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Message Digest 
Volume 28 : Issue 115 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets 
  Toll-free number use outside of North America 
  Re: Toll-free number use outside of North America 
  T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? 
  Re: T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? 
  Re: T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? 
  Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number 
  Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number 
  Re: AT&T doubling 3G capacity 
  Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number 


====== 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: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:20:01 -0400 From: "Dr. Barry L. Ornitz" <BLOrnitz48@charter.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <h4SIl.102048$e_5.17815@newsfe03.iad> "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com> wrote in message news:20090425110957.69122.qmail@simone.iecc.com... > >All my phone are CDMA; I one tried one of those antennas that you > >stick on the rear or side window with a small one on the inside > >that are supposed to help the signal improve, but I did not see > >any difference. > > I'm not surprised, it's hard to see how a passive antenna could > provide much gain. I have already deleted the original post, but is it possible he was referring to thru-glass antennas? For example, patent 6661386 describes a thru-glass coupler. While the coupler does have loss, it requires drilling no holes in the automobile. But these do not work if the glass is coated with a conductive coating like tin oxide for defrosting. -- 73, Dr. Barry L. Ornitz WA4VZQ BLOrnitz48@charter.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:43:19 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <Ia0Jl.25447$c45.17892@nlpi065.nbdc.sbc.com> Dr. Barry L. Ornitz wrote: > "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com> wrote in message > news:20090425110957.69122.qmail@simone.iecc.com... >>> All my phone are CDMA; I one tried one of those antennas that you >>> stick on the rear or side window with a small one on the inside >>> that are supposed to help the signal improve, but I did not see >>> any difference. >> >> I'm not surprised, it's hard to see how a passive antenna could >> provide much gain. > > I have already deleted the original post, but is it possible he was > referring to thru-glass antennas? For example, patent 6661386 > describes a thru-glass coupler. While the coupler does have loss, > it requires drilling no holes in the automobile. But these do not work > if the glass is coated with a conductive coating like tin oxide for > defrosting. That is the type of antenna I tried. It did not seem to make much of a difference at all, I put it both on the back window, not near the defroster wires and on a side window. A poster told me about another type of antenna, but the price is out of sight. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------- Date: 26 Apr 2009 20:29:43 -0000 From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <20090426202943.21453.qmail@simone.iecc.com> >That is the type of antenna I tried. It did not seem to make much of a >difference at all, I put it both on the back window, not near the >defroster wires and on a side window. A poster told me about another >type of antenna, but the price is out of sight. It's under $200 which is pretty reasonable for that kind of kit. It's probably no more than your phone cost your carrier. If you're eligible for a new subsidized phone, you might see about getting one with an antenna plug, then get a glass mount or magnetic roof antenna with a cable you can plug into the phone. That should be under $50. R's, John ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:17:25 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <z05Jl.6163$Lr6.3457@flpi143.ffdc.sbc.com> John Levine wrote: >> That is the type of antenna I tried. It did not seem to make much of a >> difference at all, I put it both on the back window, not near the >> defroster wires and on a side window. A poster told me about another >> type of antenna, but the price is out of sight. > > It's under $200 which is pretty reasonable for that kind of kit. It's > probably no more than your phone cost your carrier. > > If you're eligible for a new subsidized phone, you might see about > getting one with an antenna plug, then get a glass mount or magnetic > roof antenna with a cable you can plug into the phone. That should be > under $50. > > R's, > John > I have not seen one from Sprint, besides I use a Palm 755P and will stick with them since they work fine with my Macs. I saw the new one at the CES in Las Vegas in January and liked it except they now only offer it with Windows mobile but am told it will still work with my Macs. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:21:55 -0700 From: Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <77r7v4p4ge6tkqaqgs50d7i7hgkt651qsq@4ax.com> On Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:50:27 -0400 (EDT), Steven Lichter >other phone I had >would switch to Analog and work, but new ones don't. The analog systems have been shut off for a while (year or maybe two). My 2004 GM vehicle came equipped with OnStar, which at the time used only analog cell phone service. I got a notice from OnStar that the analog service was being shut down per FCC orders. If I wanted to continue OnStar, I had to have my GM dealer swap out the analog receiver with a digital one. I chose not to spend the money to make the switch. The notice from OnStar said that although digital cell phone service did exist in 2004, there were competing systems and OnStar didn't know which would be around long enough to base their system on, so they in effect defered the decision until the analog got shut off. ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:43:48 GMT From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <91t7v4ha183t5rnk3ogemnfbdchairg6mf@4ax.com> Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> wrote: >> Wilson makes car amp kits with an external and internal antenna and an >> amplifier in between. I haven't tried them, but they probably work. >> >> See http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/Products.php?Type=A >> >I looked at the site and yes it appears these system would work. [The >prices seem to be very high.] For what they do though I actually consider the price to be rather low. These are specialized radio repeaters after all with two sets of radios in them rather than just the one set as in your cell phone. Tony ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:50:17 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: size a major consideration in mobile phone sets Message-ID: <uh0Jl.25448$c45.15261@nlpi065.nbdc.sbc.com> Tony Toews [MVP] wrote: > Steven Lichter <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> wrote: > >>> Wilson makes car amp kits with an external and internal antenna and an >>> amplifier in between. I haven't tried them, but they probably work. >>> >>> See http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/Products.php?Type=A >>> >> I looked at the site and yes it appears these system would work. [The >> prices seem to be very high.] > > For what they do though I actually consider the price to be rather low. These are > specialized radio repeaters after all with two sets of radios in them rather than > just the one set as in your cell phone. > > Tony > I understand that, but I don't need it that much, beside I pulled my old hand held Ham radio, if an emergency comes up I'm sure I can reach someone, Last week on a trip to Las Vegas I tested it, I used the external antenna and an Amp, and reached a base in New York. -- The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 09:30:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Toll-free number use outside of North America Message-ID: <658861.14155.qm@web52711.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Bill Horne, present moderator of Telecom Digest wrote: > Nothing exists in a vacuum. When 800 lines were first introduced, > consumers liked them because they prevented worries about > long-distance bills. However, since it's a "called party pays" > system, the recipient gets the ANI info; over time, systems have > grown up around that data which make call-center operations so much > more efficient that the cost of an 800 call is a marginal item to > any firm which does business over the phone. Interestingly enough toll-free is taken quite differently in the Netherlands. Where in the US toll-free is extremely common and rates for incoming WATS is downright cheap at only a few cents a minute, in the Netherlands there's a whole different attitude about "freephone" i.e. toll-free numbers. Some toll-free numbers are only four digits! If you're in the Netherlands you'll very rarely see toll-free numbers listed *anywhere* (their 0800 service.) What you *will* see is tonnes of 0900 pay per call numbers. Call the airline, call wireless customer service, call the POLICE, call an infomercial on TV, call a religious call in show and you'll have to go through an 0900 service. Basically pay for everything with nothing given to call that won't incur timed charges. ***** Moderator's Note ***** Why is there a per-minute charge to call the police? Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:37:35 +0000 (UTC) From: Koos van den Hout <koos+newsposting@kzdoos.xs4all.nl> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Toll-free number use outside of North America Message-ID: <gt29lf$12e$4@kzdoos.xs4all.nl> Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com> wrote in <658861.14155.qm@web52711.mail.re2.yahoo.com>: > If you're in the Netherlands you'll very rarely see toll-free numbers > listed *anywhere* (their 0800 service.) What you *will* see is tonnes > of 0900 pay per call numbers. Call the airline, call wireless > customer service, call the POLICE, call an infomercial on TV, call a > religious call in show and you'll have to go through an 0900 service. > Basically pay for everything with nothing given to call that won't > incur timed charges. And avoid being in a "N minutes free" package. The lowest possible 0900 rate 'local call rate' is used a lot. It means the receiver of the call has the extra cool call routing options offered by 0900 *and* avoids unwanted calls by bored persons. The pizza-place at the end of our street is part of a chain with a 0900 number. When we call it with a number ported from the other side of town we get the wrong pizza-place which does not deliver to our street. We now have the direct number for the place at the end of the street. > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > Why is there a per-minute charge to call the police? It's the "not an emergency" number, and the reasoning is that the local rate will diminish the number of unwanted calls by bored persons. For as far as I know the emergency number (112) is free but I can't find a statement to confirm this on the official 112 website. Koos van den Hout -- The Virtual Bookcase, the site about books, book | Koos van den Hout news and reviews http://www.virtualbookcase.com/ | http://idefix.net/~koos/ PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 or RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5| ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:58:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Fred Goodwin <fgoodwin@yahoo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? Message-ID: <2d395cbd-707d-421a-aa2f-4dc2b6e47e72@a5g2000pre.googlegroups.com> Have you seen the T-Mobile commercial is which a young lady stops her car along a rural highway, pulls out a chain saw, and proceeds to cut down a telephone pole, bringing down the entire line? Besides the fact that the poles appear to be carrying three-phase power lines, and I know its just a commercial, but still: I had to wonder if T-Mobile couldn't have made their point about "cutting the cord" by having the lady cut the cord of her home phone, rather than vandalizing the poles of a telco or utility company. What's next? Blowing up a central office? ***** Moderator's Note ***** That commercial takes the classic approach to marketing: show the sheep something they're afraid of, and then sell them a product that lets them pretend they're not. * Men are afraid of beautiful, self-sufficient women who make their own decisions. * Women are afraid of power lines * Everyone is afraid of chain saws So, by extrapolation, when you sign a T-Mobile contract, you become a beautiful, self-sufficient electrician and lumberjack with a buzzing, scary blade. Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:00:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Mark Smith <marklsmith@yahoo.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? Message-ID: <634979.76888.qm@web65712.mail.ac4.yahoo.com> If you have HDTV you can read the lawyer language they added in the fine print to say that they do not recommend or condone destruction of property blah blah blah.... Mark L. Smith http://smith.freehosting.net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:50:57 -0700 (PDT) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: T-Mobile glorifies vandalism? Message-ID: <e35b8d53-02a0-4faa-ba8c-1586d4b40b4f@t36g2000prt.googlegroups.com> On Apr 26, 12:53 pm, Fred Goodwin <fgood...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Besides the fact that the poles appear to be carrying three-phase > power lines, and I know its just a commercial, but still: I had to > wonder if T-Mobile couldn't have made their point about "cutting the > cord" by having the lady cut the cord of her home phone, rather than > vandalizing the poles of a telco or utility company. > What's next?  Blowing up a central office? I seriously doubt anyone would be inspired by that commercial to get a chain saw and cut a utility pole down. Of course, in a country of 300 million people, anything is possible. But if someone is so troubled to be inspired to do that, they'd end up doing something else destructive no matter what inspired them. In other words the commercial is harmless. As another poster mentioned they had a disclaimer (could be faintly seen on an analog TV set). I get a kick out of those "CYA" disclaimers, often seen on car commercials "do not drive this way/ professional driver on closed course"; like the company will hide behind it "oh, well, we did warn the public not to do that." When I was a kid the afterschool show ran Three Stooges shorts. From time to time the host of the show would remind us kids not to do the stunts we saw the Stooges do. The show also ran Popeye cartoons. In hindsight, those cartoons were pretty damn violent. ***** Moderator's Note ***** And all Popeye had to do was "eat" his "spinach" to become strong and powerful. Funny how he used to pour the "spinach" into his gullet as if it were a liquid, and then he would beat up the brute who had tried to take his woman. Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:50:53 -0700 (PDT) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number Message-ID: <a8be1a8e-d103-42ec-a6ad-d19613c31cb0@u9g2000pre.googlegroups.com> On Apr 26, 12:28 am, Sam Spade <s...@coldmail.com> wrote: [Clayon:] > > I used to have Network Plus for my 800 service. They delivered ANI data > > as CLID data. They followed the proper thinking, since I was paying for > > the call I sure as hell deserved to know who was calling. In the old days, the phone co always announced the name--as the caller gave it to them--for collect calls. I don't know if they would've given out the number even if asked, though I think it showed up on the bill. > And, the calling party "sure as hell" deserves to know you will be > seeing his number, even though he has elected CLID blocking. > To be fair to both parties, a no-charge recording should announce to the > caller that, unless he hangs up immediately, the called party will > capture his number. > But, the "telcos" wouldn't like that, and I suspect neither would you. This illustrates yet another problem in which telephone service is DIFFERENT than other products and services, and the outside rules aren't around. That is, if I go into a store to buy a quart of milk, the price is by law clearly mounted on the shelf. Some advocates feel the milk carton itself should be marked with the price. However, if I make a toll call from a phone, I have no idea of what it will cost, and these days no way to find out. In the old Bell System you would call the operator, someone would answer promptly, and give you the rates. But newcomers like MCI didn't have operators so too bad, and in today's "competitive" world no one wants to provide that service. Further, they'd rather you not know until it's too late how much a call cost. In the old days the rules were simple and easily published in the phone book. They did not change very often, so once learned they lasted for many years. But today the rules vary greatly by carrier and circumstance and are constantly changing. Further, as mentioned, there is NO easy way to find them out. (Web pages are lousy at this sort of thing, often out of date or confusing, and no humans to call.) So today a caller might assume their call was blocked, but they'd have no way of knowing it can't be blocked. (Please rememer that typical phone users do not have the time nor interest to study ever changing policies.) ------------------------------- Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:49:41 -0700 (PDT) From: schmerold2@gmail.