From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Nov 4 14:53:37 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.6) id iA4JrbH17053; Thu, 4 Nov 2004 14:53:37 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 14:53:37 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200411041953.iA4JrbH17053@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 #530 TELECOM Digest Thu, 4 Nov 2004 14:53:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 530 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson About Coffeyville Junior College and Channel 4 (TELECOM Digest Editor) VoIP -- to Regulate or Not to Regulate? (Lisa Minter) Internet Without Landline? (Markus Dehmann) SunRocket -- Press Release About New Service (kansasman) Home Phone Link in India (NewPhoneUser) Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election (Clark W. Griswold,Jr.) Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election (Fred Goldstein) Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election (Rick Merrill) Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Prepaid Questions [was Re: How to Make Right Call] (Clark Griswold) Re: Prepaid Questions [was Re: How to Make Right Call] (Joseph) Re: Pre-Recorded Phone Should be Illegal (Phil Stripling) Re: Pre-Recorded Phone Should be Illegal (palee) 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: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 13:55:27 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: About Coffeyville Junior College and Channel 4 Today, Thursday, I got a chance to speak to folks at CCC and ask them about the television signal on Channel 4. The young lady who answered the phone at 620-251-7700 said to me she had only worked there a short time and knew nothing of it. She put me through to a man who had worked there for about twenty years and he said they had discontinued the 'station' (which was a learning exercise or practice for students *more than ten years ago*. He said "it was only licensed as a low- power station and we had so much interference (which, under the terms of our FCC license we had to accept) from the bigger station in Oklahoma City, and our equipment got old and hard to maintain, so we decided to abandon that part of our program. We have not been on the air in years, but Oklahoma City still comes booming through now like a local now and then." I told him I believed they were still a licensee in FCC records (Neil, am I correct on this? You said you looked it up) and he was surprised to hear that. I asked him about the television station broadcasting in the 1950's doing weather all the time. He said he started working at the college about 1981 and he could not help with that, but he was *certain* it had not been them. He concluded our phone conversation by saying "for about the last ten years or so, our students have worked on the local (Cox Cable) municipal-based 'educational' channel. CCC shares a channel with Field Kindley High School in Coffeyville, cable channel 21. Our students involved in that maintain the studio, the equipment, and direct the programming. The FKHS students in the program take their classes here at CCC." He did agree, Neil, that the 'old station, when it was running, more than a decade ago' was 310 watts. He suggested I should speak to someone at the 'Dalton Defenders Museum' (which doubles as the Coffeyville Historical Society). A phone call to the historical society (a/k/a Dalton Defenders Museum) did not produce much luck. The man there basically confirmed what the guy at CCC had told me, and when I mentioned the 'local' station in the 1950's he said it drew a blank with him. He *did* remember both my father George (who died in 1991) and my Uncle Clarence Lowrance who died about a year go. He seemed to think 'channel 4' was not a local operation but (in those days, 1950's) it was still a relatively new operation in Oklahoma City and it was likely large amounts of time each day were spent 'just staying on the air' broadcasting things like pictures of weather dials, etc. He suggested trying the daily newspaper, the Coffeyville Journal. The Journal was no help at all; the kid who answered the phone said no one around there had been there *that* long, 'even our publisher is a lady in her fifties who has worked here for a long time, ten years or so.' The one guy I know of at the Journal, Jim Tickle in their circulation department is an older guy who doubles as their manager of the e-Journal they used to put out for awhile on the Internet, and he was not in the office today. The kid who answered the phone at the Journal invited me to 'stop by anytime and check the old films. We have most of them, except for a few missing issues in the 1880's when there was a fire.' So Neil, there is your half-answer. I realize not a very good one. I rather suspect the one time I got ghosting images and snow with a very faint picture it must have been the OKC station under good atmospheric conditions. PAT ------------------------------ From: Lisa Minter Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 06:51:06 -0500 Subject: VoIP -- to Regulate or Not to Regulate? http://www.mlive.com/businessdirect/stories/index.ssf?/base/test/109955885121870.xml lstevens@bdwbusiness.com Telcos are awaiting Chairman Michael Powell's proposal to the full Federal Communications Commission on regulating voice-over Internet protocol service as early as late November. This is a reversal for Powell, who had taken a hands-off approach to broadband and Internet-based phone technologies. Federal rules could preempt plans by some states -- and Michigan is one of them -- to regulate VoIP technology. Michigan telcos think the explosive national growth of VoIP -- reportedly to over one million subscribers in 2004 compared to 131,000 in 2003 -- probably grabbed Powell's attention. But if the FCC sets rules, they expect those to be minimally intrusive. "It's amazing that a year to two ago, VoIP wasn't a word that entered anyone's vocabulary," said Matthew Resch, Lansing spokesman for Texas-based SBC Communications Inc. [NYSE: SBC]. Federal regulation could head off a patchwork of state regulations, he said. "I think nearly every telco is looking at deploying some sort of VoIP service," said Scott Stevenson, president of the Telecommunications Association of Michigan, a trade group that includes most telcos and telephone service providers operating in the state. It reportedly was a hot topic at the association's October meeting. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just like telephones in many ways. In the the late 19th century 'telephone' was not a word in most people's vocabulary, but by 1901-1905 nearly everyone had heard of the device and many folks had even used one. PAT] ------------------------------ From: markus.cl@gmx.de (Markus Dehmann) Subject: Internet Without Landline? Date: 4 Nov 2004 07:53:53 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Is it possible to get high-speed internet access without a phone/landline at home (in Maryland/U.S.)? I only have a cell phone, but internet at home would be good, too. I don't need a landline, though because the cell phone is enough. Thanks! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, it is not only possible, but for many folks more desirable. You get your high speed internet from the cable company there in Maryland and otherwise use your cell phone for voice calls. That's essentially what many folks do, or they have a very inexpensive landline phone from a CLEC as a backup only. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dog4dogg@yahoo.com (kansasman) Subject: SunRocket -- Press Release About New Service Date: 4 Nov 2004 07:53:49 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com This sounds promising, particularly the free international calling: SunRocket Brings Internet Phone Service to Mainstream America The "No Gotcha" Company Sets New Standard for Making It Easy for Consumers to Use Broadband to Enjoy Internet Phone Savings VIENNA, VA, November 1, 2004 - Establishing new benchmarks for value, control and simplicity, SunRocket, the "no gotcha" phone company, today announced the arrival of SunRocket Signature Servicesm, designed to accelerate the adoption of Internet phone service. This new residential primary-line phone service is offered at an all-inclusive price of $24.95 per month, with no activation charges, hidden fees or "gotchas", making it easy and risk-free for mainstream consumers to make the leap to state-of-the-art Internet telephony. Now available in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Boston, SunRocket will be available in cities across America by the end of the year. "We are the first phone company that gives consumers what they want -- an easy-to-try, simple-to-use, feature-rich phone service at a superior value for a fixed monthly fee that eliminates the surprises we call 'gotchas'," said Paul Erickson, chief executive officer of SunRocket. "We recognize the mounting frustration that consumers have with escalating fees, add-on surcharges and taxes that turn an advertised $49.99 price into a $65 monthly phone bill. With SunRocket's Bottom-Line Pricingsm, members get everything they need for one low monthly price which includes taxes." Making it even easier for households to experience the future of Internet-enabled communications, SunRocket does not require contracts, term commitments, activation fees, shipping charges, equipment charges or cancellation fees. All necessary equipment is provided at no additional charge for members who sign up for SunRocket Signature Service. Members receive a free self-install kit containing a plug-and-play gizmo that connects to the customer's high-speed modem and sends phone calls over the home broadband connection. Membership comes complete with a no-risk, 31-day money back guarantee. SunRocket Signature Service includes a myriad of features and benefits such as unlimited domestic phone calling and over a dozen free calling features such as enhanced voicemail, caller ID with name, call waiting, 3-way calling, smart call forwarding. In addition to these built-in features and Bottom-Line Pricing, SunRocket offers members these extra benefits at no additional charge: Choice of phone numbers. SunRocket members get to choose their phone numbers from a pool of available numbers or transfer an existing number from their old phone company. Free International Calls. Every SunRocket Signature Service member receives an allowance for free calls to any international destination, which translates to 100 minutes to any of 13 countries or 30 minutes or more to any of 75 countries. Incremental minutes are priced at SunRocket's low international rates, such as $0.03 per minute to Hong Kong, London, Paris, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Tokyo or Toronto, $0.04 per minute to Mexico City, and $0.05 per minute to Beijing, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima, Jakarta, Seoul or Taipei. Free Directory Assistance Calls. Members get two free nationwide 411 calls each month. Free Signature Numbers. Two phone numbers for the price of one. In addition to a regular household phone number, members can choose an extra Signature Number to give to another member of the household, complete with its own distinctive ring, calling features and personal voicemail. Enhanced 911. Unlike most other Internet phone companies, SunRocket provides Enhanced 911 emergency calling, which routes calls directly to emergency operators along with service location address information and automatic phone number identification. Paul Erickson and Joyce Dorris, former MCI Consumer executives who pioneered many of MCI's breakthrough innovations, including 1-800-COLLECT and The Neighborhood, founded the company in early 2004. "SunRocket isn't just about great technology at a great price. Our vision is to build a company that is committed to doing the right thing for consumers, something that big phone companies appear genetically incapable of doing," said Erickson. Nokia