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The Telecom Digest for October 20, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 244 : "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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Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 02:23:43 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Verizon catches flak for bragging about value of spying on customers
Message-ID: <50811C1F.8000003@thadlabs.com>
http://www.citeworld.com/mobile/20967/verizon-bragging-about-spying-customers
Verizon catches flak for bragging about value of spying on customers
by Kevin Fogarty October 18, 2012 8:10 PM
Compared to free public wireless networks at coffee shops, airports,
and other public places, the encrypted, proprietary, heavily secured
cellular networks carriers offer to companies look like Fort Knox.
In a coffee shop, all it takes for a hacker to eavesdrop on "private"
network connections is a WiFi device and a piece of freeware that
takes the work out of snatching, storing and analyzing packets of data
from other latte sippers.
Logging in to a cell network requires hardware- and software-based
authentication, a device that can speak politely to a specific
carrier's network and powers of hackery great enough to overcome
security that prevents end-user devices from talking to each other or
anything else that isn't a carrier-owned switch or router, military
grade encryption and password-cracking apps and the time to make it
all work.
[...]
Verizon Wireless combs and cleans that data, combines it with
information on customer shopping habits, age, gender and other
demographic data purchased from third-party data brokers, and
packages the results for sale to customers with a source of
high-volume, real-time data on how customers behave.
The result is a massive invasion of customers' privacy and possibly a
new violation of federal wiretap laws for every customer whose
Internet activity is monitored, according to Electronic Frontier
Foundation staff attorney Hanni Fakhoury.
[...]
{ full article at above URL }
***** Moderator's Note *****
AFAIK, cellphones aren't encrypted.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:29:21 -0500
From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Verizon catches flak for bragging about value of spying on customers
Message-ID: <k5s66c$7v4$1@dont-email.me>
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> AFAIK, cellphones aren't encrypted.
>
> Bill Horne
> Moderator
>
GSM is encrypted at the option of the carrier. But it's a 64-bit
encryption system that's 21 years old, and was weak (at the behest of
the French government, who didn't want it to be something they
couldn't crack) even when it was new. Cracks have been known for
some time, and "By the year 2011 a mainstream PC having one high end
graphics processor and some terabytes of flash memory is sufficient to
break the encryption of a A5/1 GSM session in a few seconds with a
probability above 90%, except in the (in 2011) rare cases where
plaintext randomization is applied." [Wikipedia]
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:43:58 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Seeking info on Paradyne Model 6512-A2-200-0AG
Message-ID: <20121019204357.GA10873@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
Thanks for reading this.
I'm cleaning out my cellar in preparation for a move, and I just found
a DSL modem that used to be in service at a CLEC which is now out of
business. The CLEC used this kind of DSL modem to provide both
Internet and phone service to its customers.
The unit is a Paradyne "SuperLine", Model 6512-A2-200-0AG. I'd like to
know if I can hook it up to my ADSL line and use it to get some other
VoIP phone service as well as Internet connectivity.
Thanks for any information you have.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to email me directly)
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:36:06 -0700
From: dplatt@radagast.org (Dave Platt)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Seeking info on Paradyne Model 6512-A2-200-0AG
Message-ID: <m719l9-uip.ln1@radagast.org>
In article <20121019204357.GA10873@telecom.csail.mit.edu>,
Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote:
>Thanks for reading this.
>
>I'm cleaning out my cellar in preparation for a move, and I just found
>a DSL modem that used to be in service at a CLEC which is now out of
>business. The CLEC used this kind of DSL modem to provide both
>Internet and phone service to its customers.
>
>The unit is a Paradyne "SuperLine", Model 6512-A2-200-0AG. I'd like to
>know if I can hook it up to my ADSL line and use it to get some other
>VoIP phone service as well as Internet connectivity.
>
>Thanks for any information you have.
Paradyne now seems to be (or was bought by) Zhone. The "6512" model
prefix seems to have covered a whole bunch of different sub-models...
generally, ADSL2+ bridges and routers with extra goodies.
Try looking around the Zhone documentation site: start at
http://www.zhone.com/support/manuals/browse.cgi?p=6512&s=archive
The information I was able to find about the 6512-A2-200-0AG
model specifically (on the Internet in general) was all of the "quick
start, plug this into that, and call your service provider for further
support" sort of thing. I wasn't able to tell whether this model uses
SIP, or a proprietary voice protocol, or whether it's possible to
configure it to work with arbitrary SIP VOIP providers.
Possibly the documentation (e.g the "Router User's Guide" at the site
above) will tell you that. I haven't looked at it, as Zhone requires
registration to make their support documents available.
--
Dave Platt <dplatt@radagast.org> AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page:
http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do not wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:15:52 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Seeking info on Paradyne Model 6512-A2-200-0AG
Message-ID: <1IWdnUitDs3VZhzNnZ2dnUVZ_oWdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <20121019204357.GA10873@telecom.csail.mit.edu>,
Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote:
>
>The unit is a Paradyne "SuperLine", Model 6512-A2-200-0AG. I'd like to
>know if I can hook it up to my ADSL line and use it to get some other
>VoIP phone service as well as Internet connectivity.
>
In all probability, you can't.
