---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20170527123519@telecom-digest.org> Date: Sat, 27 May 2017 12:35:19 -0500 From: Anonymous Contributor <anonymous@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Cancel Non-Published Service on landline? Hello, I'm debating if I should cancel the Non-Published Service on my AT&T landline. I've had this service since I got the landline and it's now $3.45 a month. I get an estimated 12 junk calls on weekdays (if I stay home from work) and six junk calls on Saturdays. I screen all my calls with an answering machine, and most callers don't leave a message. My number has been exposed in various data breeches. It's also on the second page of Google search results, and I don't know if Google will take it down as I requested. So I'm wondering if it makes sense to save the $3.45, or if my junk calls will spike if I do so? Thanks in advance for any thoughts from the phone experts here! (Anonymous) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <ce15222c-378c-40e9-aeab-a2ab96ac65af@googlegroups.com> Date: Fri, 26 May 2017 13:04:35 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Verizon says no to FIOS in southern New Jersey towns with buzzing lines Large parts of South Jersey will not be brought into the Fios era. Ending more than a year of negotiations, public hearings, and investigation into consumer complaints, Verizon Communications Inc. has agreed to monitor more closely its fraying copper lines in rural South Jersey and potentially expand DSL internet service to 2,000 new homes or businesses. But the telecom giant won't be wiring a wide swath of Cumberland, Burlington, Salem, and Atlantic Counties with the high-speed Fios service that has been extended to millions of residents in other parts of New Jersey. full article at: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/verizon-says-no-to-fios-in-s-jersey-towns-with-buzzing-lines-20170524.html In my personal opinion, Verizon and other large carriers like Comcast, are trying to have it both ways: they want the power to do whatever they want and maintain control like a public utility, yet none of the responsibilities of a public utility. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20170526211612.GC17324@dong.corp.xrtc.net> Date: Fri, 26 May 2017 14:16:12 -0700 From: Astrid Smith <Astrid@xrtc.net> Subject: Re: T-Mobile offers new "one number" plan On 2017-05-25 at 6:06 pm PDT, Monty Solomon wrote: > It might've taken a little longer than the company had hoped, but > T-Mobile is finally ready to unleash its new "Digits" product. > > ... > > In a nutshell, Digits is a nifty service that combines the best > features of services like Google Voice and AT&T NumberSync into a > single product. It allows one phone number to work on multiple > devices, and it also allows one device to support multiple phone > numbers. > > http://bgr.com/2017/05/25/t-mobile-digits-price-release-date-announced/ > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > I don't usually accept this kind of PR, but I find Google Voice > usefull and I'm curious how Telecom Digest readers feel about this > offering. > > Bill Horne > Moderator I'm not quite sure how this will work exactly, but it seems very interesting indeed. It could be an overlay with forwarding, kind of like Google Voice is (the crowing about "works even with phones on other carriers like Verizon!" suggests this might be the case). Or it might could be a more-native solution, where phones with the same number have different IMSIs but the same MSISDN. (can GSM accomodate this configuration? my memory suggests that it is possible.) Naturally, it could also be some kind of hybrid, using the latter approach for T-Mobile native handsets and the former for externally connected handsets. I have a SIM card in my laptop, which is billed as one of the lines in my 4-line plan. It's a decent alternative to wifi, and also super useful when I'm computering in the park or whatever. I wonder if I'll be able to use that SIM to receive and respond to text messages on my primary number, or if it'll be necessary to hit some kind of API endpoint, or if it'll be website-only. This will probably throw a wrench in things like iMessage, Signal, Threema, WhatsApp, etc. I.e., just because you can send a message to an iMessage account that's registered to that phone number, doesn't mean it'll show up on all the devices that can receive texts for that phone number. It attempts to turn phone numbers into nebulous contact points for "a person or a group", rather than addressing a device, but at the same time it takes a typical telco-mindset approach of "our customers will only use the services that we give them". Ughhhh. I remember when I used one IM client to connect to multiple networks, each with their own naming scheme and friend lists. Now I use multiple IM clients to connect to multiple networks, sharing the same naming scheme and friend lists. They're disguised as SMS, but they're really no different than ICQ. Everyone wants their little slice of global message traffic, and they all try to become the owner of everything. It's completely bogus and I hope that the Wheel Of Messaging turns forward to the "federated" stage quickly. I wonder if there's another progress-wheel thing that has the stages "person-to-person call" and "station-to-station call". Robotic attendants might get us there, if we can remember how to federate our messaging traffic again. --- Astrid Smith ***** Moderator's Note ***** Was someone channeling Ernestine for just a moment? Bill Horne Moderator - ----------------------------- ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 28 May 2017