From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jun 21 16:28:00 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i5LKRxE29928; Mon, 21 Jun 2004 16:28:00 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 16:28:00 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200406212028.i5LKRxE29928@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 #300 TELECOM Digest Mon, 21 Jun 2004 16:28:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 300 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #438, June 21, 2004 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email (Robert Bonomi) Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email (Nick Landsberg) Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email (Danny Burstein) Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email (Barry Margolin) NPA-N00 Numbers (was Strange 202 Number) (Neal McLain) Re: Who Got the Message? There's a Way to Know (Paul Vader) Re: VoIP Regulation Status (Alex) Re: Telus Has Fraudulently Forced Advertising on our Company (Evan Ross) VoIP Awareness Still Low and Confusion Running High (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, 21 Jun 2004 10:12:29 -0400 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #438, June 21, 2004 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 438: June 21, 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: ** Bell Offers $5 Long Distance Bundle ** Primus Enters Home Phone Business ** Telus Microcell Bid Closes Tomorrow ** VoIP Comments Submitted ** FTC Rejects "Do Not Spam" Registry ** Broadband to Reach 20 Rural Ontario Communities ** Ottawa Plaza Drops Fee for Wi-Fi ** BCE Completes Emergis Sale ** Nortel Spins Off Directory Info Business ** Allstream Intros Digital Ink ** E-Commerce Conference Rescheduled ** Telemanagement Conference Announces Major Sponsors ** Does Telecom Policy Need an Overhaul? ============================================================ BELL OFFERS $5 LONG DISTANCE BUNDLE: Consumers who sign 24- month contracts for two of Bell Canada's high-speed Internet, wireless, or television services can now add 1,000 minutes/month of long distance for $5 a month. Long distance calls can be made anytime to anywhere in Canada or the U.S.; after 1,000 minutes, calls are 5 cents/minute. PRIMUS ENTERS HOME PHONE BUSINESS: Primus Telecommunications has begun offering traditional circuit-switched home phone service in 14 markets from Halifax to Victoria, using Allstream as its underlying carrier. Basic service is $29.95/month; an Unlimited Bundle, including all calling features and unlimited Canada and U.S. LD, is $54.95/month. TELUS MICROCELL BID CLOSES TOMORROW: Microcell shareholders have until June 22 to accept Telus's offer to buy their shares for a total purchase price of $1.1 billion. Microcell's board has recommended against the offer; Telus won't buy the shares unless two-thirds are tendered. VoIP COMMENTS SUBMITTED: On June 18, over two dozen submissions were filed in the CRTC's VoIP proceeding (PN 2004-2, see Telecom Update #428). They should be posted on the CRTC website today. Highlights include: ** Many competitors support the CRTC's preliminary views: in particular, extending current local competition rules to VoIP. ** Bell, Aliant, SaskTel, and Telebec say they have no market power in VoIP, so none of their VoIP services should be regulated. Bell requests forbearance for the MIPS (IP Centrex) service for which it recently filed a tariff (see Telecom Update #437) ** Telus says its "access-independent" VoIP should not be regulated, but services tied to access should come under current rules. ** Most agree that VoIP providers should be required to support 9-1-1, services to the disabled, and privacy features, but they differ on the urgency and how strict the requirement should be. www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2004/8663/c12_200402892.htm FTC REJECTS "DO NOT SPAM" REGISTRY: In a report to Congress, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission says that at the present time, a National Do Not E-mail Registry would not reduce spam and could not be enforced. The Commission believes that anti-spam efforts should focus on creating an e-mail authentication system to prevent spammers from hiding their tracks. www.ftc.gov/reports/dneregistry/report.pdf BROADBAND TO REACH 20 RURAL ONTARIO COMMUNITIES: With funding from the Ontario Government COBRA program and Bell Canada, infrastructure construction will begin this fall to extend high-speed Internet access to public institutions in the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry and Prescott-Russell counties, as well as the Akwesasne First Nation. OTTAWA PLAZA DROPS FEE FOR WI-FI: The attempt to introduce fees for wireless Internet access in a downtown Ottawa shopping mall has failed. Announcing their decision to resume free service, BelNet and AirRoamer say that paid usage was "extremely low and not serving the objective of attracting Wireless Internet users to the World Exchange Plaza." BCE COMPLETES EMERGIS SALE: BCE Inc. has completed the transfer of its shares in BCE