TELECOM Digest Mon, 9 Jan 95 16:52:00 CST Volume 15 : Issue 16 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd (Mark Robert Smith) New: Telecom Policy On-line (Jeff Richards) EtherFRAD for T1? (Pete Kruckenberg) Sprint and Calls Within Your Service Area (Javier Henderson) Phone Rates (Paul Robinson) Vice President Al Gore to Speak on Telecom at Summit Jan. 9 (Nigel Allen) FCC Proposes To Fine AT&T $1,000,000 For Comm Act Violations (Alan Boritz) Phone Rates From Israel (Jean B. Sarrazin) PABX/IVR/Computer Integration Help Wanted (Alan Meier) Hayes Optima VS DEC SERVER 200 Revised (John Stewart Pinnow) 1-900 = $100,000 Fraud (James Bellaire) 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 America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Subscriptions are available 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: msmith@pluto.njcc.com (Mark Robert Smith) Subject: Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 08:34:39 EST Organization: New Jersey Computer Connection, Lawrenceville, NJ Here's the press release, fresh off the Bell Atlantic WWW Server (http://ba.com/): January 4, 1995 Steve Fleischer(BAM) 908-306-7539 Brian Wood(BAM) 908-306-7508 Kim Ancin(NYNEX) 914-365-7573 Jim Gerace(NYNEX) 914-365-7712 LEADING CELLULAR CARRIERS JOIN FORCES TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS FROM BECOMING PHONE FRAUD VICTIMS BEDMINSTER, NJ, AND ORANGEBURG, NY -- Two of the nation's largest wireless carriers are teaming up in a unique program to prevent their customers from being victimized by criminals who steal cellular service. The new effort combines a Personal Identification Number (PIN) code system recently pioneered by NYNEX Mobile Communications in New York City with a new Fraud Protection Zone technique developed by Bell Atlantic Mobile. Starting January 9, Bell Atlantic Mobile will designate a Fraud Protection Zone restricting calling throughout the greater New York City area for its customers from Washington, DC; Baltimore; Pittsburgh; and greater Philadelphia, including Delaware and southern New Jersey. Customers from those markets who want to use their phones at standard "roaming" rates in New York City must first contact Bell Atlantic Mobile by dialing 211 from their cellular phone. After they provide proper identification and select a PIN code, the company will deactivate the fraud zone restriction. Once the PIN feature is activated, it gives customers protection from fraud whenever they use it to place calls in New York, their home market, or any market with a PIN system. The Fraud Protection Zone will not be activated for the company's northern New Jersey customers, because New York City is part of their local calling area. Since customers who travel frequently into New York City are at risk from cloning, Bell Atlantic Mobile strongly recommends that northern New Jersey customers sign up for the PIN system. Eventually all new customers will be required to use PINs. Bell Atlantic Mobile will start notifying its customers of the new program today. However, those who are not aware of it will still be able to place calls in New York with a credit card, until they sign up for the PIN. They will not receive incoming calls. "By combining our fraud protection systems, Bell Atlantic and NYNEX offer customers the best of both worlds," said Rick Conrad, Bell Atlantic Mobile executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We protect Bell Atlantic customers by making their phone numbers difficult to clone, or copy, for use in New York, while providing easy access to the New York cellular system through the PIN feature." Fraud costs the cellular industry more than $1 million per day. By teaming together, Conrad said, the carriers reduce its impact on customers. "A customer who has been cloned experiences a great deal of inconvenience. This is not a victimless crime," he added. "We demonstrated with our unique PIN code initiative, that the use of state-of-the-art technology can prevent the theft of cellular service," said Cynthia J. White, NYNEX Mobile executive vice president and chief operating officer. "PIN codes, and the pursuit and prosecution of those who commit these crimes, have put a significant crimp in the illegal business of cloning. "The NYNEX/Bell Atlantic effort sends yet another message to phone cloners that carriers can and will work together to protect the public from this crime." Just as PIN systems increase security for banking and long distance telephone customers, the PIN feature will severely limit the possibil- ity of cellular phone numbers being cloned and used in any city where carriers use PIN technology. In the rare instance that they are cloned, customers only need to call their home carrier and receive a new PIN to restore service. By con- trast, customers not using PINs must bring their phones back to a carrier or dealer for a new phone number, notify business associates and friends of the number change, or even modify business cards and stationery. With a PIN system, customers simply dial the desired phone number, press "send," enter their PIN code, and press "send" again. The net- work then completes the call. There is no extra charge and the feature will