TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Feb 94 09:33:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 85 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson GTE High Technology in California (TELECOM Digest Editor) Over 10,000 Sign Petition to Oppose Clipper (Dave Banisar) More FTP NISDN Information Available (William H. Sohl) Caller ID in Russia (For Curious) (Michael De Lyon) Faculty Position Available (Jane Fraser) Cell Phone Welcome Message (Gary Huntress) "America's Network is New Name For TE&M Magazine (Nigel D. Allen) Network Efficiency (Dave Linthicum) Request For Map Drawing Software (Donald E. Kimberlin) AT&T Directory Assistance Now Includes Addresses (Monty Solomon) Privacy on 900 Mhz Cordless Phones? (John Galloway) Smart Trunks (Mark Henry) Help Needed With Phone Connections (Robert Varcoe) Priorities (John Shaver Modernization Office) 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: Tue, 15 Feb 94 10:08:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: GTE High Technology in California The following bulletin was released by GTE on Monday. Feb. 14, 1994 GTE BRINGS HIGHLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO CALIFORNIA THIS WEEK; "WORLD CLASS NETWORK" A REALITY GTE California today announced that it will install highly advanced switching technology this week in the Los Angeles area as part of the company's continuing effort to build a "World Class Network" for customers. The company said ATM switches -- some of the final components that permit access to the information superhighway -- will be installed Tuesday (Feb. 15) at company facilities in Santa Monica, Ontario and Thousand Oaks. Additional ATM switches are scheduled to be installed at other California sites before the end of the year. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switches handle simultaneous video, data, image and voice traffic. A few of the customer service capabilities include: interactive distance learning among classrooms in different parts of a city or state; geographically distant employees sharing documents and images during video conference calls; medical experts in separate hospitals concurrently reviewing and diagnosing X-rays; and residential customers picking movies from video-on-demand libraries. GTE's ATM network initially will support educational institutions, businesses and government agencies. "The 1990s have been a challenging time for California, but also an exciting time as we work to build a future that's better than our past," said West Area President Larry Sparrow. "We've been aggressively installing advanced network systems here for several years. The addition of ATM switching makes our long-standing vision of a World Class Network a reality." ATM SWITCHES PART OF GTE PLAN TO SUPPORT EDUCATION Educational institutions are a critical component of GTE's World Class Network in California. More details of the World Class Network's educational aspects, as well as business and government applications, will be announced at a later date. "We've proven the value of telecommunications in the classroom, and we've learned that no single product can meet the diversity of needs present in our schools today. Another difficulty educators face is technological obsolescence," Sparrow said. "GTE will ensure that educators have access to technology that meets their individual needs. ATM's flexibility will help schools avoid dependency on technology that will become outdated." Using telecommunications, schools can improve the quality of education by pooling resources and accessing a tremendous variety of information and learning materials. The company has conducted several educational pilot projects, including programs in the Hacienda-La Puente and Norwalk-La Mirada school districts, and a distance learning program with California State University, Dominguez Hills and Coastline Community College. GTE also has conducted the world's most comprehensive technology test of educational applications as part of the company's Cerritos Project. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 13:42:29 -0500 From: Dave Banisar Subject: Over 10,000 Sign Petition to Oppose Clipper Washington, DC February 15, 1994 Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) OVER 10,000 SIGN PETITION TO OPPOSE CLIPPER In only two weeks, over 10,000 users of the nation's computer networks have signed the CPSR petition calling for President Clinton to withdraw the Clipper proposal. Opposition has been widespread, from CEOs of large firms to college students in small towns, from librarians and civil libertarians to computer programmers and product marketers. To sign the petition, email with the message "I Oppose Clipper" Encourage friends to sign. In 1990, over 30,000 people sent email message to Lotus asking that a product containing detailed personal information called "Marketplace" be withdrawn. Eventually Lotus withdrew the product. CPSR