---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20161203154839.GA27402@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 10:48:39 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Stage three of 600 MHz auctions about to start Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and other telecom operators have a new target with stage three of the FCC's 600 MHz incentive auction set for its forward round. Telecommunication operators are set for their third chance to acquire access to 600 MHz spectrum licenses, though they will need to come up with more than $40 billion in combined bids to close the Federal Communications Commission's latest incentive auction round. The government agency wrapped up the third stage of the 600 MHz incentive auction reverse auction process, with television broadcasters setting a $40.3 billion target price for 108 megahertz of total spectrum that the FCC plans to repackage into 80 megahertz of licensed spectrum on offer to interested parties. The third stage forward auction process is expected to begin Dec. 5. http://www.rcrwireless.com/20161202/policy/fcc-600-mhz-auction-sets-40-3b-target-verizon-att-t-mobile-tag2 -- Bill Horne ------------------------------ Message-ID: <31F3BFCE-A541-4E85-8AAB-F162A739C74E@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 00:11:54 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: I Dialed a Wrong Number and Stumbled Into International Phone Fraud I Dialed a Wrong Number and Stumbled Into International Phone Fraud A few weeks ago, I was trying to call Cuba. I got an error message - which, okay, international telephone codes are long and my fingers are clumsy - but the phone oddly started dialing again before I could hang up. A voice answered. It had a British accent and it was reading: "...the moon was shining brightly. The Martians had taken away the excavating-machine" Apparently, I had somehow called into an audiobook of The War of the Worlds. Suspicious of my clumsy fingers, I double-checked the number. It was correct (weird), but I tried the number again, figuring that at worst, I'd learn what happened after the Martians took away the excavating machine. This time, I got the initial error message and the call disconnected. No Martians. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/12/cuban-telephone-fraud/509006/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20161203160150.GB27736@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2016 11:01:50 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Centurylink 911 outage ISTM that every recent story about a "911 outage" mentions Century- link. I worked on E911 in New England a while back, and I have a soft spot for news about it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9-1-1 service restored for CenturyLink customers in the Mattawa (WA) area MATTAWA - CenturyLink has restored 9-1-1 service for landline phones in the Mattawa area. The outage was reported Wednesday afternoon and affected about 160 CenturyLink phone service customers, according to Kerry Zimmer, CenturyLink Public Relations and Market Development manager. http://www.ifiberone.com/news/service-restored-for-centurylink-customers-in-the-mattawa-area/article_cbbf19a0-b7f7-11e6-9d70-abc780fbf065.html -- Bill Horne ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 04 Dec 2016