From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed May 12 23:46:38 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4D3kcc07488; Wed, 12 May 2004 23:46:38 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 23:46:38 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405130346.i4D3kcc07488@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 #237 TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 May 2004 23:47:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 237 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FTC Chairman Timothy Muris Resigns (Monty Solomon) US to Propose Using Airwaves Between TV Stations (Monty Solomon) Top Advertisers May Warn U.S. Networks on Pricing (Monty Solomon) Cisco Systems Reports Third Quarter Earnings (Monty Solomon) GoVideo Networked DVD Player Streaming Rhapsody Online Music (M Solomon) U.S. to Build Fastest Civilian Computer (Monty Solomon) TV Cabo Lowers Cost of Real-time Contribution Content Delivery (M Solomon) Verizon CEO Calls for Sweeping Revision of U.S. Telecom Policy (M Solomon) Re: Fires and Telecommunications (Tony P.) Re: Fires and Telecommunications (Al Gillis) Re: Fires and Telecommunications (Paul Vader) Re: Fires and Telecommunications (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Global Numbering Plans (Matt) Murder Predicted in Text Message (Joe Wineburgh) Re: Phone Line Busy Out Toggle Switch? (Scott Dorsey) Re: Verizon to Expand DSL Offerings With New Higher-Speed Service (FL@L&ER) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:14:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: FTC Chairman Timothy Muris Resigns By JENNIFER C. KERR Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy J. Muris is stepping down and the Bush administration has tapped a former Justice Department official to replace him. Muris has held the job for three years. Spokeswoman Nancy Ness Judy said late Tuesday that he plans to remain in the post until his replacement is confirmed by the Senate. "The chairman wants to make sure it's a smooth transition," Judy said. Deborah Majoras, a former Justice Department deputy assistant attorney general, was picked to succeed Muris. Majoras was one of the lead attorneys in the government's lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., and she argued the appeal of that case before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judy said Muris was leaving his chairmanship to return to the faculty of George Mason University School of Law, where he was the interim dean of the law school from 1996 to 1997. Muris is credited with overseeing the agency during its implementation last fall of the government's popular do-not-call list. The registry allows people to place their home or cell phones numbers on the list to stop unwanted calls from telemarketers. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41365521 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:24:43 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: US to Propose Using Airwaves Between TV Stations By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - Wireless companies would be able to use the airwaves between television channels, provided they don't cause interference, under a proposal expected to be issued by U.S. regulators on Thursday. Officials familiar with the proposal say Federal Communications Commission staff believe the airwaves between channels could help meet growing demand and encourage innovations like the Wi-Fi wireless Internet services that now connect consumers to the Web in places like airports, coffee shops and even the swimming pool. Despite objections by some television broadcasters, the FCC and the wireless industry -- particularly technology companies like Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) and Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) -- are eyeing the airwaves that are mostly used as a buffer to avoid interference between television signals. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41361986 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:26:46 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Top Advertisers May Warn U.S. Networks on Pricing By Michele Gershberg NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Top advertisers will fire warning shots next week in a showdown with U.S. television networks over buying commercial time, but their discontent over rising prices and falling ratings won't translate yet into a major shift of budgets, ad executives and media watchers said. As a group, in surveys and through their media buyers, top ad spenders expressed outrage over steep price increases commanded by the top four networks during last year's upfront marketplace for buying commercial time. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41356780 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:28:04 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cisco Systems Reports Third Quarter Earnings SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004--Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) -- Q3 Net Sales: $5.6 billion (21.7% increase year over year; 4.1% increase quarter over quarter) -- Q3 Operating Cash Flows: $2.4 billion -- Q3 Earnings Per Share: $0.17 GAAP; $0.19 pro forma Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today reported its third quarter results for the period ended May 1, 2004. Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2004 were $5.6 billion, compared with $4.6 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2003, an increase of 21.7 percent, and compared with $5.4 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2004, an increase of 4.1 percent. Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2004, on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, was $1.2 billion or $0.17 per share, compared with $987 million or $0.14 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2003, and compared with $724 million or $0.10 per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2004. Pro forma net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2004 was $1.4 billion or $0.19 per share, compared with $1.1 billion or $0.15 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2003, and compared with $1.3 billion or $0.18 per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2004. A reconciliation between net income on a GAAP basis and pro forma net income is provided in a table immediately following the Pro Forma Consolidated Statements of Operations. Net sales for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 were $16.1 billion, compared with $14.2 billion for the first nine months of fiscal 2003, an increase of 13.7 percent. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2004, on a GAAP basis, was $3.0 billion or $0.43 per share, compared with $2.6 billion or $0.36 per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2003. Pro forma net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 was $3.9 billion or $0.54 per share, compared with $3.2 billion or $0.44 per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2003. During the third quarter of fiscal 2004, Cisco(R) completed the acquisition of Riverhead Networks, Inc. for a purchase price of approximately $36 million and completed the acquisition of Twingo Systems, Inc. for a purchase price of approximately $5 million. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41356336 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:42:41 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: GoVideo Networked DVD Player Streaming Rhapsody Online Music RealNetworks'(R) Rhapsody Online Music Service - May 11, 2004 08:02 AM (PR Newswire) * GoVideo's StreamLink(TM) Technology Brings More Than 650,000 Songs Into the Living Room * Free 30-day Rhapsody Trial Offer for All GoVideo Networked DVD Player Owners SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- GoVideo announced it is introducing the world's first Networked DVD Player streaming the critically- acclaimed Rhapsody music service from RealNetworks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) to any TV or stereo in the home. Now more than 650,000 songs can be enjoyed by GoVideo Networked DVD Player users at the touch of a button, raising the bar for innovation and simplicity in home media servers. Owners of the D2730 Networked DVD Player, and the D2740 model scheduled for introduction this summer, will now be able to view their personal Rhapsody library on the TV screen and enjoy their favorite music and Internet radio stations on any stereo or home theater system. Networked DVD Player users can effortlessly browse their personal Rhapsody library by artist, album, and song title, choosing from a growing library of more than 50,000 albums, and can also quickly review the custom radio stations and playlists they have created using Rhapsody. GoVideo has optimized its StreamLink(TM) Technology for UPnP-certified music services like Rhapsody and others. These new advanced and easy-to-use capabilities, developed in partnership with Digital 5, Inc., open new and exciting possibilities for accessing and enjoying music, movies and pictures throughout the home. No other Networked DVD Player on the market today offers this level of convenience. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41339525 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:48:56 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: U.S. to Build Fastest Civilian Computer By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Viewing supercomputers as crucial to scientific discovery, the Energy Department will announce plans Wednesday to build the world's fastest civilian computer at a research laboratory in Tennessee. The supercomputer to be built at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will be funded over the initial two years by federal grants totaling $50 million. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham was to make the formal announcement in a speech Wednesday, in which he will call development of the computer for general science "critical to our nation's competitiveness." The Associated Press obtained a copy of Abraham's announcement Tuesday. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41365558 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 08:33:29 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TV Cabo Lowers Cost of Real-time Contribution Content Delivery Using Cisco IP Transport - May 12, 2004 04:00 AM (BusinessWire) COLOGNE, Germany & LISBON, Portugal--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004-- Cisco-based IP Video Contribution Network Will Provide Flexibility and Cost Savings for Delivery of Broadcast Quality Video Content to Transmission Centre Cisco Systems(R) (Nasdaq:CSCO) today announced that TV Cabo, Portugal's largest cable operator, is successfully utilising a quality of service (QoS) enabled broadband IP network backbone based on Cisco solutions to contribute high-quality digital video content. This single converged IP infrastructure will help it to make significant cost-savings over traditional methods of video contribution, which traditionally involve hiring either satellite space or a dedicated leased line. TV Cabo first looked at contributing video over its broadband network in 2002 in an effort to cost-effectively integrate one of its regional channels, which is produced some 300 km away from the broadcast center in Lisbon, into the rest of its channel line up. Using Cisco technology, the company has been able to take advantage of its existing nationwide multi-service broadband IP network for real-time contribution of content for more than a year now. This has been achieved at no more than the cost of Cisco routing technology connected to the rest of TV Cabo's multi-service IP backbone and TT6120 MediaLink units, providing ASI / Fast Ethernet adaptation, from TANDBERG Television. