HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 23:21:18 CDT
From: mjg@nwu.edu (Michael J Graven)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: What it Costs to Have the President Over
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 745, Message 3 of 10

Pat notes:

> [Moderator's Note: Taxpayers certainly do not owe free phone service 
> to the members of the press. Let them put quarters in pay phones like the
> rest of us.  PAT]

That was the case at Bush's visit to Motorola in Schaumburg, IL on
Friday.  The main camera platform had available several IBT
"Charge-a-call" desk-set phones.  They were not coin-capable; just
card and collect dialling.  There were line audio mults available, but
I didn't notice radio telco ties.

One of the political analysts from Channel 2, BTW, was extremely
amused by AT&T's automated collect call system.  Thought it was the
greatest thing since sliced bread.  Called his wife on it twice, just
for kicks.

Of course, this was all sort of moot, as there was probably a higher
concentration of radiotelephone and radio paging devices there than
any other place in the city at the time.  Fully 90% of the working
press were wearing Bravo pagers, and about half of those had
cellphones as well.


Michael    mjg@nwu.edu
Date: 30 SEP 92 02:37   
From: MPA15AB!RANDY@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Broken Phones
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 749, Message 8 of 13

> [Moderator's Note: I'm one of those people who when they see or
> experience a pay phone out of order actually calls it in to repair
> service. It is interesting to go past a week later and see how many of
> the called in repairs have actually been done and how many of the pay
> phones are still out of order.  PAT]

Once, I was driving in Philadelphia and had to make a phone call.  It
was hard enough finding any pay phones, but every one I did find was
broken in some way.  When I finally found one that worked, I reported
as many as I could remember.  Either no one reports broken phones, the
telco doesn't fix them, or people break them faster.


Randy Gellens            randy%mpa15ab@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com
>>>>>>> If mail bounces, forward to rgellens@mcimail.com <<<<<<<<
Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 16:35:58 GMT
From: josh@happy-man.com (Joshua_Putnam)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: U.S. Cable Television Re-Regulation
Reply-To: Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com
Organization: Happy Man Corp., Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 732, Message 4 of 8

>>> Having your own TV antenna is now impossible in many places because of
>>> real estate covenants.  Ask any ham radio operator.

I've heard of covenants that prohibit outdoor antennas, but that still
leaves the possibility of indoor antennas.  My TV antenna is in the
attic and works just as well as it did outdoors, but now it doesn't
get soaked in salt spray all winter so the antenna does not corrode
away and the signal amp required in our marginal reception area does
not go bad every year like it used to.

(Your construction practices and building codes may vary, so obviously
this is not a universal solution.)


Joshua_Putnam@happy-man.com    Happy Man Corp.  206/463-9399 x102
4410 SW Pt. Robinson Rd., Vashon Island, WA  98070-7399  fax x108
We publish SOLID VALUE for the intelligent investor.  NextMail OK
Info free; sample $20: Send POSTAL addr: Solid-Value@happy-man.com
From: wah@zach.fit.edu ( Bill Huttig)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Centel of Florida Merging Wiith "Sprint Corporation"
Date: 2 Oct 92 15:02:30 GMT
Organization: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne USA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 754, Message 4 of 13

Just a short history on Sprint since PAT missed the change of owner.

Sprint was founded by some railroad company and stood for Southern
Pacific Railway(?) Internal Network (something like that) They sold it
to GTE ... GTE also owned GTE Telenet (packet net).

Another company called US TELECOM was owned by United Telephone which
owned Unitel (packet net).

Back in July, 1986 they merged the four subsidaries into US Sprint
Ltd.  and used the names US Sprint for the IXC and Telenet for the
Packet it was 50% owned by United and 50% by GTE ... over the years
GTE sold it percent to United and finally sold the rest this year at
that time United Telephone Changed its name to Sprint.

Then Sprint decided to merge with Centel ...

(I saw a few United Telephone Compnay of Florida Trucks with the
Sprint logo on instead of the United logo.)


Bill


[Moderator's Note: US Telecom should not be confused with Telecom*USA
which merged with MCI several months ago. And Sprint was the Southern
Pacific Railroad's internal telecom operation. When they upgraded it
they decided to sell the excess capacity to the public probably since
they had so many phreaks among the public using it anyway; why not
make some money from it. :)   PAT]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 09:35 EDT
From: jbutz@homxa.att.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: 800 Numbers Restricted by NYTel?
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 733, Message 6 of 13

henry@ads.com writes:

> Now I just don't understand this.  Why on earth would a public phone
> on the street be restricted from placing 800 calls?  Any clues?

Phones block 800 service for a number of reasons.  AOS's do it because
800 calls do not generate any revenue.  AOSs don't want callers using
their resources to make free calls, when they typically charge $3 to
$4 for a three minute local call.

Blocking 800 is sometimes done for fraud prevention.  One example is
street drug dealers.  They often use payphones as their "office
phones."  Clients usually contact their dealers through a pager, and
paging companies often use 800 numbers.  This may not be a big issue
any longer, since most pagers display the caller info.  Payphones in
high crime areas often have both calling card blocked, and 800
blocked, about the only thing callers can do is to drop in coins or
call collect.

