TELECOM Digest Tue, 24 Jan 95 17:36:00 CST Volume 15 : Issue 61 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson New Educational Telecom List Started (Todd Graham) 500 Numbers and CID (Mark Stieger) Looking For Papers on LD Competition (Elizabeth Wasserman) Automatic Page Application Off of NT-SL1 ? (Ken Stone) Re: Cellular Service in the Lincoln Tunnel (Carl Moore) Re: Help ... Ancient Party Lines Must Die! (Eduardo Kaftanski) Re: ISDN in Florida (Bruce W. Glassford) Re: T1 vs. T3: What's the Difference? (synchro@access3.digex.net) Re: Looking For 900-MHz Cordless Handsfree Headset (Wayne Huffman) Re: LD Termination Fees to RBOCs (Roger Atkinson) Re: Cattle Call (Dale Neiburg) Re: Internet Mail With Half the Address? (Ted Timar) Re: LD Provider Juggling (Judith Oppenheimer) Re: GSM SIM Implementation (Sam Spens Clason) 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: Todd Graham Reply-To: Todd Graham Subject: New Educational Telecom List Started Date: Tue, 24 Jan 95 15:09:08 -0500 Members of this list -- and the greater listserv community -- will be interested to know that the Midwestern Higher Education Commission has recently established a new list dedicated to educational telecommunications. MHEC-TEL is intended as a forum for discourse and information exchange by telecommunications professionals within the higher education community and others interested in opportunities enabled by telecommunications tech- nologies -- for example, distance learning, teleconferencing, interinstitu- tional resource sharing and programming cooperation. List membership is not geographically constrained -- the list welcomes higher education administrators, faculty and professionals from all regions of the country. However, discussion on the MHEC-TEL list should avoid focus on issues of no applicability to institutions in the Midwest. To subscribe, simply follow the normal protocol for Bitnet list subscription. Send a message to: LISTSERV@UMINN1.BITNET (or LISTSERV@VM1. SPCS.UMN.EDU) Message should include your name and the name of your organi- zation/institution: SUBSCRIBE MHEC-TEL First-name Last-name (Affiliation) Comments? Questions? The list-owner for MHEC-TEL is Jeff Williams . ---- opening message on list ---- Welcome to the Midwestern Higher Education Commission's Telecommunications listserv. The MHEC-TEL list has two main purposes. The first is to provide a forum for higher education telecommunications professionals to share ideas, questions, comments, and announcements with peers across the Midwest. The second is to solicit ideas and suggestions from telecommunications professionals in MHEC member states about common institutional challenges, existing MHEC programs, and future cost-savings initiatives. Each of you is welcome (and encouraged) to tell your higher education colleagues about the mhec-tel list and discuss its contents. However, MHEC wishes the list to remain "private" within the higher education community; commercial entities, such as equipment vendors, will not be allowed to join. [stuff deleted] If you have specific questions or suggestions for the MHEC-TEL list, please do not hesitate to contact either MHEC or myself directly. Once again, welcome. Jeff Williams, MHEC-TEL Administrator (willi132@gold.tc.umn.edu) MHEC ------------ Forwarded Message ends here ------------ ABOUT THE MIDWESTERN HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION The Midwestern Higher Education Commission (MHEC) was established in 1991 by the Midwestern Regional Education Compact, an interstate agreement among midwestern states. The current member states include Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The mission of MHEC is to improve higher education opportunities and services in the midwest region though interstate cooperation and resource sharing. Programs include activities to produce regional cost savings to benefit colleges and universities, expand student access, support public policy development through analysis and information exchange, facilitate regional cooperative academic programming, encourage quality management, and promote economic growth through higher education and industry innovation. Todd Graham Midwestern Higher Education Commission 1300 South 2nd Street, Mpls, MN 55454 ph.: 612/626-8288 fax: 612/626-8290 ------------------------------ From: stud@subzero.winternet.com (Mark Stieger) Subject: 500 Numbers and CID Date: 24 Jan 95 20:35:36 GMT Organization: StarNet Communications, Inc Here's something I haven't seen asked in here. When nationwide Caller ID is available, and someone calls you through a 500 number, will their CID information be passed, or will the 500 number (or some ATT number show up? Mark [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't know, and let's talk about it when the service gets underway. Actually I am a little ticked off about this. In the middle of December I ordered 500 service, and got my number assigned. They insisted there was no way to turn it on until Janaury 20. Comes January 20 it is not working and I call AT&T. It will really be the 23rd, the lady says. Okay, I waited until Monday afternoon and tried it ... still nothing. I get intercepted at the 1-500 and 0-500 mark; Ameritech will listen to nothing further after that. I call back to AT&T and ask them