Message-ID: <20220328222208.45651790@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2022 22:22:08 +0000 (UTC)
From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: About Priority Telecommunications Services
I just finished a course which covered various aspects of what is
called "Auxcomm," which is the system that Amateur Radio operators and
other volunteers can join if they want to help out during natural and
other disasters. Thinking about "EmCom," I asked my brother, who is a
retired Firefighter, what he could tell me about priority phone
service for First Responders: he told me there have been systems in
place for a couple of decades.
I just did a Google search for the phrase "telephone call priority
systems site:.gov" (without the quotes), and I was able to retrieve
the information on "GETS" and "WPS" that's shown in two of the other
messages I'm publishing today. My first search turned up a site at the
"Cybersecurity and Infrastucture Security Agency," which has the other
URL's I used to find out about GETS and WPS.
Now, I'm a Vietnam veteran and a Verizon retiree, so I don't come to
this issue without any prior experience. I'd bet that just about every
military veteran knows what "Flash Override," "Flash," "Immediate,"
and "Priority" mean when talking about military communications, and
I'd also bet tht just about every MD and local Mayor and Congressman
knew how to get priority dialtone on landline calls when POTS lines
were the norm. That's not secret, or even confidential, information.
There's one part of it that I don't get, though, and that's the reason
why the information about these capabilities isn't more widely
known. It reminds me of the reason that Blue Boxes worked:
Security through obscurity (STO) is a process of implementing
security within a system by enforcing secrecy and confidentiality
of the system's internal design architecture. Security through
obscurity aims to secure a system by deliberately hiding or
concealing its security flaws.
Original available at:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/21985/security-through-obscurity-sto#:~:text=Security%20through%20obscurity%20(STO)%20is,or%20concealing%20its%20security%20flaws.
Let's remember that the information needed to create the first Blue
Box was published in the Bell System Practices, and IIRC in the Bell
system Technical Journal. I don't think there was ever any effort to
prevent it being available outside the Bell System: the reason Blue
Box users had such incredible access to the telephone network was the
same one that we now get spam emails. Long story short, it never
occurred to the engineers at Bell Labs or the designers of the
Internet that anyone would game their systems for commercial profit.
I haven't mentioned anything about the information that was in the
course I took, or the specifics of the other systems I've mentioned:
that information isn't germane. I am asking that we have a discussion
about whether systems like GETS and WPS shoud be concealed from public
view.
Bill Horne
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Message-ID: <20220328211641.A8897790@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2022 21:16:41 +0000 (UTC)
From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: Wireless Priority Service (WPS)
On this page:
* Who Should Enroll?
* Why Should I Sign Up?
* How Do I Enroll?
* What Does It Cost?
* WPS Contacts & Support
WPS is a Federal program that authorizes cellular communications
service providers to prioritize calls over wireless networks.
Participation in the WPS program is voluntary. Participating service
providers typically deploy WPS in stages until service is available in
most coverage areas and functionality has reached full operating
capability.
https://www.fcc.gov/general/wireless-priority-service-wps
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Message-ID: <20220328210752.8040F790@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2022 21:07:52 +0000 (UTC)
From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: HOW IT WORKS: The Government Emergency Telecommunications
Service
INTRODUCTION
The Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) is an
easy-to-use calling card program that provides authorized national
security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) users improved call
completion on the public landline networks. It is a nationwide program
providing authorized personnel priority calling during an emergency or
crisis situation when the landline networks are congested and the
probability of completing a call is reduced. GETS interoperates with
selected government and private networks and services (FTS Networx;
the Defense Switched Network; and the Diplomatic Telecommunications
Service), and allows calls to or from international locations. The
GETS card can be used with common telephone equipment, including
standard desk sets, secure telephone equipment, facsimile, modems, and
cellular and satellite phones.
Calls placed through GETS will receive priority over normal calls,
allowing users to communicate even during the highest levels of
network congestion and do not preempt or terminate other calls already
in process. GETS also provides priority calling to cell phones on most
major carrier networks. There is no charge to enroll in GETS or to
make calls to the familiarization/test line. When making GETS calls,
subscribers can be charged the equivalent of long distance phone
rates.
...
GETS CALLS FROM AND TO WIRELESS PHONES
Wireless phones can be used to place and receive GETS calls. Callers
using the Wireless Priority Service (WPS) to place GETS calls receive
priority in both the wireless and landline networks. From a
WPS-enabled phone, users should dial *272 + 710-627-4387 + SEND to
place these calls. Callers making GETS calls from non-WPS enabled
wireless phones will receive some enhanced capabilities, but will not
receive priority treatment in the wireless network's critical call set
up process. GETS and WPS calls terminating in wireless networks that
provide WPS will receive priority treatment through the terminating
network, regardless of whether the destination device is WPS-enabled.
https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/HOW%20IT%20WORKS%20THE%20GOVERNMENT%20Emergency%20Telecommunications%20Service.pdf
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Message-ID: <20220330172050.322A480C@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2022 17:20:50 +0000 (UTC)
From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com>
Subject: Monthly TCPA Digest -- March 2022
We are pleased to present our latest Monthly TCPA Digest, providing
insights and news related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
(TCPA). In this issue's Regulatory Update, we discuss the FCC's
increased collaboration with states to combat robocalling. These
efforts include the FCC's new robocalling investigatory partnerships
with four states and agreements between the Commission's Enforcement
Bureau and the state attorneys general of Colorado and Vermont. We
also report on the Enforcement Bureau's proposed record fine of $45
million, which would be issued against a Florida-based company for
allegedly making telemarketing robocalls without proper consent.
https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/telecoms-mobile-cable-communications/1175712/monthly-tcpa-digest-march-2022?email_access=on
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