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The Telecom Digest for January 9, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 9 : "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: Tue, 8 Jan 2013 20:09:29 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Post-Sandy repairs going slowly in New York
Message-ID: <20130109010929.GA1967@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
By JIM DWYER
Published: December 6, 2012
There is now more deserted office space in Lower Manhattan because of
Hurricane Sandy than there are offices in many cities. Mobile boilers
line the streets. Portable generators are stacked to the
curbs. Ventilation tubes coil around scaffolds, snake above sidewalks,
quiver and pulse. It is as if bodies had been turned inside out,
exposing the hearts, lungs and organs that are normally internal. Of
course, these devices keep the buildings running in some limited
ways. Still, 15 million to 18 million square feet of space is
unusable, about as much as exists in any condition whatsoever in
cities like Miami, Phoenix and San Diego.
It is not enough to have generators that keep a few elevators and a
bank of fluorescent lights running.
The telephones are not working. And it turns out that under the
current schedule for repairs, Verizon will not be finished until May,
a fact Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg dropped into a speech on Thursday
morning. "That is just not acceptable," Mr. Bloomberg said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/nyregion/empty-offices-seem-poised-to-remain-so-in-lower-manhattan.html?ref=verizoncommunicationsinc
-or-
http://goo.gl/z5zHY
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2013 21:25:35 -0800
From: John David Galt <jdg@diogenes.sacramento.ca.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: hazard mitigation, was Disruptions: The Real Hazards of E-Devices on Planes
Message-ID: <kcgakg$q3b$1@blue-new.rahul.net>
>>> * They wish that terrorists will confine their attention to our air
>>> transport industry, and not bother the millions of gallons of poison
>>> gas - excuse me, I meant water treatment chemicals - that moves by
>>> rail through our major cities on a daily basis.
>> Actually... there's a huge amount of retrofitting and changes
>> in high risk industries in general, and in water treatment
>> plants in particular. Specifically because of post 9/11 concerns.
It seems to me it would make good sense to reroute rail lines around major
cities generally, especially now that most passenger service has gone away.
> I'm sorry to say that the destructive potential is actually greater:
> it's not our lives that terrorists want to end, but our life*style*. A
> leak or spill of a less dangerous chemical is more disruptive than one
> of chlorine gas, for several reasons:
>
> 1. There's only one procedure in place for chemical spills, and only
> one option when they occur: evacuation and containment. It doesn't
> matter if there "should" be a lower response level for a "less
> dangerous" chemical: as a practical matter, the first-responders
> must be trained to deal with each event in the same way.
Maybe that's the only thing the first-responders do (which is understandable,
since a small spill/leak/fire can easily become a large one before they get
there). But the specifics of the chemical and its concentration make a big
difference to what people in the area need to do immediately, and to what is
likely to happen to people who are caught by surprise. By the time the radio
or CD sirens tell the public what's going on, most of the deaths or injuries,
if any, that are going to happen have already happened or at least can't be
prevented.
A few years ago I was a truck driver. The scariest thing that ever happened
to me was when I made a pickup at a paper mill: when I drove up to the gate,
the guard handed me goggles and a respirator mask, and said "if that siren
goes off, you better put these on quick!" Understand, I wasn't scared for
myself as much as for the public. The mill was in a suburb of a major city,
and if they had to provide ME with safety equipment for a two hour visit,
then why the bleep aren't they required to provide it to everyone who lives
or works within two or three miles, since those people are exposed to that
same danger every single day? It boggles the mind.
BTW: I agree with your main point that most danger-hype is just theater, and
the TSA in particular should be abolished. But not all dangers are imaginary
and not all precautions are worth less than they cost. This is where science,
properly used and not slanted by people with axes to grind, could really help
but is prevented from doing so by the government hype machine.
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2013 21:03:07 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: 4 Areas Frontier Communications Investors Must Watch
Message-ID: <20130109020307.GA3538@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
>From the "Take your investment advice wherever you can find it" department:
4 Areas Frontier Communications Investors Must Watch
By Dan Caplinger
January 7, 2013
With a huge dividend yield, Frontier Communications looks extremely
tempting as a dividend stock. But the shares have taken a big hit in
recent years, leaving those who bought into the stock to get rich
dividend payments with a better understanding of the risks involved
with the company.
Investors need to keep particular watch at Frontier as it seeks to
compete against fellow rural specialists Windstream and CenturyLink to
provide more relevant and higher-margin services. That's the thesis of
my premium report on Frontier Communications, which includes the
following excerpt, which names the four areas that Frontier investors
should keep an eye on going forward.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/01/07/4-areas-frontier-communications-investors-must-wat.aspx
-or-
http://goo.gl/EFPgz
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2013 19:50:43 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Some landlords blocking post-Sandy repairs
Message-ID: <20130109005043.GA1688@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Rewiring all of Lower Manhattan with fiber-optic cable after Hurricane
Sandy would be hard enough without landlords blocking the way with
their palms open. But that is what Verizon alleges some are doing.
Verizon, whose copper wires under the streets of the financial
district were ruined by the storm's floodwaters, complained last week
that "many building owners in Lower Manhattan" had barred their
doors. Some have simply refused to let the company in, but others have
demanded exorbitant fees for access, the company said in a petition to
state regulators.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/nyregion/landlords-blocking-rewiring-of-cable-after-hurricane-verizon-says.html?ref=verizoncommunicationsinc&_r=0
-or-
http://goo.gl/Im4N3
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2013 22:17:57 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Mixed news for AT&T in Consumer Reports wireless survey
Message-ID: <20130109031757.GA8573@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
(I just found this while searching Google for at&t news. Sorry it's a bit out-of-date)
Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY November 29, 2012
There's good news and bad news for AT&T in Consumer Reports' latest
annual cellphone service ratings.
First the bad: the carrier finished last among the four major
U.S. cellphone providers, behind Verizon Wireless, Sprint and
T-Mobile.
But AT&T also had a silver lining. The company's 4G (fourth
generation) wireless network performed the best, at least judging by
the fact that it received fewer complaints than any of its
rivals. That's notable considering more people surveyed use AT&T's 4G
network with their smartphones.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/11/29/att-mixed-results-consumer-reports-survey/1733287/
-or-
http://goo.gl/0ZltE
--
Bill Horne
Moderator
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