about it. The lady put me on hold for the *longest* time -- about ten minutes -- then comes back and says Ameritech won't have it turned on until January 30. So on that day I shall try it again; who wants to bet me I will still get intercepted at the local switch? And of course, poor, put upon little AT&T: 'there is nothing we can do about it; the local telcos have to install the billing software ...' Well heck, in case she has not heard, Ameritech and AT&T have been fighting over the access fees to be charged for 500 service, and Ameritech is planning their own 500 service. Who wants to bet me this will drag on for months before it gets installed here. Meanwhile of course, AT&T promptly billed me for the service on January 24 -- on my local Ameritech bill -- so much for how it is out of their control until Ameritech cooperates. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 15:04:50 -0600 From: wrigley@mcs.com (Elizabeth Wasserman) Subject: Looking For Papers on LD Competition I'm doing some research into long distance competition in the US and am looking for academic papers or articles that evaluate the competitive situation in the US marketplace. I've managed to find about 5-7 good articles but would like to dig up a few more -- do any of you have suggestions on what articles I should be looking out for? I'm interested in anything published after 1988, although articles done in the last two or three years would be most useful. Send your suggestions to me at wrigley@mcs.com Thanks for your generous help, Elizabeth Wasserman wrigley@mcs.com chicago, evanston ------------------------------ Subject: Automatic Page Application Off of NT-SL1? Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 11:59:21 -0800 From: Ken Stone I have an application where I need to generate a numeric page when a phone number is dialed. We have an emergency number here on site that when called rings a series of "red phones" around the site at key people's desks. What I would also like to do is generate a page to these same people when the emergency number is dialed. Any ideas? Ken Stone Hewlett Packard, San Diego Site Telecomm & Networking ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jan 95 21:25:52 GMT From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Cellular Service in the Lincoln Tunnel In New York City, there are also the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. For the Lincoln Tunnel, what do you mean by "'Temp' I-495 between NY and NJ"? This was to be I-495, which: split off NJ Turnpike at what is now exit 16-E; was to cross Manhattan from Lincoln Tunnel to the above- mentioned Queens-Midtown Tunnel (this stretch was never built), and then emerged from there as the Long Island Expressway, becoming N.Y. 495 at or near the Clearview Expressway in eastern Queens. The latest I remember now is that the stretch in NJ is state route 495, and I-495 signs were erected from Queens-Midtown Tunnel all the way to the expressway's end in Suffolk County (eastern Long Island). Old maps had I-78 crossing the Manhattan Bridge, passing near the JFK airport, then turning north to the Throgs Neck Bridge (into the Bronx) and hitting I-95. Now the last reference to I-78 is the New Jersey Turnpike Extension. (From there, you have to go through two intersections to reach the Holland Tunnel.) > In DC, the "tunnels" under the Mall (I-395, was to be I-95) and the > I-195 (?) tunnels ... Where is this I-195? I live and work less than 100 miles from DC, and given adequate description could figure what you are talking about. > Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel and in Newport News, VA There are two or three tunnels between Norfolk and Portsmouth (one is I-264); the I-664 bridge-tunnel going south from Hampton; and the I-64/U.S. 60 bridge tunnel across Hampton Roads. Going west, there are the tunnels on the PA Turnpike and in Pittsburgh. Oops, there are at least two tunnels in Philadelphia, but not on main routes. There is the 5th Street tunnel, which goes under the approach road to the Ben Franklin Bridge. And there is another tunnel near the Art Museum. At the 26th Street/Passyunk Ave. interchange on the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) you pass through a short tunnel if you are on 26th Street. ------------------------------ From: ekaftan@mailnet.rdc.cl (Eduardo Kaftanski) Subject: Re: Help ... Ancient Party Lines Must Die! Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 05:09:32 GMT In article , Raymond Mereniuk wrote: > I heard a rumor a few years ago which indicated BC Tel's main source > of CO switches was Chile, as the Chilian telco upgraded their switches > BC Tel took all their old switches through a deal with BC Tel's parent This could as well be true. Chilean's biggest telco is CTC (Compa~ia de Telefonos de Chile) nowadays a long way from the state inefficiency it was submerged what eight, maybe less, years ago. CTC Corp., as it is called now, is a corporation with full independancy. It was once owned by an investor named Bond, and I think is now owned by Telefonica de Espa~a (Spain's telco). Ok, back on track, CTC has changed nearly all the switches here for new ones. (Does somebody know tech info on them?) And you can kow get all kinds of services you could not dream of five years ago. So if