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Message Digest Volume 28 : Issue 102 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Directories If Only Literature Could Be a Cellphone-Free Zone Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Re: Conficker spam bots could send 400 billion emails per day Cell phone recycling: delete, then dispose ====== 27 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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, and other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:53:34 +1000 From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <pan.2009.04.13.07.53.32.506854@myrealbox.com> > In the future, I think Ham radio will once again take on a major role in > offering technical training and camaraderie for young proto-geeks, > because it will take up some of the slack as the net becomes less a > technical center and more a trasport pipe for entertainment. The old > days are, of course, gone: there's no magic in having a hand-held radio > when cell phones are ubiquitous, but there are still plenty of technical > challenges to be met, and as the internet/cellular/etc infrastructure > becomes ever-more complicated, there will be a demand for technicians to > keep it running. > > Bill Horne > Temporary Moderator How many "geeks" these days know what a SWR is let alone what to do about it? So many who are called "technicians" these days seem to be the modern equivalent of "Valve jockeys" (or probably "Tube jockeys" to most of you in Nth. America), who know little except to replace modules until things start to work again. Are the fundamentals of electronics and communications systems being taught any more, or is it just CCNA/MSIE qualifications being churned out to those who learn how to pass the exams? -- Regards, David. David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:52:05 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <FvNEl.16377$D32.13298@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com> David Clayton wrote: >> In the future, I think Ham radio will once again take on a major role in >> offering technical training and camaraderie for young proto-geeks, >> because it will take up some of the slack as the net becomes less a >> technical center and more a trasport pipe for entertainment. The old >> days are, of course, gone: there's no magic in having a hand-held radio >> when cell phones are ubiquitous, but there are still plenty of technical >> challenges to be met, and as the internet/cellular/etc infrastructure >> becomes ever-more complicated, there will be a demand for technicians to >> keep it running. >> >> Bill Horne >> Temporary Moderator > > How many "geeks" these days know what a SWR is let alone what to do about > it? So many who are called "technicians" these days seem to be the modern > equivalent of "Valve jockeys" (or probably "Tube jockeys" to most of you > in Nth. America), who know little except to replace modules until things > start to work again. > > Are the fundamentals of electronics and communications systems being > taught any more, or is it just CCNA/MSIE qualifications being churned > out to those who learn how to pass the exams? > I agree: when I started with California Water Telephone, in 1967 in CO Equipment Installation, we had to be able to fix the equipment if it needed. Now, the techs and installers just replace a card and send it in to be repaired. But today it would take a lot of time to fix something on site when we are not given the tools to do it; let alone the time. I myself like to do repair; as a child I would take things apart to see how they worked and [I] built most of my radio gear that I used, and [also] built a HeathKit Color TV for a friend when I was in high school and it still works. The Basics are still taught to day, but as I said we are not given the time or tools to fix. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:16:20 -0400 From: Steve Stone <spfleck@citlink.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <gs0h49$s7f$1@news.motzarella.org> > How many "geeks" these days know what a SWR is let alone what to do about > it? So many who are called "technicians" these days seem to be the modern > equivalent of "Valve jockeys" (or probably "Tube jockeys" to most of you > in Nth. America), who know little except to replace modules until things > start to work again. > > Are the fundamentals of electronics and communications systems being > taught any more, or is it just CCNA/MSIE qualifications being churned > out to those who learn how to pass the exams? > Ham radio in the USA is still mostly an "old gray haired guys" realm. If you find younger people in the hobby they have usually been nudged into it by ham family members. Sometimes you can spark a flame of interest with a group of Boy Scouts. The electronics aspects for fun went out for most people once components got so small they require special handling, tweezers, lots of magnification, special solder stations, etc. A lot of guys leave that level to the pros but love to tweak and play with antenna design and aspects that can be seen and handled with normal hands. Steve N2UBP ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:23:42 -0400 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <MPG.244dafa9f56eb2fe9899c7@reader.motzarella.org> In article <pan.2009.04.13.07.53.32.506854@myrealbox.com>, dcstar@myrealbox.com says... > > > In the future, I think Ham radio will once again take on a major role in > > offering technical training and camaraderie for young proto-geeks, > > because it will take up some of the slack as the net becomes less a > > technical center and more a trasport pipe for entertainment. The old > > days are, of course, gone: there's no magic in having a hand-held radio > > when cell phones are ubiquitous, but there are still plenty of technical > > challenges to be met, and as the internet/cellular/etc infrastructure > > becomes ever-more complicated, there will be a demand for technicians to > > keep it running. > > > > Bill Horne > > Temporary Moderator > > How many "geeks" these days know what a SWR is let alone what to do about > it? [Moderator snip] I do! Standing wave ratio, otherwise known as power reflected back at the transmitter. Bad grounding, bad radials, impeadance mismatches etc. all cause more power to be reflected back. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:27:18 +0000 (UTC) From: Paul <pssawyer@comcast.net.INVALID> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <Xns9BEC74D17AC01Senex@85.214.105.209> T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> wrote in news:MPG.244c55b9ead249529899c3@reader.motzarella.org: > In article <MPG.244ad39a76e6bc7d9899b7@reader.motzarella.org>, > kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net says... >> >> In article <p06240821c605b3d14247@[10.0.1.6]>, monty@roscom.com >> says... >> > >> > Sabotage attacks knock out phone service >> > >> >> As a ham, I have to ask where was the amateur radio communty in >> this. It's been proven time and again that amateur radio is the >> only thing standing when landline and cell services go down. >> >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> >> Ham radio may be still standing when cell and landlines are down, >> but it's not operational. Short of having hams drive around with >> loudspeakers advertising their presence, there's no way to make >> the citizenry aware of their capabilities. >> >> Bill Horne >> Temporary Moderator > > I know standard policy when telecom systems go out here is that > hams are stationed at common communty rally points and at the PD > and FD stations. > > Most of it is handled by the Red Cross. > > Amateur Radio is part of our local and state Emergency Operations Center procedures, and tested at least as often as required by the rules at the nearby nuclear power plant. AFAIK, they only operate 2 meters, most of which depends on repeaters. -- Paul ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:27:52 GMT From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <2e77u455vhg6keb7tfp8o02dolesgunisj@4ax.com> Paul <pssawyer@comcast.net.INVALID> wrote: > AFAIK, they only operate 2 >meters, most of which depends on repeaters. 2m or 144-148 Mhz is the frequency [band] you see mostly in use. It [has] a good combination of building penetration and slight over the horizon coverage as well as [short] antenna length. However, extensive use is [also] made of UHF, 430 to 450 Mhz. See http://www.saralink.ca/sara-pic.htm for a system that covers much of the province of Alberta. There are UHF hubs in the major centres. Other bands such as 222 to 225 Mhz are used by the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) in Alberta. But just as important are the lower frequencies that allow the signal to go hundreds or thousands of miles. This allows amateurs to get messages outside the affected area such as during the Quebec ice storm or the tsunamis. These require more setup and physical space due to the longer antennas required. Radio amateurs operating on 2m make extensive use of repeaters. However these are vulnerable to hurricanes, ice storms and power outages. So the amateurs train in simplex or direct station to station contact as well. Coverage is not as good of course. The various ARES groups in cities also generally have mobile repeaters which can be placed on high spots in the affected areas or to replace antennas on towers that have been damaged or destroyed. These mobile repeaters are also deployed in support of many special events on the fringes of current repeater coverage such as marathons, triathlons, car rallies and similar annual events. 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: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:37:44 -0400 From: Steve Stone <spfleck@citlink.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <gs0icf$5n7$1@news.motzarella.org> > AFAIK, they only operate 2 > meters, most of which depends on repeaters. > I oversee a local Ham Radio ARES/RACES team at the county level. 2 meters is there because it is popular, but we also have HF, 440 mhz, 6 meters, and the ability to send and receive slow speed e-mail and small attachments over HF Pactor or 2 meter packet from locations without Internet service, jacking into an area that still has Internet service. See http://www.winlink.org for more info. Steve N2UBP ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:29:08 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <qLJEl.13427$%54.8699@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com> >T wrote: >> In article <MPG.244ad39a76e6bc7d9899b7@reader.motzarella.org>, >> kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net says... >>> In article <p06240821c605b3d14247@[10.0.1.6]>, monty@roscom.com says... >>>> Sabotage attacks knock out phone service >>>> >>> As a ham, I have to ask where was the amateur radio communty in this. >>> It's been proven time and again that amateur radio is the only thing >>> standing when landline and cell services go down. >>> >>> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >>> >>> Ham