There are umpteen different implementations of 'DSL', and the CPE has
to be compatible with the DSLAM at the C.O. (or equivalent). BOTH in
signaling methodology, and 'administratively'.
ONLY your DSL provider will be able to give you an 'authoritative'
answer to "will it work, at all".
Someone -may- be able to tell you if/whether the 'phone' port is a
standard programmable SIP gateway or whether it was for the former
provider to deliver 'dedicated' dial-tone in an at least semi-
proprietary manner.
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:19:06 +0000 (UTC)
From: Anonymous <anonymous@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: BlackBerry's fall from popularity
Message-ID: <1204329523372359582.052995address_is-invalid.invalid@news.eternal-september.org>
Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 05:29:21PM -0700, Joseph Singer wrote:
>> Bill Horne CDT/Telecom digest moderator opined:
>>
>>> I'm no longer following fashion: is Salmon going to be this year's
>>> color again? Have hemlines gone up, or down? Are immature children
>>> still buying electronic devices based on what the local
>>> thought-leader says is "in" this week?
>>
>> This is your opinion, but the reality is that mobile communications
>> has trends just like everything else. At one time Nokia was it as
>> far as mobile equipment manufacturers. That's not so any longer
>> because of lots of factors including not changing their focus fast
>> enough. BlackBerry was the darling as far as smartphones go, but
>> through many factors didn't act fast enough to change where they
>> needed to.
>
> My opinion is that consumers are buying mobile computing devices based
> on peer pressure and the harangues of TV pitchmen, instead of rational
> evaluations of their needs, budgets, and expectations for what those
> devices should do. Buyers have been, and continue to be, relying on
> style, rumor, trivia, and brand names instead of bothering to find out
> which product and service will best suit their needs.
[Moderator snip]
Blackberries are just as expensive as other smartphones, and far less
capable.
--
GS Rider
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:03:58 +0000 (UTC)
From: David Scheidt <dscheidt@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: BlackBerry's fall from popularity
Message-ID: <k5s15u$pd9$1@reader1.panix.com>
Bill Horne <bill@horneqrm.net> wrote:
> In the case of telephones, I hope we can all agree that a "500" set
> is just as useful as a "2554" Touchtone instrument ...
No, I don't think we can. I can't use the 500 to deal with my office
voicemail. I can't use the 500 set to deal with my bank. I can't do
lots of things with it. It's simply not suitable for use in the
modern world. Being able to deal with my office voice mail from
somewhere other than the office means I can spend time doing other
things than going to the offfice. I suppose I could try to talk my
employer into hiring a bunch of people to answer phones, writing down
messages with a fountain pen, and reading them back to me when I call
in, but they're not insane, so they're not going to.
You can scream, wail, rend your clothes, and coat yourself in ashes
all you like, but it won't change the fact that the world has moved
on, and you haven't.
--
sig 97
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:08:51 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: BlackBerry's fall from popularity
Message-ID: <20121019210851.GA11298@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 05:03:58PM +0000, David Scheidt wrote:
> Bill Horne <bill@horneqrm.net> wrote:
>
> :In the case of telephones, I hope we can all agree that a "500" set is
> :just as useful as a "2554" Touchtone instrument, and that a Motorola
>
> No, I don't think we can. I can't use the 500 to deal with my office
> voicemail. I can't use the 500 set to deal with my bank. I can't do
> lots of things with it. It's simply not suitable for use in the
> modern world. Being able to deal with my office voice mail from
> somewhere other than the office means I can spend time doing other
> things than going to the offfice. I suppose I could try to talk my employer
> into hiring a bunch of people to answer phones, writing down messages
> with a fountain pen, and reading them back to me when I call in, but
> they're not insane, so they're not going to.
>
> You can scream, wail, rend your clothes, and coat yourself in ashes
> all you like, but it won't change the fact that the world has moved
> on, and you haven't.
You're missing the point, but I'll grant you that dtmf is a usable for
things that dp isn't. I meant to compare a "2500" desktop-type
Touchtone phone to a Princess or Trimline Touchtone instrument, but I
couldn't remember their model numbers and I settled on the "500" as a
good example of the ultimate basic landline phone.
Be that as it may, I think you're picking nits and getting
sidetracked. Therefore, I'll pick one myself, and point out that many
"modern" dtmf senders are made with integrated circuits that generate
a precise 100 ms tone burst which doesn't work correctly on some older
IVR systems. At least in the case of dtmf-capable landline instruments,
ISTM that the world has moved to "cheaper" and "less useful", but not
"more reliable", so in a way you bolster my argument.
Bill, who didn't even have to rend his clothes to write this.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: 19 Oct 2012 23:14:19 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: BlackBerry's fall from popularity
Message-ID: <20121019231419.29247.qmail@joyce.lan>
In article <k5s15u$pd9$1@reader1.panix.com> you write:
>Bill Horne <bill@horneqrm.net> wrote:
>> In the case of telephones, I hope we can all agree that a "500" set
>> is just as useful as a "2554" Touchtone instrument ...
>
>No, I don't think we can. I can't use the 500 to deal with my office
>voicemail.
See
http://xkcd.com/1072/
R's,
John
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