagCznffBxeIs
------------------------------
From: davidesan@gmail.com
Subject: Last Laugh! Simpson Telecom Reference
Date: 6 Dec 2005 09:23:26 -0800
On this past week Simpson's the family is visiting a new stamp museum.
Push a button and the stamp tells you why that person was honored by a
stamp.
The Alexander Graham Bell stamp said: "I invented the telephone."
Which was followed immediately by with "No you didn't I did!" from the
Elisha Gray stamp. Bell then told Gray to look at the patent number,
and then something suitably irreverant which I can no longer remember.
------------------------------
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