Message-ID: <20210324033114.5D2C1790@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 03:31:14 +0000 (UTC)
From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org>
Subject: New CWA District 1 Website!
Last week, the CWA District 1 website got a facelift and a new web
address: cwad1.org. You can still reach the website using our old web
address, district1.cwa-union.org.
At the D1 website you can find:
* Info about District 1
* CWA Local Directory and links to Local websites
* D1 offices and staff contact info
* D1 news
* Legislative and Political Action info
* Info about joining CWA
https://cwad1.org/news/new-district-1-website
Message-ID: <20210324140438.GA6240@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 14:04:38 +0000
From: Bill Horne <malQassRimiMlation@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Whistleblower Says AT&T Has Been Ripping Off US
Schools For A Decade
On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 03:19:17AM +0000, Moderator wrote:
> from the a-pattern-develops dept
>
> By Karl Bode
>
> In just the last five years or so AT&T has been: fined $18.6 million
> for helping rip off programs for the hearing impaired; fined $10.4
> million for ripping off a program for low-income families; fined $105
> million for helping "crammers" by intentionally making such bogus
> charges more difficult to see on customer bills; and fined $60 million
> for lying to customers about the definition of "unlimited" data. This
> is just a few of AT&T's adventures in regulatory oversight, and in
> most instances AT&T lawyers are usually able to lower the fines, or
> eliminate them entirely, after years of litigation.
>
>
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210318/10560346446/whistleblower-says-att-has-been-ripping-off-us-schools-decade.shtml
I used to wonder why Blue Boxes(1) were in use for so long: mostly, from
about 1960 to the early 1980's. It occurred to me one day that there
was a simple explanation: there was no effective action taken against
phreakers for the simple reason that MA BELL(2) WAS GETTING PAID.
Blue boxes worked by diverting a call that had been made (in most
cases) to an 800 number, and sending it to a different destination:
but after the call had been rerouted, and the new destination answered
it, the billing office would mark the call as "completed" - and the
owner of the 800 number would be billed for it. That meant that Blue
Box use served to generate more revenue, so Ma Bell had little
motivation to take any serious action against the phreakers. It also
meant that Blue Box use was never a victimless crime, as some have
claimed.
As we used to say in the Military Police: "Follow the Money!" It
always boils down to the questions "Who paid?" and "Who got paid?" -
and in the cases that Mr. Bode cites, the answer to the first question
was "Us!"
Tax dollars paid for the programs to aid hering-impaired users and the
elderly, and most cramming fraud was directed at unsophisticated home
users and small businesses that couldn't afford detailed billing
analysis. The bait-and-switch claims of "unlimited" data were directed
at the same small businesses and home users.
Time and time again, I am reminded of Juvenal's prescient question:
"Who will watch the Watchmen?" In Mother Bell's case, the answer was
"Nobody."
Bill
1. See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_box
2. Since the original company named "AT&T" is not the same as the one
Mr. Bode wrote about, I use the name "Mother Bell" to apply to all
similar entities, past and present.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Message-ID: <648ACAFA-EB98-4833-8255-9BE8E85B333A@roscom.com>
Date: 22 Mar 2021 21:54:39 -0400
From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Using hands-free cellphones when you drive is not as safe
as you think
Using hands-free cellphones when you drive is not as safe as you think
When someone calls me when they're traveling in a vehicle, I just hang up.
It's rude, but it's safer for the driver.
By David Tuller
>From his Match.com profile, the guy looked like a keeper. He was my
age, give or take. A do-gooder type -- he ran a large social services
agency and he seemed to have a rich social life. We flirted by
message. I planned our future. Then he called. As we began chatting, I
heard it: traffic noise.
"I can't talk while you're driving," I said.
He offered the typical response. "It's okay, it's hands-free."
I hesitated. Principles were principles, no matter how tempting the
circumstances. "I'm sorry, I can't. Let's talk later. When you're not
driving." I cut off his objections and hung up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/hands-free-cellphone-driving-risk/2021/03/22/780d7ae8-8112-11eb-ac37-4383f7709abe_story.html
Message-ID: <20210324161654.GA7069@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:16:54 +0000
From: Bill Horne <malQassRimiMlation@gmail.com>
Subject: This would be funny except it's not
My cell phone is out of service. I can't call out or be called.
I borrowed my wife's phone to report the problem.
Verizon wants to know the PIN that applies to the account. I keep
trying to get to a human, and their mindless mechanical droid keeps
demanding the PIN that applies to the account. I keep trying to get to
a human, and their mindless mechanical droid keeps demanding the PIN
that applies to the account.
Perish the thought that a warm body should be made available to take
down a report. Having already charged my credit card for a another
month, Verizon seems to feel that I'm not entitled to anything like an
actual person to write down a report: I guess the money was spent on
bonuses for the executives and bribes for politicians and PR to fend
off their customers.
If anyone knows how to reach a human at Verizon Wireless, I'd love to
hear about it.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
