From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon May 17 14:26:14 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4HIQEw27396; Mon, 17 May 2004 14:26:14 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 14:26:14 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405171826.i4HIQEw27396@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 #244 TELECOM Digest Mon, 17 May 2004 14:26:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 244 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #433, May 17, 2004 (Angus TeleManagement) Internet Phone Service Vonage Hits 155,000 Users (VOIP News) Vonage Calls on Behavioral-Based Ads (VOIP News) With Voice-Over-Internet Bell Tolls, Finally, For Bell (Canada) (VOIP News) VoIP in a Dynamic Communications Market (VOIP News) Vonage Cuts Prices [and Eliminates Additional Line Discounts] (VOIP News) Level 3 Expands Availability of Wholesale VoIP Service (VOIP News) Cox Declares VOIP 'Ready for Prime Time' (VOIP News) AT&T's CallVantage Service Expands to Serve Western US (VOIP News) 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: Mon, 17 May 2004 10:50:34 -0400 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #433, May 17, 2004 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 433: May 14, 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: ** Telus Bids to Buy Microcell ** Toronto City Fido Launch Expected ** Criminal Probe Targets Nortel ** Allstream Shareholders Approve Purchase by MTS ** Ottawa Creates Anti-Spam Panel ** New Entrant Joins Internet Phone Market ** First Nation Seizes MTS Infrastructure ** CRTC Bars Phone Cutoffs for Unpaid LD ** Ericsson Exec to Chair SR Telecom ** Two Million in U.S. Use Number Portability ** MCI Challenges Bell Contract ** Look Loss Grows ** Spotnik Signs Seven Hotels for Wi-Fi ** Bell Offers Music Downloads ** Think Tank Says Telecom Regulation Not Needed ** Toronto, Los Angeles Carrier Hotels Form Alliance ** Cisco Sales, Profits Rise ** IP Net Expands Airport Capacity ============================================================ TELUS BIDS TO BUY MICROCELL: Telus Corp. is offering $1.1 billion to buy all outstanding shares of wireless competitor Microcell Telecommunications, owner of the Fido brand. Telus says the unsolicited offer represents a premium of 38.1% and 36.5% over May 13 prices for Microcell Class A Shares and Class B Shares. TORONTO CITY FIDO LAUNCH EXPECTED: Microcell Telecommunications tells us it will make a "very important" announcement today. We expect they plan to launch City Fido, their wireline-replacement service, in the Toronto market. CRIMINAL PROBE TARGETS NORTEL: Nortel Networks says that a U.S. grand jury in Dallas has asked it to turn over "certain documents, including financial statements and corporate, personnel, and accounting records" dating back to 2000. The company says it will cooperate with the authorities. ALLSTREAM SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE PURCHASE BY MTS: Allstream shareholders have voted 99.7% in favour of the company's purchase by MTS. The deal, expected to close in early June, has also received court approval; regulatory approval is still pending. ** Allstream had first quarter sales of $297 million, down 1.6% from the previous quarter and down 16% from a year ago. Net income of $15.4 million was down 6% from the previous quarter. OTTAWA CREATES ANTI-SPAM PANEL: Industry Canada has announced an "Anti-Spam Action Plan for Canada," and appointed a ten- member "Special Task Force on Spam" to oversee implementation. http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inecic-ceac.nsf/en/h_gv00246e.html NEW ENTRANT JOINS INTERNET PHONE MARKET: BabyTel, a division of Montreal-based Voice & Data Systems, has launched a telephone-over- broadband service with residential price plans ranging from $10.95 to $34.95 a month. www.babytel.ca FIRST NATION CLAIMS MTS INFRASTRUCTURE: Responding to Manitoba Tel's refusal to lease it unbundled local loops, the Brokenhead Ojibway band council has passed a resolution allowing a band-owned Internet and VoIP provider to use MTS local loops without paying. ** MTS says there is no Central Office on the reserve, and its tariffs do not permit competitor co-location at remote units. It says the band has not yet acted on its plan to "nationalize" the telco's infrastructure on the reserve, which is about 80 km north of Winnipeg. CRTC BARS PHONE CUTOFFS FOR UNPAID LD: CRTC Telecom Decision 2004-31 bars incumbent telcos from disconnecting local phone service for non-payment of non-tariffed services such as long distance, so long as the customer has made sufficient payments to cover all tariffed services. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/dt2004-31.htm ERICSSON EXEC TO CHAIR SR TELECOM: Lionel P. Hurtubise, Chair of Ericsson Canada, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of SR Telecom, replacing Paul Dickie, who remains on the Board. Former Bell Canada executive Louis Tanguay has been added to the Board. TWO MILLION IN U.S. USE NUMBER PORTABILITY: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission says that over two million customers have taken advantage of Wireless Local Number Portability since cellular carriers were required to offer it last November. Most have moved their numbers from one wireless carrier to another, but some made wireline-to- wireless transfers. ** Wireless Local Number Portability is currently mandatory in the top 100 U.S. markets; it must be offered everywhere in the U.S. starting May 24. MCI CHALLENGES BELL CONTRACT: MCI Canada (formerly WorldCom) says Bell Canada has refused to apply CDNA rates to its Digital Network Access services, on the grounds that they are part of a bundle provided under a Bell Nexxia contract. In a Part VII application to the CRTC, MCI says the contract is illegal because it has not received Commission approval as required under Decision 2002-76. www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2004/8622/w25_200404210.htm LOOK LOSS GROWS: Look Communications reports a first quarter loss of $1.7 million, up from $1.3 million a year ago. It lost 8,000 subscribers in the quarter, ending with 117,000 subscribers on March 31. SPOTNIK SIGNS SEVEN HOTELS FOR WI-FI: Spotnik Mobile has signed deals to install wireless LANs in seven Ontario hotels, including Hockley Valley Resort and Sheraton on the Falls. Spotnik, part-owned by Telus, says it has installed Wi-Fi in more than 50 hotels during the past year. BELL OFFERS MUSIC DOWNLOADS: Bell Canada's "Sympatico Music Store," announced last week, claims it offers more than 250,000 songs for downloading at 99 cents each. THINK TANK SAYS TELECOM REGULATION NOT NEEDED: The Montreal Economic Institute, a private research group, says that new developments in technology have made CRTC intervention in telecom obsolete. TORONTO, LOS ANGELES CARRIER HOTELS FORM ALLIANCE: 151 Front Street West, a Toronto "carrier hotel" that provides facilities to over 150 telecom companies, has formed a co-marketing alliance with One Wilshire, a similar facility in Los Angeles. CISCO SALES, PROFITS RISE: For the quarter ended May 1, Cisco Systems had sales of US$5.6 billion, 22% higher than the same period a year ago. Net income was $1.2 billion, compared to $987 million. During the quarter, Cisco shipped its three-millionth IP phone. IP NET EXPANDS AIRPORT CAPACITY: The Greater Toronto Airport Authority says its new IP-based fibre network has increased the airport's ability to handle passengers, planes, and baggage by 15%. The May issue of Telemanagement, now available online for subscribers, features an special report on a unique installation other airports will emulate. Also in this issue: ** Understanding and Managing Wi-Fi Performance ** CRTC Sets VoIP Policy Review ** How Real Is Wireless Substitution? You can subscribe or add online access to your existing subscription from Angus TeleManagement's website. www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub-online.html ============================================================ 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. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 04:13:37 -0400 Subject: Internet Phone Service Vonage Hits 155,000 Users Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.forbes.com/technology/networks/newswire/2004/05/17/rtr1373314.html WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Vonage, which provides phone service over high-speed Internet lines, said on Monday it had hit the 155,000 customers mark and was adding more than 20,000 users a month. The company, which reached 100,000 users in February, also said it was lowering the price of its unlimited calling plan for new and existing residential customers to $30 from $35. Full story at: http://www.forbes.com/technology/networks/newswire/2004/05/17/rtr1373314.html 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: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 04:22:50 -0400 Subject: Vonage Calls on Behavioral-Based Ads Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=27725 By: Mickey Alam Khan Senior Editor mickey@dmnews.com Vonage, a telecommunications company that delivers telephone calls over the Internet, this week breaks the first three subsets of an online advertising campaign to gain subscribers for its flat-fee service. The campaign uses Oddcast-technology animated conversational characters in Claria sliders and pop-unders -- behavioral-based ads served while the user surfs -- in addition to a presence on Yahoo. "This is about finding ways to speak more specifically to those audiences out there that could become Vonage customers," said Judy Gern, vice president and group account director at Vonage agency Carat Interactive, Boston. [.....] All the Claria banners use Flash technology, without requiring special downloads. Users have to activate the voice feature, though the character already is moving its lips. [.....] "The reality is that you have to work with these banners," Gern said. "These Oddcast characters follow your cursor. Their mouth is moving. These are Flash lip-synching files. It's Flash, this isn't a new format for people to accept. This was easy to use on Yahoo, too. There's nothing here that a publisher needs to worry about." [Comment: Except maybe annoying the hell out of web surfers! It's