TELECOM Digest Mon, 20 Feb 95 02:07:00 CST Volume 15 : Issue 107 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (Mike Simos) Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (Michael D. Maxfield) Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (Clarence Dold) Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (Tony Pelliccio) Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (Charles Manson) Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC (John Lundgren) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me Ahout 500 (phrantic@uwyo.edu) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Louis Judice) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Mitch Weiss) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Elizabeth Cashman) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Bob Niland) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Mike Pollock) Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 (Gary Novoseilski) Re: What is Loop Start? (R.J. Welsh) Re: What is Loop Start? (John Nagle) Re: What is Loop Start? (Matt Noah) Re: Telstra (Australia) Information Wanted (Peter Brace) Re: Telstra (Australia) Information Wanted (Antoineta D. Peneva) Re: The Philosophy of CallerID (John Lundgren) 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. 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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: simosm@io.org (Mike Simos) Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 15:17:06 -0500 Organization: Internex Online (io.org) Data: 416-363-4151 Voice: 416- 363-8676 In article , Charlie Mingo wrote: > According to yesterday's {New York Times}, Mitnick left voice mail for > Shimomura during the original Christmas break-in, and Shimomura > subsequently posted sound-files of these messages on the net. > Does anyone know where those sound files might be found? ftp.sdsc.edu /pub/security/sounds Mike ------------------------------ From: tweek@ccnet.com (The R R M Tweek) Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 11:36:56 -0800 Organization: O.A.P.C.E. Organization Against Politically Correct Etiquette mingo@panix.com (Charlie Mingo) writes: > According to yesterday's {New York Times}, Mitnick left voice mail for > Shimomura during the original Christmas break-in, and Shimomura > subsequently posted sound-files of these messages on the net. ftp://ftp/sdsc.edu/pub/security/sounds/tweedle-dee.au ftp://ftp/sdsc.edu/pub/security/sounds/tweedle-dum.au I also read that *someone* intends to consider posting a sound file of an interview with Mitnick in prison. The posting I read was unattributed so I have no idea who "someone" is. tweek@ccnet.com tweek@tweekco.ness.com WW4Net-1@11551 DoD #MCMLX N6QYA **** Regarding the Internet> Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 20:35:13 GMT Organization: a2i network > he is found guilty, of course. I wonder how long he will be in prison > before he has his own Internet connection set up on the sly? PAT] I find it interesting that he is actually prevented from using a telephone, even for voice calls, while in jail. He used a cellular phone for his "dialin", so there would be no endloop to trace, although eventually cellular triangulation was used to locate him. One more delay point, but only a good one if he moved occasionally, which he did not. My wife expressed the typical layman's amazement at the ability to do some of these things, but it is basically a violation of trust. Telco and Internet can only be broken because they are easy to use. He is slime. He is sleaze. Although I can't justify wanting to see him hang, I certainly hope he is prevented from touching a telephone for quite a long while. At least he has proven himself beyond trust as an "analyst". He won't be landing a fat job protecting us from himself ;-( Clarence A Dold - dold@rahul.net - Pope Valley & Napa CA. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The last word I got on his telephone call privileges was that at his request in court last week, he was granted permission to use the phone to call three people only: his attorney, his mother and his grandmother. The magistrate ordered prison officials to allow Mitnick to make a 'reasonable number of calls when he wishes to do so' to those three persons, whose telephone numbers are part of the order. Prison officials are required to (1) establish the connection to those numbers -- not allow Mitnick to do it; and (2) to 'periodically in the course of his conversations on the phone' monitor the line, listening to insure no 'computer or modem noises' are heard. In order that Mitnick can have his right to speak confidentially with his attorney, they must tell him when they wish to listen on the line for a few seconds at a time so that he and his attorney can remain silent during that interval if he wishes to do so. The court further admonished grandma not to use call- forwarding, three-way calling or any other 'extension of the connection' when speaking to Kevin; likewise his mother was admonished. I'm afraid this time its looking pretty grim for Kevin; if he gets out of this with another period of probation instead of a long time in prison, my advice would be he'd better start blowing his nose with a silk handkerchief. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony_Pelliccio@brown.edu (Tony Pelliccio) Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 17:54:45 GMT Organization: Brown University - Providence, RI USA In article , mingo@panix.com (Charlie Mingo) wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I'll tell you this, Shimomura got into {snip} > Its good to see Mitnick captured. I hope they hang him, if he is found > guilty, of course. I wonder how long he will be in prison before he has > his own Internet connection set up on the sly? PAT] A little Draconian aren't you Pat? In any case I'm sure that with proper supervision Mr. Mitnick would make a wonderful addition to the staff at NSA. Tony Pelliccio, KD1NR, VE ARRL/W5YI Tel. (401) 863-1880 Box 1908, Providence, RI 02912 Fax. (401) 863-2269 ------------------------------ From: manson@enterprise.America.com (Charles Manson) Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 21:57:27 -0500 Organization: PSS InterNet Services, InterNet in Fl 904 253 7100 Dear ole Kevin, the unluckest guy I've ever known. He will probably get around 30 years of prison, but will probably get out in about five years. I actually wish he would make bail; he would definitly skip the country, or attempt it. He is a brilliant person, but took things to extremes and didn't get on with his life. I hope the best for him. CM [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is no possibility of making bail since the court refused to set bail. Actually, in most federal courts it seems, things go one of two ways: either you are denied bail and held pending trial, or you are released on your own 'recognizance', or admission of the court's jurisdiction. Federal courts hardly ever ask for money as bond; not the way the state courts do. They can, but they seem to figure either you are not a danger to the community and smart enough to stick around (after all, where would you run to?) or you are likely to be a hassle so they keep you. If you have a family to support, employment and an employer who is *knowlegeable of the circumstances but willing to keep you on and help you* then most federal courts just let you go pending trial, and you report to a parole/probation officer in the meantime. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jlundgre@kn.PacBell.COM (John Lundgren) Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Captured in Raleigh, NC Date: 18 Feb 1995 09:55:14 GMT Organization: Pacific Bell Knowledge Network I would like to see him get the same treatment that the guy in the 'got milk?' commercial gets. How long are his arms? Three feet or so? Put a PC with a modem on a table outside his cell, about a meter or so away from the bars. Of course, there would be absolutely nothing in the cell to let him extend his reach. He would be saying, "Is this what Hell is like?" John Lundgren - Elec Tech - Info Tech Svcs Rancho Santiago Community College District 17th St. at Bristol \ Santa Ana, CA 92706 jlundgre@pop.rancho.cc.ca.us\jlundgre@kn.pacbell.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 From: phrantic@UWYO.EDU (THE PILOT) Date: 19 Feb 95 18:56:48 MST Reply-To: phrantic@UWYO.EDU Just curious for a follow up story on this. PAT promised in a TELECOM Digest a follow up story to the 'retired cab driver in NY'. So who was that guy?? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yeah, who was that masked man, anyway? PAT] ------------------------------ From: ljj@esr.hp.com (Louis Judice) Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 Date: 19 Feb 1995 18:41:14 GMT Organization: Hewlett Packard Patrick, Sounds like something out of the "X-Files" ... Remember, Trust No One! ;) /ljj [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Especially not Kevin Mitnick. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mweiss@interaccess.com (Mitch Weiss) Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 20:38:00 > This happened several days ago. You may remember we had an article here > listing the prefixes assigned in 500 service, and the telcos they were Hmmmm. Sounds mighty fishy. I don't have a clue who he would be. CIA? FBI? AT&T?? Anyway, be sure to tell us when you find out! Mitchell Weiss mweiss@interaccess.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I like the way you lumped those three all together in the same example: CIA, FBI, AT&T ... PAT] ------------------------------ From: cashmane@cs.pdx.edu (Elizabeth Cashman) Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 07:38:53 -0800 Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 In comp.dcom.telecom you write: > This happened several days ago. You may remember we had an article here > listing the prefixes assigned in 500 service, and the telcos they were > assigned to. A day or two after that article appeared, I got a note from > the sysadmin here saying he had received a call from someone who wanted > to know 'how to get in touch with TELECOM Digest'. Normally any inquiries [snip snip] I'll make this short because you get a lot of mail. Yep, this smells. I look forward to your story about this mole in comp.dcom.telecom. Elizabeth Cashman === cashmane@cs.pdx.edu === (Portland, OR) (one private line, no extras, one 2400b modem on a chair) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Feb 1995 11:01:11 -0700 From: Bob Niland Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 Organization: Colorado SuperNet Reply-To: rjn@csn.net In article TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > He told me he was located in Brooklyn, New York, on Avenue U near > Flatbush Avenue. He had gone to his local library to see what the > I'd like his name and address please, if possible. He wouldn't tell me > himself. This sounds suspiciously like a character named "G. Riley", a self- proclaimed "psychic detective", buddy of Yuri Geller, and who claims to be ex-NYPD. He was the kill-file poster child in sci.skeptic in years past, and since he was long ago added to my kill file, I have no idea if he still lurks on the net. If so, whatever he is up to, it is unlikely to be of service to you. Regards, 1001-A East Harmony Road Bob Niland Suite 503 Internet: rjn@csn.net Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 USA ------------------------------ From: pheel@panix.com (Mike Pollock) Subject: Re: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 Date: 19 Feb 1995 14:08:37 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC Pat, Yes! I have the oddest feeling that I know who this guy is ... sort of. Emmanuel Goldstein, of 2600 magazine, does a weekly telephone-oriented radio show on WBAI in New York every Wednesday at 10pm. A few months back the topic turned to exchange names (MUrray Hill, LAckawanna, DEcatur, etc.). Within minutes, this extremely literate sounding guy called in and started rattling off dozens of exchange names and their histories. In the following weeks this guy has called with other telephone related trivia, and with every call he displays an almost unnerving amount of both knowledge and curiousity about things telephonic. I believe he's mentioned that he has a 700 number, and/or an 800 number, and/or a 500 number. I also recall that he mentioned he lives in Brooklyn! úÿ Without getting too dramatic, whenever I hear him call I get an almost twilight zone-feeling of eerieness about him. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was the guy. Call WBAI in New York (call directory assistance for the number) Wednesday nights at 10p Eastern and maybe Emmanuel can point you in the right direction, or even get the guy to call. I hope that helps, but I'm not sure if I hope I'm right -- or wrong. Please keep me posted. Mike [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When I talked to this fellow he was quite literate; and everything I challenged him on (how he knew about a site in California; how he knew the way to contact site admins here) he had an answer for. I sort of tested him also on his knowledge of his immediate neighborhood from a very large, detailed map I have of Brooklyn/Queens. He has to be around there; he knew much more than even a typical resident on things like the *exact* boundary between Brooklyn and Queens. He could say without hesitation that the boundary runs down the middle of the Newtown River (Creek?) and 'when you get to Flushing and Metropolitan Avenues, at the Onderdonk House then a few yards southwest of there ends Queens and starts Brooklyn then it runs southeast on the southwest side of the street for several blocks and where Myrtle Avenue crosses the boundary between Brooklyn and Queens the boundary dips to the southwest and runs a half block down Myrtle Street then it goes southeast again until it reaches Bushwick and Highland Boulevard then it turns and goes northeast on the north side of Highland, more or less through the middle of Highland Park then when that line going straight northeast reaches the southwest corner of the Forest Park Golf Club it then drops and goes almost straight south crossing Jamaica Avenue at that point and Etna Street then a couple blocks later, Atlantic Avenue. As soon as it crosses Atlantic Avenue it runs northeast on the south side of Atlantic Avenue for about a block then it goes southeast again and crosses Conduit Boulevard at the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and a couple blocks later it reaches Linden Boulevard where it turns and runs almost straight east for a couple blocks with one side of Linden in Brooklyn and the other side in Queens. Then just before Linden reaches Conduit it turns south/southeast again for half a mile, southwest for half a mile, south for a couple blocks, southwest for a couple more blocks then it makes a sharp angle going southeast for about a block and crosses Shore Parkway then out into the water ... ' all that in more or less one long sentence. But even though at one point he said to me he was alone there, this was not true: Playing along with him a bit further, I remarked that he must be in the 77th police district ... that rotten hell hole that ten years ago had to be totally cleaned out with a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the police, etc. (I know the 77th is north of him a few miles, up in Bed-Stuy.) He thinks for a minute and I hear him ask someone 'is this the 77th police district' and a second or two later he is back and says no it is not. (I forget what number he said it was.) I did not comment on the fact that he spoke to someone else after earlier telling me no one was there ... that he was home alone just doing some research. I suppose a retired cab driver in Brooklyn would know every inch of the boundary line with Queens, what streets it ran down, etc. I still don't have an actual name, but I am sure by now EG has seen this and probably noted if it is the same person or not. PAT] ------------------------------ From: gary.novosielski@sbaonline.gov Organization: Small Business Administration Date: Sat, 11 Feb 95 