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41367508 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 12:38:08 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon CEO Calls for Sweeping Revision of U.S. Telecom Policy Ivan Seidenberg Says Policy Must Be Based on Three Major Principles to Encourage Investment, Innovation and Empower Consumers WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Telling the Senate Commerce Committee, "that U.S. telecommunications policy is broken and must be fixed," Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg today called on Congress to enact a major reform to create a new policy for the broadband era. Seidenberg said that it must be national in scope, leave pricing to the marketplace rather than regulators, and ensure common rules for all competitors. The new policy must be: "One that encourages investment in both wireline and wireless infrastructure; that puts power in the hands of consumers, not government; and that permits and even encourages innovation, rather than trying to force new services into old regulatory models," Seidenberg said. He said the policy should be based on three principles that govern other technology companies, including cable and wireless companies: -- Provide stability and uniformity across the industry and across the nation -- Be free of economic regulation and permit markets to determine prices -- Common rules for enforcement, technical standards and public safety where they are needed Seidenberg pointed out that only a few major telecom companies, led by Verizon, have both the will and financial resources to invest billions of dollars to build the infrastructure needed to bring high-speed broadband networks to the nation. Such investment would restore "America's leadership in an industry that drives productivity, stimulates innovation and creates jobs," he said. However, Seidenberg told the commerce committee, the current regulatory system imposes costs, injects ambiguity and introduces bureaucratic red tape into every investment decision involving the wireline network. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41379272 ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Fires and Telecommunications Organization: ATCC Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 20:52:42 GMT In article , nospam@crashelectronics.com says: > Pat wrote: >> (4) I dunno what the batteries had in them; they were big giant things >> also, already burning by the time the firemen reached them. PAT] > When I worked for a telecom company (American Satellite Company, later > "Contel/ASC") at about that time, our satellite and microwave sites > floated on banks of batteries that held a gallon or two of sulfuric > acid per 1.5 volt cell. AC came in, was rectified and regulated to > -48vdc, and dumped onto the power bus. Much of the equipment ran > directly off the -48vdc bus, for other stuff inverters (redundant, of > course) produced clean 117vac. If the input power failed, the > batteries could hold the site up for at least half an hour, long > enough to start the generator (theoretically that was automatic). The > generator had a 30-day minimum fuel supply and was rated for > continuous duty. Since we always ran off the batteries, a power > failure would not cause any glitches. > Pretty sure our CO had the same kind of power system, but I didn't > do maintenance there, they had their own guys. I'm guessing Amsat > "borrowed" the idea from Ma Bell, so that, or something quite > similar, is probably what was in the Hinsdale Office. Everybody follows Ma Bell's example when it comes to that. I remember touring the Brooks Fiber (Now MCI - haha!)CO in Providence. It's a building that's in a flood plain and the switch is on the ground floor. That being said, at the back of the switch room are huge banks of lead- acid batteries. I would imagine that when sulfuric acid burns it does in fact smell like rotten eggs, same as with sulfur. > Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com > "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, > we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is Sulphuric Acid the stuff that smells > very much like rotten eggs when it gets disturbed? When it catches on > fire or gets disturbed is it the thing which goes up in the atmosphere > in a plume like cloud? Would a release of same into the atmosphere as > the result of an explosion or disturbance be the kind of thing you > would evacuate the neighbors for? Then that may have been what it > was. The firemen broke out a couple of windows and doors to let this > stuff vent into the atmosphere, then the 'rotten egg' smell got bad > everywhere. And it was still raining heavily much of the early > evening. And there was also quite a bit of what appeared to be > fiberglass cabling in large rolls which had melted and also made quite > a mess of 'glop' everywhere, and the firemen said 'that stuff is quite > dangerous also'. Early May, so the outside temperature combined with > humidity from the heavy rain and the intense heat from the fire made > an awful mess. The fire was most intense in an area on the first floor > near a cable vault where they say it started, but due to incompetence > of phone company in getting it reported and attended to, the entire > building was in flames and gutted by the time it got under control. The > firemen would not allow anyone to go near the building once the fire > had been 'struck' until that rotten egg smell went away. PAT] That had to be a serious mess. Is it still in the same building? If so I would hope they've installed active lightning protection. They've already lost at least one switch (Which was likely a 5ESS given that it handled toll and local traffic.) CO's seem to be built in places that aren't so great. I suppose early Bell companies bought the cheapest land they could find, even if they did have to back-fill it. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Still at 120 North Lincoln in Hinsdale. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Fires and Telecommunications Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 20:03:26 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Lisa Hancock wrote in message news:telecom23.235.7@telecom-digest.org: > TELECOM Digest Editor wrote about the > May, 1988 fire at Illinois Bell in Hinsdale, Illinois. (Some Snipping)... > 2) Were the primary and secondary causes of the fire established in > detail? That is, were they sure it was lightning, and if so, what > did the lightning touch off? I would think buildings such as that > would be very well protected from lightning by 1988. (A few more lines of Snipping)... > (3) Lightning caused a spark in the cables somewhere; much like the > Manchester Guardian fire a month ago in the UK. In the Hinsdale case > however, that particular Mother's Day had been a hell of a bad > mother, with heavy rains, extremely high wind, generally vicious > weather conditions much lightning, many dark overcast (almost > pitch black) skies the entire day. The very sort of a day, indeed, > that alarm signals at some distant point would be 'falsing' about > all the time. I thought that the cause of the fire was some work contractors had done a day of two before, wrecking out some old power conductors which, as they were being removed (without being disconnected), arced through some other cables to the grounded ironwork and started a smoldering fire. Then, as these things tend to do when left alone, they smoldered until they caught some flamible material on fire (after the normal staff had left for the weekend) and the rest is as Pat described. That is, widespread and lengthy outages, technicians working for days on end, customers loosing business without compensation and such. This was a nice recap of the Hinsdale fire, Pat, and I appreciate your delving into your vast archives to remind us of where we came from. Thanks!! Al [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have heard that version also, and Illinois Bell did file suit against some contractors or another several months later. I do not know what the final outcome was. PAT] ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: Fires and Telecommunications Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 16:27:49 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to nospam@crashelectronics.com: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is Sulphuric Acid the stuff that smells > very much like rotten eggs when it gets disturbed? When it catches on Yes, sulphur is pretty stinky, and if the sulphuric acid electrolyte gets loose, it's going to stink up the place something terrible. But that's actually the least of your problems. If you're close enough to smell it, your lungs are quite possibly being severely damaged. > fire or gets disturbed is it the thing which goes up in the atmosphere > in a plume like cloud? Would a release of same into the atmosphere as > the result of an explosion or disturbance be the kind of thing you > would evacuate the neighbors for? Then that may have been what it I don't know that it would explode, but it's incredibly toxic, and if enough were released it would certainly justify an evacuation of the immediate area. > building was in flames and gutted by the time it got under control. The > firemen would not allow anyone to go near the building once the fire > had been 'struck' until that rotten egg smell went away. PAT] No real surprises there, for all sorts of reasons. Besides all the ruptured lead-acid batteries, there's a wealth of nasty chemicals like PCBs in old phone equipment. The situation has improved greatly in the last decades, but Hinsdale was no doubt a hazmat nightmare. * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That may explain why the newspapers said what they did in the Tuesday (of that first week) papers. I do not think the severity of the situation had sunk into their heads on Monday. By Tuesday the papers knew full well this was going to be a very long, drawn out affair, almost as you put it, of hazmat-nightmare proportions; futhermore, the phones were going to be dead for a month, but that little but significant detail *still was not known*. I mean, after all, what do newspapers or the general public know about phone systems and central offices? Bell was still stalling everyone with the 'give us a day or two to get things back in order' routine, so the newspapers bought that line. But in an interview with the papers and the fire chief on duty that night, he said "I smelled those rotten eggs, saw one of my men coming out with that stuff all over his clothes, holding a handkerchief over his nose, and I immediatly told the crew inside to get out of there now for their own safety, ordered all the men to get totally hosed down, and started an evacuation of the entire block around the building. When the new crew went inside to take over the fire, they had masks on their faces and protective clothing. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 17:03:50 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelectronics.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: Re: Fires and Telecommunications > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is Sulphuric Acid the stuff that smells > very much like rotten eggs when it gets disturbed? When it catches on > fire or gets disturbed is it the thing which goes up in the atmosphere > in a plume like cloud? Would a release of same into the atmosphere as > the result of an explosion or disturbance be the kind of thing you > would evacuate the neighbors for? That would be the stuff, yes. Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin ------------------------------ From: matt_ac_jones@hotmail.com (Matt) Subject: Global Numbering Plans Date: 12 May 2004 01:09:47 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I've seen various organisations on the web offering 'global numbering plans'. Some offerings are absurdly cheap. Has anyone any idea of whether these are worthwhile ? Is the data any good ? Any thoughts ? ------------------------------ From: Joe Wineburgh Subject: Murder Predicted in Text Message Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 14:50:16 -0400 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2004%2F05%2F07%2Fnt xt07.xml&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=47624 By Graham Tibbetts A mother wrote a text message predicting her own murder on the day she was stabbed to death by her former husband, a court heard yesterday. In the message, which she did not send to anyone but stored on her mobile phone, Julie Sheppard said Howard Woodin had threatened to knife her and would claim he had acted in self-defence. Both predictions proved accurate but a jury at Winchester Crown Court dismissed Woodin's plea and he was jailed for life for murder. The message was found by police after they were called to the couple's home in Southsea, Hants, following the frenzied attack. It read: "20 march 03, twice 2 day howard threatened to knife or stab me put hand round my throat tried to push me b-wards into kitchen. Said he would say self def." Twenty minutes before her death Miss Sheppard, 41, also made an emotional phone call to police saying she feared her violent ex-husband would attack her. The call was cut short when Woodin, 45, a plumber, arrived at their home. After arguing about money and the sale of the house, Woodin stabbed Miss Sheppard 26 times, stopping halfway through to change knives when one broke through the ferocity of the blows. He then called his solicitor and daughter before requesting an ambulance. Woodin had claimed during the trial that his ex-wife attacked him first before turning the 5in vegetable knife and 10in bread knife on herself. But Dr Hugh White, a pathologist, said it was ludicrous to suggest that Miss Sheppard's wounds - some of which were five inches deep - could have been self-inflicted. Jailing him for life, Judge Michael Brodrick told Woodin: "This was a savage attack. You are a devious, domineering, manipulative, self-centred man." ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Phone Line Busy Out Toggle Switch? Date: 11 May 2004 16:11:23 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Tom Beckman wrote: > I'm planning on having several phone lines in a hunt group. I'd like > to be able to busy out lines when not in use so that calls will roll > over to other lines. I looked around for a little box with a toggle > switch that would be placed between the phone and the wall jack that >would switch between on hook and off hook states. Does anyone know if >such a device exists? Thanks. A switch in series with a 600 ohm resistor will do nicely. There's probably a commercial box that has it all together but it's no problem to build your own. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Temporary FL@L&ER Subject: Re: Verizon to Expand DSL Offerings With New, Higher-Speed Service Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 00:14:54 -0500 Reply-To: w9vhe@arrl.net You are correct. Where I live is fGTE territory as well. Most of our state may not really be called urban, even with the rust belt influence. Either way, with VZ, if you are in a rural-type area, forget DSL for the most part. Unless I am mistaken, on Mon, 10 May 2004 18:53:21 -0500, Steven J Sobol wrote: > Temporary FL@L&ER wrote: >> What most folks fail to realize is that most of Verizon's customers >> are in an urban environment, > Correction. > The former Bell Atlantic areas were largely urban, and there are some > former GTE markets like various Texas cities and the chunks of Los > Angeles that GTE used to have that were also large(ish) cities, but > there are plenty of GTE areas that were not urban. I don't know that > I'd say "most" of Verizon's customers live in the city. Many, for > sure. Perhaps not most. > (And then there are areas like mine, which are a weird combination of > rural and more populated areas. Verizon [former GTE] is my ILEC.) > JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED > Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net > Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ > "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush > out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl > '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 Use the usual techniques if you wish to reply via email. Molon Labe! ------------------------------ 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. 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