From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu May 27 15:17:53 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4RJHqx21954; Thu, 27 May 2004 15:17:53 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 15:17:53 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405271917.i4RJHqx21954@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 #262 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 2004 15:18:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 262 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Adds New Features and Enhances AT&T CallVantage Service (VOIP News) VOIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life (VOIP News) Cable Firm to Challenge AT&T With Speedy Net Phone Lines (VOIP News) Comcast Goes Digital With Phone Service (VOIP News) CNN/Money: Are You Ready for a Net Phone? (VOIP News) Equant Polishes up its VOIP Phone (VOIP News) DSL vs. Cable Modem? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices (Al Gillis) Re: The Strike Goes On (Tony P.) Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (Gary Novosielski) Future of Cellular Phone (test) Why Would I Want a Local T1? (BR) 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. 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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: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:16:33 -0400 Subject: AT&T Adds New Features and Enhances AT&T CallVantage Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-27-2004/0002182853&EDATE= New Capabilities Provide Even More Control, Convenience and Simplicity BEDMINSTER, N.J., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T today announced the immediate availability of new enhancements to its feature-rich AT&T CallVantage(SM) Service that will provide users with even more control and convenience over their broadband calling experience. The new capabilities are the first in a long series of innovations the company plans to add to this popular new Voice over Internet Protocol service. "AT&T CallVantage Service is an exciting, new technology that promises to transform the way people communicate and today it's getting even better," said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "One of AT&T's key IP telephony strengths is the technological leadership, vision and capabilities of AT&T Labs. We expect to continually introduce new features and capabilities that will set the standards for VoIP and provide our customers with the most reliable and innovative broadband phone service in the country." The first new feature is the introduction of an online, searchable "Phone Book," that provides users the ability to store up to 250 names and phone numbers on their Personal Call Manager homepage with click-to-dial accessibility. Names and numbers can be quickly shared between AT&T CallVantage Service features like Call Logs, Voice Mail Logs and Speed Dial. At the heart of AT&T CallVantage Service is its Phone Feature Manager that is accessible by phone or online and puts users in command of all their services. A discrete telephone number provides connectivity from any phone in the world. In response to user feedback, the company is now introducing "Simplified Dialing" from an AT&T CallVantage Service phone by simply dialing '***'. This immediately connects users to the Phone Feature Manager, where customers can check their voicemail, record a personal greeting, and turn features like Do Not Disturb and Locate Me on and off. Additional systems enhancements introduced today also include: * "10-digit Dialing," enabling callers to dial either the 10-digit telephone number or 1+ the ten-digit number; * "Call Log Sorting," to make it easy and convenient for users to find a number and track the calls they've placed and received. * "Multiple E-Mail Recipients," allowing users the ability to send alerts and forward voicemail messages to multiple e-mail addresses; * "Searchable Help," enables users to find useful information in the "Help" and "FAQ" areas more quickly and easily. * "Personal Conferencing Enhancements," enables easier scheduling by making it possible to e-mail conference call information to call participants and the scheduling of recurring conference reservations. And, conference call participants will now receive a five-minute notice that a conference call is scheduled to end and have the ability to extend it in real time. In addition, AT&T soon will phase in "Caller ID with Name," a new enhancement that will display the incoming caller's telephone number and name on a caller ID unit or caller ID-equipped phone as well as being displayed in Call Logs and Voicemail Logs. The outbound caller's name and phone number also will be displayed to the called party. "All of these new capabilities are being provided to all AT&T CallVantage subscribers at no additional charge," added Martine. "It's just our way to enhance the customer experience." Introduced in late March to select markets, AT&T CallVantage is receiving rave reviews for its quality, reliability and innovative features. Now, in just a matter of eight weeks, AT&T is introducing the first set of new enhancements that simplify the management of calls and messages and makes the service even easier to use. AT&T CallVantage Service is available at a special introductory rate of $19.99 a month for the first six months to those who subscribe by June 30, 2004. It will cost $39.99 a month thereafter. [..... COMMENT: Note that this monthly rate (after the introductory period ends) is higher than every other major VoIP provider in the United States -- in fact it is about double the rate charged by the lowest priced providers, such as BroadVoice and Packet8, and in my opinion both VoicePulse and Vonage offer far more useful features for the average residential user, both at a significantly lower monthly rate. But, if you need one of the features offered by CallVantage and no one else, then perhaps it is worth the higher rate to you. Continuing on with the press release ...] The service is different than traditional phone services because through the use of IP-based networks it can offer customers typical features such as call waiting, three-way calling, and call forwarding, and far more advanced ones as