TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Mar 94 00:38:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 123 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: National Caller-ID (A. Padgett Peterson) Re: National Caller ID (Lynne Gregg) Re: Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number (Brian J. Cecil) Re: Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number (John McGing) Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone (Alan Boritz) Re: Telephone Companies And The Time (Mickael L. Dickson) Re: Internet Conferencing (Paul Robinson) Re: Why Caller-ID Instead of ANI? (Steve Forrette) Re: Digital Cellular Phones (Steve Forrette) Re: Motorola Envoy Personal Wireless Communicator (John Gilbert) Re: More Dialogic Help Needed (and Given) (J. Scott Elam) Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? (mberry@nosc.mil) Re: Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen (Brian Leyton) Re: 810 Area Code Trouble? (Carl Moore) Re: Unzipping ISDN File in Archives (Dave Niebuhr) ISO Country Codes (Paul Robinson) DECT Stardards (Hanwook Jung) Needed - Uplink to Western Satellite From Ural Mountains (Isaiah Watas Cox) Need a Source For Cellular Telecom Base Station Radios (Mike Willey) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 94 08:37:16 -0500 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Re: National Caller-ID > CALLER ID TO BE AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE; FCC ADOPTS FEDERAL POLICIES FOR > REGULATION > The Commission has adopted a federal model, effective April 12, 1995, > for interstate delivery of calling party number based services. These > services include caller ID, which is available today in many states, > as well as services that will permit businesses to service customers > more efficiently and will permit increased security of computer > networks. I said two years didn't I? To me this represents one of the greatest advances in the ability to provide security to dial-ups and PBXs possible. No longer will we have to allow "blind" admission to anyone with a telephone. Caller-ID means being able to decide whether to answer the phone at all. With proper use, "demon-dialers" will become obsolete while permitting transparent telecommuting. True, there are going to be some second- generation RISKs such as the impact of call-forwarding but it will eliminate the ones we have now for the bulk of the traffic. Full encryption is still going to be necessary for those who travel a lot but right now that amounts to only about 20% of my concern, most trafic is generated from people at home or at known locations. As for call blocking -- not a problem, my "80%" lines simply do not answer blocked calls and that is *my* choice. For the other 20%, they will just have to put up with a bit more complexity. Warmly, Padgett PS: Have a "draft" Caller-ID FAQ for you, Pat -- will send later. [TELECOM Digest Editopr's Note: Thanks Padgett, I will be watching for it and will make it available when it arrives. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Lynne Gregg Subject: Re: National Caller ID Date: Thu, 10 Mar 94 09:23:00 PST In my original message I included the following credit: > From: FCC News > FCC Report: Action in Docket Case > Docket: 91-281 > CALLER ID TO BE AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE; FCC ADOPTS FEDERAL > POLICIES FOR REGULATION The report included in my original message was obtained from the FCC news release and should not be attributed to me. Thanks! Lynne [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Due to the way Ms. Gregg typed in her first message, the line 'From FCC News' above caused the first three lines to disappear entirely in the digesting process. Even today, when she sent it in again asking to have the credit included, it vanished in the processing, but I found it in the residue of the bit bucket. I did not mean to ignore the credit yesterday, but all experienced Internet users know what happens when the word 'From ' with a white space after it is the first word on a line where sendmail is concerned! :) Anyway Lynne, thanks for catching the error, and the FCC News is noted above as it should have been before. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Brian J. Cecil Date: 9 Mar 1994 20:47:08 EST Subject: Re: Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number It is a sad commentary on our society when a convicted murderer, especially of this low caliber, can set up a 900 number and make money on the sick and morbid curiosity of others. However, I do remotely agree with one statement that was made, that Gacy is a victim; he is a victim of his lawyer! As we all are victims of lawyers! It was mentioned that the company that set this up was in Florida? Does anyone know the name of the company? I own some stock in a company that owns millions of pay phones in prisons located in Florida, Alabama, and several other southern states. If it is the company I have a financial interest in, I'll not only let management know of my disgust, but I will dump the shares. Brian Cecil [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well personally Brian, your company with its 'millions of pay phones' is probably not the outfit, because I'm sure they would not jeopardize their Corrections business by getting a prison bureaucracy angry at them. However, I must say the company you have stock in -- whatever their name is, I don't know and don't care -- is probably one of what we sometimes call the 'bottom feeders' in the (telecom) industry like a lot of other AOS/COCOT firms. Why do I say this? Because they take advantage of a class of people who have absolutely no other choice in how their phone calls are placed; i.e. prisoners. Now I do not have any love in my heart for prisoners and unlike some liberal thinkers I could name (but won't) who are constantly whining about 'all the innocent people in prison', my attitude is there are no innocent people in prison, by definition absolutely, and most likely in reality as well. Still, even prisoners have people who love them and care for them, namely their families 'on the outside'. Those folks are forced to pay perfectly outrageous rates for collect calls from their loved ones in prison because the prisoners can no longer place calls via Genuine Bell. Rates of three or four dollars *per minute* are the norm, and the families of prisoners are getting stuck with it on their phone bill if they want to receive a call from the prisoner. Cook County Jail in Chicago is using some AOS outfit to handle prisoner outgoing phone calls, and reports of local, Chicago-area calls of five minutes costing six to ten dollars are common. Naturally, some one or more prison bureaucrats are getting a piece of the action, I'm sure. Part of this is AT&T's fault; they made it rather plain they were not interested in the corrections industry traffic due to the high rate of fraud on toll charges by the prisoners, and I am sympathetic to the AOS's plight in this regard also, but it is part of the cost of doing business, and frankly, the AOS's are ripping off the families of prisoners big-time having them as a captive customer base. AT&T also never would pay bribes to employees in the US Justice Department to keep their pay- phones in prisons like a couple AOS outfits I could name (but won't) are doing. That's another reason you don't see many Genuine Bell phones in federal prisons these days. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 23:22:15 -0500 From: John McGing Subject: Re: Prisoner Starts Own 900 Number Reply-To: jmcging@access.digex.com Pat, I was aware of the 900 number for John W. Gacy (a man who once picked me up hitchiking up Diversey Avenue in Chicago and who's housekeeper was a friend of my mom's) but was under the impression that the phone et al are located outside the prison. That being the case (and I don't know for a fact that it is, but if it were) how would the prison system know what the attorney is doing and what John is doing in his personal phone calls? Seems just a tad hard to excorigate the prison people over their not being aware of what Gacy and his attorney are doing, especially if all the "work" is being done using offsite materials and tapes or phone calls, perhaps done with the attorney and not subject to prison moni- toring. John [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The 900 number terminates on voicemail in Florida. You're right, John probably set it up through his attorney using privileged attorney correspondence. Your indirect aquaintence with someone who knew him is an interesting point. My own knowledge of him is similar: a real-estate firm I did some management work for almost twenty years ago at one point hired Gacy to do some remodeling work for them on one of their properties. As you know, he was a licensed contrac- tor for building repairs, etc. As you also know, he was rather high ranking in the Cook County Democratic Party. Whatever, I'm glad your experience with him as a hitchiker turned out safely without hassles for you. Most hitchikers didn't fare as well with him. Maybe you just weren't his type. :) Didn't your mother's friend the housekeeper ever suspect anything? After all, the police said the stench in his house was something awful. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Information Needed on Satellite Phone From: drharry!aboritz@uunet.UU.NET (Alan Boritz) Date: Wed, 09 Mar 94 21:23:19 EST Organization: Harry's Place - Mahwah NJ - +1 201 934 0861 Paul Robinson writes: > The reporters were using Inmarsat telephones. They're fine if you > want to pay about $9 a minute more than typical overseas calls, e.g. a > long distance call from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia is about $1.20 a > minute, while Inmarsat charges about $10 a minute. When I last looked into that kind of service (in 1988, I think), the rate for dialtone was $15 for the first three minutes, with a three minute minimum. The area of operation was to be from the New York Bight into the Atlantic Ocean. But the real bargain was for TWX or data service. > Oh, and don't forget the $10,000 to $50,000 for the transmitting > station. Not necessarily. You could get by with a relatively smaller rig for use in an area with less vegetation than to what we're used to in North America. aboritz%drharry@uunet.uu.net or uunet!drharry!aboritz Harry's Place (drharry.UUCP) - Mahwah NJ USA - +1-201-934-0861 ------------------------------ From: MICKAEL.L.DICKSON@gte.sprint.com Date: 10 Mar 94 10:12:34-0500 Subject: Re: Telephone Companies And The Time As they say on the radio talk shows "long time listener, first time caller". Anyway, I read Kent Borg's article about the "correct" time and perhaps I can answer a couple of his questions. Having spent several years in the switching side of Pacific Bell and later as a programmer and analyst in the carrier access billing side of PacBell and now as a access billing consultant for GTE, I don't believe the clock in the billing computer has anything to do with the recorded time of Kent's phone call. The time is based on whatever time was "stamped" on the record by the switching entity which processed and recorded his call. The billing computer might rate and bill this call several days later and has no way of knowing whether the date and time of the call, as recorded by the switching entity, is correct or not. In fact, when I was a switchman (I know this isn't a politically correct term) working in a #1 and #5 X-BAR switch in San Jose, CA back in the 60's, the time (for timing phone calls, not time of day recording) was maintain by two timers (one primary and one back up) which "checked" each other every six seconds for being in synch. Six seconds was used because we were on six second timing in those days. Anyway, the recorders (which recorded phone calls) were also synched to the primary timer. The time of day talking clock was in no way tied to the two master timers. In fact, even though the timers and recorders checked each other for synch conditions every six seconds, the time was set by someone using their watch! You wouldn't believe the horror stories I could tell about how out of whack the time got after someone and their watch did a time change (to and from daylight savings time). You had to insulate contacts and block relays in order to get the rotary timing switches set properly for the new time. Then you had to synch the backup timer to the primary and then synch all the recorders. Lots of room for error! I realize technologies have changed and I'm not sure whether the timing mechanisms in a digital switch are tied to some sort of master clock somewhere, but I suspect, even though they are much more accurate that the old mechanical timers I worked on, some one somewhere still has the ability to get his fingers in the equipment and goof up the timing. Some sort of timing pulse or something like that is probably used to keep the internal system clock in the switching machine