not affect commonly used cellular services like voice mail or call waiting. Calls to 911, 611 and 411 do not require a PIN. Bell Atlantic and NYNEX have announced that they will combine their cellular operations in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest. The proposed company will serve over two million customers and be a strong national force in the wireless industry, with 55 million potential customers in seven of the top 20 cellular markets. The companies expect to close the transaction in the second quarter of 1995. ### ------------------------------- What they don't tell you is that the exclusion zone includes parts of Northern New Jersey, specifically the Jersey City switch which goes as far north as Secaucus and south to New Brunswick. They also fail to mention that once you get a PIN number, you must use it to make all calls, even those outside the zone. I'm really disappointed that they've imposed this on the customer OUTSIDE the area, while allowing those in the area to make calls without a PIN. At least that's how I read the release, though a friend who has B.A. told me before this was announced that he had to use a PIN. Why don't they start spending the money they spent on ECPA lobbying to invent a more secure system?!?!?!? Mark Smith Mercerville, NJ ------------------------------ From: Jeff Richards Subject: New: Telecom Policy On-line Date: 9 Jan 1995 13:19:37 GMT Organization: Capital Area Internet Service info@cais.com 703-448-4470 The Alliance for Competitive Communications (formerly the MFJ Task Force) announced today that it has named former USTA Chairman Gary McBee to coordinate the seven regional Bell Companies' 1995 effort to reform telecommunications laws. Information about this announcement can be found at the newly-revamped . http://bell.com gopher://bell.com Additions include: - Pointers to recently-added legislative resources; - An archive of the 103rd Congress Telecommunications actions; - A new, easier-to-follow format; - A listserver for individuals who want to receive regular updates on telecommunications legislation. To subscribe send a message to: listserver@bell.com with the message: subscribe bell firstname lastname will be updated on a regular basis for individuals wanting to follow telecommunications reform legislation. Please feel free to reply to me with any comments. Please address questions to: . Thanks, Jeff Richards Alliance for Competitive Communications | Internet: richards@bell.com http://bell.com gopher://bell.com ------------------------------ From: pete@dswi.com (Pete Kruckenberg) Subject: EtherFRAD for T1? Date: 9 Jan 1995 06:57:20 -0700 Organization: DahlinSmithWhite, Inc. US West told me they sell a (Codex) "Bandguard" Ethernet FRAD (Ethernet <=> frame-relay) with DSU for 56k frame-relay service, but not for T1. I'm curious to know if there is such a thing for T1 frame-relay. Also, what has people's experience been with using EtherFRADs with a Unix IP router vs. CSU/DSU and "normal" router? Thanks, Pete Kruckenberg pete@dswi.com ------------------------------ Subject: Sprint and Calls Within Your Service Area From: henderson@mln.com (Javier Henderson) Date: 6 Jan 95 16:54:34 PST Organization: Medical Laboratory Network; Ventura, CA I just got off the phone with Sprint's customer service. Their special offer of one cent per minute for calls within your service area applies to all of Sprint customers, regarldess of what calling plan you're on. You need to dial 10333, but considering the savings, I don't mind. The charge is the same regardless of mileage. The offer will expire on Feb 28, 1995. I'm not associated with Sprint, other than as a mostly satisfied customer. The above applies to residential lines in Southern California. Other areas within California may have the same deal, you'd better check. Javier Henderson (JH21) henderson@mln.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Jan 1995 01:23:52 EST Subject: Phone Rates Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA From: Paul Robinson Eric Naggum writes: > I'm covering Norway's telecommunication privatization effort for > a local newspaper, and need some information that I have not been > able to collect from Telenor (the newly renamed Norwegian > telephone company) or other PTT's directly. Please mail me > answers -- I'll post the article here after it has been published. > 1. Local, analog, single-pair leased lines, i.e., the basic local loop for > ordinary telephone service, only now as a leased line to another > subscriber in the same CO. I'm looking to compare the cost > of acquisition and rent for one year. Last time I checked, which was about four years ago before Internet accessibility was affordable, if I wanted to get a 64K line from my site, say to Suranet which is at the University of Maryland, College Park, the rate quoted from C&P telephone was US $115 plus $4 per mile, per month. Note in the rates below, these rates do not include taxes which probably range in the 2% figure, and installation of phone lines is extra. > 3. 