From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jul 12 16:24:39 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i6CKOd801252; Mon, 12 Jul 2004 16:24:39 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 16:24:39 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200407122024.i6CKOd801252@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 #329 TELECOM Digest Mon, 12 Jul 2004 16:25:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 329 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T CallVantage Service Now Available in 100 Major Markets (VOIP News) U.S. Rejects Net Phone Call Tax (VOIP News) Voice Pulse Appeals to Federal Regulators (VOIP News) Re: Indian Telemarketing Shop Service Monitoring Line (Stan Siegler) Definition Bandwidth Products (Tom Mishkiewicz) Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say (Hammond of Texas) Re: How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Software? (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Norvergence -- Getting out of a Matrix Contract (Hammond of Texas) Re: Norvergence -- Getting Out of a Matrix Contract (Paul Vader) Re: Norvergence -- Getting out of a Matrix Contract (Dave Garland) Will Headset From Nortel Office Phone Work With Cell Phone? (Lester) Power of the Net in Next Election (Patrick Townson) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 13:42:43 -0400 Subject: AT&T CallVantage Service Now Available in 100 Major Markets Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com [Comment: Bear in mind that once the introductory period is over, AT&T's service will cost you more per month than most other consumer VoIP services. You may wish to read the comments about CallVantage on the BroadbandReports.com VoIP forum .] http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-12-2004/0002208297&EDATE= Coast-to-Coast Rollout Expands to 28 New Markets and Seven Additional States $19.99 Promotion Offers Unlimited Calling and Advanced Features BEDMINSTER, N.J., July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Achieving a key milestone in its deployment of residential Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, AT&T today announced the availability of AT&T CallVantage(SM) Service in 100 markets nationwide with the addition of 28 new markets and seven additional states, offering those households a high-tech alternative for their personal communications needs. AT&T is expanding its service footprint in the metropolitan areas of Birmingham, Ala.; Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Stamford and Waterbury, Conn.; Ann Arbor, Detroit and Flint, Mich.; Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Providence- Warwick, R.I.; Richmond, Va.; and Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine, Wis. In addition, the company today made service available to residents of Dover, Del.; New Bedford, Brockton, Fitchburg-Leominster, Lawrence, Lowell and Worcester, Mass.; and Pittsburgh and Reading, Pa. "Today's market entries place us in 29 states and Washington, D.C. -- that's 100 major markets in just 16 weeks since service introduction," said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony, Consumer Marketing and Sales. "This demonstrates the velocity at which we're working to get IP technology into the hands of consumers. "AT&T already provides traditional residential local service to more than 4.3 million households nationwide, but AT&T CallVantage Service marks the beginning of an exciting new era in voice communications that gives customers a compelling new choice," she added. While VoIP is an exciting technology with great promise, it is not a complete substitute for traditional telephone service because it does not serve the needs of millions of Americans who cannot obtain or afford the high- speed Internet connection required for AT&T CallVantage Service. Though a growing number of households have access to these broadband connections through their cable or local telephone company, only about one in five subscribe nationally. According to data from TNS Telecoms, broadband penetration in the markets entered today range from a low of 15.9 percent in Alabama to a high of 24.3 percent in Connecticut. "VoIP applications might just be the 'value-add' that consumers are seeking to justify their investment in broadband," said Martine. "However, for the foreseeable future, this exciting new option will be reserved for those households fortunate enough to maintain a broadband connection." AT&T CallVantage Service is an innovative service that promises to transform the way people communicate. A core concept of the service, which is built on AT&T Labs patented technology, is the ability to quickly introduce new features and capabilities to the platform. "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. "Last month, we announced global telework trials in Asia and Europe for a service designed to allow multinationals the ability to provide their employees a suite of advanced calling features in the home or hotel environment. We expect to make it generally available next year. "And later this year, we expect to introduce a domestic telework solution targeted towards small office and home office users that leverages the AT&T CallVantage Service