in synch. And, again, I don't think the talking clock has anything to do with the system clock of an individual switching machine. So to answer Kent's questions (or to confuse him more), the billing computer internal clock has nothing to do with the timing of his phone calls. This is done by the internal system clock of the switching machine. It produces a call date and time and an elapsed time. It also produces conversation and access elapsed times. I guess that there are several definitions of the "correct time" based on whether you call the talking clock or use the connect time printed on your phone bill. Sorry if I rambled on, but thinking about call timing brought back lots of memories of relays, switches, and rotary dials. Mike Dickson GTE, Florida ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 13:18:23 EST From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: Internet Conferencing Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Ralph E. Todd , writes (text edited for brevity): > In preparation for a term project dealing with organizational > learning, I am in search of information regarding conferencing on the > Internet. Specifically, I envision a moderated forum supporting > concurrent access for at least 30 user sessions. Unix "talk" may be > an option, but I beleive it would be kludgy for the moderator since it > is limited to two-party conversations. My forum would essentially be > an Internet talk radio, complete with delays, (lending generic context > to the name "Talk Net"). > Is anyone aware of the existence of such a forum? Any knowledge of > technology or building blocks which could support it? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What you are suggesting has been done > many times in the past on Compuserve. The various forums have had > special guest 'speakers' who were announced ahead of time. Using > programs quite similar to the 'CB Simulator' Okay, now we have something to discuss because while I think you two are talking about the same thing, the terms are wrong. "Internet Talk Radio" refers to a broadcast *sound recording* on the order of a digitized tape recording. There is provisions for setting up a multicast sound transmission over the Internet. It is this provision that I think is an opportunity for people and a danger to telephone companies, since if you can hook up your offices over the Internet using data lines you need for transmissions anyway -- and have already paid for -- and can send voice calls among these offices, what do you need to spend money on long distance telephone calls for? But what you both appear to be referring to is a typed text communication rather than sound transmission. That application already is running -- continuously -- on the Internet. It's called Internet Relay Chat or IRC. Having seen Compuserve's forums I know what Pat is referring to, and IRC is all but identical with that. All that is needed is an IRC client on your site, and a connection to one of many IRC hosts that are carrying it, all over the world. Paul Robinson - Paul@TDR.COM ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Why Caller-ID Instead of ANI? Date: 10 Mar 1994 20:34:13 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc. Reply-To: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) In , TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to baers@agcs.com (Scott Baer): > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think you misunderstood the results of > your prepending 10222 to a local seven digit number. In all probability, > your local telephone exchange probably *ignored* the 10222 and handled > the call themselves. They have the right to do that. PAT] Pat, I know you have stated this several times in the past, but is it really true? Whether the local telco can prevent IXC's from handling intra-lata calls is a matter decided by each state's regulatory body. Some allow it, and some don't. But in all of the areas that I'm aware of, one of two things happens: If the state allows intra-LATA competition, then prepending 10xxx to a local call will cause the call to be carried by the IXC, and would explain the behavior reported by Scott in Phoenix. If the state does not allow it, then the call is rejected with a recording like "We're sorry, it is not necessary to use a long distance carrier access code for the number you have dialed." In no case that I know of does a LEC allow the caller to specify a 10xxx code but ignore it and carry the call itself. Is this indeed the case somewhere? Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is indeed the case in many places. For example, Illinois Bell (Ameritech) looks at the number dialed in its entirity, in context, *then* decides what to do with it; whether to handle it themselves -- if permitted, within the LATA for example -- or whether to hand it off in accordance with the dialing advice given by the subscriber. Many or most telcos do not give away their intra-LATA business if you dial it through them. Now if you wish to dial some 800 number, or 950 number for another carrier and that carrier is willing to handle it (most likely it is technically unfeasable for them to reject it even if they are not lawfully entitled to handle it), then that is another matter. IBT treats dialing 10xxx before a 312 or 708 number the same way they treat dialing 10xxx before an 800 or 900 number; i.e they ignore it and route the call according to other rules. Maybe some telcos actually send the call to treatment; in that instance at least, IBT simply handles it silently and transparently. For instance, I just now dialed 10288-1-312-440-5270. You do remember that number, don't you? :). No recording, no intercept, it just rang as always. PAT] ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Digital Cellular Phones Date: 10 Mar 1994 23:42:47 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc. Reply-To: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) In , jrg@rahul.net (John Galloway) writes: >> The "Cave" algorithm specified in IS-54 (the TDMA standard) is used to >> encrypt data (ESN and possibly voice). The algorithm is keyed with >> data that are never transmitted and are only known by the switch and >> the mobile. > But if this key is fixed (since it is not transmited I assume it is) > then all the cellular blue box builder need to is disect a phone to > get it. This might not be a trivial opeation, but these crooks are > pretty smart fellows. Are you assuming that the key is the same for all phones? If the key is different for each phone, then the crook would have to get a hold of a particular phone to dissect it to get the key. And if they have physical possession of the phone, there is little need to get the key in order to make fraudulent calls, right? Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: johng@ecs.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) Subject: Re: Motorola Envoy Personal Wireless Communicator Organization: Motorola, LMPS Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 18:14:27 -0600 In article , a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin) wrote: > In Ben Burch com> writes: >> NOTE TO EDITORS: Motorola and Envoy are registered trademarks of >> Motorola Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the >> property of their respective owners. > For what it's worth, Envoy-100 is also the name of an Email network > run by Telecom Canada. Envoy was also the external product name of a Motorola tone-only pager that is no longer being manufactured. John Gilbert johng@ecs.comm.mot.com ------------------------------ From: selam@teleport.com (J. Scott Elam) Subject: Re: More Dialogic Help Needed (& given) Date: 10 Mar 1994 17:21:35 -0800 Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 wrote: > Does anyone know where I can find the latest version of the Dialogic > voice drivers for DOS for their D40/B and D41/B boards? I have tar files (somewhere) of the Driver diskette and the Springware diskette. The version is 3.01 I believe. I don't know if this will work with the the xxx/B boards -- I think I'm using all xxx/D boards. Email me if you want them. One thing I am sure of -- I have a bunch of Dialogic equipment that I no longer need. 1 D/20B, 3 D/41B, 10 D/41D and DID/40's, 1 DID/120, and 1 LSI/120. Prices are negotiable. See my "For Sale: Dialogic boards" post here for further details and email me if interested. selam@teleport.com ------------------------------ From: mberry@nosc.mil Subject: Re: Can I Expect More Than 2400 Baud? Organization: NCCOSC RDT&E Division, San Diego, CA Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 21:06:08 GMT In article , writes: > Is 2400 baud a reasonable service level to expect in this day and > age? What is the best or most appropriate way to approach a telephone > company on this issue? As readers can no doubt deduce I am not a > telecommuncations person. Ask NYNEX why 2400bps only be supported in the Cape Cod area. If the cause is noisy phone lines, then the telephone company is the one to talk to. There are standards for signal to noise that the phone company should meet. These standards should support 14.4. ------------------------------ Date: 09 Mar 94 16:39:16 EST From: Brian Leyton <73160.557@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Starring Tom Cruise as Kevin Poulsen Carl Moore asks: > But what does ICM stand for? International Creative Management. They're a management firm in the entertainment industry. The only reason I know this is that I interviewed there for a job once ... Brian Leyton 73160.557@compuserve.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Mar 94 13:12:20 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: 810 Area Code Trouble? My latest phone bill for C&P had a call where I dialed 610 but which was displayed with area code 215. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Mar 94 07:05:29 EST From: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) Subject: Re: Unzipping ISDN File in Archives sshaver@nde.unl.edu (jeff shaver) wrote: > I recently ftp'ed the ISDN.deployment.data.zip file from the Telecom > Archives, but I can't unzip it. PKZip 2.04(g?) tells me it's not a > zip file. Any ideas? Thanks for your help! I have a similar problem with my Unix workstation. I have compress, Unix pack, and gzip/gunzip and these packages can't handle PKZip formats. I know that the archives are huge and each file takes space, but there are files in there that I can't access because of this. Does anyone know of a utility somewhere that I might be able to obtain to handle PKZip files. I've tried Archie/Gopher/World Wide Web and haven't had success. Dave Niebuhr Internet: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (preferred) niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl Senior Technical Specialist, Scientific Computing Facility Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973 (516)-282-3093 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been sent another copy of the file, this time in MIME format. It can be opened up with 2.04 PKUNZIP according to the note which came with it. I will hold it here awhile before putting it in the archives and if anyone wants a copy, write me here to ask for it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 13:28:03 EST From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: ISO Country Codes Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA A few issues back a woman asked for a list of the two-letter and three-letter ISO 3166 codes for most countries. While it does not include the codes for the countries that have been created as a result of others being broken up (such as the Soviet Union and Czechslovakia) one place to look is in my Internet RFC 1394, which also shows international telex codes and worldwide telephone area codes. This document is available from any of the sites that have RFCs on file, and is also accessible via FTP from DS.INTERNIC.NET. ------------------------------ From: hjung@acsu.buffalo.edu (Hanwook Jung) Subject: DECT stardards Organization: UB Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 23:18:27 GMT Would you tell me where can I get or buy the standard of DECT? Please send me a email of the organization or company who sell the standard, or possible FTP site of that. Thank you in advance, H Jung hjung@eng.buffalo.edu ------------------------------ From: iwcox@tucson.princeton.edu (Isaiah Watas Cox) Subject: Needed - Uplink to Western Satellite From Ural Mountains Organization: Princeton University Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 02:35:38 GMT I am seeking a digital carrier (either ground or satellite-based) who can provide an intermittent 9600 bit/second connection to the Ural Mountains. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Isaiah iwcox@phoenix.princeton.edu ------------------------------ From: mwilley@metronet.com (Mike Willey) Subject: Need a Source For Cellular Telecom Base Station Radios Organization: Texas Metronet, Internet for the Individual 214-705-2917 (info) Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 03:41:01 GMT I am posting the folowing for a friend who does not have internet access: I am looking for a source for cellular Base Station radios ( not the mobile units or hand-held phones, but the radios back at the cell site that talk to the mobile units ). Anyone know of a company that sells such radios separately from their own cellular systems? I am working on a new architecture for a Base Station/Mobile Switching Center ( MSC ) and need some radios to demonstrate the concept. Please followup to this news group or email to mwilley@feenix.metronet.com. Thanks, Mike Willey * Paragon Innovations, Inc. * mwilley@feenix.metronet.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #123 ****************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Area # 700 EMAIL 03-11-94 01:54 Message # -3266 From : TELECOM Moderator To : ELIOT GELWAN PVT RCVD Subj : TELECOM Digest V14 #124 ÿ@FROM :TELECOM@DELTA.EECS.NWU.EDU From telecom-request@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Fri Mar 11 02:29:01 1994 Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by uu9.psi.com (5.65b/4.0.061193-PSI/PSINet) via SMTP; id AA07660 for eliot.gelwan; Fri, 11 Mar 94 02:29:01 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA18456; Fri, 11 Mar 94 00:54:11 CST Return-Path: Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu (4.1/SMI-4.0-proxy) id AA18445; Fri, 11 Mar 94 00:54:08 CST Date: Fri, 11 Mar 94 00:54:08 CST From: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) Message-Id: <9403110654.AA18445@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V14 #124 TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Mar 94 00:54:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 124 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson NIU Forum Meeting Highlights for February 1994 (Steve Rogers) Telecomics and the Infobahn (Dave Leibold) Re: Local CID Showing Out of Area (Steve Forrette) Various Industry Items (Bell News, Ontario via Dave Leibold) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: srogers@viking.tad.eds.com (Steve Rogers) Subject: NIU Forum Meeting Highlights for February 1994 Organization: EDS Management Consulting Services Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 15:17:29 GMT Volume 3 Number 1 NIUF Meeting Highlights, February 8-11, 1994 Note: The mention of specific products in this document does not constitute endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, along with U S WEST, sponsored the twentieth meeting of the NIUF on February 8-11, 1994. Over 200 users, implementors and service providers of ISDN technology attended the forum which was held at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colorado. The NIUF continued the tradition of providing continuing education in ISDN-related topics by offering the following tutorials as part of the regular meeting: > "Overview of NIUF/New Users & New Implementors," Karen Patten, AT&T and Don Auble, Ameritech > "Basic ISDN," Steve Rogers, Electronic Data Systems > "ISDN Wiring & Powering Work Program," Steve Halpern, NYNEX S&T > "Planning Your ISDN Implementation," Karen Patten, AT&T > "ISDN: Network & User Applications," Kay Burin, Bellcore-TEC > "WaveRunnerTM Digital Modem: ISDN/Analog Connectivity", Bruce Dillon, IBM Working Group Created for NII in NIUF. Of special interest was the formation of a new National Information Infrastructure (NII) Working Group (NIIWG). This working group provides a place for industry users, such as healthcare professionals and telecommuters, to bring their information technology requirements to be developed into applications and provide access to the implementors, service providers, and hardware and software developers, who will develop actual solutions to their requirements. Plenary Highlights. The work of the Multimedia Communications Forum (MMCF) was presented by Wayne Zakowski (AT&T), Chairman of the Technical Architecture Committee of MMCF. The forum may consider a liaison between the NIUF and MMCF for future applications work. In addition, a representative from the ISDN Users' Forum for Development of New Technology (Japan), Dr. Asano, presented information on Japan's progress of the ISDN technology. Executive Steering Committee (ESC) Highlights. During this session, the Application Services Group made the steps necessary to serve the NIUF as the Applications Committee of the newly formed NIIWG. Jack Robertson, Pacific Bell, was chosen as chair of the Telecommuting and Government Mandates Committee. Gary Olsen, Northern Telecom, presented a straw proposal for a white paper to position ISDN as the on-ramp of the NII. This proposal was presented to the ESC and input to the white paper was requested before March 15. At the June NIUF, the white paper will be complete in draft form. Bob Schickofke, Siemens Stromberg-Carlson, presented the Telecommuting Application Profile. This profile will be used as the basis for a marketing package to encourage corporations to telecommute their employees. Richard Raybold presented an update on the Clean Air Act and led a discussion on telecommuting showstoppers. Robert Margetts, AT&T, brought forth a motion to the ESC to establish a recognition process for members of the NIUF who do excellent or outstanding work. The Versions - Capability Analysis and Planning group announced the availability of the National ISDN-3 content document. SR-NWT-002457, Issue 1, December 1993 can be ordered from Bellcore at 1-800-521-CORE. The cost of the document is $70.00. ISDN Users' Workshop Highlights. A General Users' Roundtable discussion included a presentation of disaster recovery of telecommunications following the recent earthquake in southern California. Several speakers discussed issues regarding the National Information Infrastructure. The Government Services Group reviewed and accepted the NIIWG. Participants were asked to review the Interworking Panel Document (Draft), submit comments and assist in establishing a compilation of ISDN Success Stories in Government. The group accepted a profile review from the Security and Network Management Technical Working Group to prioritize work in conjunction with new Presidential initiatives (NII). Several presentations were given at the Mass Markets Group meeting. GTE shared user requirements for corporate telecommuters and work-at-home customers as well as presenting deployment plans. The National Semiconductor discussed