24-hour local phone call, i.e., an ordinary phone call to a > subscriber in the same CO as yourself -- one call that lasts 24 hours > straight on a weekday. A 24-hour call is used to obtain comparable > numbers across all kinds of reduced rates. Residential service here comes in three flavors, per call, timed per call and unlimited. Business can get per call and timed per call. Unlimited service costs a residential customer about US $20 a month plus taxes, and allows unlimited calls of unlimited duration between phones in the same service area. Here in the Washington Metropolitan area, figure that as being roughly a circle extending for 20 miles in each direction from the Washington Monument. In essence, the calling area here is: All of Washington DC, all of Prince Georges county in Maryland, the lower half of Montgomery County in Maryland, All of Fairfax and Arlington Counties in Virginia plus the independent cities, as far as Dulles Airport in Chantilly, VA. People who live in the Maryland suburbs have extended local service outside this area, so I can call parts of Gaithersburg MD as a local call that someone in Northern Virginia would have to pay as a short-distance toll call. Someone in Northern Virginia will have extended reach into Virginia, of course. On all local area calls, if one doesn't have unlimited service, the rate is either 9.0c for residential and 9.9c for business for each call placed, of unlimited connection time. In theory you could pay $20 for two business phone lines, place a call between them and keep the line up all month for around $40 or so, as opposed to paying much more for a dedicated line. I changed one of my lines from residential to commercial service. The Commercial rate is around US $19.00 a month plus taxes. If you take timed service, the rate is 1.3c for the connection, and 1c for each minute after the first minute. 100c = US $1. You can do the math for the local currency there using current conversion rates. A residential customer can get service where he gets 65 call units included in his bill for $8.50 a month plus taxes. As an example of net costs, for three phone lines in my house each having 65 call units (a call unit being one phone call of unlimited length), the cost is US $55 a month to have three phone lines and an aggregate of 195 call units a month, then 9.0c each after 195, if I ever use that many. (My rate is higher because I have a number of optional services including a virtual telephone number, call waiting and three-way calling on one of my lines.) I have routinely spent 6 hour calls on the phone to my Internet service provider reading and writing mail and news, and downloading files gotten via FTP. These numbers are meaningless unless you have value of money figures. My brother has an ordinary job as a cashier at a drugstore chain, he makes $5.50 each hour, and works 40 hours a week (and it took him two years to get to that rate; "minimum wage" here is $4.50 per hour if I remember correctly.) A 16oz bottle of soda here is about 75c, a loaf of bread about 65c to $1.25 depending on what one buys, a pound of hamburger about $1.65, a gallon of milk about US $2.40. In Long Beach, California when I was there seven years ago, a local call for a business number cost the customer 5c for each five minutes or fraction thereof, e.g. a five minute and one second call was 10c. Outdoor Public Coin telephones here are 25c per call, untimed. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Jan 1995 03:10:25 -0500 Subject: Vice President Al Gore to Speak on Telecom at Summit Jan. 9 From: ndallen@io.org (Nigel Allen) Organization: Internex Online Here is a press release from U.S. Vice President Al Gore. I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834. I do not work for the U.S. government. Vice President Gore to Give Keynote at Federal-State-Local Telecom Summit Jan. 9 News Advisory: úÿ Vice President Al Gore will give the keynote address at a conference of federal, state, and local officials on the role of the federal government in promoting competition, lowering prices, increasing choices and achieving universal service in telecommunications services. He will join other officials at all levels of government from across the country to discuss these telecommunications issues. The Vice President will speak at 9 a.m. (ET) at the Department of Commerce Auditorium, 14th and Constitution Ave, NW. The Vice President's speech is OPEN PRESS. The Annenberg Washington Program and the Administration's Information Infrastructure Task Force are sponsoring the day-long conference. The morning session of the summit will be open to the public and the press. In addition to the Vice President Gore, Members of Congress, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Federal Cmmunications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt, and elected and appointed state and local telecommunications officials also will participate including representatives from the National Association of Counties, National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors. Media who would like more information about press coverage should contact Stephanie Schoumacher at the Department of Commerce 202-482-1551. ------------------------------ Subject: FCC Proposes To Fine AT&T $1,000,000 For Comm Act Violations From: drharry!aboritz@uunet.uu.net (Alan Boritz) Date: Mon, 09 