TELECOM Digest Tue, 10 Jan 95 03:42:00 CST Volume 15 : Issue 19 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: New Alert - 911 Access (Mike J. Sutter) Re: New Alert - 911 Access (Coast Guard Communications) Re: Is There a Telecom Group in Chicago? (Bernard Cerier) Re: Is There a Telecom Group in Chicago? (Randall Hayes) Re: Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd (Steve Cogorno) Re: Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd (reb@xyzzy.com) Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges (Christopher Zguris) Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges (John Higdon) Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges (Tony Pelliccio) Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges (Bennett Z. Kobb) Re: GSM in Canada? (Rupert Baines) Re: GSM in Canada? (John Leske) Re: Phone Card Reader Wanted (Kimmo Ketolainen) Re: Britain-Japan Fiber Cable (Kimmo Ketolainen) Re: Computer Caller-ID (Maurice Dykes) 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. 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. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ********************************************************************** *** Additionally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. 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: mjsutter@aol.com (Mjsutter) Subject: Re: New Alert - 911 Access Date: 9 Jan 1995 21:50:33 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: mjsutter@aol.com (Mjsutter) Jim Conran writes: > In addition, the FCC should require all cellular phones to be > equipped to access the strongest cellular base station signal when 911 > is called. Finally, the FCC should make the 911 provision an issue as > it currently reconsiders cellular license renewal applications. This is a good idea. However, it could be at odds with another good idea which is that the cell ID that the caller is using be passed through the cell switch to the tandem so tha the 911 database can use the cell ID as an approximate location of the caller. In metro areas the size of the cell would be very small indeed. Less that a year ago a life would have most likely been saved in Rochester N.Y. if this capability had been available. Cheers, mike ------------------------------ From: gttm@cais2.cais.com (USCG TELECOMMS) Subject: Re: New Alert - 911 Access Date: 9 Jan 1995 17:56:15 GMT Organization: U.S. Coast Guard I believe the closing date for comments in this FCC proceding is January 9th. The FCC proceding highlights some serious problems with 911 access from wireless systems, particularly satellite systems due to be available shortly. Coast Guard comments on this FCC proceding are available by Internet also, through the Fedworld gateway: "telnet fedworld.gov", log on, and enter "udd54" at the first menu. Once on the CG NIS computer (you have to log onto this also), find the file 911.TXT under Maritime Communications, Coast Guard Communications. Try downloading using KERMIT. (We plan to be up on WWW/gopher/ftp etc by this summer, by the way) JoeH COAST GUARD COMMUNICATIONS Telephone: (202) 267-2860 U.S. Coast Guard (G-TTM) Fax: (202) 267-4106 Washington DC 20593 Internet: CGComms/g-t07@cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 12:56:14 -0500 From: BERNARD.CERIER@gte.sprint.com Subject: Re: Is There a Telecom Group in Chicago? Pat, In article logicarsch@aol.com asks about a telecommunications association in the Chicago area that has meetings, seminars and get-togethers, a little newsletter, etc. etc. for a hundred or two bucks a year. CICA, Inc. is the oldest organization in the US. It predates the ICA. They have a monthly newsletter, meet monthly (usually at Marshall Fields downtown) and have educational seminars. Dues are less that $50. The Executive Secretary is: Robert C. Hagglund 1905 W. Leland Avenue Chicago, IL 60601 312-271-7088 Fax 312-275-1002 President Patti Wolff Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 230 S. laSalle Street Chicago, IL 60604 312-322-8200 Fax 312-322-5959 Through the newsletters you can be put in touch with specialized user groups: Midwest ROLM Users Group, Midwest Meridian SL1 Users Association, Centigram Voice Mail Users Association, etc. Bernie Cerier 15520 Mill Creek Blvd. H-103 Mill Creek, WA 98012 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks very much for passing this on. PAT] ------------------------------ From: HayesR@uihc-telecomm-po.htc.uiowa.edu Date: 9 Jan 95 16:35 CST Subject: Re: Is There a Telecom Group in Chicago? > I'm looking for a group (in Chicago) that has meetings, seminars, and get- > togethers, a little newsletter..... The Chicago Industrial Communications Association ia a non-profit organization which promotes the exchange of ideas and information among telecom professionals. They are a part of the Midwestern Telecommunications Conference, which is a group of 13 midwestern telecom organizations (I belong to ITUG -- the Iowa Telecom User Group). For information, contact Steve Willuweit at 708-291-2106 or John Gacek at 312-663-3366. Randy Hayes randal-hayes@uiowa.edu ------------------------------ From: cogorno@netcom.com (Steve Cogorno) Subject: Re: Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 