platform," she added. Broad array of features AT&T CallVantage 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; -- "Do Not Disturb," to receive calls only when wanted; -- "Locate Me," which rings up to five phones, all at once, or sequentially; -- "Voicemail with eFeatures," to listen to messages from any phone or PC and forward them to anyone on the Web; and -- "Personal Conferencing," to set up meetings with up to nine -- additional callers. In May, the company announced the first in an ongoing series of service innovations including the addition of an online, searchable "Phone Book." This new feature enables customers to store up to 250 names and phone numbers on their Personal Call Manager homepage with click-to-dial accessibility. The company also introduced a set of enhancements to simplify the management of calls and messages. These new capabilities were designed to enhance the customer experience and at no additional charge to the customer. More new features are planned for introduction later this year. All that is required for service is an easy-to-connect, plug-in telephone adapter (TA) provided by AT&T, a broadband Internet connection and regular telephone supplied by the customer. It is simple to use and easy for consumers to install -- typically in 10 minutes. AT&T CallVantage Service works with most cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband connections. The TA is compatible with most home computer networks and may be used in conjunction with various home network routers. 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. Promotional price extended The company has extended its special six-month introductory rate of $19.99 a month through August 31, 2004, and recently reduced the full retail price to $34.99 per month for all subscribers. The promotional rate includes a complete calling solution that provides unlimited local and long-distance domestic calling, including calls to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, discount rates for international calling, and a suite of advanced features that customers have never experienced before. "One thing that became absolutely apparent as we've entered market after market is that consumers appreciate the opportunity to test the VoIP waters with an introductory offer," said Martine. "We're very happy with the reception we've received to date and don't want to change a winning formula." As a special incentive, the company will offer AT&T CallVantage customers an opportunity to participate in its program that provides up to one month of free service (maximum of 12 months) for each referral and sale, where permissible by state law. To date, the service is generally available to consumers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. To learn more about AT&T CallVantage Service, consumers can visit http://www.CallVantage.com or call 1-866-816-3815, extension 70339. Full press release at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-12-2004/0002208297&EDATE= How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:56:18 -0400 Subject: U.S. Rejects Net Phone Call Tax Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~2267439,00.html By Ryan J. Donmoyer, Bloomberg News The Treasury Department said it doesn't plan to tax telephone calls made over the Internet after a lawmaker asked for a clarification of a notice the government issued last week. The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday the government will seek comment from telecommunications companies on whether telephone tax regulations first developed in 1965 need updating to keep pace with technological advances. "Nothing in the notice said anything about taxing" the technology known as voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, Treasury Department spokeswoman Tara Bradshaw said. Full story at: http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~2267439,00.html ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:33:08 -0400 Subject: VoicePulse Appeals to Regulators for Federal Preemption on VOIP Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-12-2004/0002208607&EDATE= Company Executives Optimistic After Series of Meetings in Washington WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- VoicePulse Inc. co-founder and CEO, Ravi Sakaria, concluded a series of meetings at the FCC and on Capitol Hill regarding the potential impact of regulating small Voice over IP service providers. Highlighting the portable nature of consumer VoIP service, Sakaria implored regulators to recognize consumer VoIP as an interstate service. Failing to do so, argued Sakaria, would allow individual states to subject VoIP carriers to common carrier regulation. "Burdening this emerging industry with interpreting and complying with 50 different sets of rules is something that small, innovative companies in this space just don't have the resources to do," said Sakaria. "Most of those companies would exit the industry or move outside the United States - either of which would be most unfortunate." Sakaria characterized the meetings as "productive and optimistic," and added, "it's clear that the folks at the FCC and members of Congress have put a lot of energy into understanding the powerful implications of VoIP technology as