From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 24 15:32:57 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i2OKWvx15109; Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:32:57 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:32:57 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403242032.i2OKWvx15109@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 #139 TELECOM Digest Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:33:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 139 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Vonage(R) Selects Xten's X-Pro as The 'Softphone of Choice' (VOIP News) TCS Enhances E9-1-1 with Trustworthy, Reliable Emergency (VOIP News) FierceMarkets Launches 'The VoIP Report' (VOIP News) Correcting 411/555-1212 Info; Unlisted Service not Rendered (yy#ui) Re: Call Centers' Early Warning Systems (Tony P.) Re: Western Union Clocks (Mike Riddle) Poisson Tables (Fred Atkinson) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 12:25:22 -0500 Subject: Vonage(R) Selects Xten's X-Pro as The 'Softphone of Choice' Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-23-2004/0002133145&STORY&EDATE= Vonage's cutting-edge Voice-over-IP service now available with X-PRO, the leading SIP Softphone from Xten EDISON, N.J. and SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Vonage, the fastest growing telephony company in the US, and Xten Networks, publisher of the award winning X-PRO SoftPhone, announced today that Vonage and Xten have completed interoperability testing of an OEM version of Xten's X-PRO SIP SoftPhone for use on Vonage's Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service. Vonage customers can now sign up for Vonage, download and install the Vonage X-PRO softphone, and start making and receiving telephone calls immediately on their computers, while maintaining the same quality of service they have come to expect. Full press release at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-23-2004/0002133145&STORY&EDATE= How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For persons interested in Vonage service, I still provide e-coupons good for a month of free service (the second month) of whatever kind of Vonage service plan you choose. Just write not-for-pub to ask me for e-coupon. Write to ptownson@telecom-digest.org . PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:12:25 -0500 Subject: TCS Enhances E9-1-1 with Trustworthy, Reliable Emergency Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040324005226&newsLang=en ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2004-- Superior Technology vs. Existing Voice Over IP 9-1-1 Solutions Brings Reliable 911 Calls to IP Networks - Resolving Impediment to VoIP Adoption TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS), a global leader in wireless data technology, today announced that it has launched its VoIP E9-1-1 Service, a set of comprehensive capabilities meant to address the broad range of challenges for emergency services which are currently posed by Voice Over IP technologies. Existing VoIP solutions for 911 calling are hampered by several limitations. Unlike 911 calls originating from wireline or wireless phones, VoIP 911 calls may be routed to an administrative line and are sometimes answered by a front desk receptionist or administrator instead of an actual emergency operator -- costing valuable seconds in case of an emergency. TCS' technology solution resolves this problem, routing 911 calls directly to the emergency operator. In addition, existing VoIP solutions are frequently unable to determine the geographic location of callers dialing 911. For example, if an individual is using a virtual private network to tunnel into a corporate server and make a VoIP call through that server, a 911 call will provide no location information unless manually entered before the call. Again, TCS' technology resolves this issue, providing accurate location information to operators - as well as a call-back number in case the caller is disconnected. Single Solution, Multiple Configurations Voice Over IP is not a single technology, but rather four distinctive applications targeted at distinct market segments in either static, portable, or mobile environments: -- Cable and DSL VoIP, often deployed in static configurations in which the end user stays at a fixed location and uses the standard North American Numbering Plan; examples of this service include residential line replacement using cable or DSL connections; -- Enterprise VoIP, usually deployed in static configurations with occasional portability, a circumstance in which the end user can easily move his telephony connection anywhere within the enterprise campus; -- Internet Service Provider (ISP) VoIP, usually provided as a highly portable telephony configuration which allows the end user to establish a telecommunications connection wherever she can obtain an internet-based connection to her ISP provider; and -- Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) VoIP, expected to be a mobile telephony configuration that allows the end user to take a home-based telephony connection and roam within an interconnected WiFi network, much like cellular technologies allow today. Problems - and a Solution TCS has applied its data and telephony engineering expertise to construct an emergency