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Message Digest Volume 28 : Issue 16 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Nortel Seeks Bankruptcy Protection A Text Arrives. Oh, It's Just an 'Idol' Ad. Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up POTS Announcing Hardware -- What's It Called? Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up Cell Phone Clock Inaccuracy ====== 27 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:37:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Nortel Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Message-ID: <p06240829c595db54e603@[10.0.1.6]> Nortel Seeks Bankruptcy Protection By IAN AUSTEN The New York Times January 15, 2009 OTTAWA - Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecom equipment maker, filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors Wednesday but analysts said its troubles might be too severe for it to recover and survive. Unlike other companies, notably airlines, that have used bankruptcy protection to renew their businesses, Nortel, which began this decade as one of the world's largest makers of telecommunications equipment, is probably headed for liquidation, several analysts said. "I don't think it's going to exist," said Mark Sue, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, a unit of the Royal Bank of Canada. If Mr. Sue and others are correct, the end of Nortel would be one of largest failures in the telecommunications equipment business. During the 1990s, Nortel designed and built much of the fiber optic equipment that now carries most of the Internet's data. Along with the company now known as Alcatel Lucent, it computerized the operation of telephone networks during the 1980s. Nortel pioneered the development of equipment and software that brought the world wireless phone networks. Nortel's demise would also be among the biggest business failures in Canadian history. During the zenith of the technology boom, Nortel's market value accounted for about a third of all equity traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Nortel's shares peaked at 124.50 Canadian dollars in July 2000 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. On Wednesday, Nortel closed at a market price of 12 Canadian cents, or 1.2 cents after adjusting for a stock consolidation. While the current economic slump contributed to Nortel's decision to file for protection in both Delaware and its hometown, Toronto, the company's problems began in 2001, when it was hit by the technology stock price collapse and became mired in an accounting scandal that led to criminal charges against three of its former executives. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/technology/companies/15nortel.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:39:45 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: A Text Arrives. Oh, It's Just an 'Idol' Ad. Message-ID: <p0624082ac595dbe20753@[10.0.1.6]> A Text Arrives. Oh, It's Just an 'Idol' Ad. By MATT RICHTEL The New York Times January 14, 2009 Some AT&T Wireless customers have voted an emphatic no on a promotion for "American Idol" that popped up on their phones this week. AT&T, a sponsor of the show, said it sent text messages to a "significant number" of its 75 million customers, urging them to tune in to the season premiere on Tuesday night. But some recipients thought the message was a breach of cellphone etiquette, and gave it the kind of reaction that the "Idol" judge Simon Cowell might give an off-key crooner. The online service Twitter had a steady stream of complaints. "AT&T just sent me a text message advertisement about 'American Idol.' Evil," a Twitter user named Joe Brockmeier wrote on Tuesday. "The economic downturn definitely means a spam upswing." Another user named Nick Dawson wrote: "Seriously AT&T? Did you just text me twice during a meeting to tell me about 'American Idol?' Very professional!" Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless, said the message was meant as a friendly reminder. "We want people to watch the show and participate," Mr. Siegel said. He added, "It makes perfect sense to use texting to tell people about a show built on texting." Because AT&T is a sponsor of "American Idol," only its customers can use their cellphones to vote for their favorite singers via text message - so viewer participation means more revenue for AT&T. In the advertisement, AT&T told recipients to "Get ready for American Idol" and pointed them to a company Web site promoting an "Idol"-related sweepstakes. It noted that recipients were not charged for the message, and that they could opt out of future advertisements by responding with the word "stop." Mr. Siegel said the message went to subscribers who had voted for "Idol" singers in the past, and other "heavy texters." He said the message could not be classified as spam because it was free and because it allowed people to decline future missives. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/technology/14idol.html ***** Moderator's Note ***** Yes, AT&T, it _WAS_ spam. Unsolicited and commercial = spam. "Opt out" is _NOT_ a defense. Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:31:37 -0600 From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up Message-ID: <99idndj0Gtbzqu3UnZ2dnUVZ_ojinZ2d@posted.visi> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Would anyone know of such time/temp services still available elsewhere > in the U.S.? Bell made a half-hearted effort to standardize them at > 936-1212 but many places had their own number. Later, some companies > charged extra for it and it was a 976 number. There must be. There's at least one company http://www.timeandtemperature.com/ selling rackmount gear to do just that. Dave ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:50:50 -0800 (PST) From: David Kaye <sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up Message-ID: <910b7533-2c6e-48e5-84dd-d22312c494cc@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com> On Jan 15, 8:51 am, Wes Leatherock <wleat...@yahoo.com> wrote: > In flat-rate exchanges, there is no revenue stream to the telco for > providing the service on its own behalf. In the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, Pacific Telephone (later aka Pacific Bell, prior to becoming SBC and AT&T) offered time service on flat rate service. They offered weather local to San Francisco and Oakland, and to LA. They ran these services for decades. It was only when the curmugeonly SBC/AT&T came along and decided to squeeze every nickel out of their network that they discontinued these services. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:39:40 -0800 (PST) From: David Kaye <sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: POTS Announcing Hardware -- What's It Called? Message-ID: <a9e701c4-a7a5-4448-9e50-ee58dcc1c97a@a29g2000pra.googlegroups.com> I'm trying to figure out what to call the hardware that takes an audio feed and puts it out on multiple POTS lines. The equipment has hardware that talks to each line independently, answers the call, takes the audio and puts it out onto the phone line, and times out after X number of minutes, drops the call when the caller hangs up, etc. I can't buy the equipment if I don't know what it's called. I'm not really talking about voice cards such as Dialogic cards, but a self- contained unit such as Automation Electronics of Oakland used to make. Anyone? And vendor recommendations? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:28:54 -0500 From: John Stahl <aljon@stny.rr.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: AT&T drops Appleton, WI time/temp service - local guy picks it up Message-ID: <20090116142855.IXY28152.hrndva-omta04.mail.rr.com@john5.stny.rr.com> On Thursday, January 15, 2009, Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com> wrote: >On Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:53 AM hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > > > On Jan 14, 5:40 pm, "Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> wrote: > > > >> A Darboy businessman saved a 59-year-old Appleton institution. > > > > Would anyone know of such time/temp services still available > > elsewhere in the U.S.? Bell made a half-hearted effort to > > standardize them at 936-1212 but many places had their own number. > > Later, some companies charged extra for it and it was a 976 number. > >In flat-rate cities Southwestern Bell never provided free time >service. That was practically all, maybe all, of Southwestern Bell >exchanges. > >Time service was available in most cities of any size in SWBT >territory, sponsored by some local company which probided an >advertising message along with it. In Oklahoma City, the Audichron >machine was on the main banking floor of the First National Bank and >Trust Company, with blinking lights to show which lines were in use >and handsets so customers and visitors to the bank could pick up on >the spot and listen to the message. The bank was, of course, the >advertiser sponsoring the service. Before divestiture the telco >leased or purchased the machine from the Audichron Company and >furnished it to the customer as a tariff item or special assembly. The actual name of the company who has been making the Audichron (TM) "systems" since the beginning of telephone voice announcements is named ETC and is located just around the corner from Appleton, WI, in Waukesha. This is still a family owned company (Danner family) who I believe is in its third generation since opening back in 1949. I worked with this company back in the 90's for a couple of years. I no longer have any association with them so this info is purely from memory and from their web site. Their business through these almost 60-years has always been audio related. As I recall, ETC "owned" most of the Time and Weather telephone numbers (WE-6-1212 and ME-6-1212) in most MSA's and leased them to either the local Teleco or to a local business who sponsored the services. There were all sorts of sponsors (including the bank mentioned) like car dealers and so on. According to their web site describing this "service" (http://www.etcia.com/weathertel.html) they currently call the Time/Weather service, "WeatherTel®". It was interesting in that I remember they had a small museum of sorts at their headquarters in WI where they had early models of their Audichron announcers and other products including an early telephone answering/announcing device which attached (in the days before the BellSystem would "allow" direct electrical connection) to the phone via a an electro-mechanical unit. This unit, in which the phone set (remember the 500 Sets?) took the phone "off-hook" via a hardware device (would lift up allowing the "hook switch" buttons to rise) operated by a magnetic solenoid which was activated by a listening device which "heard" the bell ring and turned on. The handset was placed in a holding fixture which looked like the early mechanical modem connection "hood" so the ear-piece was placed adjacent to a microphone and the mouth-piece was placed next to a speaker. Thus the unit with a tape recording device in it, both recorded the caller's message and announced what ever the owner desired. They are also one of the two sources for the Telco's switch controlled Voice Intercept systems. These are the CO switch mounted/connected voice responders which speak the special voice announcements we have all heard like, "I'm sorry but the number you have dialed has been changed or disconnected...." The units take their cue from the switch for all the necessary voice output. All of their units have had history of on-the-job 25-year life spans which Ma Bell required of anything they purchased. Early units (before digital technology) didn't use conventional tape or wire playback machines but had the phrases mechanically stored (too long a story for this space!) The company's history is additionally quite interesting in that they had in their employ for many years the two persons' who voiced all of the messages, both male and female, which were heard on just about every Bell company system (RBOC's) and even later on many of the CLEC switches too. Over the years all of the words numbers and phrases have been recorded and digitized but are still the same people's voices today. The modern technology has made it such that the output of these systems sounds as if a human is doing the speaking while it is all digital from a "box"! Perhaps if one were interested in how many Time/Weather systems ETC has out there, they might give them a call. I'm sure that ETC would give a pretty good "ball-park" number of how many are in service (it's a marketing thing!) <clip> Telecom Digest Temporary Moderator wrote: >Even in flat-rate environments, the telco could earn money from the >time signal: it was allways leased to the FAA, police, fire, etc., for >use as an independent log signal that was recorded under airport tower >transmissions, police dispatchers, etc. I don't know how much they >charged for the service. As I recall, the CO switches (#5's and Nortel switches) all had pretty reliable time standards built into them for PSTN synchronization. Without the extremely accurate time, the signals between switches would be out of sync. Believe in later years, this time signal was derived from GEOS satellites (the ones which we get GPS signals from).So the Telco's could "sell" their time sync to customer's but it did not come from the Audichron device. In fact the time accuracy for the Time/Weather system is sync'ed each time ETC uploads new weather data (via the phone line) to the customer located unit (see their web site.) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:29:28 -0600 From: Frank Stearns <franks.pacifier.com@pacifier.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Cell Phone Clock Inaccuracy Message-ID: <tO2dnUBg84qFfe3UnZ2dnUVZ_srinZ2d@posted.palinacquisition> Keywords: cell phone clock inaccuracy Summary: why doesn't a cell phone show the correct time of day? And all this time I thought cell phones were networked-synched for their time-of-day displays. For the 10 years I've carried a cell phone (two qualcomms and now a Samsung), the time-of-day has been reliable and accurate. That ended on Christmas eve day, when I temporarily lost my phone, decided to get a replacement (another Samsung) and discovered that its clock was 4-6 minutes slow. The T-mobile store people assured me this "happened all the time" -- some clocks were on, others were off. "That doesn't make any sense," I said. They shrugged. My old phone was found and returned a few days later. I disliked the new phone for many reasons besides the slow clock, so I took it back, reactivated my old phone. And now it too was 4-6 minutes slow. I can travel to different areas and compare my phone to others' with the same carrier. They're on, I'm off. I can manually set the clock in the phone, but within a few moments it is updated back to the wrong time. I went back to the store, checked maybe 18 display phones. Three were running 4-6 minutes slow, two were more than five hours off, the others were accurate, far as I could tell. So now I'm trying to understand just how this is happening, assuming a network time sync signal, and moreover, how it can be fixed. (T-Mobile Tech Support said they wouldn't even consider generating a trouble ticket until "enough" people complained.) Any ideas? Thanks, Frank -- . ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to Usenet, where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. The Telecom Digest is currently being moderated by Bill Horne while Pat Townson recovers from a stroke. Contact information: Bill Horne Telecom Digest 43 Deerfield Road Sharon MA 02067-2301 781-784-7287 bill at horne dot net Subscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=subscribe telecom Unsubscribe: mailto:telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=unsubscribe telecom This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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