Jan 95 00:05:30 EST Organization: Harry's Place - Mahwah NJ - +1 201 934 0861 From ftp.fcc.gov: NEWS Report No. CC 95-2 COMMON CARRIER ACTION January 4, 1995 FCC PROPOSES $1 MILLION FORFEITURE AGAINST AT&T FOR FAILING TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO RESELLERS The Commission has notified AT&T of its apparent liability for forfeiture in the amount of $1,000,000 for violating the Communications Act by failing to provide service to three reseller customers who requested service under an AT&T contract tariff. The Commission additionally has directed AT&T to show cause why it should not be required to furnish the service requested to GE Communications Systems, Inc. and Public Service Enterprises, Inc. within 30 days of the release of the Commission's Order. The third reseller customer has informed the Commission that it no longer wishes to obtain service under that contract tariff. The Communications Act requires common carriers to furnish interstate communication service upon reasonable request. The Commission found that, although three resellers ordered service under AT&T's Contract Tariff Number 383 in August and September of 1993, AT&T has not yet delivered service to the two reseller customers who still wish to receive service, nor has it provided a satisfactory reason for its delay in providing the service. The third reseller customer never received service under the contract tariff, and withdrew its request in late June 1994. The Commission has admonished carriers in the past to make all efforts to provide a requested service, and states further in the Order that "[t]his admonition is particularly relevant when an important Commission policy, such as our resale requirements, is thwarted by a carrier's refusal to provide service." The Commission has previously stated that unrestricted resale of communications services provides a valuable stimulus to competition, by creating incentives for carriers to offer services at prices that more closely reflect the underlying cost of providing the service. The unrestricted resale policy also reduces the likelihood of undue discrimination in the marketplace. The Commission stated that AT&T is apparently liable for a forfeiture of the statutory maximum of $1,000,000 because of the apparently intentional and continuing nature of the apparent violation of the Communications Act. Pursuant to Commission rules, AT&T must either pay the proposed forfeiture within thirty days, or file a response showing why the proposed forfeiture should not be paid or should be reduced. Action by the Commission, December 30, 1994, by Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order to Show Cause (FCC 94-359). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Barrett, Ness and Chong, with Commissioner Quello concurring in part and dissenting in part. -FCC- News Media contact: Susan Lewis Sallet and Audrey Spivack at (202) 418-0500. Common Carrier Bureau contacts: Donna Lampert at (202) 418-1500 and Debra Sabourin at (202) 418-1530. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 11:03:48 +0100 From: jean@xs4all.nl (Jean B Sarrazin) Subject: Phone Rates From Israel Would anyone know the phone rates from Israel to the US, Canada, UK, and Argentina? Thanks! Jean B Sarrazin Ekkosys Communications BV Amsterdam ------------------------------ From: meier@jolt.mpx.com.au (Alan Meier) Subject: PABX/IVR/Computer Integration Help Wanted Date: Mon, 09 Jan 1995 21:42:18 +1100 Organization: Suzanne Paul (Australia) Pty Ltd We are an inbound Telemarketing organization and I have been charged with the responsibility of putting together a system that will allow our Unix based database application work in concert with both a PABX and IVR equipment.I need some advice as to whether I am making the right equipment choice or not and I was hoping that someone with more knowledge than my own limited experience with Telepony equipment may be able to assist me. The PABX I have chosen is the NEX 7400 series as it seemed the only PABX that had a decent computer interface into the PABX. I have also looked at the voicemail systems and had settled on teh DECVox system although it does seem rather expensive they are asking 25,000 Australian dollars for an eight port VoiceMail/IVR System. Could someone please advise me as to whether my choice in equipment is wise and if not what equipment should I be considering. Thanks in advance to all those who reply to me. Hoping for some relies, Alan Meier ------------------------------ From: jspinnow@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu (John Stewart Pinnow) Subject: Hayes Optima VS DEC SERVER 200 Revised Date: 9 Jan 1995 03:23:30 GMT Organization: Tmoh Research, Milwaukee, WI Well, I have tried with or without autobaud enabled and with autobaud enable I have modems seeking a weird DTE: Port 3: Server: SERV02 Character Size: 8 Input Speed: 4800 Flow Control: XON Output Speed: 4800 Parity: None Modem Control: Enabled Access: Local Local Switch: None Backwards Switch: None Name: PORT_6 Break: Disabled Session Limit: 4 Forwards Switch: None Type: Soft Now the port works, the other modem connects at 19200, but is jerky. I have configured one Zyxel (spelling?) and one Intel modem (With no manual to be found) to work on the same server and it just so happens their input and output speed is at a cozy 19200. The Optimas are doomed ... does anyone out there know what is going on? I ditched CTS/RTS ... and use Xon/Xoff. The future doesn't look bright for this modem pool. Tmoh Research Net: jspinnow@csd.uwm.edu Net: jspinnow@world.std.com John S. Pinnow jspinnow@netcom.com Url: http://www.uwm.edu/~jspinnow [414] 761-1537 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 07:12 EST From: bellaire@iquest.net (James Bellaire) Subject: 1-900 = $100,000 Fraud! The phone fraud files are open again! From the evening news ... > From WFRN-FM (Elkhart, IN) Radio News ... 