TELECOM Digest Wed, 8 Feb 95 20:58:00 CST Volume 15 : Issue 85 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Communications Decency Act of 1995 (Ben Heckscher) Recommended Least-Cost Network Design Programs? (Jon L. Gauthier) Caller ID on Call Waiting/ADSI (John Combs) Information Wanted on Galaxy Worldwide Communications (Richard Baillie) UCLA Short Course on Advanced Communication Systems Using DSP (W. Goodin) Teletel Micro: How to Win 402.36 FF Pro Connection Hour? (Jean B. Condat) Numbers Numbers Numbers ... (Jim Derdzinski) 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: 500-677-1616 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: Wed, 8 Feb 95 17:19 EST From: Ben Heckscher <0003094996@mcimail.com> Subject: Communications Decency Act of 1995 This is a little difficult to follow unless you have a copy of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended, but it gives you some idea what Senator Exon has in mind. Can you say "big brother"? Source: US Congress Thomas WWW site - 8 Feb 95 Communications Decency Act of 1995 (Introduced in the Senate) S 314 IS 104th CONGRESS 1st Session S . 314 To protect the public from the misuse of the telecommunications network and telecommunications devices and facilities. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 1 (LEGISLATIVE DAY, JANUARY 30), 1995 Mr. Exon (for himself and Mr. Gorton) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation _________________________________________________________________ A BILL To protect the public from the misuse of the telecommunications network and telecommunications devices and facilities. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the `Communications Decency Act of 1995'. SEC. 2. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES UNDER THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934. (a) Offenses: Section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 223) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(1)-- (A) by striking out `telephone' in the matter above subparagraph (A) and inserting `telecommunications device'; (B) by striking out `makes any comment, request, suggestion, or proposal' in subparagraph (A) and inserting `makes, transmits, or otherwise makes available any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication'; (C) by striking out subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: `(B) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or communications ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives the communication;' and (D) by striking out subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: `(D) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly initiates communication with a telecommunications device, during which conversation or communication ensues, solely to harass any person at the called number or who receives the communication; or'; (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking `telephone facility' and inserting `telecommunications facility'; (3) in subsection (b)(1)-- (A) in subparagraph (A)-- (i) by striking `telephone' and inserting `telecommunications device'; and (ii) inserting `or initiated the communication' and `placed the call', and (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking `telephone facility' and inserting `telecommunications facility'; and (4) in subsection (b)(2)-- (A) in subparagraph (A)-- (i) by striking `by means of telephone, makes' and inserting `by means of telephone or telecommunications device, makes, knowingly transmits, or knowingly makes available'; and (ii) by inserting `or initiated the communication' after `placed the call'; and (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking `telephone facility' and inserting in lieu thereof `telecommunications facility'. (b) Penalties: Section 223 of such Act (47 U.S .C. 223) is amended-- (1) by striking out `$50,000' each place it appears and inserting `$100,000'; and (2) by striking `six months' each place it appears and inserting `2 years'. (c) Prohibition on Provision of Access: Subsection (c)(1) of such section (47 U.S .C. 223(c)) is amended by striking `telephone' and inserting `telecommunications device.' (d) Conforming Amendment: The section heading for such section is amended to read as follows: `obscene or harassing utilization of telecommunications devices and facilities in the district of columbia or in interstate or foreign communications'. SEC. 3. OBSCENE PROGRAMMING ON CABLE TELEVISION. Section 639 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 559) is amended by striking `$10,000' and inserting `$100,000'. SEC. 4. BROADCASTING OBSCENE LANGUAGE ON RADIO. Section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking out `$10,000' and inserting `$100,000'. SEC. 5. INTERCEPTION AND DISCLOSURE OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. Section 2511 of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)-- (A) by striking `wire, oral, or electronic communication' each place it appears and inserting `wire, oral, electronic, or digital communication', and (B) in the matter designated as `(b)', by striking `oral communication' in the matter above clause (i) and inserting `communication'; and (2) in paragraph (2)(a), by striking `wire or electronic communication service' each place it appears (other than in the second sentence) and inserting `wire, electronic, or digital communication service'. SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL PROHIBITION ON BILLING FOR TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE CALLS. Section 228(c)(6) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 228(c)(6)) is amended-- (1) by striking `or' at the end of subparagraph (C); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting a semicolon and `or'; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following: `(E) the calling party being assessed, by virtue of being asked to connect or otherwise transfer to a pay-per- call service, a charge for the call.'