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The Telecom Digest for July 3, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 144 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
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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.
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Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2013 01:02:40 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Criminal N.S.A.
Message-ID: <p06240807cdf6bd2550ac@[10.0.1.12]>
The Criminal N.S.A.
By JENNIFER STISA GRANICK and CHRISTOPHER JON SPRIGMAN
June 27, 2013
THE twin revelations that telecom carriers have been secretly giving
the National Security Agency information about Americans' phone
calls, and that the N.S.A. has been capturing e-mail and other
private communications from Internet companies as part of a secret
program called Prism, have not enraged most Americans. Lulled,
perhaps, by the Obama administration's claims that these "modest
encroachments on privacy" were approved by Congress and by federal
judges, public opinion quickly migrated from shock to "meh."
It didn't help that Congressional watchdogs - with a few exceptions,
like Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky - have accepted the
White House's claims of legality. The leaders of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, and
Saxby Chambliss, Republican of Georgia, have called the surveillance
legal. So have liberal-leaning commentators like Hendrik Hertzberg
and David Ignatius.
This view is wrong - and not only, or even mainly, because of the
privacy issues raised by the American Civil Liberties Union and other
critics. The two programs violate both the letter and the spirit of
federal law. No statute explicitly authorizes mass surveillance.
Through a series of legal contortions, the Obama administration has
argued that Congress, since 9/11, intended to implicitly authorize
mass surveillance. But this strategy mostly consists of wordplay,
fear-mongering and a highly selective reading of the law. Americans
deserve better from the White House - and from President Obama, who
has seemingly forgotten the constitutional law he once taught.
The administration has defended each of the two secret programs.
Let's examine them in turn.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/opinion/the-criminal-nsa.html?pagewanted=all
Date: 2 Jul 2013 16:49:07 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: data mostly, was Walmart cellphone plans?
Message-ID: <20130702164907.21477.qmail@joyce.lan>
> Nobody sells plans for introverted geeks like me that use lots of data
> but don't talk to anybody. To get lots of data, I'd have to buy
> unlimited talk/text that I'd never use.
Nobody?
Virgin Mobile has a $35 plan with 300 minutes and unlimited SMS and
data. You have to use one of their phones but they have a pretty
good selection. Underlying network is Sprint. My daughter has this
plan, grandfathered at the previous $25 rate which is a steal.
For people who have their own GSM phones, Consumer Cellular prices the
voice and data parts separately, so you can get the basic voice $10
with no included minutes and a data plan that matches what you use.
Underlying network is AT&T.
Ting (part of Tucows) prices the voice, SMS, and data bundles
separately, and each month charges you for the smallest bundles that
cover what you used, starting at $0 for no usage. If you truly use no
voice and no SMS, that might be the $6 monthly charge and $24 for 1GB.
Again, you have to use one of their phones, network is Sprint.
R's,
John
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 19:06:37 -0400
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Walmart cellphone plans?
Message-ID: <MPG.2c3d2708caa5ee92989e13@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <net-news69-5A165A.23111430062013@news.eternal-
september.org>, net-news69@jmatt.net says...
>
> In article <1c6wh4qt1jgxk.blvl8borb2ob.dlg@40tude.net>,
> tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> wrote:
>
> > Another "off-brand carrier" (actually, MVNO) is Page Plus Cellular,
> >
> >
> > https://www.pagepluscellular.com/
> > ,
> >
>
> Their plans are good for people who talk a lot. Nobody sells plans for
> introverted geeks like me that use lots of data but don't talk to
> anybody. To get lots of data, I'd have to buy unlimited talk/text that
> I'd never use.
>
> Actually, my existing AT&T plan fits my needs nicely, but it's a
> grandfathered plan that's not available any more. I get unlimited data,
> 100 minutes talk, no text, for about $40 ($38.25 plus the BS misc.
> fees). With a couple of Google Voice apps, I can send texts and
> make/receive VOIP calls using my unlimited data. Only downside is when
> people send texts to my cell # instead of my GV number. I never get the
> message and the sender doesn't get an error.
I have two phones with MetroPCS. $100 a month. One is a 4G capable
phone, the other only on their 1X CDMA network.
Works out perfectly for me. I'm a heavy data user too.
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 07:25:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Walmart cellphone plans?
Message-ID: <1372775123.39517.YahooMailNeo@web121904.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Fri, 28 Jun 2013 23:37:05 +0000 (UTC) John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
> For modest amounts of usage primarily for voice, I've been
> surprisingly happy with Tracfone. The underlying carriers vary, but
> you can definitely get phones that run on AT&T and T-Mobile.
Just be aware that with TracFone (as well as Net 10 which are both
part of America Movil) you may only use their proprietary handsets
(even the GSM handsets where TracFone uses GSM networks such as AT&T
and/or T-Mobile) since billing is done in the handset rather than
company billing equipment.
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2013 14:24:33 +0000 (UTC)
From: David Lesher <wb8foz@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Excellent new book about Phone Phreaks
Message-ID: <kqunr1$7uo$1@reader2.panix.com>
Charles Jackson <clj@jacksons.net> writes:
>On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:33 -0700, Lou Meiss <lmeiss@cox.net> wrote:
>> Here is an excellent new book that traces the history of Phone Phreaks.
>> It is well researched and well put together.
>>
>> "Exploding The Phone : The untold story of the teenagers and outlaws who
>> hacked Ma Bell", by Phil Lapsley.
...
>Based on a quick look at the book's website and some materials there,
>this appears to be well-researched. It covers some of the early,
>pre-Captain Crunch, history that many accounts overlook.
>I think I will have to get a copy.
I have read it and met the author at a talk.
I recommend it.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
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