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The Telecom Digest for January 26, 2014
Volume 33 : Issue 20 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Comcast explores selling electricity service to subscribers (Neal McLain)
Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers (David Clayton)
Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers (Pete Cresswell)
Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers (Garrett Wollman)
Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers (Garrett Wollman)
Global Business Directory with Live Chat (farce)
Re: Why T-Mobile wants Verizon's discarded 4G airwaves (Bob Goudreau)
Re: Why T-Mobile wants Verizon's discarded 4G airwaves (Arnie Goetchius)

====== 32 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======

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Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:55:01 -0800 (PST) From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Comcast explores selling electricity service to subscribers Message-ID: <1b423451-cba5-4162-8acc-235232c4a73b@googlegroups.com> By Steve Donohue, FierceCable, January 24, 2014 | Comcast is looking at striking a deal with a utility company in | Pennsylvania that could see it bundle electricity services with its | pay TV, broadband and voice services, a Pennsylvania regulator told | reporters this week. | | The nation's largest MSO could begin marketing electricity services | as soon as the fourth quarter, Pennsylvania Public Utility | Commission Chairman Robert Powelson told reporters on a conference | call on Wednesday, according to reports from The Philadelphia | Inquirer and greentechgrid. | | "This is something we're exploring," a Comcast spokesperson said in | the report from greentechgrid. | | Comcast wouldn't be the first telecom provider to resell | electricity services. Rural telco Frontier Communications announced | in 2012 that it would sell energy services to subscribers in New | York, Ohio and Indiana. Cincinnati Bell also sells electricity to | its customers, and promises that they will see a 10 percent cost | savings by using its service. Source: http://www.fiercecable.com/story/comcast-explores-selling-electricity-service-subscribers/2014-01-24?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal or http://tinyurl.com/mulpl5g Some municipalities operate their own electric power and cable TV utilities. It seems to be particularly common in Minnesota -- examples that come to mind are Elbow Lake, Jackson, Pipestone, and Windom. Several years ago, I did some consulting work for the Jackson system. It was interesting to me -- as a cable guy -- to note the close relationship between the power and cable TV operations. Their technicians all drove identical trucks, belonged to the same union local, and worked together on poles and underground. The power guys did the electrical work and the cable guys did the cable work. They all shared the same bucket truck for aerial work. They shared the same warehouse (and morning coffee) with the water and sewer utility guys. The storage yard was a hodgepodge of cable reels (power and TV), satellite antennas, fire hydrants, sewer pipes, power transformers, pedestals, and poles. The city office did the administrative work. Monthly bills included cable TV, electric service, water, and sewer all in the same itemized bill. I noted one bill that showed Showtime right next to sewer service. Neal McLain
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 17:17:20 +1100 From: David Clayton <dc33box-usenet2@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers Message-ID: <pan.2014.01.25.06.17.16.758721@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au> On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 13:47:08 -0500, Pete Cresswell wrote: > Per Andrew Kaser: >>Some Companies Wipe Workers' Personal Cellphones Clean After They Leave > > Can anybody describe how they do that? Seems like there would have to > be some sort of authentication/permission involved on the user's phone. When you connect a phone/device to a corporate e-mail system you give that system permissions to access these features so the Sysadmin can either wipe or lock the phone if it is stolen etc. This feature exists to protect any corporate data on the device and has been around since this method of connectivity was created (many years). It is a standard feature of the Microsoft Activesync protocol that connects phones to Exchange e-mail systems and I assume similar functionality from other e-mail platforms. -- Regards, David. David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have.
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:06:33 -0500 From: Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers Message-ID: <ek28e95ntpf87j4ppgqh1dnea5b6h3to0r@4ax.com> Per David Clayton: >When you connect a phone/device to a corporate e-mail system you give that >system permissions to access these features so the Sysadmin can either >wipe or lock the phone if it is stolen etc. This feature exists to protect >any corporate data on the device and has been around since this method of >connectivity was created (many years). > >It is a standard feature of the Microsoft Activesync protocol that >connects phones to Exchange e-mail systems and I assume similar >functionality from other e-mail platforms. I have something called "Good For Enterprise" on my smartphone and my 10" tablet. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't recall ever giving the admins anything in the way of a password or ID to either device. Seems to me like the erasing/factory reset thing is a perfectly sensible policy from the corporation's perspective - but I would not want it enforced on my device without plenty of prior notice.... and that's what has me spun up. -- Pete Cresswell
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 19:22:33 +0000 (UTC) From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers Message-ID: <lc12tp$27e3$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu> In article <pan.2014.01.25.06.17.16.758721@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au>, David Clayton <dc33box-usenet2@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au> wrote: >It is a standard feature of the Microsoft Activesync protocol that >connects phones to Exchange e-mail systems and I assume similar >functionality from other e-mail platforms. It's not a standard feature of either IMAP or SMTP/MSP. Good thing, too. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 06:36:18 +0000 (UTC) From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Person Cell Phone Wipe by Employers Message-ID: <lbvm12$1qf8$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu> In article <k7d5e9ps3jqi6jor1n8v6t0v0843lt7pan@4ax.com>, Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote: >Per Andrew Kaser: >>Some Companies Wipe Workers' Personal Cellphones Clean After They Leave > >Can anybody describe how they do that? Seems like there would have to >be some sort of authentication/permission involved on the user's phone. It's part of the enrollment process to access their work network (or sometimes, their work MS Exchange server) from their device. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 07:09:30 -0800 (PST) From: farce@goldbrick.com To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Global Business Directory with Live Chat Message-ID: <0a28ebc8-01e3-44e8-af14-005c40351497@googlegroups.com> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + + Moderator's Note + + + + For your weekend amusement, I am sending a redacted version + + of *ONE* of the many examples of spam that your dedicated, + + selfless, hard-working moderator saves you from every day. + + + + You don't need to applaud: I do this because I like pain. ;-) + + + + Bill, who is looking for a job and getting cabin fever. + + + ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ List your company, products, business news and information (Free!) Here's a tip on a great resource of knowledge and trading relationships in e-commerce and international trade, which offers a comprehensive shopping experience to a wide group of businesses and individuals online. You can also find institutional and industrial purchases through a large quantity of industrial companies that offer products and services to a global market from the forum. You can find industrial suppliers such as Contractors Direct, DK Hardware, IVG Stores, Chinavasion, Cable Matters, Automotive Fleet Rate, and more. Here is available for e-commerce a large collection of products and services directly to Internet-based businesses with search engine optimization, internet ads, webtraffic exchange, webhosting, domain names, servers, hardware and software. This web portal is a great resource to add to your favorites on your computer so that you can return here and you can register as a user. As a user of the forum, you can then post your own blog posts in the category of business blog post "industry ideas and planning". All traders who are looking for products for the local trade are welcome to visit this website and forum: http://goldbrick.com Public Information and Events Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/public-information-and-events-listing-free-f14/ Financial & Bank Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/financial-bank-listing-free-f16/ Employment Services and Job Vacancies Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/employment-services-and-job-vacancies-listing-free-f15/ Oil and Natural Gas Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/oil-and-natural-gas-listing-free-f19/ Mining Directory Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/mining-directory-listing-free-f17/ Industry Supplier Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/industry-supplier-listing-free-f18/ Security Organization Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/security-organization-listing-free-f22/ Medical and Health Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/medical-and-health-listing-free-f23/ Science and Knowledge Intensive Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/science-and-knowledge-intensive-listing-free-f20/ Global Food Industry Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/global-food-industry-listing-free-f21/ Internet and Webmaster Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/internet-and-webmaster-listing-free-f24/ Travel and Hospitality Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/travel-and-hospitality-listing-free-f25/ Entertainment and Sports Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/entertainment-and-sports-listing-free-f26/ General Wholesale Shopping Mall Listing (Free) http://goldbrick.com/forum/general-wholesale-shopping-mall-listing-free-f28/
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 03:46:00 -0500 From: "Bob Goudreau" <BobGoudreau@nc.rr.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Why T-Mobile wants Verizon's discarded 4G airwaves Message-ID: <003401cf19a9$e0530ba0$a0f922e0$@nc.rr.com> >>> T-Mobile already has an LTE network - they bought MetroPCS. I'm a >>> Metro customer - 4G phone and all. >>> >>> So I doubt they'll be able to use the spectrum either. >>> >>> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >>> >>> So, why did they buy it? >> Probably just corporate stupidity at it's finest. Look at it this >> way, once you get past say 150 people in corporation it becomes more >> and more difficult for one unit to know what another is doing. > Not at all. Every chunk of bandwidth that you buy is a chunk of > bandwidth that your competitors are unable to buy. It's a limited > resource and it's inevery telecom company's best interest to tie up as > much of it as possible whether or not they have any use for it. Sheesh, a little Googling quickly turns up plenty of new articles that answer the moderator's question and refute the idle speculation seen above. For example, see http://www.extremetech.com/computing/174299-t-mobile-buys-verizons-lower-700 mhz-spectrum-to-enable-broad-coverage-200mbps-lte or http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/01/06/t-mobile-will-buy-over-3-billion-in- 700mhz-spectrum-from-verizon-for-lte-expansions/. But even without such details, why is it so hard for people to accept that carriers can offer service over more than one band of spectrum? By expanding their bandwidth, T-Mobile can support more simultaneous users in the affected areas. Even better, the new chunk of spectrum is technically more desirable (better building penetration, etc.) than their existing LTE blocks. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:33:18 -0500 From: Arnie Goetchius <arnie.goetchius.remove-this@and-this-too.att.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Why T-Mobile wants Verizon's discarded 4G airwaves Message-ID: <lc1s57$2gk$1@dont-email.me> Bob Goudreau wrote: >>>> T-Mobile already has an LTE network - they bought MetroPCS. I'm a >>>> Metro customer - 4G phone and all. >>>> >>>> So I doubt they'll be able to use the spectrum either. >>>> >>>> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >>>> >>>> So, why did they buy it? > ... why is it so hard for people to accept that carriers can offer > service over more than one band of spectrum? By expanding their > bandwidth, T-Mobile can support more simultaneous users in the > affected areas. Even better, the new chunk of spectrum is > technically more desirable (better building penetration, etc.) than > their existing LTE blocks. If T-Mobile uses 700mhz in my area, it ought to let me get reliable service in my basement. That would be welcome news and I would then switch back to T-Mobile from AT&T.
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