. SEC. 7. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS. Part IV of title VI of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: `SEC. 640. SCRAMBLING OF CABLE CHANNELS FOR NONSUBSCRIBERS. `(a) Requirement: In providing video programming unsuitable for children to any subscriber through a cable system, a cable operator shall fully scramble or otherwise fully block the video and audio portion of each channel carrying such programming so that one not a subscriber does not receive it. `(b) Definition: As used in this section, the term `scramble' means to rearrange the content of the signal of the programming so that the programming cannot be received by persons unauthorized to receive the programming.'. SEC. 8. CABLE OPERATOR REFUSAL TO CARRY CERTAIN PROGRAMS. (a) Public, Educational, and Governmental Channels: Section 611(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 531(e)) is amended by inserting before the period the following: `, except a cable operator may refuse to transmit any public access program or portion of a public access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity'. (b) Cable Channels for Commercial Use: Section 612(c)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S .C. 532(c)(2)) is amended by striking `an operator' and inserting `a cable operator may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity. ------------------------------ From: exujlg@exu.ericsson.se (Jon L. Gauthier) Subject: Recommended Least-Cost Network Design Programs? Date: 8 Feb 1995 17:10:48 GMT Organization: EUS/NI/N (Ericsson, Inc.) Reply-To: exujlg@exu.ericsson.se (Jon L. Gauthier) I'm looking for a program to design a multiplexed data network using the add algorithm (see 'Designing Data Networks', Robert L. Ellis, 1986, Prentice- Hall, ISBN 0-13-201864-0). Years ago I wrote one to design multi-drop networks (i.e. SNA) using the Esau-Williams algorithm, but never got around to implementing the add algorithm. Are there any public domain, or share-ware programs available that will take user-supplied tariff data? Or point me to some good commercial ones (like ComNet, BoNes, or whatever ...). Please email responses to me at the address below. Thanks in advance. Jon L. Gauthier Ericsson, Inc. EUS/NI/N Sr. Systems Programmer P.O. Box 833875 +1 214 997-0157 Richardson, TX 75083-3875 e-mail: exujlg@exu.ericsson.com, exu.exujlg@memo.ericsson.se ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Feb 95 23:33 EST From: Testmark Laboratories <0006718446@mcimail.com> Subject: Caller ID on Call Waiting/ADSI In Issue 81 of the TELECOM Digest, the Editor asked for information on Caller ID on Call Waiting to be uploaded again, which might have been referring to my recent submission entitled "How I beat Caller ID." I have been deluged with email requests about ADSI, so here is more detail on how ADSI actually works, as well as all the applicable Bellcore standards. The future of Caller ID lies with ADSI. The acronym stands for Analog Display Services Interface, and it is really a series of Bellcore documents that lay out the new standard. I have received several requests for the names of these standards, which are all covered in Bellcore FR-NWT-000012. They include: TR-NWT-001273 TR-NWT-000030 SR-INS-002461 SR-TSV-002476 SR-TSV-002697 SR-NWT-002495 SR-TSV-002578 In short, ADSI is provided in three different "levels" of service: Level 1: Calling name and number after the first ring. Level 2: Calling name and number with call waiting. Level 3: A telephone with a display screen. (The "D" in ADSI.) Remember, originally Caller ID was just the phone number of who was calling, displayed after the first ring. Then, the service was improved to show both the number AND the name of the incoming caller. ADSI Level 1 is just that service, and it displays the incoming number and name after the first incoming ring. ADSI Level 2 delivers the calling number and name during call waiting by sending a short, low level sound called CAS tone, which the person on the receiving end WILL hear for a tiny fraction of a second, but it's not obnoxious. The CAS tone alerts the ADSI Level 2 phone to open the receive path to the user's earpiece, then the phone accepts a short burst of Bell 202-type modem info. The reason that this "obsolete" modem type was used is simple -- it requires none of the tedious "training time" that modern Trellis-encoded modems must have to handshake. The entire interruption in the listening path is only about a third of a second, then the incoming call number and name are displayed. If the receiving party has Caller ID with call waiting enabled on their phone line, but the phone they currently are talking on is NOT an ADSI phone, they will hear the CAS tone, but when the CO doesn't get the proper response back from the phone, it will NOT send the burst of modem tone with information. The proper response is a DTMF digit, that is how ADSI phones talk back to the CO or an ADSI server not owned by the telco. By the way, if two users are off-hook on the line, and only one is ADSI Level 2 compliant, when a CAS tone comes in, there will be no Caller ID on call waiting, as an ADSI Level 2 device must momentarily hang up, and check the line voltage to see if another phone is off-hook before