TELECOM Digest Tue, 30 Aug 94 15:06:00 CDT Volume 14 : Issue 357 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson GSM Phones in Europe (Robert Hoare) ISDN Phones in Europe (Alfredo E. Cotroneo) CompuServe Kicked Out of Court (Richard Patterson) Request For Comment - Government Electronic Documents (Tom Worthington) The Network Side of Cellular Mobile Radio (Tobias Oetiker) French Numbering System to Change (Clive D.W. Feather) Security Deposit From Local Phone Carrier (dong@umiacs.umd.edu) Reviews of Echo-Cancellers For Teleconferencing (Geir Pedersen) RF Transmitter and Our Health; Looking For Papers (Daniel JungYue Chun) Last A+B Box Vanishes (Clive D.W. Feather) Cellular Phone Plus Modem (Jonathan Lundell) Re: Need Help With T1 (David W. Kay) Re: Sony or Northern Telecom Speakerphone Sources? (David W. Kay) Re: Phones For High Noise Areas (Scott Falke) Re: Phones For High Noise Areas (Dale Farmer) 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. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. ********************************************************************** * * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. 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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: Tue, 30 Aug 94 20:04:15 GMT From: rh@rh.eunet.be (Robert Hoare) Reply-To: rh@rh.eunet.be Subject: GSM Phones in Europe Late this year or early next year, when the networks are a bit more complete, I'm planning to get a GSM phone for Europe, and I'm starting to look at the alternative carriers, deals etc. Is there a FAQ/Info file on GSM anywhere on the net or in a recent magazine? I want to use the phone in France, UK and (probably) Benelux, without excessive charges for incoming calls. Outgoing charges are not that important, I could use a callback service if incoming calls are free. Do any of the carriers in those countries allow international roaming without charging (me) extra for incoming calls? Or do I always have to pick up the costs from my home country number to the overseas phone location? Presumably it'll roam to me without the caller knowing? Also, do any of the carriers have a voicemail service for when the phone is out of range or switched off? Can it be accessed whilst roaming outside that country? Can calls be redirected to a terrestial phone overseas? Or am I expecting too much? As an alternative, is it possible to use multiple smart cards, so the same phone thinks it is a French, British and Belgian phone, ideally at the same time? Finally, are there any GSM phones, available for use on all networks, that handle data? Rob rh@rh.eunet.be AND rh@mann.demon.co.uk (roaming for internet would be nice also!) ------------------------------ From: 100020.1013@compuserve.com (Alfredo E. Cotroneo) Subject: ISDN Phones in Europe Date: 30 Aug 1994 09:13:14 -0500 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway I am looking for sources of ISDN phones which can be used (possibly certified) in Italy. It seems to be quite hard to find ISDN phones here, an SIP does not have a large choice of models (actually only two, and will take weeks to have one after the order). Thanks for any pointer. Please answer by email since I may not read this newsgroup. Alfredo Cotroneo, Milano, Italy FAX: +39-2-706 38151 / Ph: +39-337- 297788 email: 100020.1013@compuserve.com ------------------------------ Subject: CompuServe Kicked Out of Court From: richard.patterson@yob.com (Richard Patterson) Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 13:31:00 GMT Organization: Ye Olde Bailey BBS - Houston, TX - 713-520-1569 Reply-To: richard.patterson@yob.com (Richard Patterson) On August 11, 1994, the US District Court, for the Southern District of Ohio, entered an Order and Opinion [17 pages], dismissing CompuServe v. Patterson, Case No. C2-94-91, for want of personal jurisdiction. A "scanned" copy of the order and opinion are available on CompuServe's Legal Forum (LAWSIG) and America Online Legal Sig (LEGALSIG), in the file named CIS3OH.ZIP. CIS sued an individual Texas shareware author and long time service subscriber in the Ohio District Court, attempting to convince the court that all subscribers to CIS and shareware authors using its online service to distribute shareware programs, send messages, or upload other "content" consent to jurisdiction and venue in the Columbus Ohio courts (where its central computer is located). The court rejected this argument, although CIS reraised it on a Motion for Rehearing filed Auguse 22, 1994. This case is one of the first to reference the "information superhighway," and provides a detailed discussion of the application of International Shoe, the due process clause and the state long-arm statutes as they relate to users of online services and brings them into the "information age." It should be of interest to users of any telecommunications network and certainly to all Shareware authors. Ye Olde Bailey BBS Zyxel 713-520-1569(V.32bis) Hayes 713-520-9566 (V.FC) Houston,Texas yob.com Home of alt.cosuard ------------------------------ From: tomw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au (Tom Worthington) Subject: Request For Comment - Government Electronic Documents Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 07:43:13 GMT This is to request comments on the draft of: "Implementing Effective Procedures for the Management of Electronic Documents in the Australian Public Service" Available at URL:ftp://archie.au/ACS/implguid.html (about 111KBytes) Send comments to: tomw@adfa.oz.au The draft report, containing