From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 15 16:41:59 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i2FLfwG10927; Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:41:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:41:59 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403152141.i2FLfwG10927@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #123 TELECOM Digest Mon, 15 Mar 2004 16:42:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 123 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #424, March 15, 2004 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: Dial From Outlook (RC@mail2.sol.net) Re: Dial From Outlook (Scott Dorsey) Re: Caller ID for PC (Clarence Dold) Re: Caller ID for PC (Tony P.) Re: Broadband in Northern MI (yeltrabnhoj@email.com) Re: Thanks For the Norvergence Red Flags! (Richard Ramirez) Re: Ever Heard of PeoplePC Online? (Dave Close) 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 is 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:17:49 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #424, March 15, 2004 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 424: March 15, 2004 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** ALLSTREAM: www.allstream.com ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: www.cygcom.com ** GROUP TELECOM: www.360.net ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: www.primustel.ca ** SPRINT CANADA: www.sprint.ca ** TELUS: www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Nortel Delays Results Again ** Wireless Net Launched Near Ottawa ** Major ISPs Sue Spammers ** FCC Proposes Rules for Internet Telephony ** Court Won't Hear Cities' Appeal ** CGI Acquires U.S. Firm ** Spectrum Cap, AWS Comments Posted ** Private Label ISP Tariff Okayed ** Aliant Seeks Centrex Rate Hike ** CRC Assists Wireless R&D ** RIM Sees Carrier Base Doubling ** Toronto Telemarketers Plead Guilty ** French Retailer Buys 40,000 Mitel Phones ** SharcNet Expands ** Wireless Internet Domain Proposed ** Call Centre Meeting to Feature Angus Speakers ============================================================ NORTEL DELAYS RESULTS AGAIN: Nortel Networks says it is again revising its past results, and that this will force it to postpone filing financial statements for 2003, possibly past the March 30 deadline set in covenants for US$3.6 billion in debt. (See Telecom Update #414) WIRELESS NET LAUNCHED NEAR OTTAWA: The wholesale broadband wireless service launched in Richmond B.C. last week (see Telecom Update #423) is now also available in Cumberland, a rural area 30 km east of Ottawa. As in B.C., Allstream and Microcell are offering retail Internet access using the service. ** AOL Canada says it will conduct a service trial using the new network in Toronto "in coming months." MAJOR ISPs SUE SPAMMERS: America Online, Earthlink, Microsoft, and Yahoo have sued 200 alleged spammers under the U.S. anti-spam law that went into effect in January. The defendants include three Kitchener, Ontario men accused of sending 94 million e-mails in January alone. FCC PROPOSES RULES FOR INTERNET TELEPHONY: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has issued a 97-page "Notice of Proposed Rule Making" for voice services over the Internet. Comments are due in 60 days. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-243868A1.pdf ** In a separate NPRM, the FCC has asked for comments on how to protect mobile phone users from spam and unwanted telemarketing calls. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-244843A1.pdf COURT WON'T HEAR CITIES' APPEAL: The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and several major cities to appeal CRTC Telecom Decision 2003-82 (see Telecom Update #417), in which the Commission says it may review and change municipal access agreements between carriers and cities on a case-by-case basis. ** Allstream says it will file submissions with the CRTC by April 12, resuming the company's request for amendments to its agreements with Toronto and Calgary. FCM has asked the CRTC to postpone these submissions, because it has filed a motion asking the court to reconsider. CGI ACQUIRES U.S. FIRM: CGI Group has agreed to buy Virginia- based American Management Systems, a U.S. computer services firm with annual revenue of about C$900 million. As part of the deal, AMS defence business in the U.S. will be sold to a third party. CGI's net acquisition cost is about $586 million. ** CGI will issue about $330 million in new shares to finance the deal. BCE will buy about 20%, reducing its stake in CGI by a percentage point. SPECTRUM CAP, AWS COMMENTS POSTED: Industry Canada has posted the comments it received in response to a consultation paper on several spectrum policy issues, including lifting the current cap on the amount of spectrum PCS/cellular companies are allowed to hold, and when to allocate spectrum for Advanced Wireless Services. http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/vwGeneratedInterE/h_sf08089e.html PRIVATE LABEL ISP TARIFF OKAYED: The CRTC has approved a customer-specific tariff under which Bell Canada will provide a turnkey service enabling the unnamed customer to act as a virtual Internet Service Provider. The tariff includes a minimum volume commitment of 3,000 end-users. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2004/o2004-68.htm ALIANT SEEKS CENTREX RATE HIKE: Aliant has asked the CRTC to increase Centrex rates by $2/month/local, for customers in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and PEI with fewer than 1,500 accesses and no term contract, and for all monthly rated Centrex customers in New Brunswick. The change would not affect Brunswick BCS. www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2004/A53.htm#200401828 CRC ASSISTS WIRELESS R&D: Communications Research Centre Canada, and five other agencies have launched the Canada Network of Wireless Centres (CWCnet), which will provide infrastructure, training, and research support to Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to bring wireless technology to market. CRC is an agency of Industry Canada. www.cwcnet.ca RIM SEES CARRIER BASE DOUBLING: Chairman James Basillie told a New York audience March 10 that Research In Motion's BlackBerry service is now offered by 50 carriers in 30 countries, and predicted that RIM will sign up another 50 carriers in the next 18 months. TORONTO TELEMARKETERS PLEAD GUILTY: A Competition Bureau investigation has led to a guilty plea from a Toronto telemarketing company accused of deceptive practices. Medical Discount Inc. was fined $125,000 for actions that included making unauthorized withdrawals from its U.S. clients' bank accounts. FRENCH RETAILER BUYS 40,000 MITEL PHONES: French big box retailer Auchan will replace its existing telephone systems with Mitel's 3300 ICP. The contract, which covers some 200 locations, includes over 40,000 IP telephones, 10,000 of which will be wireless. SHARCNET EXPANDS: SharcNet, a high performance computing network linking five universities in southern Ontario, will expand to provide gigabit Ethernet connections to six colleges. The project is backed by a $19 million grant from the federal government's Canada Foundation for Innovation. WIRELESS INTERNET DOMAIN PROPOSED: Nine companies, including Nokia, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard, are calling for creation of a specific domain name (possibly ".mobile") for websites designed for use by wireless devices. The group made their application to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers last week. CALL CENTRE MEETING TO FEATURE ANGUS SPEAKERS: ICCM Canada, Canada's premier contact centre event, will be held in Toronto, April 19-21. The agenda will feature several top analysts from Angus Dortmans Associates and Angus TeleManagement Group. ** Henry Dortmans and Michael Dunne will conduct a half-day tutorial on business skills for contact centre managers, and both will moderate panel discussions. ** Ian Angus will open the conference with a talk on the state of the call centre industry in Canada. ** Lis Angus will moderate a panel on key performance indicators. ** John Riddell will lead a session on speech recognition. For information on ICCM Canada, go to www.iccmcanada.com/iccmcanada/V40/index.cvn?id=10000&p_navID=1 To register, call 1-800-265-5665 or go to www.iccmcanada.com/iccmcanada/V40/index.cvn?id=10014&p_navID=25 ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2004 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: Subject: Re: Dial From Outlook Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:28:22 -0500 Organization: NNTP Servers - The best Usenet service available anywhere Act, Outlook, the others all use TAPI extensions to dial the phone. Outlook, depending on your version, will work with a standard modem as long as it has a jack for the phone. No special phone or software required. Gary Breuckman wrote in message news:telecom23.121.10@telecom-digest.org: > In article , "saturnius" > wrote: >> Hello, >> I am looking for a product that connects a standard telephone with MS >> Outlook. I was just wondering whether there is a standard telephone >> with a serial/USB/Bluetooth interface and an Outlook plugin. I would >> like to use the Outlook Contacts but also keep my standard telephone. Is >> there something like this? > There are other 'contact managers' that do well with this, ACT is the > one that I use. Act will find a contact, dial the number for you > (using the computer's modem), and will keep a log of all the calls > with the notes you enter after the call. It will schedule a later > call for followup, if you want it to. > The only problem with ACT is that it's hard to do this with a > multi-line telephone in an office environment, unless you can plug the > modem into one of the lines on your telephone set. With a single line > (or at least a less 'shared line large office' type setup, it's fairly > easy. > There are others besides ACT -- Goldmine is another, and there are > contact managers for specific industries like PC-Law and Amicus for > the legal profession. They are very similar to ACT, but keep > different information and organize it in the format the profession > finds more useful. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Dial From Outlook Date: 15 Mar 2004 13:02:22 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) saturnius wrote: > I am looking for a product that connects a standard telephone with MS > Outlook. I was just wondering whether there is a standard telephone > with a serial/USB/Bluetooth interface and an Outlook plugin. I would > like to use the Outlook Contacts but also keep my standard > telephone. Is there something like this? Why would you want to use Outlook, when there are plenty of dialing packages out there? At worst you could export your outlook address book to one. Or are you looking for some new way to get more virus infections and spread them by telephone too? --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: dold@CallerXIDX.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Caller ID for PC Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 04:23:48 UTC Organization: a2i network J Kelly wrote: > Becuase the desk has enough devices sitting on it, and I like the > pop-up CID software I have. I just got a new cordless phone so the > old one that also had CID moved to the computer room, so I guess that > solves my dillema for the most part. I will miss the logging that the > software did, but I guess I'll live. Thanks for the reply. Why doesn't your popup work anymore? I missed that part. I thought you were looking for a modem where you never had success before. What OS are you running? As I mentioned, my USRobotics works, and they are among the cheapest of anything whose name I recognize. Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Caller ID for PC Organization: ATCC Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:24:16 GMT In article , jkelly@newsguy.com says: > On Sat, 13 Mar 2004 16:54:24 UTC, dold@CallerXIDX.usenet.us.com wrote: >> Why not get a $10 caller ID device at Target, and plug it in to the >> "phone" port of your modem? > Because the desk has enough devices sitting on it, and I like the > pop-up CID software I have. I just got a new cordless phone so the > old one that also had CID moved to the computer room, so I guess that > solves my dillema for the most part. I will miss the logging that the > software did, but I guess I'll live. Thanks for the reply. Just FYI -- the HSP56 modems built into most PC's handle CLID just fine. You just need software to monitor it. Go to download.com and search on Caller ID. ------------------------------ From: yeltrabnhoj@email.com Subject: Re: Broadband in Northern MI Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 18:15:35 GMT Organization: (reverse to reply) (John Bartley, K7AAY, Portland OR) On 13 Mar 2004 18:55:35 -0800, chsvideo@hotmail.com (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) wrote: > Hello again, > My grandparents recently relocated their primary residence from > central California to what has been their vacation place in Northern > Michigan (St. Ignace to be percise) ... > Their CO is literally a few hundred feet away from their home, and > they had been told by an Ameritech/SBC/whatever the heck they are this > month telemarketer that DSL was available [I was a -bit- suprised > given how sparsely populated the area is], now it appears that it > isn't. Cablemodem service also does not appear to be available. > Any ideas for a low-cost (I.e. $<60/mo) broadband option that may be > available for them? (They've experienced DSL. They like the speed.) > The town library is also nearby, so if nothing else, two WiFi access > points in a point-to-point configuration may be an option ... www.pbs.org has several articles on P2P WiFi for impossible-last-miles situations. Search for Robert X. Cringlely, and then select his Pulpit articles. I think the first was in 2000 or 2001. > Thanks, > Lincoln > [By the way - I have heard from various places that St. Ignace was one > of the last places to eliminate its cordboard in the late 60s ... any > truth to this?] I worked a cord board in Naples for United Telephone of Florida, '72-'73, before I went to a switchroom, so cord boards persisted into the 70s, at least, in the Lower 48. We also had party lines, out into the Everglades, e.g., "Frog City 12." Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 10:11:08 -0800 (PST) From: Richard Ramirez Subject: Re: Thanks For the Norvergence Red Flags! So you never actually met with a rep and you really are just assuming what type of sales tactic they would use? Did you know that they leave all the documents with you for your review after the initial interview? They do not expect you to "sign on the spot" as you feared. Now, in all fairness, if you didn't like the phone call, then say that. If you had received a proposal that made no sense, then say that. But don't post that they used a high pressure sales tactic when you never even met with a rep. There is nothing wrong with a company not wanting to meet with an admin or secretary. Anybody with sales experience will tell you the importance of meeting with an authorized decision maker. It prevents the rep from wasting their (& the company's) time. That is sales 101. R.R. ------------------------------ From: dave@compata.com (Dave Close) Subject: Re: Ever Heard of PeoplePC Online? Date: 14 Mar 2004 22:06:37 -0800 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Steven J Sobol writes: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Earthlink has a division which is > called 'Mail Station', which is an email only device that looks sort > of like an electric typewriter. Subscribers get an internet address > of name@mymailstation.com . If you have a Mail Station (you can buy > them at Walmart and various places) they use dial-up to send and > receive email. I think the price at Walmart, etc is around a hundred > dollars for the device and a year of prepaid service on mymailstation.com > if all you want is email, and yes, those folks get a truckload of > spam in their email everyday also. PAT] Well, actually the price starts about $200 and does not include service which is about $10 per month, less if paid a year in advance. Customers actually don't get much spam because the devices can't display HTML and so messages containing HTML are blocked. I bought a competing product called a Mailbug for my mother several years ago and she has been very happy with it. So far as I know, she has never received any spam through the service. It is still available. Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA +1 714 434 7359 dave@compata.com dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." - Pericles ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications 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) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * 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 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. If you donate at least fifty dollars per year we will send you our two-CD set of the entire Telecom Archives; this is every word published in this Digest since our beginning in 1981. 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 V23 #123 ******************************