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number Message-ID: <0d948477-a9e2-4015-8957-1e1e913ac178@l16g2000pra.googlegroups.com> New question: How do I "force the 800 number back" ? Answers to questions: The 800 number is being forwarded to our landline - the ANI information is quite interesting, however we have no way to access it. Perhaps via a voip provider would provide this information at little additional cost. Need to check into this. All other systems are working properly, the landline works in and out. I don't have access to the plant test number, until now we dialed the number and it was answered by my staff, in other words, "it just worked" All bills have been paid, I discussed this with billing last night, they say I have an $0.82 open credit on the account - so, I am overpaid. I spoke with three Qwest people on Friday, each stated it was disconnected, no one could say why it was disconnected. Only reason I fear this is due to the wild wild west nature of the phone business today. used to be, you would call ATT, they would take care of you, if they violated your rights you could go to the PUC. Today there are so many carriers and governing authorities, I have no idea if Qwest will be in business next week, if they fail, who do I call to secure my numbers etc. Call me paranoid, but I don't like it. I don't know how other 800 services work, in my case Qwest simply forwards all calls to a local land line. Our 800 number isn't frequently used, therefore we didn't know it was out of service. Comment regarding "There must ... half the contributors want to go to war with the other half!" That is the way of this group - just look at the top post vs bottom post issue. Finally got so bad that the list software forces bottom posting. ***** Moderator's Note ***** A couple of added questions from me: I'm still not clear on the issue you're writing about: you've asked how to "force" an 800 number back to you, but your other remarks infer that the line was disconnected. What's the current status of your 800 number? Is some other company using it? Bill Horne Temporary Moderator P.S. Actually, there isn't any list software: it's just me. _I_ force bottom posting for the sake of clarity and readability. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 10:54:02 -0700 (PDT) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: AT&T doubling 3G capacity Message-ID: <dc06dfe1-d3fe-4927-9b72-eef370b201c7@p6g2000pre.googlegroups.com> On Apr 26, 12:19 am, tlvp <PmUiRsGcE.TtHlEv...@att.net> wrote: > Voice? No. Data: SMS, HTML, WML, FTP, that sort of internet data stuff. Thanks for the explanation. But I'm confused--how much web browsing can someone do with a 2"x 3" screen? Seems the phone and keyboard are simply too tiny to be able to do any kind of web work. For instance, there's no way in heck I'd use a cell phone to do these Usenet posts. ***** Moderator's Note ***** There's no way in hell _I_ would use a cellphone to do _anything_ but talk: trying to read a website on a screen that small is an invitation to eyestrain. It goes without saying that cellphone vendors are marketing their "does everything" products to very young consumers with very good eyesight. Bill Horne Temporary Moderator ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:43:44 -0700 (PDT) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Qwest disconnected our 800 number Message-ID: <1210e93b-6201-456f-ae14-05033eb5cc66@d2g2000pra.googlegroups.com> On Apr 25, 3:45 pm, T <kd1s.nos...@cox.nospam.net> wrote: > I used to have Network Plus for my 800 service. They delivered ANI data > as CLID data. They followed the proper thinking, since I was paying for > the call I sure as hell deserved to know who was calling. 800 service has been around for many years. Was the ANI always provided to 800 businesses? Back in the early days of 800 service ANI wasn't universal--some exchanges still had ONI. I can't believe they'd bother with ONI on a toll free call. When did ANI become available for 800 customers? Indeed, I recall having problems dialing an 800 number, so instead of 1+ I dialed 0+. The equipment didn't route me to an operator, but just put the call straight through (which meant for me the same problem). It did likewise with 555 directory assistance since that was a free call back then. I don't know what showed up on the bill, but in Enterprise service days, the operator would not announce the caller, just put the all through and reverse the charges without asking. As an aside, there is one big weakness about identifying specific customers by their ANI: customers are not always calling from their home phone. Many customers could be calling from their work phone, a pay phone, a neighbor's house, a motel, or of course their cell phone. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom- munications 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: 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! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Copyright (C) 2008 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of The Telecom digest (16 messages) ******************************

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