well. Indeed, consumers will get unprecedented convenience and control with innovative features including: * "Call Logs," to track incoming and outgoing calling; * "Do Not Disturb," to receive calls only when wanted; * "Locate Me," which rings up to five phones, all at once, or sequentially. All that is required for service is an easy-to-connect, plug-in telephone adapter (TA) provided by AT&T, a DSL or cable high-speed Internet connection and regular telephone and PC supplied by the customer. It is simple to use and easy for consumers to install - typically in 10 minutes. And, the adapter can be used from almost any location where there is a telephone and a broadband connection. That gives customers the ability to stay connected by taking this service with them when they travel. The company's commitment is to expand AT&T CallVantage Service to 100 major markets by year's end as part of AT&T's growing strategic focus on IP- based communications services. To date, the service has been launched in 34 markets or one-third of the way to that ambitious goal. The company expects to sign up 1 million business and consumer users by year-end 2005. Later this year, AT&T plans to expand its industry-leading portfolio of business VoIP services with the introduction of a telework solution based on the features and capabilities of AT&T CallVantage Service. To learn more about AT&T CallVantage Service, consumers can visit http://www.CallVantage.com or call 1-866-816-3815 extension 70339. 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: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:38:39 -0400 Subject: VoIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com COMMENT: I, for one, would like to know what is covered by this patent application. If it's simply the fact that when someone dials 911 their call would be routed to the PSTN rather than the customer's VoIP service, then I suspect there are numerous examples of "prior art" around - for example this method of rerouting 911 calls has been discussed in the BroadbandReports.com VoIP forum. In any case, I'm starting to get the idea that this just might be a company that wants to make their money off of so-called "intellectual property" rather than by actually offering anything truly innovative, but time will tell what sort of mark they leave on the world and on the VoIP industry. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040527005296&newsLang=en May 27, 2004 09:03 AM US Eastern Timezone VoIP, Inc. Files Patent Application for 911 Emergency Life Line Technology; Technology Will Significantly Enhance Voice Over IP Services FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2004--VoIP, Inc. (OTCBB:VOII) today announced that it has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent application is titled "Method and System for Back-up of Voice Over IP Emergency Calls." The application describes a technological process for a specific coding scheme to redirect certain call types based on emergency dialing patterns, such as "911." Based on the number pattern dialed, the call will be redirected to the legacy emergency telephony system, allowing the user to reach critical fire, police, and other services from VoIP-capable devices. This is a critical differentiator in assured delivery of calls using VoIP telephony devices, because today the delivery of emergency calls over VoIP networks has been plagued with problems during the transition period to next-generation phone services. In addition to specific call routing of emergency calls out to traditional "copper-based" 911 facilities, the device also provides a fail-safe mechanism for routing calls during power failure events. The device will automatically pass calls out to the traditional PSTN during power failures, thus guaranteeing connectivity even during A/C power failures, which would cause complete dialing failure with other VoIP equipment in the same class. These FCC-approved devices allow transparent connection to the PSTN network and the SIP-based VoIP next-generation networks and maintain the emergency services that customers have come to expect in telephony-style platforms. The ability to use geographically-based emergency services location ability is a huge step forward in the advancement of VoIP services and their integration into existing telephony infrastructure. The regulatory and government environment is still formulating a plan for emergency dialing methods for VoIP, and this device allows for use in environments where regulatory requirements may prohibit network-only emergency dialing in the near future. VoIP, Inc.'s Chief Technology Officer, John Todd, said, "We will be filing additional patent applications before year-end as we continue to develop and enhance our core technologies and the product portfolio they support. If all the claims made in this application are approved, they could represent a major positive step for VoIP, Inc. and its customers with 911 services inside their products. Moreover, we believe it would continue to solidify our position as a premier Voice Over IP innovator and strengthen the technology platform upon which we can expand market share." VoIP, Inc.'s (www.voipincorporated.com) goal is to become a world leader in providing Voice Over IP customer premise equipment, and in addition, premium Voice Over IP subscriber-based enhanced telephony services, as well as innovative WiFi and WiMAX technology solutions for residential and enterprise customers globally. Full press release at: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040527005296&newsLang=en ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 11:03:28 -0400 Subject: Cable Firm to Challenge AT&T With Speedy Net Phone Lines Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/27/BUG4B6S8CU1.DTL Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer Are you ready for a Net phone? Comcast, the Bay Area's dominant cable company, plans to offer telephone service over high-speed Internet lines by 2006, marking the latest entry by a major telecommunication firm into this nascent business. The service will allow customers to make calls using regular phones, with the audio routed online using a technology called voice over Internet protocol. The rollout will place