going back off-hook and acknowledging the CAS tone. This is to prevent annoying bursts of modem tone in POTS phone users' ears. (I'm not sure what happens if BOTH phones are ADSI Level 2 -- if the timing requirements are tight enough for when they briefly hang up and check, they wouldn't see each other, and BOTH would go back off-hook and acknowledge the CAS tone. I don't have time to research it right now. Perhaps someone from Bellcore could comment, if they know ...) ADSI Level 3 came about because Bellcore did a study to determine how úÿ to sell more features on a telephone line, such as call waiting, or call forwarding. (The RBOCs like to sell these extra features as they are revenue above the standard line charge, and quite profitable.) The study concluded that many people didn't buy extra features because they didn't want to fool with code sequences to enable/disable features, such as *69. Bellcore's solution was ADSI Level 3. These phones have a screen that must be 20 characters across by 6 rows, and can be 40 characters across by more rows. There are from four to six "softkeys." Menu trees of softkeys can be downloaded to an ADSI phone, and stored in memory as a "script." The user gets plain English displays (or the language of your choice), and can press softkeys to activate telco features, or even order new ones directly from the phone without talking to a customer representative! Some of the RBOCs have also expressed interest in using the ADSI Level 3 phones for electronic white and yellow pages, Bell Atlantic comes to mind. Please note that an ADSI Level 3 session is also initiated from a a privately-owned ADSI server by a brief CAS tone. (Things work differently between the ADSI phone and the CO itself to change calling features.) The actual modem communication is always ONE-WAY, from the CO or privately-owned ADSI server TO the ADSI phone. This is because most information will be sent TO the phone in real life, the phone merely needs to respond with brief sequences of DTMF tones to indicate what softkeys the user has pressed. The user won't hear any of this, the receive and transmit paths are opened during ADSI Level 3 communication. Also remember that the far-end of the call will NEVER be a human listener, it will either be the CO, or a private ADSI server owned by a business. If there is an "achilles heel" to ADSI, this is it ... it can take up to two minutes to download a maximum-length, complicated script to an ADSI phone. An ADSI-compliant phone must have enough memory to hold at least four different scripts, so if one calls the same ADSI servers on a regular basis, this might not be a problem. Also, a smart programmer will probably only download short pieces of script to a phone, and then, while the user is reading the new options, they can download a bit more. The REAL attraction of ADSI is that ANYONE can have their own ADSI server! After all, it's designed to work on analog lines. In a couple of years, a screen phone will be used to call the local video store, scroll through the new releases, and even reserve one for later pickup. Or, perhaps one could call Domino's, order a pizza and toppings. Just imagine calling a business, and instead of getting the tedious voice mail prompts telling you to press *1 to do something, you get a text screen that lets you scroll though a directory of employees and select who you want! The high end ADSI phones that I have tested even have things like pull-out QWERTY keyboards for data entry, PCMCIA Type I slots, "smart card" slots, and magnetic strip card readers! Bellcore deserves praise for this well thought out service, laid out in several Bellcore standards. Another smart move on their part is that they didn't bother submitting the standard to an international standards body to try to get it adopted. (We all know how long that takes.) Instead, they have been visiting the PTTs of dozens of countries, and trying to convince them to sign on to the ADSI standard as defined by Bellcore. Several European nations have expressed interest already, as have Pacific Rim nations, including China. ADSI is being field-trialed by a few RBOCS right now, including Ameritech in Chicago. Ameritech is selling high-end Philips P-100 ADSI screen phones at cost for only $200 each, and primarily marketing it for enhanced banking features from your home, along with the ability to easily order/change custom calling features. It is estimated that there will be between 5 and 15 million ADSI Level 3 screen phones in North America by 1998, and I suspect the higher number is more accurate. Once you've tried one, you don't want to give it up! It is my opinion that ADSI, along with V.34 modems giving true 115 kbps data throughput (via V.42bis compression), could be an ISDN BRI "killer" one-two punch. ISDN is STILL not ubiquitous, the local telcos don't understand it and don't sell or market it effectively, and it will NEVER be offered in the boondocks where I live. (Mayo, Kentucky) In closing, perhaps the Editor will permit a small plug for my employer. TestMark Labs is currently the ONLY alternative to Bellcore itself, if you want your ADSI product tested for compliance to the full Bellcore requirements. John Combs, Project Engineer, TestMark Laboratories, testmark@mcimail.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for resubmitting this. Even though it appeared here not that long ago, it seems many readers missed it the first time around, and I think this is an exciting development where Caller-ID is concerned; exciting enough to be certain all interested readers are informed. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Richard Baillie Subject: Information Wanted on Galaxy Worldwide Communications Date: Tue, 07 Feb 95 20:17:00 EST Looking for information on this company. Said to have been incorporated in July, 1994 after having launched as a division of a publicly traded (?) U.S. company the prior year. ------------------------------ From: BGOODIN@UNEX.UCLA.EDU (William R. Goodin) Subject: UCLA Short Course on Advanced Communication Systems Using DSP Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 10:18:52 Organization: UCLA Extension On April 3-7, 1995, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "Advanced Communication Systems Using Digital Signal Processing", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The instructors are Bernard Sklar, PhD, Communications Engineering Services, and frederick harris, MS, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Diego State University. This course provides comprehensive coverage of advanced digital commun- ications. It differs from other communications courses in its emphasis on applying modern digital signal processing techniques to the implementa- tion of communication systems. This makes the course essential for practitioners in the rapidly changing field. Error-correction coding, spread spectrum techniques, and bandwidth-efficient signaling are all discussed in detail. Basic digital signaling methods and the newest modulation-with-memory techniques are presented, along with trellis- coded modulation. Topics that are covered include: signal processing overview and baseband transmission; bandpass modulation and demodulation; digital signal processing tools and technology; non-recursive filters; channel coding: error detection and correction; defining, designing, and evaluating systems; signal conditioning; adaptive algorithms for communication systems; modulation and coding trade-offs and bandwidth-efficient signaling; and spread spectrum and multiple access techniques. Each participant receives a copy of the text, "Digital Communications- Fundamentals and Applications", by Bernard Sklar. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: (310) 825-1047 (310) 206-2815 fax mhenness@unex.ucla.edu ------------------------------ Date: 07 Feb 1995 07:23:35 GMT From: JeanBernard_Condat@email.FranceNet.fr (JeanBernard Condat) Organization: FranceNet Reply-To: JeanBernard_Condat@email.FranceNet.fr Subject: Teletel Micro: How to Win 402.36 FF Pro Connection Hour? Bonjour, A new product is born today on the France Telecom catalogue: the "Teletel Micro." It's a transparent access for micro-computers connection between 300 and 14,400 baud on a single phone line (V22, V22bis, V32, V32bis with MNP4 and V42, and perhaps V34 [=28,800 baud]). All the hosts will be connected to Transpac and available all over France. Five numbers are already available for first time tests and evaluations: - 36011414: 0.59 FF/min (0 FF for the host); - 36011616: 1.27 FF/min (33.37 FF/hour for the host); - 36011717: 2.19 FF/min (75.28 FF/hour for the host); - 36012828: 5.48 FF/min (226.31 FF/hour for the host); - 36012929: 9.29 FF/min (402.36 FF/hour for the host). The forwarding of a service on another service will be only possible on same level billing services. France Telecom look at some companies able to give new ideas and/or realisations on this Teletel Micro. The contact person is Mr. Gerard Monin (phone: +33 1 44447299, fax: +33 1 44447831). Jean-Bernard CONDAT +33 1 47874083, desk 47874949 IPA Groupe SVP fax +33 147878811 JeanBernard_Condat@email.FranceNet.FR telex 233999 S V P F B.P. 155, 93404 Saint-Ouen Cedex, France Pager Kobby: 06 49 09 52 ------------------------------ Date: 07 Feb 95 00:25:30 EST From: Jim Derdzinski <73114.3146@compuserve.com> Subject: Numbers Numbers Numbers ... I have been following the news accounts and the threads here regarding the suggestion that Chicago area telephone users dial 11 digits on all calls. First of all, I think this idea is absolutely nuts. It seemed perfectly logical to me that Ameritech was introducing 630 as an overlay code for cellular, pagers and other wireless services. That way, one could tell by the number who/what they were calling. It would also be quite simple as follows: 630 to 630 - dial seven digits, 312 to 312 - dial seven digits, 708 to 708 - dial seven digits, anything else, do the 1-plus NPA thing. Then we get all this crap from these other companies complaining about the impact it will supposedly have on their customers, and how Ameritech will take up all the "good" numbers, etc., etc. First of all, my decision to buy a cellular telephone or pager or whatever service would be based on a NEED for, the PRICE of and the QUALITY of the actual device/service -- not the NUMBER that it will be assigned. Who started this concept of "good" numbers anyway? I order whatever telephone service, the clerk gives me the number, and I'm on my way. Am I the only one who doesn't care about the number assignment? I am basically a regular POTS customer who doesn't yet have a need for these companies' services. However, after reading about the dial-11- digit idea, I can't help the feeling of being manipulated by a bunch of startup companies (most of whom probably won't even exist five to ten years from now) by having to dial 11 digits to call my upstairs neighbor. If these issues are such a problem, I think it's time for Bellcore to devise a new nationwide numbering plan that will address all of these problems. We did it 35-40 years ago and got over it, I think we can do it again. Any thoughts? ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #85 *****************************