Venture Partners, a leading global venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology companies, led SunRocket's initial financing round. According to John Malloy, managing partner of the firm, "Internet-enabled wireless and landline voice services will transform the global telecom industry, producing billion-dollar opportunities for new entrants with the right vision and business model to drive that transformation. Having observed the company's leadership in action and glimpsed the innovations they will introduce, we're convinced that SunRocket will emerge as the leading brand in Internet phone service." "The interest in Internet phone service has been established. Now, someone has to take it mainstream in a friendly, easy, and motivating way, and let consumers escape from the 'gotcha' traps from other providers," said Dorris, SunRocket's chief marketing officer and former head of MCI's consumer unit. "We know what it takes to convince millions of Americans to embrace change in pursuit of better value, and we're excited to begin to establish SunRocket as the premier brand for personal Internet phone service." Consumers can learn more and sign up for service on the web at SunRocket.com or by contacting SunRocket Member Services at 1-800-786-0173. About SunRocket Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, SunRocket, the "no gotcha" phone company, is bringing new personal Internet phone service to mainstream America with its SunRocket Signature Servicesm. The only company to offer a complete Internet phone service at an all-inclusive, bottom-line monthly price of $24.95 with no hidden charges or "gotchas", SunRocket makes it easy for broadband households to take advantage of the value and enhanced capabilities of state-of-the-art Internet telephony. Nokia Venture Partners is the lead investor in the privately-held corporation. For more information, see the company's web site at SunRocket.com. Contact Julie Rosenthal, JR Communications 202.248.8449 Julie@jrcommunications.com Heather Frick, SunRocket 703.394.4175 Heather.Frick@sunrocket.com ------------------------------ From: desikkan@gmail.com (NewPhoneUser) Subject: Home Phone Link in India Date: 4 Nov 2004 00:59:37 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, Can anyone post the various options I have if I want to take a phone connection in Delhi, India. I know there are a lot of players now in the market. Can anyone reply on the options available for Fixed Line, WLL and Wireless. As a home user, I would be interested in having a clear voice communication link and an internet connection for casual web browsing. Of course, it would be great if I get an idea on the cost of each option. Thanks. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you still have to wait for months and years to get new landline phone service in India? It used to take just *forever* to get new service established in some of those countries. How is it now? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 09:23:07 EST Subject: Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout In a message dated 11/4/04 1:33:21 AM Central Standard Time, editor@telecom-digest.org writes: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have a question about the election. > On AP News Wednesday afternoon, Senator Kerry said in order to save the > country the kind of debacle which occurred in 2000 when Mr. Bush was > eventually declared the winner, he was going to concede the election > to Bush, which he did. But later in the day Wednesday officials said > they were still going to closely audit all the votes from Ohio. Now > just suppose the Ohio audit showed the Kerry *had* won that state > (although he and others said it was quite unlikely). But let's say > it turned out he did win *that state's electoral votes*. In that case > he might have won the election; but he has already conceded to Bush. > What would happen in that case? Has a 'winner' of a presidential > election ever conceded it to someone else? Just curious. PAT] "Conceding" has no legal effect. You will recall that in the last presidential election Gore conceded to Bush, then later un-conceded. then challenged the Florida in court. The reports I have heard is that Ohio officials will continue counting absentee ballots and checking provisional ballots (and counting them if they qualify), as of course they should, but that Kerry and his associates determined that challenging them in court or waiting for the count to be completed could not result in gaining enough votes to make him the winner. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Subject: Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:46:30 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted: > In that case he might have won the election; but he has already > conceded to Bush. What would happen in that case? Conceding an election has no legal standing. It's just a way of telling all the campaign volunteers and lawyers to stop any activities. Theoretically, if a candidate was later found to have one before the vote was certified, that candidate would be installed. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 10:46:00 -0500 From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have a question about the election. > On AP News Wednesday afternoon, Senator Kerry said in order to save the > country the kind of debacle which occurred in 2000 when Mr. Bush was > eventually declared the winner, he was going to concede the election > to Bush, which he did. But later in the day Wednesday officials said > they were still going to closely audit all the votes from Ohio. Now > just suppose the Ohio audit showed the Kerry *had* won that state > (although he and others said it was quite unlikely). But let's say > it turned out he did win *that state's electoral votes*. In that case > he might have won the election; but he has already conceded to Bush. > What would happen in that case? Has a 'winner' of a presidential > election ever conceded it to someone else? Just