20:29:56 PST Mark Robert Smith said: > LEADING CELLULAR CARRIERS JOIN FORCES TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS > FROM BECOMING PHONE FRAUD VICTIMS > 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. What happened to that fraud protection (was it made by TRW?) device that examined the radio signal from the cell phone? Last I heard, it was going to revolutionize the cellular industry and eliminate fraud. Steve cogorno@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jan 95 00:30:13 EST From: reb@xyzzy.com (Phydeaux) Subject: Re: Bell Atlantic Mobile Joins the PIN Crowd This evening I was in the Bell Atlantic store in Union, NJ and I overheard another customer asking about the PIN stuff. He wanted to know whether or not he would need a PIN. The sales person told him that that was "Only for customers whose phones have been cloned." They would NOT assign a PIN unless you'd been cloned, because customers who had already been cloned were "most at risk." This seemed to me to be a completely screwed up way of handling the situation. I wonder if the sales person was quoting the old rules or the new rules ... reb reb@xyzzy.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Or maybe you have to wonder if the sales person knew what the rules were at all ... :) PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 19:35 EST From: Christopher Zguris <0004854540@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges gws@gwssun.cb.att.com (Gary Sanders) writes: > You have been listening to to many cell phone sales guys. First, many > scanners don't need to be modified (although new ones may) to listen to > cell phones. They come out of the box with cellular. As for snippets I > would beg to differ, I know some one who is an active cell listner > (-:)) and depending on your local cell configuration you will hear > most of all phone calls that are placed. "my friend" listened to > someone trying to explain how secure a cell phone is becuase its > allways changing freq. Was interesting considering the entire call > was 15 minutes long and never changed cells/freq. What recent scanners come with cellular enabled? _Recent_ equipment, that is. Regarding snippets, I'm sure it _does_ depend on the layout of the cells, but it _also_ depends on how fast the cellular phone is moving. If it is moving fast -- as opposed to stationary -- it will break up and move on to another cell/freq. If "your friend" is located in a major suburban area, he probably won't pick up many complete calls that last more than a minute or two. You've brought up _one_ instance of hearing an entire cell phone call. If that 15 minute call is the best "your friend" has heard -- especially when you consider some people talk on the phone for 30 or more minutes (hours on a "regular" phone) -- I'd say that kinda proves my point! Christopher Zguris czguris@mcimail.com (just another happy MCI customer) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 18:47:02 -0800 From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You are wrong on a couple things, however > that is because of confusion over contradictory laws. Aside from what > the Electronic Commuications Privacy Act says, the Federal Communications > Commission addresses the question of radios which have been modified. > Illegal modification (i.e. modification by an unlicensed person) voids > your FCC authority to operate the radio. Furthermore, no *licensed* > person is going to make illegal modifications to a radio and risk having > such handiwork be traced back to his bench, at the possible risk of his > loss of his license. But this only applies to radios manufactured and offered for sale to the public and does NOT cover modifications made by an individual for his own use, or use by another. In fact, there is no prohibition of any kind with regard to the construction of a radio from scratch by an individual. Patrick, I know you are old enough to have possibly built the radios described in the various scouting handbooks. There was no requirement that one build the radio exactly as described, nor was there any requirement to have the completed device "certified" in any way. There has been no change in the basic rules in this regard since then that I am aware of. Transmitters are another story. FCC rules require that all transmitters be maintained and adjusted by a properly licensed technician. As the holder of such licenses since the 1960's, I am completely unaware of any grades of license requirement to service any receive-only equipment. Furthermore, I am unaware of any "FCC authority" required to operate any receive-only equipment. As scanners are incapable of transmission (the local oscillator incidental radiation notwithstanding), their possession, modification, or use are of absolutely no concern to the FCC. Using radio receivers in the commission of crimes is, of course, another matter. But after consulting the volumes of rules that I have handy, I can find no provision, nor specification of license grade, involved with maintenance, repair, modification, or adjustment of a radio receiver. What the Feds tell Radio Shack that it may or may not do is Radio Shack's problem and does not extend to you