---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <aee561c6-7267-4414-84df-65e93c30a79a@googlegroups.com> Date: 4 Feb 2019 13:57:41 -0800 From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Re: Suicide leaves grieving Stratford, CT family with questions On Friday, February 1, 2019 at 11:36:13 AM UTC-5, Bill Horne wrote: > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > I hesitate to cite a story such as this one - but E911 /is/ the > critical infrastructure for EMS, and when it fails, people /do/ die. > > The question remains: why did the 911 outage occur? Never mind that > some computer card sent "bad packets" out - that's a symptom, not the > disease. I think there are two issues here. First is the technical ones--why are there so many mission critical communication failures lately, and what can be done to fix them and improve reliability? This needs more attention. Secondly, in my opinion, we need to take a closer look at today's business model for communications. I don't think it's working very well. In the old days, we had the monopolistic Bell System (or independents), that were responsible for everything end-to-end. They weren't perfect, but they tried hard because they were regulated, and they did not like to attract the attention of regulators for bad service. As monopolies, the utilities (including the electric utilities) could afford to build a hardy robust network since they could past the cost along to ratepayers. Regulators generally didn't object to paying for good service (with a few exceptions). The business model today is completely different. Is it healthy? In reading the articles about the failures, it seems there are a number of small players who are in the middle. Further, even the big guys like Verizon and AT&T are focused very aggressively on profits, and they don't seem to care if a few customers aren't well served (we've seen many articles on that here.) I just spoke with a friend who lives in an isolated area. He has no cell phone service at home--too remote. His landline, by Frontier, was out for a week until they got around to fixing it. That does not sound good. In my opinion, the present business model in telecom is flawed and we need more sensible regulation to ensure carriers do their job well and protect consumers. I also think we need more honest pricing. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190205134348.GA5971@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2019 08:43:48 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Some Verizon Wireless customers in Fayetteville unable to call 911 Some Verizon Wireless customers in Fayetteville unable to call 911 FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Police in Fayetteville are cautioning Verizon Wireless customers that they may not be able to call 911 Tuesday morning. Verizon Wireless is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it, according to a statement from the Fayetteville police. https://www.wral.com/some-verizon-wireless-customers-in-fayetteville-unable-to-call-911/18170434/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190204204639.GA4350@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2019 15:46:39 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Tech firms, states face feds in net neutrality court battle By Marcy Gordon WASHINGTON (AP) - Tech companies and nearly half a dozen U.S. states are clashing with the Trump administration in federal court over the repeal of net neutrality, a set of rules aimed at preventing big internet providers from discriminating against certain technology and services. The faceoff comes in a federal appeals court hearing Friday. The companies, including Mozilla and Vimeo, want the judges to restore the net neutrality regime. It was set in 2015 during the Obama administration and repealed in December 2017 under a regulator appointed by President Donald Trump. https://www.1011now.com/content/news/Tech-firms-states-face-feds-in-net-neutrality-court-battle-505193421.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Wed, 06 Feb 2019