curious. PAT] The concession speech means nothing, legally. If Ohio turns out to go to Kerry, then Kerry wins, and Bush has egg on his face. Unlikely but possible. ------------------------------ From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout Organization: Comcast Online Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 13:53:23 GMT Lisa Minter wrote: > http://voxilla.com/voxstory114-nested-order0-threshold0.html > VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout > By PHILLIP BRITT > for VOXILLA.COM > VoIP may have played a role in choosing the next president of the > United States. > Ravi Sakaria, chief executive officer of VoicePulse, said his company > was seeing five times the normal call volume, with all of the spike > due to calls from political volunteers in the battleground states of > Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Many political pundits have been > saying the candidate that carries two of these states will win the > election. > Seeing the spike in traffic, Sakaria did a quick check of caller IDs > and found that most of the calls from the Democratic party, though > there were some VoIP calls from Republican volunteers as well. > Full story at: > http://voxilla.com/voxstory114-nested-order0-threshold0.html > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have a question about the election. > On AP News Wednesday afternoon, Senator Kerry said in order to save the > country the kind of debacle which occurred in 2000 when Mr. Bush was > eventually declared the winner, he was going to concede the election > to Bush, which he did. But later in the day Wednesday officials said > they were still going to closely audit all the votes from Ohio. Now > just suppose the Ohio audit showed the Kerry *had* won that state > (although he and others said it was quite unlikely). But let's say > it turned out he did win *that state's electoral votes*. In that case > he might have won the election; but he has already conceded to Bush. > What would happen in that case? Has a 'winner' of a presidential > election ever conceded it to someone else? Just curious. PAT] The concession speech is gracious, but non-binding! The electoral college meets next month and ITS decision IS binding. If hope springs eternal for you, then it aint over until it's over. - RM ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: VoIP Plays Big Role in Presidential Election Turnout Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 17:30:44 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have a question about the election. > On AP News Wednesday afternoon, Senator Kerry said in order to save the > country the kind of debacle which occurred in 2000 when Mr. Bush was > eventually declared the winner, he was going to concede the election > to Bush, which he did. But later in the day Wednesday officials said > they were still going to closely audit all the votes from Ohio. Now > just suppose the Ohio audit showed the Kerry *had* won that state > (although he and others said it was quite unlikely). But let's say > it turned out he did win *that state's electoral votes*. In that case > he might have won the election; but he has already conceded to Bush. > What would happen in that case? Has a 'winner' of a presidential > election ever conceded it to someone else? Just curious. PAT] I don't think it has ever happened, but what Kerry really said, in effect, is that his campaign will not challenge the vote counts anywhere. If, as you suggest, Ohio does its own audit and awards its electors to Kerry, then the Electoral College still does its thing on the appointed day in December and Kerry could in theory still become President. This seems highly unlikely, but there is no mechanism in the Constitution for a candidate to "concede." I suppose he could refuse the appointment, but then the office would go to Edwards, not Bush. At least, I think that's how it would work. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Subject: Re: Prepaid Questions [was Re: Make Right Call On Cell Plans] Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:44:10 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) wrote: > If I never use the phone at all, what is the minimum per-year charge > to keep it active for each of the prepaid providers "plans"? The cheapest I'm aware of is TracFone. You buy one of their annual 150 minute cards for around $100 and it works for a year. That works out to be about $8 a month with about 10 minutes of calls per month as well. No rollover worries. Need more minutes and you can buy one of their recharge cards, but your expiration date stays at the longer of either your annual date or the new card date. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Prepaid Questions [was Re: How to Make Right Call On Cell] Date: Thu, 04 Nov 2004 08:06:34 -0800 Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 23:17:34 GMT, tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) wrote: > The main obstacle is my total confusion when I look at the prepaid > folks web pages -- I mostly can't understand a word they are saying or > figure out what the actual minimum amount I'd have to spend really is > (virginmobile.com is the exception -- it almost seems clear). I'm not really sure what all your confusion is due to. Most tell you what the terms are i.e. you must pay a minimum amount to get service and there are usually some requirements for you to keep the service such as a requirement that you add money at a required interval or that you place a call by a certain period to keep your account active or both. > I usually give up when I get past the first page that says prepaid has > "NO CONTRACTS, NO PLANS, JUST PAY AS YOU GO!", then I see the next > page which lists a huge matrix of "PLANS" for different kinds of > prepaid phones (Aargh!). Different plans for different needs I should think. It's not one size fits all. Some people need it *just* for emergencies and some need it for occasional use while others do not have any choice and need