Comcast in direct competition with AT&T, which unveiled its own Internet telephone service in April for most of California. At the same time, Comcast will be up against industry upstarts Vonage and 8x8. "Once people have an opportunity to look at the (Internet telephone) service, we think that a significant number of them will give us a try," said Robert Smith, a Comcast spokesman. Full story at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/05/27/BUG4B6S8CU1.DTL ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 04:36:15 -0400 Subject: Comcast Goes Digital With Phone Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0405/27/b01-165354.htm Setup will allow telephone calls over the Internet Detroit News staff and wire reports PHILADELPHIA Comcast Corp., Michigan's dominant cable company and the largest provider in the country, plans to offer digital phone service to almost all its customers nationwide by the end of 2006. Comcast will begin digital phone service this year in three cities Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Springfield, Mass. CEO Brian Roberts made the announcement at the company's annual meeting in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The company's phone service will be provided over its cable systems using so-called Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, a less expensive way to send calls than over traditional phone lines. Comcast already offers phone service in 55 Michigan communities, mostly in Metro Detroit. Although the signals enter homes through Comcast's cable lines, the service currently runs through a switched network similar to traditional phone lines and costs about the same as service from SBC Communications Inc. The all-digital service will send signals as data over the Internet. About 1.2 million Comcast customers nationwide currently get phone service from the company; officials will not say how many are in Michigan. Full story at: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0405/27/b01-165354.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 13:33:31 -0400 Subject: CNN/Money: Are You Ready for a Net Phone? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/26/pf/comcastvoip/ Telephones are evolving into Internet gizmos. Will making the switch save you money? By Les Christie CNN/Money contributing writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Cable TV giant Comcast announced Wednesday that it plans to offer Internet-based phone service to its 40 million households by the end of 2005. The news caused a flurry of interest in the burgeoning business of Internet telephony. It may also soon lead consumers to ask just what Internet telephony is and whether they should get in on it. Full story at: http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/26/pf/comcastvoip/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 13:35:59 -0400 Subject: Equant Polishes up its VoIP Offer Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2004/0527eq.html By Denise Pappalardo Network World Fusion, 05/27/04 Equant is expanding the availability of its voice-over-IP service and lowering its per-minute service rates for customers. The carrier this week announced that its Voice for IP VPN service is now available in 17 additional countries, costs less and will support multiple vendor products by year-end. Equant's Voice for IP VPN service, which runs over the carrier's Multiprotocol Label Switching IP network, is now available in 93 countries. Algeria, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are three of the 17 new countries the carrier has added this year. The carrier has also benefited from recent regulatory approvals in China and India, says Michael Burrell, head of enterprise telephony at Equant. Equant has been offering on-net voice over its VPN service to customers in China and India for a couple of years. But it was not permitted to terminate calls outside of a user's corporate network. Both countries have made changes to their telecommunications regulations that lift those restrictions. Now Equant customers can make voice-over-IP calls destined for locations outside of their company to Europe or the U.S. from China, Burrell says. Additional countries, such as Costa Rica and Mexico, are expected to be added to the list of countries where Voice for IP VPN will be available this year. Full story at: http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2004/0527eq.html ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: DSL vs. Cable Modem? Date: 27 May 2004 07:56:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com My local telephone company (Verizon) and cable TV company (Comcast) have been running an aggressive TV ad campaign pushing their respecting high speed data services. Verizon is pushing DSL while Comcast is pushing cable modem. Each says they're far superior (faster data and more reliable) and cheaper than the other. Any opinions on cable modems vs. DSL in today's world? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As long as DSL is effectively the 'property' of the established, traditional telephone companies, (that is, give up your traditional telephone service and you cannot have DSL), then a lot of subscribers are left high and dry. Telco seems to be betting that this 'all from us or nothing from us' approach will work to their benefit. In fact, it may hasten the demise of Bell even more. Take my case, which I think is sort of typical: I was spending a hundred dollars plus per month on phone and DSL from Southwestern Bell, and extra for what little long distance I use. Cable was another $50-60 per month, for a limited package of basic stuff only (60 channels). By eliminating Bell totally (I use Prairie Stream in a combined local phone and LD package) which costs $25 per month and cable internet which includes all the 'premium' cable television channels for $100 per month, I save a little money on the total bill. If Bell ever released their tight grip on DSL as a general rule, it might be different, but for those of us who are disabled and with fixed incomes from Social Security, we just cannot afford to get huge packages from Bell in order to use our computers effeciently *and* a package from cable as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Western