05:18:41 -0400 Subject: A Strange Man Calls Me About 500 Reply-to: gnovosielski@mcimail.com > He told me he was located in Brooklyn, New York, on Avenue U near > Flatbush Avenue. He had gone to his local library to see what the > reference librarian could tell him. The librarian gave him a few sources > for telecom information and he 'decided' to try this Digest. I'd be willing to bet that this guy was one of the listeners to an FM radio show called "Off the Hook" which is broadcast Wednesdays from 10 to 11 pm over listener-sponsored WBAI in New York City on 99.5 MHz. The show is hosted and produced by "Emanuel Goldstein," publisher of 2600 Magazine, and the alt.2600 newsgroup, and is co-hosted by "Phibre Optik," that is except during the year he was in the federal pokey for a hacking-related offense. Actually, that's not altogether true. Phibre did manage to co-host several shows even *while* he was in the federal pokey. Yes, prison authorities do keep an approved list of numbers each inmate is permitted to dial on the prison COCOTs, and no they probably would *not* have approved WBAI's studio number. But they do not seem to have ever heard of a feature called Call Forwarding. But I digress ... "Off the Hook" did a segment on 500 numbers on the show one night, right around the time the list was published (late in Volume 14) and mentioned the list, and the TELECOM Digest issue by number, on the air. They gave the mit.edu newsgroup address as well. The show takes listener phone calls during roughly the second half hour, and one regular caller is a gent who says he's from Brooklyn, near Flatbush Avenue. Usually (and mysteriously) he's more often than not the first caller on the line each week, independent of which line they answer first. It's an admitted long-shot, but this may just be your guy. If it is, then from the sound of him he's a garden variety phone phreak or telecom junkie with time on his hands. As such, he's likely to know all about ANI, NPA 700, Belcore, and similar things the general public has never heard of, since they're common topics of conversation on the show. He's also likely to have a 700 number, a half dozen 800 numbers (some of them even his ) but may be quite truthful when he says he knows little about computers. If he gets to be first in line for the call-in segment the way I suspect he does, he'd need seven to ten POTS lines at his house, and some phones with redial buttons, since NYNEX now times out any don't-answer calls after 25 rings or so. If this is your guy, or if he fits this general pattern, then he's probably harmless enough. (Until he learns enough about the Internet to be dangerous.) Regards, GaryN GPN Consulting ------------------------------ From: rj_welsh@ix.netcom.com (RJ WELSH) Subject: Re: What is Loop Start? Date: 19 Feb 1995 23:38:17 GMT Organization: Netcom In garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu (Paul Garfield) writes: > Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as > different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line (although > I didn't know the details). Recently I've seen the following terms > applied to ANALOG lines: loop start, ground start, wink start, earth > recall. What do these mean? I always thought all analog lines were > the same. These terms are most certainly NOT relative to T1 lines!!! Ther refer to analog telephone line "start" signals that indicate to the CO (central office) that an off-hook condition exists and dial tone services are required. Loop start means that both battery and ground leads are present and that ground, therefore, is supplied by the CO. Ground start means that a local (local to the off-hook instrument) ground is used and represents a "single-lead" subscriber line. Ground start lines were and are not often used since the ground resistance between the subscriber and the CO is unpredictable at best and conductor pairs (rather than single copper wires) have been in use for a long time now. Wink start indicates a reversal of battery and ground, typically for less than 500 milliseconds, and is used for TRUNK, not LINE signalling. I won't waste bandwith correcting misconceptions about T1: buy a little book and read it. ------------------------------ From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) Subject: Re: What is Loop Start? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 03:08:26 GMT garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu (Paul Garfield) writes: > Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as > different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line (although > I didn't know the details). Recently I've seen the following terms > applied to ANALOG lines: loop start, ground start, wink start, earth > recall. What do these mean? I always thought all analog lines were > the same. On normal analog lines, going off-hook can indicate either an intent to originate a call or to answer one. When a subscriber goes off-hook with intent to originate but actually answers an incoming call, the situation called "glare" has occured. This is a big problem for heavily-used lines used for both incoming and outgoing calls, especially when the lines are terminated in a PBX, fax, or modem. So there needs to be some way to distinguish off-hook for originate from off-hook for answer, and that's what "ground start" is about. One lead is grounded at off-hook time to make the