radio may be still standing when cell and landlines are down, but >>> it's not operational. Short of having hams drive around with >>> loudspeakers advertising their presence, there's no way to make the >>> citizenry aware of their capabilities. >>> >>> Bill Horne >>> Temporary Moderator >> >> I know standard policy when telecom systems go out here is that hams >> are stationed at common communty rally points and at the PD and FD >> stations. >> >> Most of it is handled by the Red Cross. >> > >***** Moderator's Note ***** > >As it happened, I grew up during a time when the United States was >encouraging technical education and achievement, so ham operators >received a lot of support from governments at all levels. That support >translated into real-world benefits, both in terms of surplus >equipment distributed to M.A.R.S. members, and in terms of >preferential placements for servicemen with ham licenses: I ran the >Navy M.A.R.S. station at Danang, which entitled me to sit in >air-conditioned comfort while G.I.'s with fewer skills were out in the >sun humping ammo off of trucks. > >Times have changed, and many hams feel that they're no longer welcome >at the public-service table: Ham radio can still provide emergency >communmications, although hams must learn to contribute within the >framework of an incident management system that subordinates them to >professional responders. > >In the future, I think Ham radio will once again take on a major role >in offering technical training and camaraderie for young proto-geeks, >because it will take up some of the slack as the net becomes less a >technical center and more a trasport pipe for entertainment. The old >days are, of course, gone: there's no magic in having a hand-held >radio when cell phones are ubiquitous, but there are still plenty of >technical challenges to be met, and as the internet/cellular/etc >infrastructure becomes ever-more complicated, there will be a demand >for technicians to keep it running. > >Bill Horne >Temporary Moderator Here in the Inland Empire (Riverside/San Bernardino) most agencies work with the local Hams during an emergency and training is going on all the time. In LA County there are Ham Radio operators working in the Emergency Communications Centers 24/7 even when there are no emergencies. I believe Riverside is the same, but as I said I'm pretty much out of it now. I just dug my old 10 meter portable out to see how it worked, I put new batteries and it appears to be as good as it was the last time I used it some 20 years ago. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:04:03 GMT From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <9687u45jg25cnjkajdtmu84hgqh00gbnhs@4ax.com> >>As it happened, I grew up during a time when the United States was >>encouraging technical education and achievement, so ham operators >>received a lot of support from governments at all levels. That support >>translated into real-world benefits, both in terms of surplus >>equipment distributed to M.A.R.S. members, and in terms of >>preferential placements for servicemen with ham licenses: I ran the >>Navy M.A.R.S. station at Danang, which entitled me to sit in >>air-conditioned comfort while G.I.'s with fewer skills were out in the >>sun humping ammo off of trucks. >> >>Times have changed, and many hams feel that they're no longer welcome >>at the public-service table: As far as I know in the USA amateurs are still very welcome at the table. Yes, there are certainly places where the amateurs aren't welcome but I suspect as much as anything it's a matter of personalities on both sides. >>Ham radio can still provide emergency >>communmications, although hams must learn to contribute within the >>framework of an incident management system that subordinates them to >>professional responders. The more training the amateurs can get the better. Here in Alberta the various agencies involved are working on a formal certification program for amateurs involving standard training such as that made available by the Radio Amateurs of Canada as well as basic ICS. All of which is great. Those amateurs who take that training will be given responsible positions when the manure hits the rotating blades. Those amateurs who show up without the training will be placed under the leadership of those who've taken the time and effort. >>In the future, I think Ham radio will once again take on a major role >>in offering technical training and camaraderie for young proto-geeks, >>because it will take up some of the slack as the net becomes less a >>technical center and more a trasport pipe for entertainment. I don't know about that. There are definitely younger people coming into the hobby. I know of 12 and 16 year olds in the major cities. We're also seeing a lot of 40 year old people whose kids are teenagers are who have moved out and who can now take the time to devote to the hobby. >>The old >>days are, of course, gone: there's no magic in having a hand-held >>radio when cell phones are ubiquitous, I respectfully disagree. Handhelds are still part of the magic when you can chat with someone in your area. All for free and sharing a common hobby. We don't need to meet on Tuesday nights at 7 pm to enjoy model railroading. <smile> Well there is the one time charge of buying the equipment. Of course some amateurs aren't interested in the local chit chat on the repeaters but want to converse with others thousands of miles away. There are lots of areas for folks to get involved in. For example the following