guidelines for implementing effective procedures for the management of electronic documents, has been produced by a subcommittee of the Commonwealth Government's Information Exchange Steering Committee (IESC). The IESC is an advisory body, responsible for providing guidance to Commonwealth agencies on policies and strategic directions relating to Information Technology and related issues, including telecommunications. For further details of the IESC contact Max McGregor (e-mail: max.mcgregor@finance.ausgovfinance.telememo.au, ph: +61 6 263 3553, fax: +61 6 263 2276). The report is aimed at providing further assistance in putting those management principles into practice. Although the report has been produced primarily for the guidance of Commonwealth Agency records managers, the basic principles can be equally applied throughout any organisation that maintains electronic records. Note that this is a working draft only. It is considered less than 20% complete. However the committee would welcome your input to make it a better document. Table of contents from "Implementing Effective Procedures for the Management of Electronic Documents in the Australian Public Service": 1. Foreword 2. Background/Environmental Scan 3. Objectives of these Guidelines 4. Basic Groundwork - Corporate Information Management Commitment and Resources 5. Best Practices in Electronic Document Management 6. Security of Electronic Documents - Sharing Information 7. Preserve Your Records - The Archival Process 8. Other Legal Requirements 9. Planning for Further Change 10. Information Management Technology 11. Personal Information Management Practices APPENDICES A. GLOSSARY B. BIBLIOGRAPHY C. CASE STUDIES D. INDEX PS: Don't miss (because I am talking at it): Playing for Keeps: An electronic Records Management Conference Hosted by Australian Archives Canberra Australia 8-10 November 1994 For details e-mail: acts@ozemail.edu.au Phone: +61 6 2573299 or Fax: +61 6 2573256 Posted by Tom Worthington Chair of the IESC Electronic Document Management Subcommittee & Senior Policy Advisor, Data Administration Standards Communications and Information Systems Engineering Branch Department of Defence Room B-3-25, Russell Offices, Canberra ACT 2600, Australia Ph: +61 6 2651258, Fax: +61 6 2653601, Pager: +61 6 2856209 X.400: G=Tom;S=Worthington;OU=CM- DIMP;O=HQADF;P=ausgovdefencenet;A=telememo;C=au 30 August, 1994 ------------------------------ From: tobias@haydn.ethz.ch (Tobias Oetiker) Subject: The Network Side of Cellular Mobile Radio Date: 30 Aug 1994 12:36:23 GMT Organization: Electronics Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Reply-To: tobias@ife.ee.ethz.ch Hello, I just started working with the network resarch group ad DMU in Leicester . My task is to give an overview on recent developments in the area of digital cellular mobile radio (GSM, ...) and to identify possible research projects. Currently I am working through a load of papers from 1990 to 1992 on the subject. But to get really up to date information I would be glad to get your input: - What happened in cellular digital communications in '93 and '94. - Where do you see network related questions that would need further investigation. Thanks for you help; I will post a summary if I get some answers. Cheers, Tobias Oetiker 55 Windermere St tobias@ife.ee.ethz.ch * Phone 0533 55 09 43 ====== UK ========= ------------------------------ Subject: French Numbering System to Change Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 20:27:29 BST From: Clive D.W. Feather According to a poster on uk.telecom, France is to switch from eight to ten digit numbering in just under two years time: I though the leaflet included with my France Telecom phone bill on Saturday might be of interest. It is headed '10 digit dialling', and goes on to explain that due to the exhaustion of number capacity due to faxes, mobile phones, etc., France will go to 10-digit dialling as of "spring 1996". The old Paris/province split will vanish, along with the need to know where the number you are calling is in order to know if you need to use the 16 or 16 1 prefixes. Instead Greater Paris numbers will all be prefixed 01, and all other numbers will get a prefix 02, 03, 04 or 05, depending on which geographical quadrant of the country they are in. All calls will now need to dial all 10 digits. At the same time the international code will change from 19 to 00. No mention of the 112 emergency number, nor of whether incoming international calls drop the leading zero. ---------------------- Clive D.W. Feather | Santa Cruz Operation clive@sco.com | Croxley Centre Phone: +44 1923 813541 | Hatters Lane, Watford Fax: +44 1923 813811 | WD1 8YN, United Kingdom ------------------------------ From: dong@umiacs.umd.edu Subject: Security Deposit From Local Phone Carrier Date: 30 Aug 1994 01:05:29 -0400 Organization: UMIACS, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 Does anybody know any information about the regulation for local phone company charging security deposits? I am trying to get a phone connection for my new home. The local phone company (Bell Atlantic) wants to charge me $50 deposit and $70 prepaid for the first month's bill, plus other switch on fees. I think there were a regulation on how the local company can charge deposits. I remember I had a telephone five years ago and somehow I managed to get rid of the deposit by telling them a regulation. It has been a long time that I already forget the details. Could someone remind me of that? From the conversation I had with the operator, I