Emergis to purchasers of 66 million subscription receipts. As part of the deal, BCE Emergis has approved a special cash distribution of $1.45 per common share. NORTEL SPINS OFF DIRECTORY INFO BUSINESS: Nortel Networks has agreed to transfer part of its directory and operator services business to VoltDelta, in return for a stake in the New York-based company. About 160 Nortel employees will join VoltDelta. ALLSTREAM INTROS DIGITAL INK: Allstream has begun offering Digital Ink Solutions, a product that enables electronic data capture of handwritten information. Information entered on preprinted forms, using a "special ballpoint digital camera productivity pen," can be uploaded to a computer through a USB connection. E-COMMERCE CONFERENCE RESCHEDULED: "E-Commerce to e-Economy," an Industry Canada-sponsored conference originally scheduled for June 21-22 and postponed because of the federal elections, will now be held 27-28 September in Ottawa. www.e-economy.ca TELEMANAGEMENT CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES MAJOR SPONSORS: Avaya, Bell Canada, Cisco Systems, OneConnect, the United Telecom Council of Canada, and Telus have all agreed to be major sponsors of the Telemanagement Live! conference scheduled for October 20-21 in Toronto. ** The user-focused conference on business telecom and networking is being organized by Angus Dortmans Associates and PW Ritchie & Associates. For information, go to www.telemanagementlive.com. DOES TELECOM POLICY NEED AN OVERHAUL? The June Telemanagement features an exclusive interview with Bell Canada Executive VP Lawson Hunter on why Canada's biggest telco wants a telecom policy review, and an analysis of the issues by Lis and Ian Angus. Also in this issue: ** Implementing Enterprise Mobile Data Applications ** What's Behind Telus's Bid for Fido? ** Is VoIP Really Nearing the Takeoff Point? Telemanagement is available only by subscription: To become a subscriber -- including unlimited access to Telemanagement's extensive online content -- visit Angus TeleManagement Group's website or phone 800-263-4415 x500. ============================================================ 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. ------------------------------ Organization: Robert Bonomi Consulting Subject: Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:38:46 +0000 In article , Barry Margolin wrote: > In article , Brian > wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Excuse me Brian, but it is unclear to >> me how Telus, or any ISP you wish to use, is able to prevent you from >> logging into and using as desired, the mail service of any other ISP >> where you have an account and are otherwise authorized to use the >> service. > Have you been living under a rock, Pat? > It has become a frequent practice for ISPs to have packet filters that > block their residential customers from connecting to port 25 on any > address other than the ISP's SMTP server. This is done to prevent > spammers and zombies from bypassing the ISP's server, which has > throttles to prevent them from sending huge amounts of mail. > Some ISPs, like Comcast, are doing this selectively -- if a customer has > been identified as a source of spam, they are blocked. But it's more > common to have a blanket filter across the network. > If your ISP isn't doing this, you're lucky. But quite a few ISPs are > doing it -- it's much less overhead than the staff necessary to follow > up on spam complaints. > Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu > Arlington, MA > *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'll need to try this and see. When > using Outlook for example, if I send outgoing mail through CableOne > while claiming it originated from my account at TerraWorld, or the > other way around, and see if Terra World will accept mail that Outlook > says came from me at CableOne. Maybe it won't work. PAT] You *STILL* don't get it. Try using TerraWorld's _outgoing_mail_server_ while connected via CableOne. Or, using CableOne's server while on the TerraWorld dial-in. *THAT* is the equivalent situation to what the original poster was bitching about. Only a very _few_ providers go so far as to 'require' that the 'From' address on the email belong to the provider's domain. The OP _does_ have valid reasons to bypass his ISP's mail-server. It =is= still possible for him to do so. He merely has to adapt to the changed times. His entire complaint can be summarized as 'The world has changed, and I don't like it'. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I just now tried this. I got onto Terra World and used Outlook to send outgoing spam to myself *making a claim that I was really at cableone*; Terraworld would not allow it. If I went into Outlook and changed my default (which usually is cableone) over to terraworld (in other words admitting to the recipient of the mail who I really was) then terraworld would accept the mail. Earlier I was using the mail client on Terraworld rather than my own client (Outlook) which I guess got me confused, since I was using the mail client on the ISP itself. When using *my mail client* (Outlook) then Terraworld would not accept anything from me unless I was Terraworld. When I shut down the dialup and went back to highspeed at cableone then again using *my mail client* (Outlook) the same thing happened. Cable One would only accept mail outbound from cableone and would not accept my claim that I was using TerraWorld. Using the mail clients on the ISPs (Terra or Cable) worked just fine, but I apparently forgot that my own client (Outlook) goes to whoever or whatever is controlling the computer at the moment, thus I approach either ISP as a third-party intruder and that I was not trying to use the mail clients on Terra or Cable but had introduced *my own mail client* into the picture, and that unless my own mail client was auth- orized i.e passwords and satisfactory parameters otherwise (per whatever Terra or Cable individually demanded) I would not get through. As long as I was on terraworld dial up and had my Outlook parameters correct I could send mail out through terraworld. As long as I was on CableOne high speed and had my Outlook parameters correct I could send mail through CableOne. This is all clear as mud to me, so I guess you are correct. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Nick Landsberg Reply-To: hukolau@NOSPAM.att.net Subject: Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:58:01 GMT Barry Margolin wrote: > In article , Brian > wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Excuse me Brian, but it is unclear to >> me how Telus, or any ISP you wish to use, is able to prevent you from >> logging into and using as desired, the mail service of any other ISP >> where you have an account and are otherwise authorized to use the >> service. > Have you been living under a rock, Pat? > It has become a frequent practice for ISPs to have packet filters that > block their residential customers from connecting to port 25 on any > address other than the ISP's SMTP server. This is done to prevent > spammers and zombies from bypassing the ISP's server, which has > throttles to prevent them from sending huge amounts of mail. > Some ISPs, like Comcast, are doing this selectively -- if a customer has > been identified as a source of spam, they are blocked. But it's more > common to have a blanket filter across the network. > If your ISP isn't doing this, you're lucky. But quite a few ISPs are > doing it -- it's much less overhead than the staff necessary to follow > up on spam complaints. As it turns out, my ISP (ATT-Worldnet), won't accept port 25 connections unless they originate on their network. When I got broadband (just last week) I kept my Worldnet account and phone lines as a backup, just as Pat does. When I tried to access my worldnet mail, send mail or read netnews over the broadband connection, I was blocked. Tech support directed me to a web page they have which lists different servers and ports than the standard ones. They also require a secure connection (SSL). Given some of the discussions upthread, I presume that this is also a SPAM-fighting measure. It may be (as other posters have noted), that the "far end" ISP the original poster had is also set up this way and that changing the ports to which mail is sent will solve the problem. > Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu > Arlington, MA > *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'll need to try this and see. When > using Outlook for example, if I send outgoing mail through CableOne > while claiming it originated from my account at TerraWorld, or the > other way around, and see if Terra World will accept mail that Outlook > says came from me at CableOne. Maybe it won't work. PAT] "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious" - A. Bloch ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 07:53:30 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC Explaining port 25 a bit more: When you hook up to a distant computer, you knock on its internet protocol address. Now, depending on what you're trying to do, your knock adds in which "extension" (or "port") you're trying to get to. If you give the command: telnet 123.456.789.111 your computer will hook up to the one at 123 ... and, since you're using default telnet, use port 23. NOTE that your system doesn't go "directly" there. It first has to get the electronic equivalent of a bus ticket from your local station (your local isp). Which will see which extension you're looking for and decide whether or not to pass you along. If you're trying to send smtp mail (historically), you'd be telnettng to port 25 of the distant machine. You'd then submit the e-mail and it would deliver it. HOWEVER, because of spam, a very hefty number of local ISPs will NOT allow you to get out of your local company if you're trying to get to port 25. So you can no longer hook up to that distant machine and drop the mail off. That's no big deal for 99% of legit e-mail. You have no "real" need to go out there. Instead, you submit it to your local ISP's mail server, and it takes the e-mail and relays it out. Now some folk do have that need. For example, if your local ISP runs a lousy mail server and is slow, or only lets you send pieces that are only 100k in size ... then you might need to bypass it. Or ... you may be telecommuting and need all your outgoing e-mail to be "from" your company, with no hint of the local ISP in it. In the old days that was no problem. With port 25 blocking, it's a bit trickier. An ISP may have provisions for "remote" customers to reach its mail servers, through ports other than the blocked 25, *and* to *authenticate* themselves and then send out. So far, at least, no one's sent out a virus that can control a computer well enough to mimic these requirements. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Telus Prevents Residential Clients From Sending Email Organization: Looking for work Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:56:25 -0400 In article , bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Excuse me. Telus did not 'admit' any > such thing; well one tech person (who may or may not have understood > him correctly) did, but the other one did not. And I do not for the > purposes of this discussion have a 'shell account'; I just connect > directly to whichever ISP I wish to use and from there proceed to use > the mail service there. If I dial into TerraWorld to use them then I > also tell Outlook to make the outgoing mail 'originate' from Terra > World, or if I connect through Cable One then to make the same > piece of mail 'originate' from cableone.net . PAT] But the OP's complaint is that he's connected through Telus but wants (for some reason he wasn't fully clear on) his email to *not* originate from the Telus SMTP server. Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 10:10:48 -0500 From: Neal McLain Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Subject: NPA-N00 numbers (was Strange 202 Number) Joseph wrote: > As to N00 offices there are at least a couple in NPA 206. > 206-200, 300 are Verizon Wireless office codes. There are numerous NPA-N00 codes, and several are landlines. There seems to be a heavy concentration in 847; I guess is no surprise given ICC's desperate efforts to forestall the inevitable overlay. Many NPA-N00 codes appear to be businesses: 201-200-2000 New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ 415-600-6000 California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 818-700-7000 Life Alert, Northridge, CA 847-400-3400 Pcnation.com, Northbrook, IL 847-600-2000 Shure Incorporated, Niles, IL 847-700-4000 United Airlines, Elk Grove Village, IL Neal McLain ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: Who Got the Message? There's a Way to Know Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 16:21:57 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Makes sense to me. You know, another > obnoxious outfit like that at least once a day sends me a notice > saying 'we have messages about you on our server. Click on this link > to see what people have said.' Let me guess - "The Free Speech Store"? * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Something like that; something with 'speech' in its name. And they take great pains to remind you that what they are doing is perfectly legal, which I guess it is. What they do NOT say until you look further is that you are required to pay $19.95 to read what 'others have written about you'. I guess they assume (wrongly in my case at least) that everyone is so eager to listen to, refute and argue about what others say about them, that they will eagerly pay $19.95 to 'spy' on the conversation others are having about them. What a great twist it is on commercial spam. So much better than spending $19.95 per year reading some boring old Digest or getting a piece of software downloaded at you which may be fraught with worms and virii anyway. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Alex Subject: Re: VoIP Regulation Status Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 01:46:34 -0500 Organization: Webplus NEWS server Reply-To: Alex Sophia, I am looking for this subject too, but I have no answer ... May be FCC doesn't control VoIP traffic in US and Canada? wrote in message news:telecom23.292.6@telecom-digest.org: > What is the Voice over IP (VoIP) regulation policy in U.S? and in CA? > I have heard that it may depend on the type of call scenarios. > For example: > 1. a PC phone to another PC phone > 2. a PC phone through Internet to a regular phone (in PSTN) > 3. a regular phone (in PSTN) through Interent to another regular phone > (in PSTN) > Does FCC regulate all of the above or just one or two of them? > Thanks for your help in advance. > Sophia ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Telus Has Fraudulently Forced Advertising on our Company Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 07:15:21 -0400 From: Evan Ross SuperPages.ca is wholly owned by Verizon. From the DominionInfo.com site: For over 70 years, Dominion has been the official publisher of white and classified directories in British Columbia for SUPERPAGES(tm). On July 31, 2001, Verizon Information Services Inc., the largest directory publishing company