is currently #6 in the balloon altitude records in their class. Southern Alberta Balloon Launch Experiment #3 http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/sable3.htm "This would normally have been the end of the story, but not this time. Checkout the The Aftermath from SABLE-3" ... "And finally, many of the countless comments and replies found on as many web pages are very interesting, but this one from digg.com is one of my favourites - Comment: What kind of guys normally launch balloons? Reply - The ones that have their pants pulled up to their chests, hair slicked back with Brylcreem, and thick black framed glasses with tape holding one of the hinges together. Reply - Guys that don't spend all day on Digg? Guys that actually *do* stuff?" http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/sable3aftermath.htm 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: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:31:50 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Directories Message-ID: <XNJEl.13428$%54.7784@nlpi070.nbdc.sbc.com> Randall Webmail wrote: >> From: gordon@hammy.burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) >> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu >> Subject: Re: Demise of on-line telephone directory >databases >> Message-ID: ><oI2dnXbL24AQvnzUnZ2dnUVZ_jmdnZ2d@posted.internetamerica> > >>> Might as well resume using printed telephone directories. The number of >>> published listings is way down, as the ILEC doesn't carry all telephone >>> numbers from CLEC's, but at least what you find stands a better chance >>> of being accurate. >> It's impossible to find my phone number via such searches. I prefer >> it this way. I get nearly zero junk phone calls. >> > >> The model I prefer is: if you want your number >listed in a directory, >> then contact a directory company (or several) and >pay for it. >> Telephone companies may not sell data to >directory companies. If >> a telephone company runs a directory company, it >must be done as a >> separate unit with no access to the telephone >company database. > > You mean some people don't lie to the telephone company? You can find my > number in the local directory, [but] you will not find my name. > You will find my name in the directory since in order to get my 50% telephone company employee discount, but no address; also I have had all online listings removed, at least all I can find. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:36:44 -0400 From: Will Roberts <oldbear@arctos.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: If Only Literature Could Be a Cellphone-Free Zone Message-ID: <0MKpCa-1LtP9U3YYO-000cfs@mrelay.perfora.net> THE NEW YORK TIMES Sunday, April 12, 2009 If Only Literature Could Be a Cellphone-Free Zone ------------------------------------------------- By Matt Richtel Juliet: Fakn death. C U Latr. Romeo: gud plan. Conspiring with a distant lover? Try texting. Lost in the woods/wilderness/Ionic Sea? Use GPS. Case of mistaken identity? Facebook! Technology is rendering obsolete some classic narrative plot devices: missed connections, miscommunications, the inability to reach someone. Such gimmicks don't pass the smell test when even the most remote destinations have wireless coverage. (It's Odysseus, can someone look up the way to Ithaca? Use the "no Sirens" route.) Of what significance is the loss to storytelling if characters from Sherwood Forest to the Gates of Hell can be instantly, if not constantly, connected? Plenty, and at least part of it is personal. I recently finished my second thriller, or so I thought. When I sent it to several fine writer friends, I received this feedback: the protagonist and his girlfriend can't spend the whole book unable to get in touch with each other. Not in the cellphone era. Then I started talking to fellow writers and discovered a brewing antagonism toward today’s communication gadgets. "We want a world where there's distance between people; that's where great story-telling comes from," said Kamran Pasha, a writer and producer on "Kings," the NBC drama based on the story of David. He says even the unfolding of the Bible would have been a casualty of connectedness. In the Old Testament, for instance, Joseph's brothers toss him into a pit. He is picked up by slave traders and taken to Egypt, a pivotal development in the Exodus narrative that is central to Judaism. Imagine if, instead, he dialed for help from the pit. "It’s humorous to think that if Joseph has an iPhone, there's no Judaism," Mr. Pasha says. Must we now hit "delete" on tension that simmers for hundreds of pages as characters wonder, for instance, what's happened to a lover? Certainly Rick Blaine would have been spared the aching uncertainty of why Ilsa stood him up at the train station in "Casablanca." (Why didn't she show up? We were supposed to run away together! Hmm, let me check my messages ... O.K., well, that makes sense. Now let's see if I can find her on Google Earth. ...) What fate Portnoy had his aunt used the Internet to ask Fresh Direct to just deliver the liver? Undone would be many a key underlying misunderstanding in Shakespeare's comedies with a simple I.M.: Can u clarify whethr u r man or gal? Thrillers, of course, have long benefited from technology, which offers new tools for discovery. But technology has also rained on the genre. The best-selling author Douglas Preston remembers an "aha" moment in the late 1990s when he was writing with Lincoln Child. They had a female character being stalked in a dark alley in