well as the importance of fostering growth of the industry." About VoicePulse VoicePulse is a New Jersey based communications company that uses its VoIP network to deliver advanced features and high-quality phone service to residential and small-business consumers. The company leads the industry in delivering innovative features and excellent customer service. For more information about VoicePulse, please visit http://www.voicepulse.com. VoicePulse is a trademark of VoicePulse Inc. http://www.voicepulse.com For more information, please contact: VoicePulse Inc. Rima Vaghasiya Phone: (732) 339-5100 rima@voicepulse.com SOURCE VoicePulse Inc. ------------------------------ From: sieler@allegro.com (Stan Sieler) Subject: Re: Indian Telemarketing Shop Service-Monitoring Line? Date: 12 Jul 2004 12:29:51 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com John R. Covert wrote in message news:: > There's an interesting number on the caller-id of my fax line. ... > (866) 383-0986 > If you call it back, you get a recording with a distinctive Indian > accent saying, "Please dial the extension number which you want to > monitor." I'm getting vspam calls on my cellphone for "Premier Financial Service" from that number ... despite asking to be put on their "don't call" list. When I call them back, I get the same message. Attempts at entering extension numbers have only resulted in their end hanging up on me :( ------------------------------ From: Tom Miskiewicz Subject: Definition Bandwidth Product Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 21:46:36 +0200 Organization: Global Access Telecommunications, Inc. Hi! Can someone familiar with the carrier terminology tell me please what are bandwidth products? Are Frame Realy and ATM bandwidth products? Thanks, Tom ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 08:20:48 -0700 From: Hammond of Texas Subject: Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say William Warren (the prototypical PHB) wrote: > Think about it: the only thing the business owner gets by turning off > SSID broadcast, restricting MAC addresses, and enabling WEP is a lot > of headaches and maintenance and complaints from his employees. The > default (open) installation works, the effort to restrict it and track > the restrictions and deal with the complaints and accomodate visitors > costs real money -- probably several times what the bandwidth costs - > so why wouldn't a businessman make a common-sense decision to ignore > the "problem"? Why? Oh ... probably because his idea of "common sense" completely discounts the very real, and potentially very serious issues that revolve around operating a completely unsecured AP. The cost to defend against lawsuit brought by someone suffering damages at the hands of the miscreant who used your wide-open AP will quickly outrun the cost of doing it right in the first place. Add to that the less tangible cost of damaged PR, etc. Planning on dropping the thing right into your LAN, like most "businessmen" do? What will it cost when that potential customer, "visiting" your site, manages to download your client lists, business strategy documents, trade secrets, etc. Furthermore, there are technological solutions to all of the objections raised above. Some are more elegant and transparent than others, but at any rate, they would allow any reasonable person to dismiss the "its too inconvenient to make it secure" complaint. A network administrator who installed and operated an unsecured AP on my network would get the sack in short order. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 09:36:17 EDT Subject: Re: How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Software These Days? From an article in the June 2004 issue of Popular Communications magazine on computer-control of radios, especially scanners. The author of the article is Joe Cooper, whose e-mail address is given as : "BASIC was originally developed at Dartmouth College in 1964 and was first used on big mainframe computers. At that time the main programming language was FORTRAN, which was very complicated given the fact engineers and scientists originally designed it for their use." Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 08:02:01 -0700 From: Hammond of Texas Subject: Re: Norvergence -- Getting Out of a Matrix Contract Mark Yamasaki wrote: > Dear Mr. Townson, > I work for a small freight forwarding company here in California. We > were approached by Norvergence about a month ago. > To make a long story short, since you probably have heard too much on > this already, I want to know how I can close up any relations / > contracts with Norvergence and more importantly sever any obligations > to its equipment leasing "banks". > Here is our current situation > 1.Contract signed. ( I know, big mistake) Have they complied with the terms of the contract? Are your remedies, in the event of their failure, spelled out in the contract? ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: Norvergence - How Do I Get Out Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 16:22:47 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations Mark Crispin writes: > From what I've read, it appears that the Norvergence customers > effectively purchased the equipment (at inflated prices) and paid for > an extended period of service in advance, financing it through a bank. > Worse, it seems that they actually sold the equipment to the bank and > leased it back. Kinda. The way I understand it, it's sort of like the "OEM rule" at online computer stores. For example, you can only buy OEM Windows if sold with a 'piece of computer equipment'. This is handled at some of these stores by bundling your order with an old BIOS ROM or a useless adapter cable, sold to you for a tiny extra charge. The deal with Norvergence is that they determined the value of five years of a customer's business, and then attached that value as a pricetag on this matrix box thing (the matrix box never even got used for anything in some cases). So, customer takes out a conventional business loan for the value of this piece of equipment, and then pays Norvergence with the loan's proceeds when approved. Norvergence has the whole 5 years in cash upfront, and the customer is paying off the loan on a massively overvalued, and possibly useless piece of gear. If they got through the whole 5 years it might have been a decent deal, but as it turns out nobody did. That may have been the plan all along, or maybe not -- we'll leave that for the courts to determine. I don't think you need my vote. The thing that amazes me is that Norvergence didn't make enough money to pay their bills doing this. They reported 10,000 customers, so even if you're taking a measly $5000 bucks from each one, that gives you $50 million to play with, and there were some reports here of people paying Norv a lot more than $5000 (hundreds of thousands in some cases). Somebody was lining their pockets with too much of the 'profits'. A charitable person would say that they didn't have a good long-term money manager. Other darker possibilities are equally or more likely. * -- * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: Norvergence -- Getting out of a Matrix Contract Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 11:26:57 -0500 Organization: Wizard Information It was a dark and stormy night when Mark Yamasaki wrote: > this already, I want to know how I can close up any relations / > contracts with Norvergence and more importantly sever any obligations > to its equipment leasing "banks". Talk to your lawyer TODAY. With all due respect to Pat, he's not a lawyer, I'm not a lawyer, and even if we were, we wouldn't be *your* lawyer. Whatever it costs you to talk to your lawyer is nothing compared to what you may be on hook for if you don't. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I said the same thing to him. He should show his paperwork to an attorney, and while the attorney contemplates the whole thing he (and others similarly situated) should freeze all accounts payable to Norvergence. Release that money when your attorney advises you to do so, or a court orders you to do so, *not* when a bank or collection agency blusters at you. He won't 'get in trouble' on his credit or otherwise simply for referring those callers (I repeat, I doubt there will be any) to his attorney. PAT] ------------------------------ From: xlate102@yahoo.com (Lester) Subject: Will Headset From Nortel Office Phone Work With Cell Phone? Date: 12 Jul 2004 11:58:08 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have an extra Plantronics Polaris headset at work. Looks like it has a 4 pin connector. Is there a way I can modify it so I can use it with my Nokia cell phone? It looks much sturdier than most of the crap headsets they make specifically for Nokia. Thanks in advance. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You might check with Mike Sandman on this http://www.sandman.com . I bought from Mike an adapter socket for a Plantronics headset to use with my Nokia cell phone. He might have one to meet your specs also. Email to mike@sandman.com or check his catalog at http://www.sandman.com . The adapter plug I got cost around five or ten dollars. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Editor Subject: Power of the Net in Next Election Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:45:00 EDT This is *not* an invitation to turn the Digest into a political forum for the next election ... but ... I am wondering if you feel the net may well be a significant factor -- perhaps the biggest factor -- in the re-election or unseating of our resident president now in power at the November election? For example, there have been statements in some usenet news groups and other forums claiming Mr. Bush is planning secretly to re-instate the draft with the situation in Iraq being so tense (you know, the war that was declared over and won more than a year ago by the same president.) In response to the 'rumors' of draft re-instatement; President Bush in his weekly radio address recently declared it all a 'nasty lie designed to get me out of office' and he blamed it on 'certain elements on the net who have never liked American democracy, this Christian nation, etc, ad nauseum ...' Do any of you think the net is *that powerful* it can actually unseat the man in office? Just curious. 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. 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 #329 ******************************