the rumor heard is betweeen three and ten years old, it may be true. Anyways, I hope this didn't sound as propaganda. I still hate monopolies. CTC Corp is one, they sometimes work REALLY well (I got three lines installed in my office in less that 24 hours) and sometimes real bad (try to get a line where my apartment is; I quit after three years of waiting in a line and got a second hand line from a competing telco (CMET) who works better that CTC but has a VERY limited area). Just a last bit of information. Chile has now a full 'multicarrier' system since October 94. But almost no one has gotten any bill. I myself have not paid a single long distance call since then. How do US long distance operators bill? Ah, you also get an 'IS...D... what?' response here. You do get that response also if you ask for leased lines. Eduardo Kaftanski ekaftan@ing.puc.cl [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Long distance calls here are billed each month. You will usually get the bill within a month or less of making the call; occassionally it might be the second month before the bill comes. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bruceg@interramp.com (Bruce W Glassford) Subject: Re: ISDN in Florida Date: 23 Jan 1995 05:43:34 GMT Organization: PSI Public Usenet Link In article , Evon Bent says: > I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about Southern > Bell implementing ISDN in Florida? I've been considering it to get a > link to the net and a business line as well. I was also wondering if > anyone could give me an idea of the rates I might get charged. If no > one knows or isn't sure how about a number I might call to get this > info? Barring that I was wondering if anyone was currently using ISDN > in Florida and what their experiences with it were. The local SB folks here know squat. But, I went to a BellSouth get-together a few months ago touting Intel's ISDN application ProShare, and BellSouth announced an 800 number for ordering ISDN services. The event was in August of last year, and I don't have my notes with me (meaning I don't have the 800 number), but you might try 800 Info for "BellSouth ISDN Service". I don't have my BRI yet, probably will order it in the next few months. Hope this helps. Bruce W. Glassford Digital Communications Consultants, Inc. Orlando, FL bruceg@interramp.com ------------------------------ From: synchro@access3.digex.net (Steve) Subject: T1 vs. T3: What's the Difference? Date: 24 Jan 1995 12:02:45 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA The most basic difference is that a T3 is roughly 28 times "faster" than a T1. T1s are 1.544 Mbps while T3s are 44.736 Mbps. Telcos and big telecomm users often aggregate their T1 traffic onto T3s with an M13 type multiplexer or a 3:1 digital cross-connect machine. This is just a start. The line coding is different as well. T1s uses AMI or B8ZS, whereas T3 always uses B3ZS. Take it easy, Steve ------------------------------ From: whuffman@ix.netcom.com (Wayne Huffman) Subject: Re: Looking For 900-MHz Cordless Handsfree Headset Date: 24 Jan 1995 13:13:52 GMT Organization: Netcom In Martin.Soques@amd.com (Martin Soques) writes: > Greetings! Subject line says all; I'm looking for a 900-MHz digital úÿ > phone with a cordless headset rather than a cordless handset. So that Pat doesn't seem to be the one plugging Hello Direct, *I* will take a turn at it. They show a 900MHz cordless HEADset on page six of their Spring '95 catalog for US$349. It weighs 7 ounces with the two hour battery. Hello Direct can be reached at 1-800-HI-HELLO. They also have a WWW site at URL http://www.hello-direct.com/hd/ Their e-mail address is xpressit@hihello.com BTW I don't work for them either. Wayne Huffman ------------------------------ From: rogera@cts.com (Roger Atkinson) Subject: Re: LD Termination Fees to RBOCs Organization: R. F. Atkinson & Co. Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 02:33:26 GMT In article eyegaz1@ibm.net (Pete Norloff) writes: > I'm looking for some information on the sharing of long distance fees > between long distance carriers and the RBOCs. I've found casual > references which indicate that the long distance carriers pay the > RBOCs approximately 25% each of the fees collected for long distance > calls and keep 50% for themselves. This 25% was referred to as > something like "line termination charges". It's the payment to the > local carrier for connecting one end of the call. > I'm hoping to find an authoritative reference to help me in an > argument with a Bell Atlantic engineer. This engineer believes that > Bell Atlantic is providing the terminating end of long distance calls > to the long distance carriers for free. Obviously, you don't believe that Bell companies give anything away. I suppose you also don't believe in the tooth fairy . Seriously, there must be a tariff filed with the state utilities commission for them to collect money, on a regular basis, from multiple customers (IXCs). Check your local telco business office. In most states, they are required to make their tariffs available for public inspection. (Maybe we should start a movement to pressure PUCs to require that tariffs be on the Internet?) (Maybe they already are in some states?) Consider the case of the small telco (non-Bell), in Nebraska, I