From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 22 16:24:18 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i6MKOIj27129; Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:24:18 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:24:18 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200407222024.i6MKOIj27129@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 #345 TELECOM Digest Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:23:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 345 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Verizon to Introduce Internet-Based Phone Services Across US (VOIP News) Verizon's Net Phone Service Takes Wing (VOIP News) Verizon Rings in Next Generation of Voice Services (VOIP News) Senate Committee Guts VoIP Bill (VOIP News) Sprint Canada (Call-Net) Launches Broadband Phone Service (VOIP News) Internet Phone Revolution is Upon Us (VOIP News) AT&T to Stop Marketing Traditional Service (VOIP News) Broadband Internet Phone Company, VoIP2Save.com Announcement (VOIP News) Truth or Fiction? Osama Found Hanged (PeterReid@columbia.edu) 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: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 02:38:12 -0400 Subject: Verizon to Introduce Internet-Based Phone Services Across U.S. Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/183093_verizon22.html By KEN BELSON THE NEW YORK TIMES Verizon Communications, the nation's biggest telephone company, will announce today that it is introducing Internet-based phone service to customers across the nation, according to executives close to the plan. Verizon is the latest and largest player to offer the technology, which divides voice calls into packets of data and sends them over high-speed Internet lines. The service can be significantly cheaper than traditional phone calls because sellers of the service do not typically have to pay access charges and other fees related to telephone transmission. In the last year, the service has been introduced by several phone companies, including AT&T, some cable providers and startup companies such as Vonage. Most regional Bell companies have been hesitant to offer Internet phone service because it undercuts their main business of connecting calls over copper wires. They have also argued -- rightly, many analysts say -- that Internet calls are inferior in quality and reliability to traditional phone calls. Yet the phone companies are under pressure to enter the market because cable providers are starting to package that service with their high-speed data and video services. A company such as Vonage, meanwhile, has captured more than 200,000 customers, many of whom have abandoned their traditional phone lines. Verizon wants to use its size to grab a nationwide consumer audience, including the tens of millions of homes currently without the high-speed Internet connections needed to make the service work. [Comment: Unfortunately, you'll know that this is service from a traditional phone company the moment you look at the price - $34.95 a month for unlimited local and long-distance calls within the United States if you also subscribe to Verizon DSL, or $39.95 per month if you get your broadband access from anyone else, according to the article. The latter could be considered something of a bargain if Verizon would provide VoIP-only "drops" to homes that don't want any type of Internet access, but somehow I doubt that will happen anytimes soon. But at least the "brand name snobs" will be able to get their VoIP from a big telephone company, while many current VoIP users will probably laugh at Verizon's VoIP offering.] Full story at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/183093_verizon22.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: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:09:55 -0400 Subject: Verizon's Net Phone Service Takes Wing Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://news.com.com/Verizon's+Net+phone+service+takes+wing/2100-7352_3-5279108.html By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com Verizon Communications on Thursday began offering VoiceWing, its long-awaited broadband phone service expected to challenge AT&T, Vonage and other top providers of Internet phone calls. The unlimited local and long-distance service, available nationwide, costs about the industry average: $35 for the first six months, then goes up to $40 a month, the carrier said. If a Verizon DSL subscriber signs up, VoiceWing costs $30 a month for the first six months, then $35 a month, according to Verizon. Full story at: http://news.com.com/Verizon's+Net+phone+service+takes+wing/2100-7352_3-5279108.html ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:12:36 -0400 Subject: Verizon Rings in Next Generation of Voice Services Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com This is the official Verizon press release. I still feel there are much better deals out there from existing VoIP companies, so unless you are one of those people who simply must pay a premium price just to have a well-known brand name, I would look seriously at what the other VoIP companies are offering (that applies even moreso if you make any international calls, including calls to Canada). http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-22-2004/0002215922&STORY&EDATE= Verizon Rings in Next Generation of Voice Services With VoiceWing Broadband Phone Service Verizon Beats the Competition With Most Extensive Commercial Launch of Residential Voice-Over-IP in America, Offering It Nationally With Area Codes Covering 139 Markets in 33 States and the District of Columbia NEW YORK, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable-modem broadband users across America now can take advantage of the latest in voice communications technology from Verizon. Starting today, VoiceWing, Verizon's voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) broadband phone service, is available nationally in the largest initial commercial offering of a residential VoIP service in America. Because VoiceWing is provided over the Internet, customers can choose a phone number from an extensive list of area codes in 139 markets in 33 states and