New York City, seemingly unable to find help. Mr. Preston recalls "I said,'Lincoln, she's got a cellphone.' He said,'Well, maybe readers won't notice,'" They moved the scene to the subway, where, at the time, there was no reception. In one episode of this season's television drama "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," the show's writers wanted to prevent two main characters from communicating. "We blew up the cellphone tower," said the executive producer, Josh Friedman, one of those writers who critiqued my thriller-in-the-making. Some writers are just rejecting modernity. M. J. Rose, whose books about reincarnation are the basis for a planned pilot on the Fox Network, intends to set her next book in 1948 in part so she can let missed connections and miscommunications simmer. "You miss a train in 1888 or even 1988, and have no way to contact the person waiting at the station on the other end," she said. "He thinks you've changed your mind, been captured, weren't able to escape. You miss a train in 2009 and you pull out your cell and text that you'll be two hours late." ## http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/weekinreview/12richtel.html ***** Moderator's Note ***** Sic tranit technology: new ways of doing things have always changed the landscape that forms the background of literature, and not necessarily for the worse. The invention of penicillin made Ibsen's "Ghosts" unbelievable in the same way that the crumbling of the Iron Curtain put an entire generation of spy novelists and anti-communmists out of work. While Ibsen's work could be rejuvenated by substituting HIV for syphilis, the lack of a "big red menace" filling the bookshelves, and of the corrupting government defense spending it justified, cannot help but improve our understanding of the ways people are more alike than they are different. Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:47:56 -0500 From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Message-ID: <49E388DC.6040507@annsgarden.com> AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote: >Our situation is a mostly one-story 3500 sq ft house on the Stanford >campus that includes an owner's section plus 3 self-contained >studio-type rental units under one roof (the rental units are typically >occupied by grad students or visitors on university fellows programs). > >Present connectivity includes Comcast cable TV with 4-way signal >splitting; 5 hardwired phone lines (3 into the rental units, plus >separate "residential" and "home office" lines for the owners); and >AT&T DSL service on one of the owner lines. > >The DSL (which has only about 400KB data rate due to excessive >distance from the nearest CO) comes in through an elderly Cayman >router, one of whose 4 Ethernet ports is cabled via Cat 5 to a >centrally positioned Apple Extreme base station. This base station >then provides an in-house WIfI LAN to multiple laptops (mostly Macs) >in all four parts of the house (it does get a bit overloaded at >times). Some other misc Ethernet stuff (printers, etc) is hung off >the other three Ethernet ports of the Cayman. > >We're hoping to convert essentially _all_ of this connectivity into >the Comcast bundle, including dumping the DSL service after a testing >and transition period. So, a variety of questions come up... Have you discussed this with Comcast? If you are planning to provide video services to four separate residences under an agreement that covers service one customer, you may be violating Comcast's billing policy. It's been a long time since I worked in the cable TV industry (and even longer since I worked at Comcast), but cable TV companies generally treat each separate residence as a separate "dwelling unit" for billing purposes. Most cable companies offer "bulk billing" for multi-unit buildings (hotel/motels, retirement facilities, hospitals) billed under a single bill. The per-dwelling-unit cost is lower than the cost would be if each dwelling unit were billed as a separate customer, but the total is higher than it would be for a single customer. It's certainly possible to connect four dwelling units to a single cable TV drop (as you are now doing) without getting involved in a bulk-bill arrangement. But given the complexity of the project you are proposing, it seems to me that at some point you are going to have to deal with Comcast. I'll leave it to other TD readers to comment on the feasibility of running four internet connections and five VOIP telephone lines over a Comcast drop intended to serve one customer, but I think I can confidently predict that it will be more complicated than simply splitting the cable TV video signal. As to your specific question... >5) Because of the 4-way splitting of the cable TV signal, we currently > have a powered cable TV amplifier at the point where the current cable > from Comcast enters the house. Will the Internet signals pass through > that amplifier? -- or will they have to be split off and/or bypassed > around it somehow? It depends on the type of amplifier. If it's a one-way amplifier, then it won't pass upstream signals; you'll have to bypass it or replace it. If it's a two-way amplifier of appropriate noise figure, gain, and bandwidth characteristics, then it should pass data signals. But I can't tell you what the "appropriate" characteristics are: that question hinges on other factors such as the signal levels provided by Comcast, the frequencies Comcast uses for data, and the length and condition of the existing coax inside your building. My