believe, that apparently had some mysterious financial relationship with a local filthy talk operator. Said sleaze bag (my opinion) advertized his "service" all over the country, and listed an ordinary area code and number, not a 900 SAC. The net income of the telco reportledly went up spectacularly in the ensuing months. The filth peddler continued to operate, and expand his system. Since he was merely receiving ordinary long distance calls, he had no obvious source of revenue to support his generosity. I read about it in the {San Diego Union Tribune}, because a local mother of a teenage girl was stuck for thousands of dollars of ordinary toll charges, even though she had arranged with the local Bell company to block 1+900 calls. Getting back to your question, it would appear that the various long distance carriers involved in carrying these calls paid the local telco for such termination. This used to be called something like "settlements and separations" before Judge Greene "fixed" the phone system. Hope this helps! Roger Atkinson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 15:25:58 EST From: DNEIBURG@npr.org Subject: Re: Cattle Call In TELECOM Digest v15 #46, the Moderator noted: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A couple of questions for whoever knows > the answers ... is it hard to train a cow to respond to your call? Is If not, this practice may lead to a worse problem. What happens when the cow gets corrupted by the promise of easy fodder and starts moonlighting as a drug courier? Dale Neiburg, STC National Public Radio Phone: 202-414-2640 635 Massachusetts Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 Internet: dneiburg@npr.org ------------------------------ From: tmatimar@isgtec.com (Ted Timar) Subject: Re: Internet Mail With Half the Address? Organization: ISG Technologies Inc. Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 11:12:22 -0500 In Volume 15, Issue 53, Message 9, Jane McMahon wrote, > How do find someone using Internet? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Perhaps it is about time for someone to > write an article describing the Internet 'white pages' and how to use > them. I think searching those would be a good way for you to start. PAT] Three Usenet FAQs of use exist, in Comp.Mail.Misc, "Updated Inter-Network Mail Guide" also in Comp.Mail.Misc, "FAQ: How to find people's E-mail addresses" and in Soc.Net-People, "FAQ: College Email Addresses" These in turn are archived at rtfm.mit.edu as (in order), pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/inter-network-guide pub/usenet/news.answers/finding-addresses pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/college-email/part[123] The last of these (College email addresses) is close to a year out of date, so any volunteers to take it over would probably be extremely welcome. Ted Timar tmatimar@isgtec.com ------------------------------ From: producer@pipeline.com (Judith Oppenheimer) Subject: Re: LD Provider Juggling Date: 24 Jan 1995 11:42:56 -0500 Organization: Interactive CallBrand(TM) Justin, My advice is to call your LDDS account representative and explain your problem; copy them by fax on the paperwork, and *expect* them to iron out the problem. Much of our long distance is via a top-notch reseller in Atlanta. When there are billing or other adminstrative errors, overlaps, etc., one phone call to her, with a documenting fax, is all it's ever taken to straighten the problem out. Including appropriate account crediting, etc. If you are not getting this level of service from your account rep at LDDS, speak with that person's manager. If they are still not responsive, switch service providers. If you need any more help, feel free to email me directly - producer@pipeline.com. Good luck! Judith Oppenheimer, Producer@Pipeline.com Interactive CallBrand(TM) ------------------------------ From: d92-sam@black29.nada.kth.se (Sam Spens Clason) Subject: Re: GSM SIM Implementation Date: 24 Jan 1995 18:02:19 GMT In tholome@dialup.francenet.fr (Eric Tholome) writes: > In article , k22413@kyyppari.hkkk.fi > (Harri Kinnunen) wrote: >> Most of the hand-held GSM phones use a "punched-out" section of the >> Smartcard, being about 1cmx2cm in size. The punch-out dimensions are >> also standard, but I don't know if they are included in ISO-7816. > And this totally ruins one of the nice purposes of the SIM: being able > to have several phones (for instance, one nice vehicle mounted phone, > and a hand held terminal) and still using them with one SIM only. If > two of your phones use different types of SIM, you're out of luck! > I've been told that some companies were now selling adapters, but the > convenience of all this has yet to be seen. I agree that different SIMs are pain. But, it's really not that bad. All Swedish operators offer two-card subscriptions. Two IMSIs but one phone number. Only one phone can make or receive calls at the same time. I don't have a cellphone myself. But I've been told that on Europolitan you must dial 333 to "change IMSI" but on Comviq you only have to turn the other phone on. The IMSI last to do a manual update is the one that gets the calls. How it works on Telia I don't know. Sam Sam Spens Clason ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #61 *****************************