services solution that provides superior capabilities over the current solutions deployed. Today's VoIP solutions for portable environments terminate calls to the administrative lines at a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Not all PSAPs support direct-dial administrative lines, many are not answered 24 hours-a-day or during periods of heavy call volume, and none of the administrative lines support the ability to automatically identify the location of the calling party - location is typically conveyed verbally or through alternative data entry methods that not all PSAPs support. Building upon the broad range of capabilities currently implemented to support Wireless E9-1-1 services and using the deep knowledge of the wireless infrastructure into which many of TCS' location and messaging products are deployed, TCS has defined an approach which will allow static, portable, and mobile VoIP c alls to be routed to PSAPs while automatically providing the location and identity of the caller. "The International VoIP Council is pleased to have Council member TeleCommunication Systems take a lead role in developing a wide-ranging delivery service solution for emergency services via VoIP," said Neal Shact, Co-Founder of the International VoIP Council. "The current lack of a complete solution for enhanced emergency services over VoIP may slow adoption. Having a robust solution for emergency services helps to guarantee the future success and growth of this revolutionary and disruptive technology." Broad Suite of Solutions TCS' VoIP E9-1-1 Service provides a broad set of capabilities to solve the static, portable, and mobile VoIP challenges and includes: -- VoIP E9-1-1 ALI Service - a capability which allows any fixed, portable, or mobile VoIP directory number to be correlated with current geographic coordinates and nearest street address as provided by a standard Automatic Line Identification (ALI) database; -- VoIP E9-1-1 ESRK Service - a Emergency Services Routing Key (ESRK) capability which handles call routing management, ensuring that the originating location of the call will determine the subsequent routing of the emergency call to the closest PSAP; -- VoIP E9-1-1 ALI Link Service - a capability which allows any VoIP Service Provider to interconnect to any existing PSAP connection currently supporting basic wireless E9-1-1 services (currently estimated to be greater than 65% of all existing PSAPs); and -- VoIP E9-1-1 VPC Service - a Positioning Center supporting VoIP calls which will interact with a wide variety of VoIP switching infrastructure to pass the current known location information. "TCS is excited to provide a superior technology solution to a marketplace which is just beginning to grow and that promises to be a significant advancement in the existing wireline infrastructure," said Drew Morin, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of TCS. "TCS has applied its inside-the-network telephony and data prowess to construct a solution that combines the strengths of landline 911, wireless E9-1-1, and wireless data. The result is a unique solution which has been well received by the VoIP community and recognized as a superior approach to current proposals. As an added benefit, this enhancement to our wireless E9-1-1 service is the framework for TCS providing an alternative in the traditional 911 market." TCS is working with leading VoIP vendors and standards bodies to position the solution for the broadest industry adoption and expects the full suite of VoIP E9-1-1 services to be available to VoIP service providers later this year. ABOUT TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, INC. TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ:TSYS) is a leading provider of mission critical wireless data solutions to carriers, enterprise and government customers. TCS' wireless data offerings provide location-based Enhanced 9-1-1 services and messaging infrastructure to wireless operators, real-time market data and alerts to financial institutions, mobile asset management and mobile office solutions for enterprises, and encrypted satellite communications to government customers. For more information visit www.telecomsys.com. This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based upon TCS' current expectations and assumptions that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that would cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The actual results realized by the Company could differ materially from the statements made herein, depending in particular upon the risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These include without limitation risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's financial results and the ability of the Company to (i) reach profitability as early as anticipated, (ii) continue to rely on its customers and other third parties to provide additional products and services that create a demand its products and services, (iii) conduct its business in foreign countries, (iv) adapt and integrate new technologies into its products, (v) expand its business offerings in the new wireless data industry, (vi) develop software without any errors or defects, (vii) protect its intellectual property rights, and (viii) implement its sales and marketing strategy. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise. Contacts TeleCommunication Systems Rita Thompson, 410-295-1865 thompsonr@telecomsys.com or Edelman Ethan Rasiel, 212-704-4521 ethan.rasiel@edelman.com ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:27:49 -0500 Subject: FierceMarkets Launches 'The VoIP Report' Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-24-2004/0002133994&EDATE= FierceMarkets Launches 'The VoIP Report' New Weekly Email Service Makes It Easy to Follow Voice-Over-IP Market WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Keeping track of the fast-emerging voice-over-IP (VoIP) market just got easier thanks to a new publication launched today by FierceMarkets Inc. The publication, called The VoIP Report, is a free weekly email briefing that summarizes the latest business and technology developments in VoIP. It is designed for top-level telecom executives and comes out every Wednesday. Sign up is free at http://www.thevoipreport.com. You can read the full press release at http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-24-2004/0002133994&EDATE= One thing I will say is that I do not understand why certain e-mail publications like this one insist on trying to collect an intrusive amount of data from people -- you would think you were signing up for a print publication that is to be delivered by snail mail, rather than a once a week e-mail service. When a company asks for that much information, it makes me very reluctant to even give them my e-mail address, because I wonder how they're going to use all this data -- but then again, I'm probably not one of the "elite executives" they are trying to target. So, while I'll let you know that this publication exists, please don't consider this mention as any sort of recommendation. How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: Subject: Correcting 411/555-1212 Info; Unlisted Service Not Rendered Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 20:46:28 -0800 Organization: Astound Broadband Received an incoming phone call from unknown person. This unknown caller said that the operator gave them the number, but this number has supposedly been unlisted for about six months (for small monthly charge). There are multiple local phone companies, and the caller may not have been local. So, is it possible I have no way of knowing what number information service the caller used? How can anyone verify whether that monthly "unlisted" charge is doing anything? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is no real way to assure anything about your unlisted status under the circumstances. Any telco you make inquiry from, i.e. 'did you fail to unlist me?' is obviously going to lie and say 'yes, you are unlisted through here', even if you are not unlisted. Its like the old anecdotal story going back to the early days of long distance calls when several operators had to be involved in connecting your call: A man in a hotel room in New York City wants to call his office in Los Angeles. He gives his call to the local hotel switchboard operator who would tell the New York City operator who in turn told the Cleveland operator and then the Chicago operator and the St. Louis operator and the Denver operator and the Salt Lake City operator and the Los Angeles operator and the operator at his company in Los Angeles. The connection is put up, the man is talking for thirty seconds or a minute, then a dead line, because some oper- ator along the way mistakenly yanked the cord. The man in the hotel room in New York raises hell with the hotel operator; she in turn with the local New York operator and every operator down the line would respond 'not me; you are still up here!' (and ringing furiously to the next connection point) would say 'operator! you disconnected my party!' and the routine would go on right down the line and across the nation. The final operator would get the brunt of it, she had no one further down the line to blame. Ultimatly, some telco in the line (probably New York since they acted as the originator and the billing agent for the whole thing would wind up writing it off and making a new connection, even if it was the company operator in Los Angeles who did the actual dirty deed. No one ever confessed, and it was up to the originating company (who was the 'billing agent' for all the other telcos down the line) to issue the credit, etc. I think all you can do is go to whoever -- whichever company -- you are paying for the unlisted service and ask them to double check and be **certain -- absolutely positive** that your number is non-pub or unlisted, whichever it is supposed to be **in all sources, in all directories, published by whomever** . If it really matters, change your number once again (the telephone company or other originating agent will probably write off any charges to make that change for you) then start again. You said the caller claimed 'the operator' (whoever that is) gave him the number, but the 'operator' may have consulted an old, ancient online directory on the web somewhere. Did you change your number when you went unlisted, or keep the number but ask for unlisting? Assuming the former, have you given the number to **anyone** who could had put it in a directory database, such as on the net? Telcos pretty much all follow the rules, but some of these independent directory publishers have no such compunctions. As long as all the telco publishers (of directories) or managers of DA call centers played by the rules (meaning some pirate DA service or directory publisher somehow got your number) you have no real recourse against the telco with whom you placed your original instructions, although many of them will give a good will credit to you on yet another number change. But don't expect any of them to own up to it if it was a telco error. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Call Centers' Early Warning Systems Organization: ATCC Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 06:22:15 GMT In article , friedebach@yahoo.com says: > Michael Freedman, 03.23.04, Forbes.com > LONDON - You've heard the refrain: "This call may be recorded for > quality assurance purposes." Chances are good the company behind it is > NICE Systems. > A leader in the call center market, this Israel-based company was > established a decade ago, and its recording devices and software > packages are now used in some 30,000 call centers, financial > institutions and government outfits and emergency hot lines like 911. > More could be on the way. Every year, companies and government > agencies spend an estimated $500 million buying equipment to record > telephone calls, data and screen images. The information is used to > analyze customer behavior and to train call center agents. > http://www.forbes.com/networks/2004/03/23/cz_mf_0323nice.html > [Note from Eric: I had to call the FCC this afternoon when I was > having trouble logging into their ULS website. After the standard > "your call will be recorded" announcement, I had to listen to a loud > beep every few seconds as if I was calling a 911 center when a tech > came on line. I wonder why the announcement at the beginning of the > call was not sufficient.] > Eric Friedebach > /Tonight's Skywarn training cancelled due to... weather?/ Not everything should be recorded, particularly in public safety. When the Providence Police Department moved from LaSalle Square to their new building right on the edge of I-95 (It's only a block and a half from the old station.) I had occasion to check out their I.T. and telecom systems. When I went into the telecom room I noted the G3iV10 Definity switch and a set of boxes next to it that looked suspiciously like recording equipment. Sure enough, I was right. Ridiculously the department had paid for VoIP on the Definity but didn't use it. Go figure. At the AG's office we had to beg to upgrade from G3iV2 and by the time I'd left they STILL hadn't upgraded. In any case the recording system monitored EVERY line in the department, including lines used by arrested parties, the chief, everybody. When the new chief was sworn in the proverbial crap hit the fan. How they weren't aware of it is beyond me. Their I.T. and comms guys knew it was there, the previous administration had approved it. So sometimes recording is a BAD thing. ------------------------------ From: Mike Riddle Organization: Solitary, Poor,Nasty, Brutish and Short Subject: Re: Western Union Clocks Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 20:52:43 -0600 Thanks--I think this might just do it! Mike Chuk Gleason wrote: > Might this link be to an external device to keep your clocks on time? > http://www.piexx.com/imp1/imp1dc.html > Chuk G. > Cary, NC >> Mike Riddle wrote: >>> Several years ago our esteemed moderator ran several articles on >>> Western Union Clocks. These were typically installed in train >>> stations and other public places. They were electrically powered, >>> self-winding (made by the "Self-Winding Clock Company") and >>> synchronized with the Naval Observatory on a periodic basis through >>> a 20 or 60 ma (I'm not sure which right now) circuit to Western >>> Union. Mike Riddle /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign mriddle%nospam@ivgate.omahug.org \ / Respect for open standards "To Reply Remove the Obvious" X No HTML/RTF in email http://www.mikeriddle.com / \ No M$ Word docs in email [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Your esteemed moderator running those articles on those clocks caused so many people to look for them that today they are considered collector items. Bah, humbug! Me and my big mouth, I guess. Now I cannot find one anywhere for less than about three hundred dollars. I made a big leap (for me!) and bid on one slightly banged up one on EBay last night going at auction for a 'mere' $125, and after I worked the bid up to $150 (which I can ill-afford but somehow would have paid for) some bozo came along and out-bid me on that. I was too scared to bid any higher. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:41:02 -0800 (PST) From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Poisson Tables Reply-To: fatkinson@mishmash.com Does anyone know of any good URLs where I can find a Poisson table showing both CCS and Erlang? I've searched all over the Web and have struck out. I did find one in a book in the college library, but when I scanned it, the images didn't turn out so good. PDF would be preferable. An Excel spreadsheet would be even better. But, I'll take what I can get as long as it is good image quality. Fred Atkinson ------------------------------ 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 2004 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 #139 ******************************