low-cost isoEthernetTM solutions for transporting multimedia streams using ISDN. AT&T introduced the AT&T Digital Adapter which allows simultaneous access to ISDN and some ISDN voice features using existing analog telephones. Finally, Bellcore presented the results of their 1993 ISDN market research on residence and small business customers. The Broadband ISDN Working Group has published Volume II of the Compendium of Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) Papers presented at NIUF meetings as well as Volume II of the Compendium of B-ISDN Applications. An interim report of the Broadband/Narrowband ISDN Integration Committee was presented. The group voted the Interactive Simulation Application Profile as working group stable and concurred with the transfer of activities to the newly created NII Working Group's Architecture Committee. The Enterprise Network Data Interconnectivity Family recognized that remote access to LANs using ISDN devices require a great deal of interoperability. Currently most CPE on the market uses proprietary algorithms. A motion to test and demonstrate inter-vendor interoper- ability was unanimously passed. The motion set a milestone date for this to be accomplished. At the continuing series of Users' Issues Roundtables, the users heard from two user transaction processing service providers about their needs, experiences to date, and requirements for ubiquitous ISDN packet switched services. Mirek Kula, Gtech Corporation, and Andy Singleton, SPS Payment Systems, described three key benefits of ISDN packet switched services: 1) Reduce connect time significantly; 2) Provide potential economic benefits; and 3) Increase flexibility and reliability. Critical requirements for the deployment of a ubiquitous ISDN packet switched network are: develop an X.25 (over ISDN) service culture; complete the technology development of services and features on the packet network; and, offer cost effective business conditions. Mr. Rob Sterrenberg, GTE, represented the TSTS (Transaction Switching and Transport Service) Industry Forum, which was recently organized using the North American ISDN Users' Forum structure as a guideline. The TSTS Forum addresses all forms of transaction processing as well as ISDN packet-switched services. Several industries heavily involved with transaction processing include businesses with card (credit, debit) verification requirements, lottery, health care, etc. Mr. Sterrenberg also described recent deployment experiences with user groups. Going forward, the NIUF plans to formalize a liaison with the TSTS Forum and to identify packet-switched requirements within the current user-submitted applications for specific action. The Simplification of ISDN Ordering, Provisioning, and Installation Ad Hoc Group discussed the progress that has been made. The NIUF has approved a set of agreements which can simplify ISDN ordering. During 1993, the NIUF approved 10 Feature Sets (Phase 1 simplification) and 29 Line Sets (Phase 2 simplification) to serve as building blocks from which ISDN applications or services can be constructed. Customers, or their agents, can order by specifying these Line Sets and Feature Sets, instead of by specifying the much larger number of interface and feature parameters. At the February 1994 meeting, 15 Capability Packages and 43 Solution Sets (Phase 3 simplification), constructed from the Line Set and Feature Set building blocks, were approved; these enable customers, or their agents, to order an entire application. At this meeting, many telephone companies presented their plans to implement these simplification components during the current year. In addition, it is anticipated that these simplification tools will play a key role in ISDN Solutions '94, through the planned Solution Teams. ISDN Implementors' Workshop Highlights. The ISDN Implementors Workshop facilitated successful ISDN output. The NIUF IIW agreed to support the activities of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). ISDN is an excellent "on-ramp" for the NII and many synergistic activities will benefit both ISDN and NII. Four documents were ratified at the final plenary and four additional documents were approved as working group stable. These documents are listed in the plenary section. the IIW re-elected Glenn Ehley (Siemens Stromberg-Carlson) as IIW Chair and Robin Rossow (Bellcore) as IIW Vice Chair. Both were re-elected for their third consecutive term. The Security & Network Management Profile Team and Technical Working Group accepted a Department of Defense contribution of the DoD Handbook on Network Management and Security. Charters for each group were reviewed and approved. Profiles submitted to the Security groups' were reviewed and the group asked the IIW for assistance in recruiting additional analysts. Profiles were passed back to the Government Services group to prioritize or to delete profiles that are no longer championed. The Call Management Profile Team met on February 9th for a final readout of the Telecommuting Application Profile. This profile was submitted to the Closing Plenary and approved. The Video/Audio Conferencing Profile Team has changed their name to the Multimedia Applications & Networking Profile Team. The Applications Analysis Working Group distributed the document "A Catalog of National ISDN Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications - Second Edition" which was submitted to the Closing Plenary for ratification. Copies can be obtained from Bellcore by calling 1-800-521-CORE (2673) (908/699-5800 - foreign calls), Document GP-1, the cost is $43 (overseas - prepay + 15% for shipping). The document can also be accessed by anonymous FTP from "info.bellcore.com", directory: /pub/isdn. The ISDN Conformance Testing (ICOT) & ICOT ACT 23 Working Groups elected new officers: Leo Terry (Northern Telecom) as ICOT Chair, and Roxe Murray (Northern Telecom) both ICOT Vice Chair and ACT23 Chair. The document "Guidelines for Implementors of ISDN CPE to Conform to National ISDN-1 and NIUF Layer 3 Basic Call Control Test Suites [ICOT 93-07, ACT23-92/42-3R7]" was approved in the Closing Plenary. The Signaling/Supplementary Services Working Group voted the Layer 3 signalling specification for ISDN BRI Class II equipment document [NIU/SSWG/94-002] as Working Group stable. The group discussed becoming inactive after the June 1994 NIUF; however, this will not occur since a number of items were assigned to the SSWG during this NIUF. Some of the SSWG's participants