the District of Columbia. VoiceWing subscribers can make calls over any broadband Internet connection and manage their calls from any computer with Internet access -- regardless of where it is located. The service also provides a variety of advanced call-management features such as enhanced call- forwarding and call logs that itemize all calling activity. "We recognize that along with cost savings, customers want the enhanced features that new technologies bring," said Bob Ingalls, president of Verizon's Retail Markets group. "Our wide range of features makes managing calls simple and convenient." VoiceWing Pricing, Availability and Features VoiceWing allows consumers to make unlimited local and long-distance phone calls within the United States and certain territories and to benefit from low per-minute international calling rates. VoiceWing is priced at $39.95 per month; however, discounts are available. For instance, subscribers to Verizon Online DSL can get VoiceWing for $34.95 a month. Those subscribers can also benefit from an introductory price of $29.95 a month for the first six months if they order VoiceWing by Oct. 31. Users of other broadband services will get an introductory price of $34.95 for the first six months of service if they order VoiceWing by Oct. 31. Verizon provides VoiceWing subscribers with an adapter that allows them to use their own telephone with their DSL or cable modem connection to make VoiceWing calls. There is a one-time set-up fee of $39.95, and a one-time shipping and handling charge for shipping the adapter. Verizon offers customers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its VoiceWing service. VoiceWing is available to customers anywhere in the continental United States and can be purchased at http://www.verizon.com/voicewing or by calling 1-800-270-5369. One attractive feature of VoiceWing is that customers can choose their own area code. It doesn't have to be the area code where customers live. VoiceWing telephone numbers are available today with a variety of area codes from the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and in the District of Columbia. VoiceWing provides customers not only traditional services such as voice mail, caller ID and call waiting, but also advanced features that give them unprecedented control of their communications by accessing a special Web page called the Personal Account Manager. The features include: * Call Logs - Itemize all calling activity. Call Logs list the caller name, telephone number (if available), date, time-of-day, location and duration of every incoming and outgoing call made. Users can easily transfer contact information directly into their VoiceWing Personal Address Book. * Voice Mail - Allows customers to view and play their messages by clicking on the "new voice mail messages" link on the home page. Messages can be stored for up to 14 days. * Click-to-Dial - Automatically dials any telephone number, including numbers saved in the Call Logs or Address Book. By clicking on a "hyperlink" phone number, VoiceWing will dial the number. When dialing is complete, the customer's VoiceWing phone will ring, indicating the user should pick up the handset. * Speed Dial 10 - Lets users enter or change speed-dial shortcuts on their VoiceWing phones or on their computers. * Enhanced Call Forwarding - Directs calls to another telephone number anytime. By saving Call Forwarding settings on a customer's Personal Account Manager, VoiceWing calls can quickly be re-directed to another number. * Feature Scheduling - Allows users to schedule call forwarding or a call back for a specific date and time of day. * Personal Address Book - Stores information about a user's most frequent contacts directly on the Personal Account Manager. The Click to Dial feature can then be used with the Address Book. * Alternate Telephone Number - Customers can make every call they get from out-of-town family and friends a local call by choosing an alternate Telephone Number in their family and friends' area code. The Alternate Telephone Number is routed directly to the customer's primary VoiceWing number. There is a monthly charge for Alternate Telephone Numbers. "VoiceWing is a critical part of Verizon's broadband leadership strategy," Ingalls said. "It will bring us new broadband and voice services customers, and it will give our existing customers new ways to get the most from their broadband connections. Our pricing and features meet or beat our competition, and our availability is one of the best in the industry. With VoiceWing, we are embracing the future, and we will continue to introduce a steady stream of new products that puts the power of broadband to work for our customers." VoiceWing is provided through Verizon Long Distance. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:20:04 -0400 Subject: Senate Committee Guts VoIP Bill Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18936 by Heather Forsgren Weaver WASHINGTON The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday morning gutted a bill that attempted to pre-empt states from imposing access charges and universal service fees on Voice over Internet Protocol services. Additionally, the committee added a 911 obligation to VoIP services in an amendment offered by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Congressional E911 Caucus. The Burns amendment imposed an E911 obligation that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), incoming chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said was more stringent than what is imposed on the telecommunications industry at large. [Comment: This is what you get when you have legislators that don't understand technology. They might as well impose a 200 mile-per-gallon fuel consumption limit on new cars; E911 on VoIP is about as achieveable. I guess we can only hope that this bill in its present form doesn't pass, or that the Burns amendment somehow gets thrown out or watered down before it passes into law.] Full story at: http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18936 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What is wrong with using a GSM type device which is built into the 'adapter box' which, when a call