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Message Digest
Volume 28 : Issue 62 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: Taxes and surcharges over 36% of bill, is this normal?
Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Re: update on TeleTrap from TelTech Systems
new price offer from t-mobile
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Date: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:58:53 GMT
From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Taxes and surcharges over 36% of bill, is this normal?
Message-ID: <noimq4lqqvccq41pqfvl1f0iv1f4otmb00@4ax.com>
Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> wrote:
>The City of Riverside, Calif. tried to add a tax to Cellular phone
Manitoba chiefs want cellphone revenue
Manitoba First Nations are seeking compensation from Manitoba Telecom Services for
every cellphone signal that passes through First Nations land, saying the airspace
should be considered a resource like land and water.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2007/05/30/manitoba-cellphone.html
Note: MTS is (or was named) Manitoba Telephone Systems and is the telco for the
province of Manitoba.
Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:37:55 -0600
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Message-ID: <49AB62A3.7070804@annsgarden.com>
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com asked:
> Did the Rural Electrification Act also cover telephone
> service to rural homes?
Yes, the USDA Rural Utilities Service (formerly the REA) does
indeed provide low-interest loans to telephone utilities. The
Code of Federal Regulations reads as follows: "On October 28,
1949, the RE Act was amended to authorize REA to make loans to
improve and extend telephone service in rural areas." [1]
Bill Horne, Temporary Moderator, wrote:
> Good questoin about Rural Electrification. Even if there
> was no direct subsidy, there was a large indirect one:
> the poles and rights-of-way were put in by the REA, so
> Ma Bell got to clamp on for free.
Telcos indeed have a right to attach to REA/RUS poles, but
they don't get it for free. With few exceptions, no pole
owner allows other parties to attach to its poles without
compensation.
The most common form of compensation is pole rental. Rental
rates vary widely, ranging from about $1.00 per pole per year to
as much as $40.00. Virtually all cable TV companies and CLECs
rent pole space for their facilities. Local, county, and state
governments also rent pole space for such things as street
lighting, traffic signals, pedestrian signals, and alarm
circuits.
Many ILECs also rent pole-attachment rights from power companies.
But ILECs also own many of their own poles, and power companies
often rent pole space from ILECs.
In high-density urban areas, the dominant power company and the
ILEC sometimes have reciprocal agreements: each company can
attach to the other's poles without cash changing hands. This
situation seems to be rooted in history, based on informal
arrangements that have evolved over the years.
As for cable TV companies and ILECs, pole attachment rates
charged by investor-owned utility companies are regulated by the
FCC and some states. The FCC has devised formulas to calculate
the maximum permissible rate that a pole owner can charge. [2]
Rural Electric Cooperatives are specifically exempt from FCC pole
attachment regulation, but may be subject to state regulation
(which often follows FCC rules) in those states that assert
jurisdiction over pole attachments. [3]
Unsurprisingly, even with FCC and state regulation, pole rental
arrangements are the source of much altercation between cable TV
companies and pole owners. Many such disagreements have wound up
at the FCC, and a few have wound up in court. Fortunately (for
the cable industry), the FCC and the courts have generally ruled
in favor of the cable companies. [4-5]
Note that the foregoing discussion concerns only pole attachment
rights, but says nothing about right-of-way. Any company --
electric power, ILEC, CLEC, or cable TV -- still has to obtain
permission to occupy the underlying land.
But that's a subject for another day, so I won't try to tackle it
here.
[1] 7 CFR Part 1700.1 Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 63
Thursday, April 2, 1998 p. 16085
http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/register/1998/1998_16085.pdf
[2] Federal Communications Commission. "Pole Attachment
Enforcement." March 31 2008.
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/mdrd/PoleAtt.html
[3] Jack Richards and Thomas Magee. "Broadband Over Power Line:
Pole Attachment, Antitrust And Access Issues" İKeller and
Heckman LLP, September 23, 2004 p. 2
http://www.ibec.net/pdf/BPL_Pole_Attachment_Legal_Opinion.pdf
[4] United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. Public Service Company of Colorado v. Federal
Communications Commission et al.
http://tinyurl.com/bx9yuf
[5] Jon Lafayette. "Court upholds limits on pole attachment
fees: the Supreme Court rules that cost of cable's high-speed-
data wires will be regulated by FCC." Cable World, Jan 21, 2002
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DIZ/is_3_14/ai_82650024
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 12:23:55 -0800 (PST)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Message-ID: <ac052fd9-bba6-45cf-9a7a-9d4d2f6a1fae@w34g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>
On Mar 2, 10:05 am, Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
> Telcos indeed have a right to attach to REA/RUS poles, but
> they don't get it for free. With few exceptions, no pole
> owner allows other parties to attach to its poles without
> compensation.
Around here the wooden poles are loaded down, to the extent that some
poles are "doubled", there is a second pole alongside, apparently to
help with the weight. Historically around here the lines were--top
electric, middle phone, lower cable. The electric lines do not appear
to have changed, but the rest of them are heavy. I don't know which
kind they are.
They've also added buried FIOS cable.
Despite the load, it's still relatively easy to carry phone and cable
since they're low voltage. But there is a big shortage of carrying
capacity for very high voltage power lines that interconnect
generating stations. Neighbors fight those lines out of health
worries.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:00:43 -0600
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Technical Demo turns political 2/26/1909
Message-ID: <49AB67FB.3080903@annsgarden.com>
BILL: I made a dumb mistake in my previous message. Please
discard it an use this one instead. Thanks, nmcl
***********************************************************************************
* Moderator's note: Sorry, Neil, unless the SUBJECT has a big, obvious sign - *
* such as ***** ERROR ERROR PLEASE DON'T USE PREVIOUS POST ***** - *
* I just process them in sequence. *
* *
* Bill Horne *
* Temporary Moderator *
***********************************************************************************
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com asked:
> Did the Rural Electrification Act also cover telephone
> service to rural homes?