is a non-profit, membership organization based in Palo Alto, CA. CPSR's mission is to provide analysis of the effects of new technological developments on society. For more information, please email cpsr@cpsr.org or call 415-322-3778. ------------------------------ From: whs70@cc.bellcore.com (sohl,william h) Subject: More FTP NISDN Information Available Date: 15 Feb 1994 13:55:41 -0500 Organization: Bell Communications Research (Bellcore) Information about National ISDN is now available by anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) over the Internet at host: info.bellcore.com FTP allows the retrieval of formatted documents and software. The documentation now available (2/17/94) includes: 1. A Catalog of National ISDN Solutions for Selected NIUF Applications 2. Bellcore document, SR-2006, "National ISDN" 3. A list of Bellcore TEC training for National ISDN Additional documentation will be added over time and this announcement will be periodically updated and posted to the appropriate newsgroups. The files are available in PostScript through anonymous FTP from "info.bellcore.com" in the /pub/ISDN sub directory. I M P O R T A N T: Many of the files are large, it is essential that you first get the README (the upper case is important) file for detailed information on retrieving various files associated with documents. The following text describes a typical anonymous FTP session: system: ftp info.bellcore.com Connected to info. 220 info FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready. Name: anonymous 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> cd /pub/ISDN 250 CWD command successful. ftp> mget README mget README? yes 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for README (8758 bytes). 226 ASCII Transfer complete. local: README remote: README 8943 bytes received in 0.19 seconds (46 Kbytes/s) ftp> quit 221 Goodbye. represents pressing the "enter" or "return" key on your computer keyboard. The README file is in ASCII format and may be read on any word processor. The other files in the directory are in PostScript format and may be downloaded as needed by using the "mget" command while in the FTP. The PostScript files may be printed on a PostScript printer by using the "lprr" command. A typical Post Script print command may look like: lpr -P -h -v where: represents printer name on your network, and represents a PostScript file. '-h' corresponds to the option of suppressing the printing of burst page while '-v' corresponds to the option of printing raster image, i.e., PostScript. Please note that the printer must support PostScript imaging model in order to print these files. If you have problems or you'd like to comment on the information stored at this site or wish to make recommendations for future enhancements, you can email us at: isdn@cc.bellcore.com OR call us at Bellcore's National ISDN Hotline: 1-800-992-ISDN If you'd like to be added to our NISDN information mailing list, please call the Hotline or email us and provide your name, your full mailing address (regular mail), and telephone number. ------------------------------ From: ics@netcom.com (Michael De Lyon) Subject: Caller ID in Russia (For Curious) Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 03:52:45 GMT After some reading of 'Caller ID' thread, I decided that some curious people might be interested how is it done in Russia. Russia is beginning to offer tone-dialing (very limited number of exchanges even in Moscow), but as long-distance direct dialing is very common, standard (?) caller ID request/responce are used. It is worth to mention that in Russia all seven-digit calls are local (flat rate), so the problems with billing only begin when you call 8 (wait for dialtone) (area code) number. Your caller ID is requested after you dialed 8. If it failed after several trials or callback probe realized that the number is not busy (i.e. it is forged or incorrectly recognized), you get engaged tone and need to hang up. (International calling is 8 W 10 + ....; this 10 looks more familiar, eh?). Of course, there is nothing like custom calling services. (You cannot _dial_ * or #, can you?) That's why hardware-knowledgeable people began to create their own devices (mostly Z80-based, with 4K of ROM) to perform basic caller ID functions. Algorithms were getting better and better, and now such a device does caller ID (buffer for about 10, time and date), white (distinctive ringing), grey (regular) and black (rejected) lists of caller IDs, repetitive dialing, "answering machine" (outgoing message from RAM, incoming to an attached tape recorder), etc., etc. Very impressive, especially for those who understand that there is 1-bit FFT inside. What happened next -- it became almost impossible to call long distance, because the number of caller-ID generators was limited and if all of them on your local exchange are busy when you call long distance, it doesn't get your