---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20170107042303.GA26488@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2017 23:23:03 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T, Time Warner plan to skirt FCC review of megamerger They still would need Justice Department approval of the $85 billion deal. by Marguerite Reardon AT&T and Time Warner may have found a smoother path toward their proposed $85 billion merger: going around the Federal Communications Commission. In a document filed late Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the two companies said they don't plan to transfer any of Time Warner's FCC's licenses to AT&T once the deal closes. That could allow them to bypass an FCC review of the megamerger. https://www.cnet.com/news/at-t-time-warner-plan-to-avoid-fcc-review-of-merger/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <93115EB4-B8E6-4F12-86F2-3491B3FD7919@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2017 01:55:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Can a Law Stop Distracted Driving? California Hopes to Find Out The state's new law bans drivers from even holding mobile devices, but safety experts say it still might not be enough. Thousands of people die in distracted-driving accidents every year, including more than 3,400 in 2015, according to federal data released last week. California is hoping to do something about it. A law went into effect in the state last week with an aim toward cutting down on the number of drivers using smartphones. http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/us/cell-phone-while-driving-laws.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20170107040535.GA26422@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2017 23:05:35 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon sneeks in some price hikes during CES Verizon snuck in a couple of changes this week while CES announcements were dominating headlines and we thought you might want to know about them. For one, the upgrade fee that you pay every time you buy a new phone has increased. Also, existing customers no longer have the option to upgrade on a 2-year contract. The upgrade fee, which was first introduced last year at $20 for device payment plans or full retail purchases, is now $30. Additionally, the $40 upgrade fee for those buying phones on a 2-year contract no longer exists. Why? Because 2-year contracts are no longer an option for any customers, even existing ones. http://www.droid-life.com/2017/01/06/verizon-upgrade-fee-increase-contracts-unlimited-data/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <287a8884-e1ff-4ce1-bbbf-f917231edff7@googlegroups.com> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2017 07:20:37 -0800 (PST) From: IrishGuy <dkellyj@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Telex and TWX History There may well be some kind of legacy, privately managed, emergency intergovernmental wire/cable services that are running over satellite or leased lines or something. But, in terms of the publicly accessible networks Telex would appear to have disappeared more than 14 years ago. I had a look at the history of it here in Ireland and standardised Telex services began in 1955 and finally ended with the equipment going into various dumpsters in 2002. Even by then it didn't have many active users. If you want to access Telex now, the main telco 'Eir' doesn't provide anything like that. You can however connect to some kind of virtual Telex service via SwissText in Switzerland but it seems to actually go by IP. There doesn't seem to be much evidence of any live Telex services elsewhere in Europe either. I wonder are those 'live services' real or just some kind of virtualisation of the old protocols or perhaps something else entirely being described as "Telex" ? ------------------------------ Message-ID: <A2EF4FF7-0012-4CB4-AB41-7ADBB9A7A9C7@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2017 19:18:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Cellular and Wi-Fi in NYC Subway Stations Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Announces Cellular Connectivity in Underground Subway Stations One Year Ahead of Schedule https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-andrew-m-cuomo-announces-cellular-connectivity-underground-subway-stations-one-year ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20170107041722.GA26444@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2017 23:17:22 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: T-Mobile CEO slams hefty Chincoteague Verizon bill By Hillary T Chesson John Legere, the CEO of T-Mobile, took to Twitter Thursday night to address the hefty $73,000 estimate given to the Chincoteague (VA) Volunteer Fire Company by Verizon for moving the current underground telephone cables to the other side of Deep Hole Road on the island. "This is ridiculous and totally typical of @verizon!!" said Legere in a tweet. "If they don't fix this, I'll pay it myself!!" http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/virginia/2017/01/06/t-mobile-ceo-slams-hefty-chincoteague-verizon-bill/96242250/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Wed, 11 Jan 2017