distinction. Ground start is usually used for PBX lines, but any line can be configured as ground start with most modern CO switches. Some modems (not many) will interface to a ground start line. Callback security devices need a ground start line to prevent glare-type spoofing. John Nagle ------------------------------ From: noah@rain.org (Matt Noah) Subject: Re: What is Loop Start? Date: Mon, 20 Feb 95 06:29:09 GMT garfield@vanilla.cs.umn.edu (Paul Garfield) wrote: > Long ago I remember terms like loop start and ground start as > different protocols for handling signaling bits on a T1 line (although > I didn't know the details). Recently I've seen the following terms > applied to ANALOG lines: loop start, ground start, wink start, earth > recall. What do these mean? I always thought all analog lines were > the same. These are ANALOG line signaling schemes. Loop Start lines are those associated almost exclusively with your POTS phone service at home. These same lines may carry additional CO features. The term Loop originates, I believe, from the fact that when a phone set went off-hook, a loop current flowed, signaling a line seizure to the CO. Ground Start lines were the old pay-phone style lines and analog CO-PBX signling lines. Ground Start was developed, I believe, to solve the problem of GLARE on phone lines. Wink Start has meaning both for E&M and Loop/Ground Start signaling. In basic terms, a "wink" is generated when the attached equipment is ready to accept dial digits. If a wink does not appear, there are no dial registers available to accept your digits! It sounds as if you need a good book on signaling. I suggest a trip to your local technical bookstore. Matt Noah ------------------------------ From: peterb@melbourne.DIALix.oz.au (Peter Brace) Subject: Re: Telstra (Australia) Information Wanted Date: 18 Feb 1995 23:57:07 +1100 Organization: DIALix Services, Melbourne, Australia. Last year: Figures are $A Before tax profit 2.5B After tax 1.7B Revenue 13.3B Spent on network capital investment 1.9B Contributes 2.1% of GNP (7.85B) 65,000 employees 8.8million phone services 36million calls/day Why do you ask? ------------------------------ From: adp620@lulu.acns.nwu.edu (Antoineta D. Peneva) Subject: Re: Telstra (Australia) Information Wanted Date: Sat, 18 Feb 1995 16:38:56 -0600 Organization: Kellogg Graduate School of Management In article , as029@un.seqeb.gov.au ( ANTHONY SPIERINGS) wrote: > For stocks, prognosis etc, perhaps you were thinking of OPTUS the > introduced competion. Some valuation information on Optus can be gleaned via the annual report of Optus shareholders; eg Mayne Nickless. Also: Telecom supplies documentation which is tabled in Parliament each year; so try your friendly Australian Government Publishing Service office (Brisbane or order by phone) or Telecom for a copy. Ian Dyson 'idyson@nwu.edu' J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business Northwestern University ------------------------------ From: jlundgre@kn.PacBell.COM (John Lundgren) Subject: Re: The Philosophy of CallerID Date: 18 Feb 1995 08:26:42 GMT Organization: Pacific Bell Knowledge Network Dave Levenson (dave@westmark.com) wrote: > Pat writes: >> Look at me. What do I know about anything, yet I talk all the time. PAT] > Which reminds me of one of my favorite movie lines: > Dorothy: "How can you talk if you don't have a brain?" > Scarecrow: "I don't know. But some people without brains do an > awful lot of talking." Man, you hit the nail on the head with that one. I was reading about Pat's cigarette 'habit' a few posts back, and I just watched 20/20's piece about people being addicted to caffiene. They used a more acceptable name for it: dependency syndrome, or something like that. Reminds me of the lady that lived in my apartments when I was manager. She had to go on permanent disability a few years before she retired. She had emphysema, but she still smoked. One time she forgot and lit up with the oxygen tubes still in her nose. Have you ever seen what happens to a fire when it's exposed to pure oxygen? Well, she learned that she couldn't do _that_ anymore. She was dependent on the oxygen, and if she wanted to go anywhere she had to drag along the portable unit, so she often just didn't go. One time she asked me to get her a pack of cigarettes from the store. I said that I didn't want to contribute to her emphysema problem by buying her them. She went off in a huff, saying that she would never ask me to buy her cigarettes again. Fine, I said. The next day, she asked if I would go to the store for her, for guess what. A few years later, the next door neighbor found her on the floor, face down, cold and stiff. No doubt, the smoking contributed to her shortened life. Cigarettes are indeed a powerful addiction. BTW, one of the people that they showed on 20/20 was a lady addicted to Mountain Dew. John Lundgren - Elec Tech - Info Tech Svcs Rancho Santiago Community College District 17th St. at Bristol \ Santa Ana, CA 92706 jlundgre@pop.rancho.cc.ca.us\jlundgre@kn.pacbell.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mountain Dew? Mountain Dew??? Do you remember that obnoxious commercial on television a few years ago where the ignorant hillbilly stands up and shouts, "Yah hoo!!! Moun-tain Dew!" I can't believe anyone would be addicted to that. Really? PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #107 ******************************