had a joint meeting with the Messaging and Answering group to discuss completion of its Application Profile. The Wireless Technical Working Group demonstrated ISDN applications delivered over a satellite. One of the applications included ISDN video conferencing over a satellite. A number of vendors are indicating that they are utilizing the NIUF Application Software Interface (ASI) agreements in some of their ISDN products (e.g., IBM WaveRunnerTM). Therefore, the NIUF requested that additional activity continues in the ASI arena. The ISDN CPE and Software (ICSW) Working Group met and discussed how the CPE and software community can work with the Corporation for Open Systems to ensure that Solutions '94 will be an event that will be successful in advancing the awareness of the benefits of ISDN applications. ICSW members will be working closely with COS on the planning for this event. The ICSW - CPE Development Issues held a one-day session with 22 presentations by ISDN equipment suppliers that included terminal adapter, test equipment, video, LAN access and interconnection, and network backup equipment manufacturers. The applications discussed ranged from computer access to work-at-home to remote broadcast audio. The ICSW PBX Issues Subcommittee held discussions on the European and U.S. alternatives to using ISDN for providing standard, interoperable networking of PBXs from different manufacturers. This group of leading PBX vendors has been working with Bellcore to define specifications for the public network in the U.S. for this application. The ICSW Basic Rate Terminal Subcommittee worked with the Order Simplification Group towards the implementation of methods of ordering and installing ISDN that will make it much easier and reduce complexity. An ad hoc group was formed to work with the Corporation for Open Systems Solutions '94 teams for early implementation of these procedures. At the ICSW Powering & Wiring Subcommittee, the initial sections of the ISDN Wiring Guidelines became working group stable. The subcommittee made considerable progress on other sections of the document. In its current state the document consists of: 1) The 12/93 draft document with modifications to section 2 2) Addendum #1: dealing with the requirements of the FCC Docket 88-57. 3) Addendum #2: Other changes resulting from review of the 12/93 document. For copies, contact at NIST Dawn Hoffman or Sara Caswell at (301) 975-4853. The Closing Plenary approved the following documents on February 11, 1994: > Phase 3 NIUF Application Packages and Solution Sets > A Catalog of National ISDN Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications - Second Edition > Guidelines for Implementors of ISDN CPE to Conform to Both National ISDN-1 and North American ISDN Users' Forum Layer 3 Basic Rate Interface Basic Call Control Abstract Test Suites [ICOT-93-07 ACT23-92/42.3R7] > Signaling and Supplementary Services document NIUF/SWG/93-017 > Telecommuting Application Profile (89-039.4) The following documents were announced as working group stable and will be voted at the next meeting, if no substantive comments are received: > ISDN Wiring & Powering Guidelines (NIU/ICSW/BRI/WPE/018) with Addendums #1 and #2 > ISDN Primary Rate Access Customer Installation Layer 1 Conformance Testing - Update (NIUF 400-92/ICOT-91-53) > Interactive Simulation Profile (93-002.8) > Layer 3 Signalling Specification for the Minimal Set of Circuit-Switched Bearer Services for the ISDN Class 2 Basic Rate Interfaces (SSWG-305) The following working group charters were approved: > Security & Network Management Profile Team > Security & Network Management Technical Working Group (modified) Two new applications were submitted to the IUW: 94-001.1 Message Waiting Requirements for Attendant/Message Desk Applications 94-002.1 NI-2 for Interexchange Carrier PRI NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland, will host the next NIUF on June 20-24, 1994. Contact Sara Caswell of NIST at (301) 975-4853 for further information. WaveRunner is a registered trademark of IBM. isoEthernet is a Registered Trade Mark of the National Semiconductor Corporation NIUF ANNOUNCEMENT North American ISDN Users Forum Expands Mission to Include Information Highway Denver Colorado, February 11, 1994 Recognizing the need for a strong user voice early in the planning process for the National Information Infrastructure (NII) the North American ISDN Users Forum (NIUF), acting on the recommendations of a study group established at its October 1993 meeting, today formally expanded its mission to include the NII, popularly known as the "Information Highway". The NIUF was established under the auspices of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 1988. Its mission was "to create a strong user voice in the implementation of ISDN and ISDN applications and to ensure that the emerging Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) meets users' application needs." As a user driven activity the NIUF has been very successful in meeting it's objectives. This is evidenced by development of ISDN user applications, a catalog of ISDN solutions, simplification of ordering ISDN services, deployment of National ISDN 1, Transcontinental ISDN Project TRIP '92 and the increasing general availability of ISDN services. It is recognized that ISDN is continuing to evolve, driven by technology and by user needs toward a ubiquitous, seamless, broadband, transparent, common user system. This advanced system is the NII. Eventually every business and residence in the US, and worldwide, will have access to the NII. Applications will be far ranging; entertainment, telecommuting, distant learning, health care, education, air and ground traffic control; the limits are set only by the imagination. The technology to implement the NII exists today, using basic and primary rate ISDN as the access architecture. As with ISDN, the key to the timely and widespread deployment of the NII will be an open architecture supporting the development of useful applications which will stimulate user demand, thus justifying investment by the service providers. As with ISDN, the development of applications requires the interchange of information on user interface standards and serving system functions and capabilities as well as knowledge of the needs of prospective users. The NIUF has provided for this interchange of information for the ISDN community, which greatly facilitated the deployment of that service, and is well qualified, prepared