in the world, acquired TELUS Advertising Services - the directory division of TELUS, and has now come together with Dominion in British Columbia to form one national directory publishing company called Dominion Information Services Inc. Evan Ross, Principal Dimensional Strategies Inc. 108A - 221 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON M6K 3J2 +1-416-538-6849 x203 http://www.dstrat.com Steven J Sobol wrote about Re: Telus Has Fraudulently Forced Advertising on our Company on Mon, 21 Jun 2004 01:08:09 -0500 > Brian wrote: > This is fraud, it is theft, > It is the way yellowpages-type advertising services operate (both > those owned by phone companies and others). > Consult a lawyer. Also find out if the company registering > Superpages.ca got any clearance from Verizon. Verizon owns > Superpages.com in the US, Superpages is the name for their online > directory *and* their paper phone book, and I suspect that they may be > able to do something if Dominion Directory Information Services is not > authorized to use the name. IIRC, Superpages is a trademark of > Verizon, and I know there is a treaty providing for protection of > copyrights across country boundaries, and I suspect that the same > might prove true for trademarks. A lawyer well versed in intellectual > property issues can tell you for sure. Go after them for your money, but let the yellow-pages slimebags from Verizon go after the yellow-pages slimebags from Telus if it's possible. You may be able to cause Telus or their contractor, Dominion Directory Information Services, a lot of pain. The superpages.ca domain, according to WHOIS, is registered to: Admin-Postal: Dominion Directory Information Services Inc. O/A Superpages 4260 Still Creek Drive Burnaby BC V5C 6C6 Canada Admin-Phone: +604-268-4634 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For a few years now and then, I have received an 'invoice' to pay for some 'directory' published in Nigeria -- of all places -- for Telecom Digest; the idea being didn't I want to let people in Nigeria know about my wonderful publication; they assumed I would and took the liberty of including a listing for me. I answered them once; told them to have the banker there who is holding the eighty million dollars in trust for me to deduct the advertising costs from the money he was holding, and if that failed, they should have their Witch Doctor get in touch with my Witch Doctor so it could all be settled in Tribal Council. PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:28:36 -0400 Subject: VoIP? Awareness Still Low and Confusion Running High in the U.S. Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-21-2004/0002196538&EDATE= More than half of U.S. Internet users surveyed say they've never heard of VoIP, Ipsos-Insight study reveals NEW YORK, June 21 /PRNewswire/ - More than half (54%) of Internet users in the U.S. are still unaware of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and among those who have heard of VoIP, the majority (56%) are confused about how the Internet-based telephone service really works, according to topline findings from a recent study conducted by Ipsos-Insight of more than 1,200 Internet users in the U.S. "These awareness levels are not surprising given that we are still in the early adoption phase for VoIP," said Lynne Bartos, Senior Vice President and head of Ipsos-Insight's Cable, Media & Entertainment Practice. "Still, it's clear consumers are confused, even among early adopters, in large part by the 'translation clutter' taking place in the marketplace. VoIP is also referred to as IP telephony, Internet telephony, Voice over the Internet (VOI), net phone, broadband phone, and by branded application names, like Vonage Digital Voice and OptimumVoice. The study reveals consumers are having a hard time visualizing the total VoIP package. On the positive side, the vast majority (73%) is aware that they can use their Internet connection as normal while making phone calls. But understanding levels about other VoIP advantages and limitations are mixed. Only about one-third (36%) of consumers believe that they can dial 911 with VoIP. Only 39% of those familiar with the service say they believe VoIP provides a reliable signal, even though all service providers claim their signals are reliable. Similarly, only 36% know that VoIP provides new features not available with standard phone service, and only 27% believe adding a phone line would be easy. "In this stage of the game, VoIP providers looking to enter the market need to start with the basics; that is, raise awareness levels, improve consumer understanding, and get consumers excited about the features and benefits of VoIP," said Bartos. To peruse the full release, please go to: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2284 For more information, please contact: Lynne Bartos Cable, Media, Entertainment Research Ipsos-Insight 312-665-0556 lynne.bartos@ipsos-na.com SOURCE Ipsos; Ipsos-Insight 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 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #300 ******************************