TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 Jun 94 09:29:00 CDT Volume 14 : Issue 265 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TAP-INFO Memo to NSF on Internet Access (Bill Blum) 716 Now Split Between 7D and 1 + 716 + 7D (Scott D. Fybush) OSP's Aren't the Only Ones (A. Padgett Peterson) Question About OO-CHILL (Hwan Wook Sohn) Internet Through Local Cable TV Provider (Jeff Lin) Telephone Switch Vendors - Read This (Scott Sanbeg) Does MCI Transmit CNID? (Eric R. Sandeen) Interactive "Voice Mail" System For PC? (Paul A. Lee) Re: Rude Not to Leave Answering Machine Messages? (Robert Casey) Re: E911 Portland OR Has Problems (Robert Casey) Re: 800 Number Billback (Paul S. Sawyer) Re: Micro Portable Suggestions (Steve Wood) Re: Cost of Caller ID in PA (Stephen Denny) 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. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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 edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: 9457-D Niles Center Road Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 708-329-0571 Fax: 708-329-0572 ** 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. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 01 Jun 94 16:44:48 EDT From: Bill Blum Subject: TAP-INFO Memo to NSF on Internet Access Subject: Metered Usage of the Internet: JSN In the future, you might have to pay a charge for every E-mail message you send or receive, every Usenet article you read, every kilobyte of data you transfer with ftp, every hypertext link you follow with NCSA Mosaic or Gopher ... Hopefully this frightens you as much as it does me. But it will happen, unless YOU do something about it. Please read the attached, fill out the requested info, and mail it back to mike@essential.org. It also wouldn't hurt to forward a copy of this to everyone you know on the Internet. Thanks for your support. Craig Smith, Organization: Woolworth Corporation Subject: Interactive "Voice Mail" System For PC? In {TELECOM Digest} Volume 14 Issue 257, Axel Cleeremans wrote: > A friend of mine would like to set up an interactive voice-mail > system based on a PC ... is ... there ... a hardware device that will > perform these functions ... when hooked up to or put inside a PC. The basic hardware device that meets these requirements is typically referred to as a "voice board" or a "voice port board". Most such boards contain a telephone line interface, a telephone-bandwidth audio signal coder/decoder (CODEC), and a DTMF (touch tone) receiver-decoder, for one or more ports, and sometimes an external audio interface and foreplane interfaces to adjunct boards. Following are some North America-based manufacturers of such boards; many of these companies also make European versions and have European sales and support operations: Dialogic +1 201 334 8450 Brooktrout +1 617 449 4100 New Voice +1 703 448 0570 Rhetorex +1 408 370 0881 Natural MicroSystems +1 508 650 1300 SpeechSoft +1 609 466 1100 Pika Technologies +1 613 591 1555 Each of these manufacturers provides some degree of software support, from basic hardware drivers and development kits, to more sophisticated voice mail or IVR (interactive voice response) applications. The manufacturers can also refer you to developers and system integrators using their hardware. A typical voice port board will cost from US$500 to US$1500. A typical four port voice response system, including the PC and application software, ready to be loaded with your data and programmed for your application, will cost between US$5000 and US$10000. There are thousands of companies (and individuals) writing applications and assembling systems based on voice boards and PCs. You will have to do quite a bit of shopping to find the best product for your needs at the best price. You may also be able to adapt one of the "shrink-wrapped" single port voice mail/modem boards to your application. National Semiconductor, Intel, and Boca Research are among the US manufacturers, and there are certainly others. Check with a full-line PC communications products dealer in your part of the world. These devices should cost under US$800 -- some as low as US$200. Paul A. Lee Voice +1 414 357-1409 Telecommunications Analyst FAX +1 414 357-1450 Woolworth Corporation CompuServe 70353,566 INTERNET ------------------------------ From: wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) Subject: Re: Rude Not to Leave Answering Machine Messages? Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 17:09:12 GMT In article J.Harrison@bra0112.wins.icl.co. uk writes: > General view of Digest readers (except Miss Manners) seems to be that > it is, on the basis that it leaves the called party with a gnawing > feeling of wonderment as to who called them and why. I can't see how; > do modern answering machines work differently from my fairly-old > Panasonic? > With mine, callers who hear the outgoing message all the way through > and then hang up (before the beep) just don't activate the message > counter, so I don't even know they called. The few seconds gap between > the end of the outgoing message and the beep gives them plenty of > time. Suits me fine, and I had assumed they all worked much the same > way. My answering machine (a Code-a-phone) puts short beeps to indicate that someone called but left no message. Sometimes, when I'm trying to reach someone to actually talk with, I'll get their machine several times before they're there, so I don't leave a message each time (why waste the tape on their machine?). Except for one friend who gets annoyed if I don't leave a message every time, then I'll leave a short message. Other times, I just called to say the equivalent of "Hey, how's it goin'", in which case, a message on the machine is somewhat pointless. ------------------------------ From: wa2ise@netcom.com (Robert Casey) Subject: E911 Portland OR Has Problems Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 17:20:42 GMT Read in the local paper (Oregonian) last week about how Portland's 911 system has some serious problems and poor morale. Mentioned about the Fire Department didn't like the use of "civilians" for the 911 call takers, and that they didn't like having to deal with some elements of the police methods. (Note: I'm not familiar with the details of such work). Portland installed new 911 equipment a few months