advice: If you are determined to convert everything to Comcast, then contact Comcast, explain what you want to do, and ask them for a quotation. You can expect that it will cost more than you'd pay as a single customer, but the price will include the appropriate design, equipment and service. As to your question... > >6) Part of the overall deal is also supposed to be converting at least > three, maybe four of the existing 5 phone lines over to VOIP, so as > to get substantially reduced cost and and unified billing (might > even drop phone service for the tenants, and let them live with the > individual cell phones they generally come to us with, or with VOIP > they set up on their own). Do you really want to put all of your eggs in one basket? Bear in mind that if Comcast's signal fails, you'd loose everything: video, internet, and telephone. Keeping your phone service separate provides "route diversity," ensuring that you won't lose everything at once. Notwithstanding the recent sabotage problems in San Jose, I'd keep at least one phone line connected to AT&T. Neal McLain Retired cable guy Brazoria, Texas ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:05:38 -0500 From: Hudson Leighton <hudsonl@skypoint.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Message-ID: <hudsonl-BF1063.15053713042009@news.isp.giganews.com> In article <49E388DC.6040507@annsgarden.com>, Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote: > AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote: > > >Our situation is a mostly one-story 3500 sq ft house on the Stanford > >campus that includes an owner's section plus 3 self-contained > >studio-type rental units under one roof (the rental units are typically > >occupied by grad students or visitors on university fellows programs). I also think you will run into problems with Comcast's usage limits (250G ?) -Hudson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:09:11 GMT From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Comcast Triple Play in multi-unit residence: advice sought Message-ID: <e9a7u4hilh2tbkt8itt3gpu6ehca7pr15f@4ax.com> Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote: >Do you really want to put all of your eggs in one basket? Bear in mind >that if Comcast's signal fails, you'd loose everything: video, internet, >and telephone. > >Keeping your phone service separate provides "route diversity," ensuring >that you won't lose everything at once. Notwithstanding the recent >sabotage problems in San Jose, I'd keep at least one phone line >connected to AT&T. Also note that cableco's don't seem to do quite a good job at providing dial tone in a disaster or power failure as do the telco's. In my opinion there are a lot more things to go wrong with IP based telephone systems than POTS. Also cell phone systems are typically overloaded in an disaster. I would definitely dedicate a UPS just to running the "modem" and wireless hub, etc so you can possibly continue to make phone calls. 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: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:43:55 +0000 (UTC) From: ranck@vt.edu To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <grvq4b$ba9$1@solaris.cc.vt.edu> Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote: > Whatever the final toll, one thing is certain: Whoever did this is in > a world of trouble if he, she or they get caught. > "I pity the individuals who have done this," said San Jose Police > Chief Rob Davis. > Ten fiber-optic cables carrying were cut at four locations in the Yeah, and I bet the perps were really annoyed when they saw there wasn't any copper in those cables . . . How much does anyone want to bet it was something stupid like that more than intentional DOS? Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:24:33 -0400 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <MPG.244dafded13016609899c8@reader.motzarella.org> In article <grvq4b$ba9$1@solaris.cc.vt.edu>, ranck@vt.edu says... > > Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote: > > > Whatever the final toll, one thing is certain: Whoever did this is in > > a world of trouble if he, she or they get caught. > > > "I pity the individuals who have done this," said San Jose Police > > Chief Rob Davis. > > > Ten fiber-optic cables carrying were cut at four locations in the > > Yeah, and I bet the perps were really annoyed when they saw > there wasn't any copper in those cables . . . > > How much does anyone want to bet it was something stupid > like that more than intentional DOS? > > Bill Ranck > Blacksburg, Va. One of the prime reasons I believe it was someone inside is that they knew just what to cut and where. The everyday idiot doesn't know where most UG fiber is. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:16:53 GMT From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <f577u491juucf6fubpdadnlq5t9ip83d7e@4ax.com> T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> wrote: >Most of it is handled by the Red Cross. This is not true. Or rather it may be true in your jurisdiction or you may have a misleading opinion based on media reports. One thing that the Canadian and US Red Cross are very, very good at is media relations. Amateurs have thier own relationships with the various served agencies one of which is the Red Cross. Most important, though, are the local muncipalities, towns and cities. Tony ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:20:28 -0400 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Sabotage attacks knock out phone service Message-ID: <MPG.244daeeb45f03b19899c6@reader.motzarella.org> In article <UKrEl.4609$im1.232@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com>, diespammers@ikillspammers.com says... > > Steven Lichter wrote: > > T wrote: > >> > >> As a ham, I have to ask where was the amateur radio communty in this. > >> It's been proven time and again that amateur radio is the only thing > >> standing when landline and cell services go down. > >> > >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** > >> > >> Ham radio may be still standing when cell and landlines are down, but > >> it's not operational. Short of having hams drive around with > >> loudspeakers advertising their presence, there's no way to make the > >> citizenry aware of their capabilities. > >> > >> Bill Horne > >> Temporary Moderator > > > > I don't know about that, but in 1971 after the Sylmar, Calif earthquake > > almost everyone in my neighborhood showed up at my door to get in > > contact with people in other parts of the country; but working for GTE > > at that time I was working 24/7. trying to clear out the CO so we could > > rebuild. > > > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > >I envy you: I grew up during the "TVI" era, and the only people who > >showed up at my door were angry about not being able to see their > >favorite TV show. I did everything I could to hide the fact that I'm a > >ham operator, and now, since I operate AM, I still keep a low profile. > > >Frankly, I doubt more than one out of one-hundred citizens even know > >ham radio still exists. It's just not a valid option for emergency > >communication, since too few know that it's availalble. > > >Bill Horne, W1AC > >Temporary Moderator > > > I used to give out High Pass Filters until one neighbor came to me a > demanded I pay for a new picture tube that a TV repairman told him the > filter caused to blow. I refused telling him that is not possible and > the tech is either a moron or a crook. He called the police which > laughed at him and then filled a complaint with the FCC which told him > the same thing. From that point on I told anyone that asked that the > manufacturer was responsible since I was within the rules. I did > continue to come through a neighbors electric organ which I cold never fix. > > I used to work with the Sheriffs emergency communications unit and > later became a reserve sheriff. So back then Ham radio was known, > [although] many thought it was the same as CB. I handled a lot of > M.A.R.S. traffic, but in the last few years have not even bothered to > set my rig up and have long since had the plates removed from my car. Believe it or not the RI Emergency Management Agency just put an ad out for someone with both an amateur and commercial FCC license. I just happen to have both so I sent my resume. Never heard back. Friend and I theorize that they created the job for someone thinking who would have BOTH licenses. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:04:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Dan Lanciani <ddl@danlan.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Conficker spam bots could send 400 billion emails per day Message-ID: <200904132304.TAA17768@ss10.danlan.com> |COMPUTERWORLD / Security |April 10, 2009 | |Conficker botnet could flood Web with spam |------------------------------------------ | | It could send billions of messages daily, | says Russian security researcher | |By |Gregg Keizer [...] |Gostev also noted that almost every message contained a unique domain |in the embedded link, a tactic spammers sometimes use to side-step |antispam filters, which analyze the frequency that any one domain is |used. "We detected the use of 40,542 third-level domains and 33 |second-level domains," said Gostev. "They all belonged to spammers |and the companies that ordered these mailings." If they know which companies ordered the mailings why don't they go after them (or at least list them)? |Most of the domains are hosted in China, he added. This seems carefully worded to make the perpetrators appear out of reach. Who cares where the domains are hosted? I want to know where those companies that ordered the mailings are incorporated. Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:37:12 -0400 From: Will Roberts <oldbear@arctos.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Cell phone recycling: delete, then dispose Message-ID: <0MKpCa-1LtYZg0Ww5-000cuh@mrelay.perfora.net> MSNBC - April 13, 2009 Cell phone recycling: delete, then dispose ------------------------------------------ Renewed efforts underway to get users to safely get rid of mobiles Only about 10 percent of cell phones in the United States were recycled in 2007, with many of them being tossed in the trash or stashed away in nooks and crannies around the house. The federal government and wireless carriers are renewing efforts to get users to safely dispose of their cell phones, which contain toxic elements. By Suzanne Choney msnbc.com Pushed aside for the latest models, many of our old cell phones pile up in drawers, closets, garages and other out-of-the-way places where it's easy to stash and forget them. Worse, some of them wind up in landfills, where their toxic elements are left to fester and contaminate the environment. Renewed efforts by government and private industry are underway to get cell phone users to recycle their phones, with only about 10 percent of 140 million phones recycled in 2007, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The vast remainder was either "stored