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The Telecom Digest for Fri, 01 Apr 2022
Volume 41 : Issue 54 : "text" format

table of contents
FirstNet is Connecting More First Responders Across South Carolina
Spam Texts From Your Own Number? 'Bad Actors' Sent Them, Verizon Says.
The Edited Latecomer's Guide to Crypto
Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros

Message-ID: <20220331153923.52DAF79A@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:39:23 +0000 (UTC) From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: FirstNet is Connecting More First Responders Across South Carolina There are some things that mortal men are not supposed to know, and this web page has a breezy, lightweight, breathless explanation of one of them - how our government, having allowed our "public utilities" to sabotage a reliable communications network that was working fine for 146 years, has now decided to use our tax money to achieve a goal that I didn't know existed and still can hardly believe was ever consideed viable - constructing another cellular network in parallel with the ever-more-expensive, overly complicated, incredibly delicate network of eyesores that ruin our landscape, turn our church steeples into plastic monuments to mamon, and cause a generation of children to become soulless automatons, unable to relate to other people inches away from them, as they frantically flip through page after page after page of images showing endless clones of a blow-dried-airhead telling them to buy a new product while simpering and preening and trying harder to look like whatever flavor of sincere is Firstnet-fashionable. Perhaps you will be able to make more sense out of it. My circuit breaker has tripped. Bill - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "An official website of the United States government" What's the news? AT&T is America's public safety communications partner. In the nearly 5 years since we were selected by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) to build and operate FirstNet(r), we have moved quickly to bring more coverage, boost capacity and drive new capabilities for South Carolina first responders and the communities they serve - rural or urban. Today, we cover nearly all of the state with FirstNet, Built with AT&T - helping to connect public safety agencies and organizations in more than 150 communities across South Carolina. That's why we're focused on increasing network capacity for South Carolina public safety by deploying Band 14 spectrum - nationwide, high-quality spectrum set aside by the federal government specifically for FirstNet. We've rolled out Band 14 on over 1,000 sites across the state to provide public safety with truly dedicated coverage and capacity when they need it. In addition, more South Carolina first responders are gaining access to a one-of-a-kind 5G experience on FirstNet. 5G connectivity on FirstNet is now available in Charleston and Hilton Head. And we aren't stopping there. The FCC estimates that over 10,000 lives could be saved each year if public safety were able to reach callers just 1 minute faster. And since 80% of wireless calls take place indoors, in-building dedicated public safety connectivity is essential to public safety operations and overall safety. That's why we are collaborating with Safer Building Coalition, the nation's leading industry advocacy group focused on advancing policies, ideas, and technologies that ensure effective in-building communications capabilities for public safety personnel and the people they serve. https://www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/press-releases/firstnet-built-att-connecting-more-first-responders-across-south-carolina -- (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Message-ID: <20220331025753.5437F80C@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 02:57:53 +0000 (UTC) From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: Spam Texts From Your Own Number? 'Bad Actors' Sent Them, Verizon Says. The wireless carrier said that it was working with the F.B.I. and the Secret Service to investigate a recent wave of fraudulent messages, but said the source did not appear to be Russian hackers. The wireless carrier Verizon blamed "bad actors" on Wednesday for thousands of spam text messages recently received by its customers and said it was working with federal law enforcement agencies to try to identify the source. The telecom giant confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that its customers had been targeted by the rogue texts offering them a free gift, which were reported on Monday by The Verge, a technology news website. Some users had reported being forwarded to Russian state media sites when they clicked on links in the texts, but Verizon was treating the texts as a more typical phishing scheme aimed at defrauding consumers. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/business/spam-texts-verizon.html -- (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Message-ID: <0AC80F66-E867-4E54-B5D7-A7EABAF782F3@roscom.com> Date: 31 Mar 2022 10:17:43 -0400 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: The Edited Latecomer's Guide to Crypto The Edited Latecomer's Guide to Crypto Molly White March 25, 2022 https://blog.mollywhite.net/the-edited-latecomers-guide-to-crypto/ On March 20, 2022, the New York Times published a 14,000-word puff piece on cryptocurrencies, both online and as an entire section of the Sunday print edition. Though its author, Kevin Roose, wrote that it aimed to be a sober, dispassionate explanation of what crypto actually is, it was a thinly-veiled advertisement for cryptocurrency that appeared to have received little in the way of fact-checking or critical editorial scrutiny. It uncritically repeated many questionable or entirely fallacious arguments from cryptocurrency advocates, and it appears that no experts on the topic were consulted, or even anyone with a less-than-rosy view on crypto. This is grossly irresponsible. A group of around fifteen cryptocurrency researchers and critics have done what the New York Times apparently won't: The Edited Latecomer's Guide to Crypto. https://www.mollywhite.net/annotations/latecomers-guide-to-crypto ***** Moderator's Note ***** I don't usually use "Monty" material these days, but I'm making an exception for this story. You see, I read the original New York Times piece, and was shaking my head in bewilderment after the first couple of pargraphs. The "Edited" version is a lot more believeable. Bill Horne Moderator
Message-ID: <20220331164416.8A70C79A@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2022 16:44:16 +0000 (UTC) From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: Ben McKenzie Would Like a Word With the Crypto Bros The actor, best known for his starring role in "The O.C.," has become an outspoken critic of a volatile market driven by speculation. Who's listening? By David Yaffe-Bellany ROCKDALE, Texas -- Ben McKenzie was driving his father's silver Subaru through Texas farmland, talking in breathless bursts about money: who has it, who needs it, what makes it real or fake. He detailed the perils of cryptocurrency exchanges, the online brokers that sell Bitcoin and Ether to speculators, then delivered a glowing endorsement of "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," a 700-page book by the economist Thomas Piketty about income inequality and the power of wealthy capitalists. "If they can make money on it, they'll do it," Mr. McKenzie, 43, said as he sped past cattle farms and run-down gas stations one morning in March. Mr. McKenzie was on his way to Whinstone U.S., a crypto mining operation about an hour outside Austin, where rows of energy-guzzling machines generate new Bitcoins. Over the last six months, as A-list celebrities have shilled for digital currencies and NFTs, Mr. McKenzie, a TV actor best known for his starring role in "The O.C.," has become an outspoken skeptic. He's written critically about the #ad for little-known coins that Kim Kardashian posted on Instagram and earnestly asked Reese Witherspoon to stop proselytizing about the metaverse, all while acknowledging that he's not a financial expert. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/style/ben-mckenzie-crypto.html -- (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)

End of telecom Digest Fri, 01 Apr 2022

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