ID and rejects you. That's why the Ministry of Communications decided to introduce the fee for caller ID boxes. But it is not the end of the story. As those boxes are cheaper than answering machines, people used them in AM mode when leaving home, that is when you call a number equipped with caller-ID box, it picks up after the first ring, sends the request, decides what to do with you, and either simulates busy tone or hangs up (you're rejected) or simulates ringing and really rings the phone, but nobody answers. It is very annoying if you call from a payphone, that's why it is considered very impolite to set the device in AM mode. (regular mode is to detect ID after the receiver went off hook). Of course, anti-caller-ID were developed, but they work quite unreliably -- just trying to send pulses after remote picked up. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. Last note: as the system was designed for billing, the ID only contains seven digits, so it is impossible to derive area code from ID, the best is to recognize "alien" phone number. I hope it was of interest, Leo [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes Leo, it was of interest. Thanks very much for passing it along, and please tell us more about telecom in Russia from time to time. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 08:59:12 EST From: fraser@ccl2.eng.ohio-state.edu Subject: Faculty Position Available Rochester Institute of Technology Telecommunications Engineering Technology RIT's School of Engineering Technology invites applicants for a tenure-track position in the bachelor of science program in telecommunications engineering technology. Women and minority candidates are encouraged to apply Candidates should have a background in electronic systems engineering with experience in voice, data and multimedia telecommunications that includes network management, network planning and design. Duties include teaching electrical and telecommunications engineering technology courses and laboratories in the EET Department. Knowledge and understanding of engineering technology principles and experience in computer applications relative to the electrical and telecommunications field is desirable. A masters degree in engineering and three years relevant industrial experience in the specialties above are required. Professional registration and teaching experience desirable. Submit resume with names & phone numbers of three references by 5/1/94 to: W. David Baker, Director, School of Engineering Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, 78 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 - 5604 . ------------------------------ From: ghuntres@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Gary huntress) Subject: Cell Phone Welcome Message Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept. Date: Tue, 15 Feb 94 14:02:47 GMT My in-laws have a new Motorola flip phone that they love very much. They recently took a trip to Florida and while driving on Rt. 95 the phone rang and they got some sort of a "welcome" message from one of the local service providers. My FIL is constantly amazed by all the technology at work here and he would like to know basically how this works. I assumed that the phone, while in standby, can detect when it enters and leaves each cell. And when it sees that it enters the cell of a new carrier it (the phone) transmits some sort of a "here I am" message obviously this includes his phone number or some sort of serial number so that the cell can call back with the "welcome" msg. Is this about right? Thanks, Gary Huntress ghuntres@nox.cs.du.edu ------------------------------ From: ndallen@io.org Subject: "America's Network" is New Name for TE&M Magazine Date: Mon, 14 Feb 1994 13:22:26 EST Organization: Internex Online Public Access, Toronto, Ontario, Canada One of the leading magazines for telephone company managers is changing its name. {TE&M, Telephone Engineer & Management} is becoming {America's Network}, effective with the February 15 issue. Here is the magazine's address, in case you ever want to send it a press release or letter to the editor: America's Network (formerly TE&M) Attn: Mr. Robert E. Stoffels, Editor 233 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2423 Chicago, IL 60601 U.S.A. Telephone (312) 938-4856 Fax (312) 938-4854 I have no affiliation with the magazine. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ndallen@io.org ------------------------------ From: davel@to.mobil.com (Dave Linthicum) Subject: Network Efficiency Date: 14 Feb 1994 18:35:56 GMT Organization: Mobil Oil, Fairfax VA Reply-To: davel@to.mobil.com (Dave Linthicum) A question: If network efficiency can be roughly estimated using the following formula: E = M/(M+O) where: M = Message size O = Overhead needed to send one message = (Px delay x speed) + ACK size + H P = NUMBER OF PACKETS SENT H = HEADER SIZE ACK = Acknowlegment message of meassage received For example, IEEE 802.3 uses this formula such as: E = 100/(100 + 30 + 64 + 2(64) = 31% I know 100 is Message size. What is 30, 64, and 2(64)? This is in a network modeling book. Please respond via e-mail. Thanks! Dave ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 94 13:10 EST From: Donald E. Kimberlin <0004133373@mcimail.com> Subject: Request For Map Drawing Software I'm getting into software that draws network maps on the fly as people use it, with need to zoom in and out and place variable labels, like node names, on the maps, and have them ultimately printable on an attached printer or fileable in disk files. Can anyone suggest sources for some nice geographic outline map drawing code for PCs? The U.S., Canada, and world political outline maps are all ultimately needed. Windows/DOS preferred, but UNIX is acceptable, at least to try with. Ultimately, I will need to get the source to make modifications as to labeling and such. Commercial products are acceptable, but public domain is preferred. The choice depends on cost. All replies appreciated. Send me any private replies to 0004133373@mcimail.com, please. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 01:54:06 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AT&T Directory Assistance Now Includes Addresses In all states except New Jersey and Connecticut you can now request phone number and/or address information from AT&T Directory Assistance. They can't currently provide addresses in New Jersey and Connecticut. ------------------------------ From: jrg@rahul.net (John Galloway) Subject: Privacy on 900 Mhz Cordless Phones? Organization: Galloway Research Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 20:01:11 GMT Given the extended range folks are reporting for these new phones, it seems like privacy is an even bigger issue. Do the units provide any sort of build in key to distinguish your phone from your neighboors? (not that such would prevent determined eavsdropping, but it would keep the other guys phone and likely the scanner-heads out). jrg internet jrg@galloway.sj.ca.us John R. Galloway, Jr 795 Beaver Creek Way applelink D3413 CEO...receptionist San Jose, CA 95133 Galloway Research (408) 259-2490 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One tradeoff where the increased range of cordless phones is concerned is that increased range causes a greater risk that the call will be overheard by others. I guess you have to balance convenience and security; a trade-off which occurs so often where modern computer and phone networks is concerned. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 94 09:26:29 CST From: o_henryma@ccsvax.sfasu.edu (Mark Henry) Subject: Smart Trunks TELECOM Digest Readers, Has anyone had any experience with a trunking application based on ISDN called Smart trunks by Southwestern Bell? If so, can you send me pros and cons of such and post to the net if appropriate. In addition, could you tell what percentage reduction in actual trunks can be expected when converting to the Smart Trunk application from analog facilities. Thanks in advance, Mark Henry, Director of Telecommunications and Networking Stephen F. Austin State University P.O. Box 6095, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962 Phone (409) 568-2200 E-Mail @ o_henryma@ccsvax.sfasu.edu ------------------------------ From: aj645@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Robert Varcoe) Subject: Help Needed With Phone Connections Reply-To: aj645@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Robert Varcoe) Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 13:54:29 -0500 Hi, I hope someone out there can help ... I've acquired a touchtone phone but the wires leading from the headset to the phone AND the wires leading from the phone to the jack are not connected. Here is all the numbers I could find on the phone: on the cover at back it is placo telecom inc. On the inside on the touch pad is says NE-35Q3A2X 1-79 on the bottom of the phone there is a number: 79 QSQM 2500AX on the inside of the phone on the right is a block where the wires should be connected (I think) the block is labled: L1 L2 G X Y. The wires that come from the hand set (four) are black, red and two whites, from the phone jack (four) are black, green, red and yellow. I would like to get this phone working, any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rob ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Feb 94 10:55:24 GMT From: John Shaver Modernization Office Subject: Priorities A British humourist noted that if God had wanted us to have aeroplanes he would not have given us the railroads. Cannot the same be said for Telephone and Telegraph? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And ditto for computers versus the old mechanical 'adding machines' of the 1940-50 era! PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #85 *****************************