and me. I have probably a half-dozen scanners and service radios capable of receiving the cellular band. Two of them have that capability because I gave it to them. I don't think my FCC license is in any jeapardy. If I wanted to buy another, I would go to Japan and pick one up, or have a friend simply bring one with him on his return. Customs does not seize them - - they only want to know what they cost! Note that I am NOT claiming that I listen to cellular transmissions (that would be illegal). My only claim is that I legally possess radios capable of such activity and will probably continue to do so in perpetuity. John Higdon | P.O. Box 7648 | +1 408 264 4115 | FAX: john@ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | 10288 0 700 FOR-A-MOO | +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Tony_Pelliccio@brown.edu (Tony Pelliccio) Subject: Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges Date: 10 Jan 1995 03:49:50 GMT Organization: Brown University - Providence, RI USA > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't know where you shop, but all the > Radio Shack units make a point of cutting out the cellular frequencies. > So do quite a few others, and they have for a few years now. PAT] Actually the AOR-2500 comes through with the cell band intact. Or at least it did until the FCC attempted to clamp down on it. The nice thing is the AOR-2500 is considered a communications receiver and not a scanner and last I heard the whole thing was still tied up in hearings. Of course if you really want to follow a cell call just get a DDI and hook it up to your PC. The interesting thing is that the company that sells the DDI will only release software with ESN capability to law enforcement people. Makes you wonder doesn't it? Tony Pelliccio, KD1NR, VE ARRL/W5YI Tel. (401) 863-1880 Box 1908, Providence, RI 02912 Fax. (401) 863-2269 ------------------------------ From: bkobb@newsignals.com (Bennett Z. Kobb) Subject: Re: Chatter Heard on Scanner Leads to Criminal Charges Organization: New Signals Press Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 13:23:35 GMT The amendment to include cordless came in with the Digital Telephony Bill, I believe. EFF did not object to the amendment but questioned its propriety without public dialogue on the subject. It may not be settled that random scanning, even of cellular spectrum, violates the ECPA due to the high standard of culpability placed in the law in the late stages. An excellent reference and opinion paper on this is "Don't Touch That Dial: Radio Listening Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986," by Fred Jay Meyer, in the New York University Law Review, V63 N2, May 1988. I'm reminded of Rep. Carlos Moorhead's assurances that "ECPA is not intended to penalize someone who just happens upon the frequency." úÿ Bennett Kobb bkobb@newsignals.com Editor and publisher Spectrum Guide ------------------------------ From: Rupes@voyager.cris.com (Rupes) Subject: Re: GSM in Canada? Date: 10 Jan 1995 01:49:27 -0500 Organization: Concentric Research Corporation Reon_Can@mindlink.bc.ca (D. Matte) writes: > I have been doing some initial research on the development of the PCS > market in Canada. Recently some of the players that have received > licenses to test 1.9GHz systems have been touting GSM as the way to go > (Telezone & Microcell 1-2-1). If GSM is implemented would it mean > that users would not be able to make use of their terminals in the > U.S. as GSM is not likely to be adopted by the U.S. on a large scale? > It would seem to me that having a system that is compatible with our > largest trading partner would make for a more attractive service > offering. You are right -- being able to use the same system as the US would be great. The only problem is that the US is unlikely to the the same system as the US ... For the PCS band (1.9GHz) there are seven 'standards' in the running. So, in principle, Canada might adaopt one -- and then be able to operate in only one in seven US areas ... It won't be quite that bad, as each area will have several operators (with different standards?), and only a few standards will be adopted, but ... To answer your original post, up-banded GSM (aka PCS1900) is one of the stronger contenders for PCS in the US, probably second in popularity to the IS95 (Qualcomm CDMA) variant. The former has existing market, safe technology and volume advantages, the latter is more technologically elegant and potentially cheaper. (A friend describes tham as PC vs Mac ...) Rupert Baines ------------------------------ From: johnl@ctin.adelaide.edu.au (John Leske) Subject: Re: GSM in Canada? Date: 10 Jan 1995 01:47:11 GMT Organization: Centre for Telecommunications Information Networking Reply-To: johnl@ctin.adelaide.edu.au In article 14@eecs.nwu.edu, Reon_Can@mindlink.bc.ca (D. Matte) writes: > I have been doing some initial research on the development of the PCS > market in Canada. [snip] > If GSM is implemented would it mean that users would not be able to > make use of their terminals in the U.S. as GSM is not likely to be > adopted by the U.S. on a large scale? It would seem to me that having > a system that is compatible with our largest trading partner would > make for a more attractive service offering. Hi Dan, A few comments on your concerns regarding GSM. Strictly speaking GSM operates in the 800MHz band. There is a varient called DCS1800, (which curiously enough operates in the 1800MHz band) which is used as a PCS system in the UK (Mercury 1to1, and Orange). Basically the only difference is the operating frequency, with all that that implies about cell size, transmission characteristics etc. GSM handsets do not work with DCS1800 or vice-versa. Since in the USA and Canada, 1.9GHz is the band available for PCS, carriers are looking at a varient of GSM in this frequency. There are carriers in both the USA and Canada considering this as a solution for PCS. One major attraction of doing this is that all the network details (protocols, charging, roaming, loading etc) have already been sorted out in GSM. The manufacturers can adjust their equipment to the new frequency and have an entire stable network up in months. My current reading of news reports seem to indicate that a number of different PCS systems will be installed, each in different areas depending on who bought the license. SO there will be CDMA, TDMA and other systems. None of these handsets will work with the AMPS network, nor with each other (in the first instance anyway). John Leske Research Engineer Centre for Telecommunications Information Networking University of Adelaide ------------------------------ From: Kimmo.Ketolainen@utu.fi (Kimmo Ketolainen) Subject: Re: Phone Card Reader Wanted Organization: Turun yliopisto - University of Turku, Turku, Finland Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 23:40:27 GMT Keith Jason Uber <942576@edna.cc.swin.edu.au> wrote: > 09I am looking for an article on building a Phone Card Reader > that connects to a pc. I saw it two or three days ago when browsing > gopher or WWW (I can't remember) and thought "That's cool ... but > Australia doesn't use Smart-cards for their phones". > The very next day, I met a German exchange student who gave me > a German phonecard! Subsequently I've spent about four hours searching > through veronica, www etc with no luck. The phonecard pages can be found with Lycos by entering the keyword "phonecard". The article in question is behind . The author of this article is currently serving a year long sentence :) in the French Army, and he'll be back on the net later this year. > Any help or direction would be great ... I intend to modify it > to use it as an electronic key to start my car! Sorry Keith, but the chip in question is not rewritable, you can only decrease its value (counter). In fact, none of the conventional chips in phonecards are reusable. Kimmo Ketolainen University of Turku home +358 21 237 8227 Kimmo.Ketolainen@utu.fi shoe +358 40 500 2957 work +358 21 262 1496 ------------------------------ From: Kimmo.Ketolainen@utu.fi (Kimmo Ketolainen) Subject: Re: Britain-Japan Fiber Cable Organization: Turun yliopisto - University of Turku, Turku, Finland Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 23:50:34 GMT In writchie@gate.net wrote: > An international circuit is two "half circuits" with the price at > each end completely controlled by the carriers at each end, one or > both of which is normally a monopoly PTT. Only US/Canada and US/UK > circuits are priced at anything even reasonably related to cost. Don't forget Finland -- three international carriers with quite competitive charges. It may sound weird, but the telecomm market in the country is already less monopolized than that of the US. Kimmo Ketolainen University of Turku home +358 21 237 8227 Kimmo.Ketolainen@utu.fi shoe +358 40 500 2957 work +358 21 262 1496 ------------------------------ From: mhdykes@thinkage.on.ca (Maurice Dykes) Subject: Re: Computer Caller-ID Organization: Thinkage Ltd. Guest Account Date: Tue, 10 Jan 1995 01:37:04 GMT > Does anyone know of a software program that enables you to have your > computer identify caller's phone numbers? I saw a movie called Brainscan > that had a computer, using caller id, identify the caller and tell the > person in an "igor" voice, which I perticularly liked, that "Bobby is > calling master". The idea was really interesting to me and I would like > to get something like it. There is a shareware app called IdentaFone version 1.6 on ftp.halcyon.com in local/identafone. It does not support sound. The verbage that's in the readme states: Overview: IdentaFone, in conjunction with Caller ID/Call Display service from your phone company, will log incoming calls and perform database lookups to place complete caller information at your fingertips before the phone has rang twice. You can also configure it to show a large barker screen that can be seen across the room or you can just have the icon display the calling number. Includes a Speed Dialer for 32 of your favourite numbers, dialer from the database or return call dialer in log window. You can launch a program or Windows macro when a designated number calls. *NEW* if you have a numeric pager IdentaFone will send the calling party's number to your pager. Maurice Dykes mhdykes@thinkage.on.ca mhdykes@thinkage.com ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #19 *****************************