Union Public Telegraph Offices Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 20:01:10 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com A couple of comments below: Lisa Hancock wrote in message news:telecom23.256.3@telecom-digest.org: (Some Snippage) > Union pressures forced the elimination of telegraph boys and > staff cutbacks. I knew someone who worked in one of their computer > centers around 1975 and she reported the job paid very well for the > type of work, but was very closely monitored. The computer checked > every keystroke and counted all errors as well as tracking time away > such as in the restroom. Back in the days of "keypunch" machines the newer products replaced paper cards with the same records written onto magnetic tape. These computerized keypunch machines were computers themselves, of course, and fed the data processing professionals appetite for reports, charts and graphs. The systems kept track of every document keyed, every keystroke entered, every misteak and correction and provided "management reports". All those stats were then posted on a bulliten board for one and all to see. The pressure, subtle or not, was to go faster and faster. > I once had an installer come out who was a contractor (not a > Verizon employee -- his truck had the Verizon sign just taped on as > opposed to painted on.) He was rude and slovenly. I contested and > received credit for his charges afterwards. In the meantime, the > CWA (Communications Workers of America) have sought to unionize > workers in new industries. The current "New Yorker" magazine has a cartoon (page 54) showing a sloppy, unshaved telephone technician working on the network interface box. The woman of the house there with her arms folded and looking very pi**ed. The telephone man (a mere contractor, no doubt) is saying her "Look, Lady, we're not bad people - we're just really lousy at what we do." So I guess some things don't change, do they!!! Al ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 03:59:02 GMT In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, the workers can't have it both > ways, either. Did it occur to you that much of the union excesses of > the 1970-80's was partially responsible for the condition things are > in today, with all the outsourcing of labor to India and such places? > PAT] But how does that account for those of us who have never been part of a union, yet feel the effects of the outsourcing movement? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You account for it this way: You are sitting, clothed, reading a book next to a swimming pool when a big, fat lady jumps off the diving board doing a belly flop. The splash of the water is going to wreck your clothes and your book. The employers are saying "It is nothing personal; we have been getting eaten alive by the unions for many, many years, maybe even before you were old enough to be in the work place." If you are 'feeling the effects of the outsourcing movement', don't blame the employers, blame the unions for their infamous greed over the years. Another example: politicians are fond of reminding us that our nation's trillions of dollars' debt and eventual social security shortfall is going to be a horrible burden on our grandchildren and great-grandchilden yet to be born. *They* will be the ones to eventually have to stand in disgrace as the 'national debt' is repudiated (and it will be some day; can't see any way around it) and the old people and disabled are left to fend for themselves when the social security pot goes dry and we run out of creative ways and excuses to re-arrange our federal budget. You are seeing a mini-version of that now as employers flee while there is still some safety for them. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Gary Novosielski Subject: Re: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 04:56:05 GMT gene wrote: > I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their > technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup > feed from. Her answer:"What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using > Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. I know there are NG > providers that you can sign up with for a monthly fee. Up to now > though all the ISPs I've used provide one in their regular package for > no cost. Thanks for any information. Yes, I use Verizon DSL, and news is included "free" in the monthly cost. The news server is nominally news.verizon.net. Using the news server requires login with your assigned username and password, which is typically handled automatically by your newsreader software once you configure the account. The servers are reasonably quick, and the list of newsgroups seems complete. ------------------------------ From: e250tani@st.yatsushiro-nct.ac.jp (test) Subject: Future of Cellular Phone Date: 27 May 2004 00:12:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Now, as for the cellular phone, advanced functions are progressing. Goods can already be purchased using a cellular phone with a vending machine. In the future, what other possibilities can be considered? Please tell me your idea. It is OK also in a dreamlike idea. ------------------------------ From: xasdfg123456@yahoo.com (xasdfg123456@yahoo.com) Subject: Why Would I Want a Local T1? Date: 27 May 2004 11:45:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I am confused about something: why would I want my own local T1 into my office? It seems like it would be less expensive to use the local carrier's lines that are already in place in the building then having our own dedicated circuit installed. Why do people do this? Thanks. BR [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Because everyone in your building would share the same T1. Some people, for various reasons, do not like to share, either because they need the bandwidth or they have security concerns, or maybe they are just greedy. Shared facilities are always cheaper, if that's your only concern. PAT] ------------------------------ 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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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 #262 ******************************