and motivated to provide similar support for the NII. The next meeting of the NIUF is scheduled for June 20-24, 1994 at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD. For information, contact Dawn Hoffman or Sara Caswell (301) 975-2937. ------------------------------ From: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 10 Mar 94 23:09:24 -0500 Subject: Telecomics and the Infobahn Organization: FidoNet: The Super Continental - North York, Canada Some of the recent funnies have picked up on the infobahn hype in recent weeks ... examples include: Bent Offerings 8 Mar 94: Hitch-hiker stands on the shoulder of the "Information Super-Highway" thumbing for a ride with his right hand, and holding a question mark in the left. Adam 8 Mar 94: "... I feel like I'm merging onto the autobahn in a VW bug." Shoe 15 Feb 94: Shoe: "Is my job safe in the face of this information superhighway?" Wizard: "Well, with any superhighway ... you've gotta expect some roadkill." ... and for a completely different telecomic: Shoe 7 Mar 94: Waitress: "Lunch for one? Phoning or non-phoning?" (with scene of dining cellular callers). ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Local CID Showing Out of Area Date: 11 Mar 1994 05:27:09 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc. Reply-To: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) In , richard.dervan@atlwin.com (Richard Dervan) writes: > I had an interesting experience last week. I got paged by my computer > indicating it had received a voice message for me. Since I was > expecting a message from my sweetie, I went to a pay phone, called my > computer, and picked up the message. > When I got home, I saw OUT-OF-AREA on my CID box. Did you use coins to place the call? Any other method of payment (such as calling card, collect, etc) is likely to cause OUT OF AREA on a Caller ID box, even if both ends of the call are in the same CO. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: Dave.Leibold@f730.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Dave Leibold) Date: 10 Mar 94 23:09:42 -0500 Subject: Various Industry Items Organization: FidoNet: The Super Continental - North York, Canada [from Bell News, Bell Ontario 7 Mar 94] On the competitive front: Mega-merger called off - What might have been the biggest merger in American history - Bell Atlantic Corp. with Tele-Communications Inc. and its programming subsidiary Liberty Media Inc. - has been called off by all parties. The $33 billion deal would have coupled the giant regional phone company with the nation's largest cable television operator. Reason given was the "regulatory actions" of the Federal Communications Commission which, on February 22, ordered cable television companies to cut their rates by an average of seven per cent. "What's happened is with cable re-regulation, the outlook for cash flow has deteriorated," said a Wall Street analyst. Unitel backs out of Albera markets - Canada's telephone companies have an obligation to provide service equally to everyone no matter what it costs -- but long distance competitors don't. Unitel announced that it was backing off on plans to provide long distance services to residence and small business customers in Alberta. The company said it would not be able to make a profit in these markets because of the contribution payments it would have to make to help support local service. The level of contribution long distance carriers must pay to support local service is established every year by the CRTC. [Rogers/Maclean-Hunter news item omitted since the deal where Rogers is to buy out MH was announced a few days ago -- though cable company rearrangements would be subject to CRTC approval]. Rogers signs deal with U.S. partner - Rogers Network Services (an affiliate of Rogers Communications), recenrly signed a deal with America's largest competitive access provider (CAP) to promote each other's services. CAPs provide customers with alternative local phone service so they can bypass the local telephone companies. The deal with MFS Communica- tions allows both companies to provide dedicated special access and local private line services to large businesses in Canada and the U.S. MFS already operates competitive networks in 23 major cities in the U.S. and U.K. MCI researches Information Highway - MCI Communications recently conducted a survey to find out what kind of services customers wanted most from the Information Highway. Of the 800 customers polled, 75 per cent said they were chiefly interested in access to libraries and educational programs; 61 per cent wanted movies-on- demand; 55 per cent wanted direct access to make travel reservations; and 44 per cent wanted video communications with their family and friends. MCI to compete in Mexico - MCI recently joined forces with Danacel, Mesico's largest financial group, to provide long distance services in Mexico. The new joint venture will begin competing against Telmex, the Mexican national carrier, when the market is thrown open to competition in 1996. Bell Atlantic signs up newspaper publisher - Bell Atlantic recently reached an agreement with U.S. publisher Knight-Ridder Inc. to develop news, entertainment, advertising and other multi-media services for delivery to the home. The deal will provide Bell Atlantic with a source of interactive information services while providing Knight-Ridder with new outlets for its newspapers. "Baby Bells" want local competition - Ameritech and Pacific Bell are both pressuring their state regulators to allow open competition in their local networks. Both companies say they are willing to compete for local business provided the federal regulator allows them to offer long distance services. Although AT&T, MCI and other U.S. long distance companies would like to get into the local network business, these companies are actively lobbying the American government to keep the Baby Bells out of their long distance market. International giants to cut jobs - AT&T recently announced that it intends to cut about 15,000 jobs in its core long distance business. The reductions, which equal about 15 per cent of AT&T's work force, have been attributed to new technologies and a reduced share in the long distance marketplace. British Telecom also plans to reduce its workforce by about ten per cent over the next two years. BT currently employs over 160,000 people. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #124 ****************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253