things like this that cause me to refuse to allow Flash to be installed on my system.] Full story at: http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=27725 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 04:35:05 -0400 Subject: With Voice-Over-Internet Bell Tolls, Finally, For Bell (Canada) Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1084745406936&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851 TYLER HAMILTON Shai Burstein is where the future of telecommunications is going. Like many Ontarians, he resists the authority and monopoly-like dominance of Bell Canada whenever the opportunity allows. So when Primus Canada launched its TalkBroadband voice-over-Internet telephone service earlier this year, he was among the first to sign up. But he didn't stop there. When Vonage, the leading broadband voice provider in the United States, launched in Canada at the end of March, Burstein signed up for that as well. He now uses both the Primus and Vonage services and is saving oodles of money at home and work. For example, with the Vonage service Burstein pays $35 a month for a local calling plan that also gives him unlimited calling to anywhere in the province and 500 minutes of free long-distance calls to any location in North America outside of Ontario. "It's a great plan," says Burstein, who uses the service at his company Trend Marketing, a small importer and wholesaler of women's shoes. He's talking through his Vonage service during the interview, and from where I'm sitting on the other end, the quality of the call nearly matches a traditional phone line. "I was paying about $250 a month for long-distance fees calling customers only in Canada." Now, his bill rarely exceeds $35. One of the things currently protecting the big telephone companies from losing local telephone revenues is that they bundle local service with high-speed Internet services. This is important. If you're one of the millions of Canadians who use Bell's High-Speed Sympatico but decide one day you want to want to go all-wireless or all-VoIP for your local calling, you've still got to pay for Bell's local service in order to keep getting the high-speed product. Call-Net Enterprises Inc., parent of Sprint Canada, cited this disadvantage last year when it asked the telephone regulator to force Bell and other incumbents to "unbundle" local from high-speed Internet service. Full story at: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1084745406936&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Southwestern Bell (SBC) also tried that tactic here in the USA. If you want high-speed computer service (for example, Vonage or FWD; others) then you gotta keep us around to use the DSL line. My answer was to throw them out anyway, and get CableOne for high speed and Prairie Stream for backup landline service. You can't really tell the difference. Anyone who is tempted to try Vonage, you can get an e-coupon for a month of free service by writing to me and asking for it. ptownson@massis.csail.mit.edu PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 04:27:57 -0400 Subject: VoIP in a Dynamic Communications Market Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.convergedigest.com/blueprint/ttp04/z3ti1.asp?ID=117&ctgy=2 by Joe Crupi, Vice President, Broadband Communications Group Texas Instruments Once thought of as a simpler, cheaper replacement for circuit switched telephony, VoIP is proving to be a much more useful, and as a result, much more ubiquitous technology. In a very short amount of time, VoIP has found its way onto the desktop and into servers, gateways and operating systems for consumer electronics products. VoIP is growing in ways that could not have been foreseen at the time of its introduction in 1997. That growth is fueled largely by integration of the technology into many different communications environments. VoIP applications already extend well beyond traditional telephony, and other media are quickly merging. In addition, the proliferation of WiFi hotspots and home networking are enabling mobile VoIP. A real money saver One important driver of VoIP's increasing surge in popularity is that the cost per channel has become affordable making it cost effective to incorporate the technology into nearly every connected device. In 1997, VoIP cost about $1,000 per port. A T1 VoIP gateway device, such as a PBX, sold for $20,000. And price wasn't the only drawback -- there were no VoIP phones. The best digital signal processor (DSP) could handle only two channels of compressed IP voice. Needless to say, the VoIP environment has changed a great deal since then. Full story at: http://www.convergedigest.com/blueprint/ttp04/z3ti1.asp?ID=117&ctgy=2 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 11:21:34 -0400 Subject: Vonage Cuts Prices [and Eliminates Additional Line Discounts] Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44056 Vonage Cuts Prices Takes $5 off Unlimited local plan Amidst heavy competition in the sector, a Vonage rep has stopped by our VoIP forum to inform users the company will be dropping the base price of their US Residential Premium Unlimited Plan from $35 to $30. The company will however be discontinuing discounts given by having additional VoIP lines. The new pricing changes should be applied automatically to Unlimited customers as of May 17. Article plus reader comments at: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44056 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 11:39:58 -0400 Subject: Level 3 Expands Availability of Wholesale VoIP Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-17-2004/0002175287&STORY&EDATE= (3)VoIP(SM) Local Inbound Service to Deliver Local Calling Capability in More Than 300 U.S. Markets by End of June (3)VoIP Local Inbound Traffic Increasing an Average of 30 Percent Monthly BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) today announced that the availability of its (3)VoIP Local Inbound service will be expanded from 73 U.S. markets to more than 300 U.S. markets by the end of June. (3)VoIP Local Inbound service significantly reduces communications costs for foreign carriers, call center operators, conferencing providers, and other service providers that require a reliable and geographically expansive local calling infrastructure. The service complements Level 3's worldwide (3)Voice(R) Termination service and (3)VoIP Toll Free(SM), the company's toll-free, nationwide calling solution. "Level 3 has the most experience and expertise in the industry in originating, transporting and terminating IP-based telephone calls," said Kevin Dundon, senior vice president of Wholesale Voice Services for Level 3. "Since January 2004, (3)VoIP Local Inbound traffic has been increasing at an average monthly rate of approximately 30 percent. The expansion we announced today gives Level 3 much broader geographic coverage that significantly enhances our customers' ability to cost-effectively develop and deliver new and existing services for their end-user customers." The expansion of (3)VoIP Local Inbound service enables more than 80 percent of the U.S. population to have local dialing access to Level 3's customer base. Level 3 will receive calls that typically originate on the traditional telephone network and convert them to Internet Protocol for delivery to the customer's IP address. Customers can use (3)VoIP Local Inbound and (3)VoIP Toll Free services to leverage traditional telephone service capabilities while maintaining the control they need to create new products and services. With these services, customers can create and deliver applications faster, maximize call routing and back-end signaling efficiency, reduce maintenance and equipment costs, and increase their overall return on investment. "(3)VoIP Local Inbound teams with (3)VoIP Toll Free to provide local and nationwide call-origination options," said Gordon Boyes, vice president of Wholesale Voice Services for Level 3. "Customers can leverage the power, scope and economics of IP networks by converting PSTN calls into IP and directing them across Level 3's MPLS-enabled backbone for delivery to their own IP end- points." (3)VoIP Local Inbound service -- and its complementary (3)VoIP Toll Free service -- ride Level 3's softswitch platform, which is one of the largest in the world. The (3)VoIP Local Inbound service enables customers to: * Establish an immediate local presence in more than 300 markets across the United States; * Leverage the coverage and economics of the Internet; * Design and deliver new applications quickly and cost-effectively; * Streamline call flows. (3)Voice Termination Service (3)Voice Termination service, originally launched in December 1999, enables foreign and U.S. carriers, inter-exchange carriers, enhanced service providers, cable operators and other companies to terminate calls in the U.S. and abroad. (3)Voice Termination was the world's first long-distance voice service that offered customers voice quality indistinguishable from traditional telephone networks, but with the efficiencies and inherent cost advantages of IP. "Level 3's voice termination business has increased approximately 40 percent since the beginning of this year," said Frank de Bloois, vice president of (3)Voice Termination services for Level 3. "We believe the significant growth we're seeing is attributable to the quality and reliability of our IP network, and the cost-efficiencies and broad geographic coverage that our softswitch-based VoIP platform delivers." In December 2003, Level 3 significantly expanded its softswitch-based (3)Voice Termination service by enabling customers to hand off traffic directly to Level 3 using an IP interface, further lowering their fixed network costs and capital expenses. Level 3's expanded voice capability allows IP-to-IP interconnection with the Level 3 network at the high levels of security required for voice traffic. For more information about (3)VoIP Local Inbound and Level 3's full suite of wholesale voice services, please visit http://www.level3.com/2192.html. About Level 3 Communications Level 3 (Nasdaq: LVLT) is an international communications and information services company. The company operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and DSL partners. The company offers a wide range of communications services over its 22,500 mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, and patented softswitch managed modem and voice services. Its Web address is http://www.Level3.com. The company offers information services through its subsidiaries, Software Spectrum and (i)Structure. For additional information, visit their respective Web sites at http://www.softwarespectrum.com and http://www.i-structure.com. The Level 3 logo and (3)Voice are registered service marks, and (3)VoIP and (3)VoIP Toll Free are service marks of Level 3 Communications, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. (3)Voice, (3)VoIP and (3)VoIP Toll Free services are provided by Level 3 Communications, LLC. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 11:14:06 -0400 Subject: Cox Declares VOIP 'Ready for Prime Time' Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=52825 Cox Communications Inc. last week quietly released a white paper on voice-over-IP (VOIP), declaring the technology 'ready for prime time' -- a reversal of its opinion expressed in a white paper 15 months ago. The cable company says it can save 40 percent in capital expenditures per customer by deploying VOIP instead of circuit-switched telephony. Much of the savings comes from deploying relatively inexpensive multimedia terminal adapters (indoor devices that connect subscribers' phones to their cable modems) instead of costlier network interface units (outdoor devices that connect telephone wires to homes). Further savings come from using Cox's cable modem termination system (which provides data communications to subscribers' cable modems) instead of a headend interface terminal (which connects a circuit switch to a network). In a white paper released last year, Cox threw cold water on bullish predictions of 50 percent savings from VOIP, saying it expected 'about an 8-to-10 percent cost improvement when VOIP services are compared apples-to-apples with primary-line, circuit-switched, network-powered phone services.' In the apples-to-apples comparison, the cost of providing VOIP included a network interface unit mounted on the side of a home and powered by Cox. If subscribers instead bought and powered their own multimedia terminal adapters, VOIP could cost as much as 75 percent less than circuit-switched phone service, Cox said. So, what has changed in the past 15 months? "Over that span of time, we've tested several different vendors and pieces of equipment in the network and had time to actually put it in the hands of our employees and some market-test customers," says Mike Pacifico, director of marketing for Cox's digital telephone business. "At the end of the trial, we felt it was on par with circuit-switched quality." Full story at: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=52825 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 12:10:31 -0400 Subject: AT&T's CallVantage Service Expands to Serve the Western United States Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-17-2004/0002175772&EDATE= Coast-to-Coast Rollout Continues With Expansion to 16 Western Markets Including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Washington Introductory Promotion Offers Unlimited Calling and Advanced Features at 50 Percent Off Regular Price of $39.99 Per Month BEDMINSTER, N.J., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T today announced the availability of its residential Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, called AT&T CallVantage(SM) Service, providing residents throughout the Western United States a high-tech alternative for their personal communications needs. AT&T CallVantage Service began setting benchmarks six weeks ago for what the company believes will be the industry's most reliable and innovative broadband phone service in the country. To date, it has made the service generally available to consumers in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas. Now the company is expanding its service footprint in Phoenix; Boulder- Longmont, Denver and Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado; Portland-Vancouver and Salem, Oregon; Bellingham, Bremerton, Olympia, Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; as well as the Sacramento, Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Santa Rosa, Vallejo- Fairfield-Napa and Ventura areas of California. "AT&T already provides traditional residential local service to more than 4 million households nationwide, but AT&T CallVantage Service marks the beginning of an exciting new era in voice communications that gives customers another competitive choice," said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "AT&T continues to lead the adoption of VoIP services by both businesses and consumers as it delivers the next generation of communications that our customers demand," said Martine. Full (and very verbose) press release at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-17-2004/0002175772&EDATE= ------------------------------ 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. 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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 #244 ******************************