away -- or put in the trash," said Latisha Petteway, an EPA spokeswoman. "Stored away" would be preferable to "trash," but Petteway said the EPA does not have a more extensive breakdown to know how many get tossed in the weekly trash pickup, doomed for the dump. With Earth Day April 22, the agency, wireless carriers and CTIA - the wireless trade industry association - are working together to up the recycling ante. Sprint, for example, has set a goal of collecting 250,000 phones this month, a 25 percent increase over last April, the company says. Ultimately, Sprint wants to "collect nine phones for reuse and recycling for every 10 phones it sells by 2017, a collection rate of 90 percent," the company said in a recent news release. It's not only old phones or personal digital assistants that need proper disposal; it's also their batteries, headsets, cases, cables and chargers. The GSM Association, which represents phone makers and carriers using GSM technology, says that 80 percent of a phone's material can be recycled. Also, many association members including AT&T and T-Mobile recently vowed to standardize chargers by 2012 for most cell phones. Thrown-away chargers generate more than 51,000 tons of waste a year, according to the association. Gold, platinum and silver and other metals make up about 16 percent of the weight of a "typical" cell phone, the association says, and are extracted if phones can't be reused or refurbished. Plastic in the phones can be recycled as well. Lead and cadmium in used cell phones are treated separately for disposal, and are among the elements in phones that can be most toxic to the environment. >Back to square one Before choosing how or where to dispose of your old phone, make sure you clear the information from it. It will linger, even if the phone doesn't. Michigan-based ReCellular, which collected 5.5 million phones in 2008 for reuse and recycling, said it "deleted an average of 5 megabytes of information per handset removing a total of 10 terabytes of personal contacts, e-mail, photos and financial information from donated phones." Doing a "hard reset" on the phone -- essentially putting it back to how it was when you first took it out of the box -- is a first step. But it may not be the only one you need to take, depending on your model. Check by going to the manufacturer's Web site, or using the free Cell Phone Data Eraser program, available through ReCellular’s site. Many recyclers use what is known as "flashing software" to rid phones of previous information, particularly if they're going to be sent to a country outside the United States, said Michele Triana of GRC Wireless Recycling, based in Florida. "When a phone is going to be exported, that phone needs to be reprogrammed with the particular (phone) code for that country," she said. "Flashing software is what does this. Through the flashing process, all data in a phone is deleted." Don’t forget to remove your SIM ("Subscriber Identity Module") card any time you change phones. If you're an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, chances are you have such a card. (Phones from Verizon Wireless and Sprint do not use SIM cards). The little memory chips hold scads of personal information, from your music files to names and addresses to text messages. >Wireless carrier programs Each of the four major carriers in the United States has its own reuse/recycle effort, and they don’t care where a donated phone comes from, or whether it's one of their own. Drop-off bins are located in many carriers' stores. AT&T, for example, provides free shipping labels for the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program, which recycles phones and uses the proceeds to buy phone cards for troops stationed overseas. Sprint offers a buy-back program for its customers and offers up to a $50 credit. It also takes phones from those who aren't Sprint customers. Net proceeds from the recycled phones go to the company's "Project Connect," which funds and promotes "free Internet safety resources for kids, parents and educators." T-Mobile's "Huddle Up' program uses funds from recycled phones and gives grants to organizations that work with children "primarily from single-parent families in high-need, urban communities to positive people, places, and programs," according to the company. Verizon Wireless' HopeLine recycled phone program began in 2001 and is one of the better-known recycling programs. The company takes usable cells and gives them to domestic violence awareness and prevention organizations around the country. Those phones that can't be used are sold for parts. In 2008, the HopeLine program collected nearly 1.13 million phones, said Terri Stanton of Verizon Wireless. A relatively small number of them nearly 21,000 were in active service at the end of the year. But Verizon Wireless also gave more than $1.5 million in cash grants to about 350 domestic awareness/prevention groups from phones that were recycled or refurbished, she said. Since the HopeLine recycling program began in 2001, she said, more than 5.6 million cell phones have been collected and more than 1 million cell phones have been "properly disposed of" in an environmentally sound way. ## ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom- munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition 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. The Telecom Digest is currently being moderated by Bill Horne while Pat Townson recovers from a stroke. 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