know some people do not have to paid deposits. But she won't tell me how to qulify that. Also, another operator only want charge me the $50 and switch on fee. So I think they probably don't know what they were talking about, and just want to charge whatever they can. Please email to me. Thanks, DC [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The telco is entitled to take reasonable actions to insure they are paid for their service. Unlike many businesses, telco is regulated under a rule which says they must provide service on demand to all qualified applicants without delay. In this context, a qualified applicant is one who has demonstrated the ability and willingness to pay for the service. To demonstrate your 'ability and willingness' to pay, a security deposit and/or advance payment can be required. A deposit is an amount of money held in escrow for some period of time upon which telco is required to pay interest. It is forfeited in the event of a default in your payments. An advance payment on the other hand does not draw any interest and is immediatly applied as a credit on your account to cover the cost of the first month's service in advance and installation fees. Whether or not a security deposit and/or advance payment is required cannot be detirmined arbitrarily, nor can such requirements be made on the basis of any illegal criteria such as the applicant's race, sex, nationality or living arrangements. Such a requirement can be made based on telco's own records of prior service to the applicant, or the records of other telcos shared in common. It can be made on the basis of a report from a credit bureau. Some latitude is given to low-level employees in detirmining the amount or nature of any advance payment required; they are to balance customer goodwill with the best interests of the company. A security deposit equal to a month or two month's estimated billings is considered reasonable as is an advance payment equal to the estimated cost of installation and a month of service. There is no regulation or requirement that telco give its services away without some assurance of payment, although careful and courteous negotiation will often times reduce the amount demanded. That, plus of course a good credit history with telco itself. PAT] ------------------------------ From: geir.pedersen@usit.uio.no (Geir Pedersen) Subject: Reviews of Echo-Cancellers For Teleconferencing Date: 30 Aug 1994 06:00:52 GMT Organization: University of Oslo I am looking for reviews of echo-cancelers for teleconferenceing, e.g. the units from Shure and Coherent. Thanks, Geir Pedersen University of Oslo ------------------------------ From: dchun@HK.Super.NET (Mr. Daniel JungYue Chun) Subject: RF Transmitter and Our Health; Looking For Papers Date: 30 Aug 1994 16:31:57 GMT Organization: Hong Kong SuperNET What published research is available on this topic? Best Regards, Daniel J Y Chun 39A Tin Hau Temple Rd | Tel/Voicemail: +852 571 5345 | Pager +852 1107445444 2/F Causeway Bay | Fax/Data: +852 571 5345 | Office +852 738 7170 Hong Kong | Internet: dchun@hk.super.net | CompuServe: 100267,712 ------------------------------ Subject: Last A+B Box Vanishes Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 02:34:50 BST From: Clive D.W. Feather Pat - this just appeared on uk.telecom; you might like to put it in the Digest. From: A.L.Radtke@bradford.ac.uk (Drew Radtke) Subject: Para Stour 224; last A+B phone box in UK Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 22:40:08 GMT I've just watched News at Ten and noticed the '...and finally' story about the last phone box in the UK that still had the A+B buttons. Those are the ones were you put a coin in, and if the person answers you press A and the call is connected, or you press B and get you money back if you get no reply. It had been in service since the 1930s, and it was on Papa Stour on the Shetland Islands. I say was, as today BT replaced with with one of the latest digital pay phones. The number is Papa Stour 224. I love those sort of phone numbers don't you? Clive D.W. Feather | Santa Cruz Operation clive@sco.com | Croxley Centre Phone: +44 1923 813541 | Hatters Lane, Watford Fax: +44 1923 813811 | WD1 8YN, United Kingdom ------------------------------ From: jlundell@opus.com (Jonathan Lundell) Subject: Cellular Phone Plus Modem Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 01:34:43 GMT I mentioned recently that I've been using an Air Communicator combo cellular phone and 14.4 modem (with a Mac Duo). I like it so far. Several folks have asked for contact info, so I asked AC. They said: 1-800-AIR-DATA or AIRSALES.MKT@AppleLink.Apple.COM There's both Windows and (somewhat less) Mac support. The people there have been helpful so far. The phone's quite a bit bigger than, say, a Moto flip, but quite a bit handier than phone+adapter+modem. Also, the modem works with a land line (the phone has an RJ11 jack). Jonathan Lundell jlundell@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: david (d.w.) kay Subject: Re: Need Help With T1 Organization: BNR Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 12:20:00 GMT In article , am339@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael J. Logsdon) says: > We are here in Ameritech land in Cleveland. > We have two SRX phone systems located six miles apart, in different > CO's. We have voicemail at one location and want to offer it to the > other. I've been told that E&M circuits are the way it is best done. > Now I'm reading that T1 and 24 circuit capability and that E&M can be > done on T1. I need general help with the jargon and what sort of end > equipment we will need. Mike: Can you give some more details? E&M is NOT the way to go. It is one of the oldest methods of doing long distance (Like from the 1930's) and requires a minimum of 4 (but more likely 8) wires from one switch to another. T1 at least gives 24 multiplexed lines on one twisted pair of wires. Can you give more details as to what equipment you have and what your voice mail system requires. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 12:46:00 -0400 From: david (d.w.) kay Subject: Re: Sony or Northern Telecom Speakerphone Sources? Organization: BNR In article , gld@prairienet.org (Gary L. Dare) says: > I'm looking for sources of new or refurb speakerphones from either > Sony or Northern Telecom. The NT models that I've come across in the > business world are particularly impressive and if they're not full > duplex, their transitions are so smooth that it was not noticeable ... Dial 1-800-NORTHERN in Canada or 1-800-842-7439 in USA You can order directly from them ... Regards. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 10:24:51 -0700 From: scott@csustan.csustan.edu (Scott Falke) Subject: Re: Phones For High Noise Areas Organization: CSU Stanislaus In article onymouse@netcom.com (J. DeBert) writes: > I'm helping (unofficially) the Safety and Facilities departments at my > Real Job to get phones for high noise areas at our facility. > One particular area is a huge enclosed room full of equipment -- pumps, > fans, recirculating coolers, et cetera, which produce high levels of > wideband, low frequency and impulse-type noise ranging from 70 to 95dB > in the entire area as well as 100dB noise from a 10-inch water supply > main valve in one spot. > This is causing problems with telephone communications within the > area: It is very difficult to hear whom one is talking to on the phone > and, sometimes, the other party cannot hear, either. Clearly a safety > problem, especially when miscommunication can occur, leading to unsafe > equipment operation and when emergency communications are needed. [[[snip]] > I've seen explosion-proof sets that have these features but they have > been unreliable in the past and expensive. Besides, they are not > needed. All that is needed is to have sets that can provide reliable > communications in a high-noise area and are line-powered. It sounds like you've covered most of the options; maybe painted yourself into a corner, but here's a few ideas. Although an XP set, have you looked at the fairly new Crouse-Hinds model? I'm fairly sure the set has a line-powered amplifier, and big buttons for use with gloves. It's also somewhat corrosion proof, if that's an issue. Is the area the phones are located conducive to small, sound-absorbent kiosks? I've seen this used as an effective supplement to the noise-cancelling handsets. I can locate a manufacturer or two if you would like. Email as desired. As a alternative to phones, how about non-audio signalling such as something like DTMF keypads and displays on portable 2-way radios? Heck, maybe Morse code -- you could glue a key on each hard hat. Even head-mounted xenon flashers ... Finally, although possibly a little out of scope, has your safety group at all considered noise mitigation at the source? In the past I have read that Dow {or is it Dupont?} consider noise mitagation in the industrial setting as having exceptional safety benefits; on both acute and chronic bases. substation scott ------------------------------ From: dale@access1.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Phones For High Noise Areas Date: 30 Aug 1994 00:36:49 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA J. DeBert (onymouse@netcom.com) wrote: > I'm helping (unofficially) the Safety and Facilities departments at my > Real Job to get phones for high noise areas at our facility. > One particular area is a huge enclosed room full of equipment -- pumps, > fans, recirculating coolers, et cetera, which produce high levels of > wideband, low frequency and impulse-type noise ranging from 70 to 95dB > in the entire area as well as 100dB noise from a 10-inch water supply > main valve in one spot. > This is causing problems with telephone communications within the > area: It is very difficult to hear whom one is talking to on the phone > and, sometimes, the other party cannot hear, either. Clearly a safety Depending on the decibel level of the noise in the room your may want to investgate the "noise booths" That you find in industrial telecom catalogs. These are fairly pricey though, but when I have used them they are far superior to the various noise-cancelling handsets. Another consideration is if it is a hazardous noise area OSHA regulations may require you to provide a telephone that workers can use without removing their hearing protection (plugs/muffs), or in a location, such as the booth, where they can safely remove their hearing protection while using the phone. You can build a lower grade one of these things by making an imitation phone booth out of plywood. Don't bother with a door for it. and lining the inside with a layer of accustic foam. (those "eggcrate" type foam mattress pads work fine) Hang the phone on the outside of the booth, with a long enough handset cord to reach inside. It is amazing how (relatively) quiet it is inside one of these things. Materials cost about $100 at local stores, plus a couple hours and some carpenters tools. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #357 ****************************