1-6-95 (Names may be misspelled due to this being transcribed from a tape of a radio news broadcast.) The case of a Kosciusco County teen accused of using other people's credit card numbers to charge $100,000 worth of 1-900 calls is a reminder to keep a close eye on our long distance bill. Eighteen-year-old James Rhinehart (SP?) of Etna Green was jailed for theft and fraud. Mary Lee Cesna (?) of GTE in Elkhart says she's never seen a case like that here in Michiana. She says anytime we are billed for a long distance call we did not make we should contact the phone company who sent the bill. "You need to have that as a record that you did not make that call, even if it's 20 cents, because the following month it could be $20. And you want to make sure that whoever is your billing company knows that you did not make those calls." (Spokeswoman) Cesna says the company uses that information to pursue an investigation into the posibility of fraud such as in the Rhinehart case. WSBT-TV 28 (Elkhart, IN) Eleven O'Clock News added the following ... Police say Rhinehart made 30 - 40 900 calls per day to a sex line, charging them to area residents. Even the local sheriff was hit in this scam. [The sheriff then explained the scam.] GTE said they would remove the charges from the bills. --------------- How did he do it? The Etna Green telco is an old GTE telco that does not provide ANI information. The 900 service asked callers who did not come with ANI info to enter their number to continue, Rhinehart just entered other people's numbers at random. GTE's spokewoman assured Elkhart customers that their exchange provided ANI directly and was not vunerable to this kind of fraud. Sounds like the 1-900 sex line has the responsibility here. Manual input of your ANI should never be allowed! When I first heard this I thought this brat was a misguided genius. I didn't know the 900 service had made it so easy! bellaire@iquest.net James E. Bellaire [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are very few places left where ANI does not come with the territory, so to speak. There are very few places where telco information providers do not get all the records they need to accurately bill for their services. I thought in those few instances where ANI could not be provided for whatever reason, the IP simply did not give service, or required some other method of billing such as a credit card. Like yourself, I'm amazed the IP took the customer's word for it. In regular long distance calling (or any call where a toll is involved) it is rare, but occassionally there will be an ANI failure for whatever reason, and in those cases the long distance operator will come on the line and ask 'what is the number you are calling from?'. People sometimes lie about that also, but I guess it is not quite as critical with the small amount of money involved nor is it as likely to be abused as are sex phone lines. Old people like myself on this mailing list will remember how many years ago the long distance operator had to ask the caller for his phone number on every single call. Even the local /0/ operator only got the prefix or exchange you were calling from ... not the last four digits. The way the switching machinery worked in those days, by the time your call reached its destination -- even if that was just the operator -- the last four digits had been lost in the matrix. There was no easy way to prove or disprove what the customer *said* his phone number was short of having one of the guys in the frames walk around rack after rack, row after row looking at the switches as one led to the next and the next, etc. AT&T did not invent the Electronic Switching System (ESS) purely to combat fraud, but that certainly was one side-affect; some icing for the cake. It had gotten in the early 1970's to the point where for all intents and purposes the public telephone network in the USA was completely out of control. Too many subscribers knew too much about how the system operated for AT&T's comfort. In 1970 toll fraud was at an all time high. At a hearing that year when New York Telephone wanted to raise their rates, a commissioner of the state utility regulators asked NYT how much they had to write off the year before due to toll fraud and the answer was about eight million dollars, by 1969 values ... that news was shocking enough that it received a large write up in quite a few newspapers nationally. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #16 *****************************