Yes, the USDA Rural Utilities Service (formerly the REA) does
indeed provide low-interest loans to telephone utilities. The
Code of Federal Regulations reads as follows: "On October 28,
1949, the RE Act was amended to authorize REA to make loans to
improve and extend telephone service in rural areas." [1]
Bill Horne, Temporary Moderator, wrote:
> Good questoin about Rural Electrification. Even if there
> was no direct subsidy, there was a large indirect one:
> the poles and rights-of-way were put in by the REA, so
> Ma Bell got to clamp on for free.
Telcos indeed have a right to attach to REA/RUS poles, they don't
get it for free. With few exceptions, no pole owner allows other
parties to attach to its poles without compensation.
The most common form of compensation is pole rental. Rental
rates vary widely, ranging from about $1.00 per pole per year to
as much as $40.00. Virtually all cable TV companies and CLECs
rent pole space for their facilities. Local, county, and state
governments also rent pole space for such things as street
lighting, traffic signals, pedestrian lighting, and alarm
circuits.
Many ILECs also rent pole-attachment rights from power companies
But ILECs also own many of their own poles, and power companies
often rent pole space from ILECs
In high-density urban areas, the dominant power company and the
ILEC sometimes have reciprocal agreements: each company can
attach to the other's poles without cash changing hands. This
situation seems to be rooted in history, based on informal
arrangements that have evolved over the years
As for cable TV companies and CLECs, pole attachment rates
charged by investor-owned utility companies are regulated by the
FCC and some states. The FCC has devised formulas to calculate
the maximum permissible rate that a pole owner can charge. [2]
Rural Electric Cooperatives are specifically exempt from FCC pole
attachment regulation, but may be subject to state regulation
(which often follows FCC rules) in those states that assert
jurisdiction over pole attachments.[3]
Unsurprisingly, even with FCC and state regulation, pole rental
arrangements are the source of much altercation between cable TV
companies and pole owners. Many such disagreements have would up
at the FCC, and a few have wound up in court. Fortunately (for
the cable industry), the FCC and the courts have generally ruled
in favor of the cable companies. [4-5]
Note that the foregoing discussion concerns only pole attachment
rights, but says nothing about right-of-way. Any company --
electric power, ILEC, CLEC, or cable TV -- still has to obtain
permission to occupy the underlying land.
But that's a subject for another day, so I won't try to tackle it
here.
[1] 7 CFR Part 1700.1 Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 63
Thursday, April 2, 1998 p. 16085
http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/register/1998/1998_16085.pdf
[2] Federal Communications Commission. "Pole Attachment
Enforcement." March 31 2008.
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/mdrd/PoleAtt.html
[3] Jack Richards and Thomas Magee. "Broadband Over Power Line:
Pole Attachment, Antitrust And Access Issues" (c)Keller and
Heckman LLP, September 23, 2004 p. 2
http://www.ibec.net/pdf/BPL_Pole_Attachment_Legal_Opinion.pdf
[4] United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. Public Service Company of Colorado v. Federal
Communications Commission et al.
http://tinyurl.com/bx9yuf
[5] Jon Lafayette. "Court upholds limits on pole attachment
fees: the Supreme Court rules that cost of cable's high-speed-
data wires will be regulated by FCC." Cable World, Jan 21, 2002
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DIZ/is_3_14/ai_82650024
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 13:20:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: update on TeleTrap from TelTech Systems
Message-ID: <854092.62118.qm@web52711.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Sun, 1 Mar 2009 10:02:29 -0500 danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote:
<<background: This company lets users of _some_ cellular phones,
when receiving a "blocked-CNID" call, hit a few buttons, and
then, through some magic, the CNID appears.>>
That "some" would be any GSM operator that lets you set up conditional
forwarding since the service uses the "004" conditionally forward
everything code. With CDMA they don't have an equivalent code.
<<I've just duplicated the probable sequence using my own cellphone,
(without using TelTech) and yes, I was able to get the "blocked"
CNID to appear.>>
The only problem with you using your own Kall8 toll-free number is
that any number that's forwarded through that service will make you
incur a 6 per minute charge for any calls you choose to route to your
mobile number. Using TelTech's 866 number there's no charge at least
on the basic "free" service.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 20:28:49 -0500
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: new price offer from t-mobile
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.0903022027320.14209@panix5.panix.com>
disclosure: I'm a user and a shareholder.
This new plan doesn't make sense for me, but it might
be of some interest to other folk - especially if you
can use your cellphone in place of a business line.
And with some luck it'll inspire some new reductions in
charges from the other cellcos.
from DSLREPORTS.COM:
---
New T-Mobile Loyal Customer Pricing Goes Live
$49.99 for unlimited minutes, $24.99 for unlimited data...
...
That rumor from last month about a new T-Mobile loyal customer
discount was apparently true. Customers who have been with the
carrier for at least twenty two months, and have a decent payment
history with the carrier, are now being offered (via e-mail)
a $49.99 per month plan that comes with unlimited minutes...
---
rest (and make sure to read the comments):
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-TMobile-Loyal-Customer-Pricing-Goes-Live-101159
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
------------------------------
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