is made to 911, broadcasts its whereabouts to the 911 dispatcher? PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:55:08 -0400 Subject: Sprint Canada (Call-Net) launches broadband phone service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-22-2004/0002215866&EDATE= Sprint Canada (Call-Net) launches broadband phone service First competitive local exchange carrier to launch VOIP; 911 capable, highly reliable, available to residential consumers and small office/home offices. TORONTO, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Sprint Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Call-Net Enterprises Inc., a leading provider of telecommunication services to households and businesses, today launched Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service(TM), its broadband phone service for households and small/home offices. Starting at just $19.95 per month, Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service (IPS) uses voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology to transmit local and long distance calls over high speed Internet networks and Sprint Canada's national local service network. The service is supported by the Company's state-of-the-industry back office systems. "Sprint Canada is pleased to offer Canada's first competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) compliant broadband phone service," said Bill Linton, chief executive officer, Sprint Canada. "While consumer awareness and take-up of voice over IP service is low, our research shows that consumers are more comfortable adopting a new technology from a trusted telecommunications company like Sprint Canada. Our approach is to continue to evolve our voice over IP product as the market matures and to use the service to grow our off-net consumer business." Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service works with any residential high speed Internet service, including light services offered by telephone digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable. The starter package includes a VOIP gateway, one telephone number and line that can travel with the customer wherever they can access high speed Internet service, an integrated four-port 100 megabits per second (mbps) Ethernet router and firewall. The service works with a regular telephone handset and customers can keep their existing phone number in serviceable areas or add a new one and select their preferred area code and exchange. Sprint Canada provides the Internet protocol gateway at a cost of $75 including four months of basic service. The service is easy to install, and works right out of the box. The service is available as a standalone product and includes all standard home phone features such as operator services, 911, 411, and 711. Call waiting, call display and voice mail are also available. IPS is also available as part of bundled package with local home phone service and Fido(R) wireless service. "This service is ideal for parents sending their children to university, as a second household or small business line, for residential customers with a second home, or for heavy long distance users," added Linton. To order the service, consumers and small businesses can call 1-800-298-6939 or visit http://www.sprint.ca. Sprint Canada was one of the first companies to offer competitive telecommunication services to Canadian consumers and businesses in 1986. It launched its local home and business service in 1999, expanding the number of markets in 2001. It remains Canada's only competitive national telecommunications company offering local telephone service to both homes and businesses in most major markets. As of March 2004, Sprint Canada had more than 300,000 local home phone lines and business line equivalents in service. Full press release (including list of features and comparison with other VoIP providers) at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-22-2004/0002215866&EDATE= ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 02:43:41 -0400 Subject: Internet Phone Revolution is Upon Us Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0407/22/technology-219446.htm By Christopher Stern / The Washington Post In November, Andy Abramson, of San Diego, took his new Internet phone on a two-week business trip to Europe. He spent 18 hours calling friends and clients in Canada, Italy, France and the United States, an international dialing spree that would normally have set him back hundreds of dollars. But all that talking cost him just $13. For William Ashton, who supervises the municipal phone system for Herndon, Va., the town's new Internet phone network has made work a lot easier. Ashton used to dread requests to move a phone or add a line. The process took several days, including a visit by an outside contractor who spent hours rearranging telephone wires in a closet and cost $400 or more. I was in the business of saying no, Ashton said. Since last year when the new system was installed, Ashton has managed the entire phone network from his desktop computer. He can add lines with the click of a mouse. When town employees move to a new office, they unplug their phones and carry them to their new desks. Their phone calls follow automatically. Daniel Sternoff, of New York, canceled his Verizon basic home phone service after signing up with a broadband phone company in January. Sternoff's wife often calls her family in Israel, and he estimates he has cut his monthly phone bill from $150 or $200 to $50 or $75. Abramson and Sternoff and the Town of Herndon aren't just saving money; they're at the cutting edge of the biggest change in telephone technology since government-sanctioned monopolies knitted the nation together decades ago with copper wire. Full story at: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0407/22/technology-219446.