ago, (same stuff that San Diego, CA has, according to the paper) and has had many problems. People on hold for like 15 minutes on 911. Wrong locations given to ambulances and such. Portland got rid of their old emergency director, and appointed a new one. ------------------------------ From: paul@senex.unh.edu (Paul S. Sawyer) Subject: Re: 800 Number Billback Date: 31 May 1994 19:31:56 GMT Organization: UNH Telecommunications and Network Services > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: [...] Add to that requiring PINS > on outgoing 'long distance' calls -- even 800 numbers -- for the purpose > of identifying who made what calls, and your trouble should be greatly > reduced if not eliminated entirely. PAT] There is no problem identifying "who made what calls" -- but the way they are billed usually has no relation to how they are made. The dialed number looks nothing like the billed number, the time and length may not match, and misleading terms like "credit card" and "collect call" appear when the only call is an outgoing 800- call. We don't need to require authorization codes for 800 - numbers, since we can bill to the extension for such calls, and to "punish" the users of legitimate 800- numbers by having them dial extra digits would not be favorably met by our customers. Most of these bogus charges can be tracked and/or denied, but the problem is definitely bigger than it needs to be. Paul S. Sawyer - University of New Hampshire CIS - Paul.Sawyer@UNH.Edu Telecommunications and Network Services VOX: +1 603 862 3262 50 College Road FAX: +1 603 862 2030 Durham, New Hampshire 03824-3523 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, another solution is sort of rough and dirty, but it would work. How many outgoing trunks do you have that those 800 calls would be routed on? If you have some way to insure that calls to 800 numbers get routed over some minimum number of trunks, and always the same trunks then get some el-cheapo call restrictors and add them to those outgoing lines. For example, Radio Shack has some nifty little units which allow restricting specific numbers, local or long distance. I think maybe you can program up to 30 numbers you don't want dialed in them. Get one for each outgoing trunk handling 800 calls, and again, if you can fix things so the 'toll-free' calls are all wedged into a group of maybe a half-dozen to a dozen trunks you will minimize your expense. Get as many of the toll restrictors as needed. Load them with the dozen or two dozen most commonly (ab)used 800 numbers, as noted in your personal copy of {Rolling Stone} and/or {Penthouse} magazine. No one else will even see the difference, but boy, will those kids trying to reach the selected 800 numbers be frustrated! :). They'll dial those numbers, your switch will process normally and send them out on the appropriate trunks. The toll restrictors will see them coming and dump them. Your users hear dial tone, click, click, clunk! Dead line, switch dial tone returned to them. Total investment, maybe a thousand dollars for several toll restrictors. Start by loading them with the 800 numbers you have been able to match up from your last couple phone bills. Each time you get your phone bill for a couple months, add the newest discoveries. You watch ... after two or three months it will drop to zero or almost zero. The best part of all will be the nitwits who come to you to report that their phone (or your lines) must be 'out of order'. ... you will innocently ask them what number they were attempting to reach so that you can investigate the problem ... they'll tell you (or if they have a few brains they will try to avoid telling you the exact number) and you'll clean them out right on the spot. ... PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Wood Subject: Re: Micro Portable Suggestions Date: Tue, 31 May 94 14:11:00 PDT Bill Verry writes: > I'm in the market for a micro portable cell phone and need some > advice. From what I've gathered it seems these devices are not too > reliable when it comes to clarity and battery life. Most everyone I've > spoken to has suggested I stay with the car phone and forget the > "pocket" phone. I suspect this has to do with the low ouput of the > units? If there is a manufacturer or a particular type of phone I > should get I would greatly appreciate such contrasting opinion. I suggest getting a portable with a hands-free adaptor kit for the car. At McCaw I get to try out lots of phones, and that is the setup I use. I've got a Motorola digital flip phone with the hands-free kit. Most car kits offer a three watt amplifier for use in the car, so you get the best of both worlds. Steve Wood (steve.wood@mccaw.com) ------------------------------ From: sdenny@spd.dsccc.com (Stephen Denny) Subject: Re: Cost of Caller ID in PA Date: 1 Jun 1994 03:55:31 GMT Organization: DSC Communications Corporation, Plano, Texas USA In article , Greg Vaeth at Jerrold Communications wrote: > An insert in my latest bill contained a notice that Bell Atlantic will > offer Caller ID in Pennsylvania in August. The cost for residential > customers is $6.50/month, business is $8.50. Call blocking and > anonymous call rejection are free. This charge seem outrageous > considering that the equipment to do it is already there, right? How > else does return call, repeat call and all that stuff work. How does > this rate compare to other states? I can't remember the exact Southwestern Bell charges for Caller ID but they were in the same range for Caller ID number, perhaps more to include the Caller ID name. I'd love to have it, but I don't know if it's worth that much to me. As far as the equipment, I can't really speak for the Central Office equipment, but assuming the info is to be carried via SS7 (as the number is now), adding a name look-up adds a significant load to the SS7 signaling network, if this is to be done for most every call. To support this additional load, I would expect the regionals as well as long distance carriers to add additional SS7 links, processing capacity and database lookup support (which may be billed by a separate supplier). This additional SS7 capacity *don't come cheap*. Stephen Denny sdenny@spd.dsccc.com DSC Communications Corp. Plano, TX **Standard Disclaimer** ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #265 ******************************