something economical as that's the only service that they qualify for because either their credit is not good enough to get monthly service or they are foreigners with no local credit. > Just as a starting point for comparison, can anyone answer this > question: > If I never use the phone at all, what is the minimum per-year charge > to keep it active for each of the prepaid providers "plans"? I know of at least one plan where you can buy an initial package and your plan will live on indefinitely providing you make a one minute duration call every 60 days. It does require that you make at least a one minute duration call before the end of 60 days. So some effort and recall is required of you. Beyond Wireless provides this service http://www.gobeyondwireless.com/ You can buy service and phones through this company. They are a reseller of AT&T Wireless TDMA service. The disadvantage of this service is that they offer local numbers only in certain areas and may not have an area code/number local to you. They will also activate a compatible phone for free and give you some initial minutes for free. Minimum recharge card is $5. Another prepaid service offered by PhoneShark called "JusTalk" which you can buy a minimum $10 'card' (40 minutes) and it will last you for six months before you must add new minutes to keep the account active. They are an AT&T Wireless TDMA reseller as well. They do not sell phones though. You must provide your own AT&T Wireless TDMA compatible handset. This service ends up costing you ~$1.50/month. Here is a site that does prepaid comparisons: http://markson.net/cell_prepaid_compare.htm ------------------------------ From: Phil Stripling Subject: Re: Pre-Recorded Phone Should be Illegal Date: 04 Nov 2004 10:22:13 -0800 Organization: Legal Assistance on the Web hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) writes: > In the case of a public safety emergency -- normally a very rare > occurence -- I could see the use of pre-recorded announcements. Not in the area I live in. We've had one in the last couple of weeks, and there are several a year. > However, these should not replace traditional sirens or radio > announcements. The calls go out at dark-thirty in the morning. No one has radios on, and apparently, sirens are ineffective with closed windows and such. >SNIP< > If you put a sign up on your front gate advising visitors to KEEP OUT > and that you will not tolerate being disturbed, anyone who disregards > that sign is subject to arrest for trespassing and harassment. They Give that a try. Seriously. Put a sign on your gate and then call the cops when someone comes knocking at your door. Have them arrested. Phil Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed The Civilized Explorer | spam and read later. email to philip@ http://www.cieux.com/ | my domain is read daily. ------------------------------ Date: 4 Nov 2004 16:25:21 -0000 From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: Pre-Recorded Phone Should be Illegal In TELECOM Digest V23 #529, jared@nospam.au (jared) wrote (in part): > Oregon Republicans called me repeatedly on my cell phone ... > Calling cell phones costs the person called money, did they > think about that? ... > I asked them to stop ... they didn't ... one person could > even tell me the next pre-recorded call to expect ... they > said they got my number from the elections office ... > The stupidest call was about going to polling places ... > Oregon voted by 'mail', ballots came in the mail ... > Anyone in Oregon have a similar experience with junk political > calls? There were numerous anecdotal reports of nuisance phone calls, recorded messages, cell phones being called, and other activities that amounted to harassment, being committed by misguided loyalists of one party and attributed to the opposing party. The apparent goal was to p*ss off the recipient enough to provoke them to vote for the other party (the one actually supported by those making the bogus calls). There were also some less-than-gracious reactions from get-out-the-vote callers when the person called said s/he would or did vote for the opposing party. A worker for one party abruptly hung up on my wife when she told the caller that she had already voted for the opposition. An acquaintance told me that a campaign worker for the other party let fly some personal epithets when told that my acquaintance had already voted for the opposing candidate. Isn't it wonderful how the democratic process brings out the best in people ...? Paul A Lee Sr Telecom Engineer Rite Aid Corporation HL-IS-COM (Telecomm) V: +1 717 730-8355 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 F: +1 717 975-3789 P.O. Box 3165, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3165 W: +1 717 805-6208 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I remember something like that happening in Chicago years ago. Someone who was basically Republican in their outlook and sympathies and wanted to get others to feel the same way went through the phone book and called up a huge number of people between 3 and 4 AM every night and after getting the head of the household (usually) out of bed and awake would inquire who they were speaking to (leaving the head of the household to fear the worst [ie must be police calling, must have been some horrible accident, or a death, etc]) then proceeded to tell the party, 'be sure vote Democratic at the polls next week, and vote as often as you can get away with it', then they would hang up. The Republican Party is almost non-existent in Chicago; people are either straight- out Democrats or maybe they are 'independent voters'. Those middle of the night phone calls convinced more than one person that the Chicago Democratic Party was every bit as corrupted and rotten as they have been given credit for over the years. 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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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 #530 ******************************