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:49:35 -0400 Subject: AT&T to Stop Marketing Traditional Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5528-2004Jul22.html By Ellen Simon The Associated Press Thursday, July 22, 2004; 10:26 AM NEW YORK -- AT&T Corp., the nation's largest long-distance company, said Thursday it would stop seeking new customers for its traditional consumer long-distance service, once the bedrock of the company known as Ma Bell. Instead, AT&T will bet its future on providing telecom and data services to business, currently 75 percent of its revenue, and selling residential customers new technologies, such as phone service over the Internet. The company will continue to serve its existing residential customers but will no longer pour roughly $1 billion a year into winning new ones, AT&T said as it reported sharply lower profits for the second quarter. Full story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5528-2004Jul22.html ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:02:34 -0400 Subject: Broadband Internet Phone Company, VoIP2Save.com Announcement Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/7/emw142344.htm Broadband Internet Phone Company, VoIP2Save.com Announces Full Phone Number Portability "VoIP2Save.com" becomes first broadband internet phone company to offer total internet phone number portability to customers. VoIP2Save accuses rivals of holding customer phone numbers hostage because they cannot switch their phone numbers to other carriers. (PRWEB) July 21, 2004 -- The Providence Telephone Company, which operates the broadband internet telephone service, VoIP2Save.com became the first internet phone company to offer customers full telephone number portability. "No other internet telephone company, to this date, has offered total number portability. We are the first," said Bob Blanchard, the president of the company. "It does not matter if a customer transfers an existing phone number to us, or we assign a telephone number to the customer. If and when they leave, they take their phone number with them. In 2003, a federal law mandated customers of cellular telephone service be allowed to keep their phone number if they decided to switch carriers. Internet phone companies were not covered by the law." VoIP2Save.com surveyed many other internet phone companies, including Vonage, Packet8, Voice Glo, Lingo and I-Connect It found that none of the companies allowed customers to keep a phone number the company assigned to them, if the customer decided to switch to another phone company. Blanchard accused the companies of "holding a customer hostage, forcing a customer to stay with a telephone company or face the hassle of getting a brand new phone number with another phone company. It's just like the bad old days of cellular," he concluded. Blanchard urged his competitors to "make it very clear to customers, either on the main page of their web site, or during the sign-up process, that if they decide to switch to another phone company they cannot take their newly assigned phone numbers with them. Right now the companies either bury that information in the middle of their legal disclosure pages, or simply don't reveal it at all," Blanchard said. "Make it very clear to customers. If we give you a phone number, we own it, not you. Phone number portability is something consumers demand. I think many will be very unhappy to learn their internet telephone number cannot be transferred to another company" he concluded. All of the companies surveyed did have a set of conditions which, if met, would let customers keep their phone number, if they previously established that phone number at another phone company. But none of the companies surveyed allowed portability for phone numbers it assigns. VoIP2Save.com can offer full number portability for all phone numbers because "VoIP2Save.com" is associated with RNK Telecom, a fully regulated and taxed telephone company. (CLEC) RNK has invested millions of dollars in special equipment to handle internet telephone traffic. RNK owns all the phone numbers it provides and therefore provides full number portability. Blanchard said, "some internet phone companies lease blocks of phone numbers from other phone companies. As a result they cannot offer ownership of telephone numbers to customers because the companies don't own the numbers to begin with. There is a possibility that if suddenly an internet phone company goes out of business and it is not backed by a regulated phone company, consumers would be left with no dial tone or no way to quickly transfer their numbers to maintain phone service," he warned. VoIP2Save.com, operates in Metro New York City, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. It offers unlimited worldwide calling for $24.95 a month, which is currently the lowest rate in the internet telephone industry. To place an internet phone call a caller needs a broadband connection plus an internet phone or adapter. Bob Blanchard, the president of "VoIP2Save.com", is a former journalist and three time Emmy Award winner in the field of consumer protection reporting. The company web site is http://www.VoIP2Save.com Contact: Media Relations Providence Telephone Company 401-526-2000 http://www.VoIP2Save.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 14:24:38 GMT From: PeterReid@columbia.edu Subject: Truth or Fiction? Osama Found Hanged Organization: Shaw Residential Internet Osama Bin Ladin was found hanged by two CNN journalists early Wedensday evening. As evidence they took several photos, some of which I have included here. As yet, this information has not hit the headlines due to Bush wanting confirmation of his identity but the journalists have released some early photos over the internet. http://www.theparadise.x-y.net/OsamaFoundDead.zip [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why does this remind me of all the stories about Adolph Hitler committing suicide in 1945 as USA troops closed in on him and then a couple years later, around 1947 or so the rumors about Hitler escaping and being seen in Brazil and other South American countries. Of course no one has ever been able to prove it true, nor have any if the people who saw him in Brazil ever been identified either. I wonder if this Osama Bin Laden story -- which came to me several times today, reminiscent of spam -- will now be spread forever. Anyone want to see if that 'OsamaFound Dead.zip' link is in fact some virus in waiting? 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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