Also, blocking 800 is one way of preventing the caller from reaching
the long distance carrier of their choice.  Blocking LD access codes
is the other method.  Although the practice of denying the LD carrier
choice is illegal, it is not uncommon to find phones that block the LD
access code.

There are probably a whole slew of other reasons for 800 blocking that
a facilities or operations type person would know about.  War stories
anyone?


J Butz			ER700 System Engineering
jbutz@homxa.att.com	AT&T-BL
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 23:07:32 GMT
From: barr@nakita.trl.OZ.AU (David Barr)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Unusual Busy Signal
Organization: Telecom Research Labs, Melbourne, Australia
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 747, Message 13 of 14

JOHN SCHMIDT <schmidt@auvax1.adelphi.edu> writes:

> They have a pretty decent phone book, about 1" thick, includes white
> and yellow pages, printed from opposite ends of the directory, upside
> down from each other.  You flip the directory over vertically to
> switch from white to yellow pages!  Does anyone know anywhere that
> does this?  

Telecom Australia does this for the phone books of area codes with
smaller populations.  For example, the phone book for (002) southern
Tasmania (The triangular shaped island below the Australian mainland).


David Barr                                 
Telecom Research Laboratories   Internet: d.barr@trl.oz.au
M5/770 Blackburn Road           Phone:    +61 3 253 6151
Clayton  VIC  3168  Australia   Fax:      +61 3 253 6362
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 23:16:02 GMT
From: astroatc!vidiot!madnix!zaphod@spool.cs.wisc.edu (Ron Bean)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: A Good Way to Play a Micro Tape Over the Phone?
Organization: ARP Software
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 760, Message 11 of 12

aa571@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Gail  M. Hall) writes:
 
> However, some doctors still like to use their little dictating
> machines that they can carry in their pockets and would like their
> secretaries to play the tape over the phone into my system.

> Normally this is a very unsatisfactory process because the machine
> they use is very "low-fi" and then with the relatively low fi from the
> phone line, what we end up with is a mess.
 
   If the micro-tape machine has an earphone jack, you may be able to
plug in a better (larger) speaker. I used to do this kind of thing
with transistor radios when I was a kid, and it really does make them
sound better. I doubt if you could buy one, you'd have to build it
yourself. All you need is a speaker, a plug, some wire, and some kind
of box to put it in.


zaphod@madnix.UUCP (Ron Bean)   uwvax!astroatc!nicmad!madnix!zaphod
From: Paul.Robinson@f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Paul Robinson)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Durham Phone Service
Date: 27 Sep 92 09:52:54 GMT
Reply-To: TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 740, Message 4 of 9

In TELECOM V12 #735, Gerald Ruderman said:
 
> I believe that the local carrier for Research Triangle Park is
> GTE. I was not impressed with GTE's local service in Durham/RTP
> when I lived there from 86-89.
  
Could that be where that famous old song, "I've gotta leave old
Durham Town ..." have come from?
 
 
Paul Robinson    TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM


[Moderator's Note: Cute. I've actually heard of companies which felt
their phone service was so bad they moved out of the area -- on that
reason alone, the phone service. To me, that seems incredible, and I
have worked in a few large phone installations in my lifetime.  PAT]
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 15:25:41 -0500
From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom@eecs.nwu.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Administrivia: Issues 732, 733, 734
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 735, Message 1 of 13

This machine, delta.eecs.nwu.edu was up and down all day Saturday. The
sysadmin was doing some work and the machine seemed to lose track of
where the directories were located, and my home directory. Then it got
restarted and the machine was up a few minutes and down again.

I am unsure what happened with issues 732, 733 and 734. I am hoping
everyone got at least one copy of each. Chances are likely some people
got two or three of each  :(.   


PAT
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:45:47 -0700
From: henry@ads.com (Henry Mensch)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AT&T Public Phone 2000
Reply-To: henry@ads.com
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 750, Message 12 of 13

SKASS@drew.drew.edu wrote:

> In Issue 745, Tony Harminc <TONY@VM1.MCGILL.CA> writes:

>> You'll be tickled even pinker when you don't get the bill.

> I made two short calls on a 2000 in late August, using my AT&T Calling
> Card.  To my surprise, I received a bill from AT&T instead of a charge
> in the AT&T section of my NJ Bell bill.  So far as I can tell, my
> Reach Out America charges did not apply to the long-distance charge
> portion of the bill.  I almost tossed the letter, thinking it was an
> ad for some new service, until I noticed the first class postage.

Also worth noting: I tried to use one of these devices at JFK last
year (and was not successful; despite apparent correct configuration,
it would not talk to my true Hayes or Telebit modems here) ... six
months later I got a bill for $11.00 which I've written them about: "I
won't pay this bill because the device did not work." They keep
sending bills, but they don't get antsy or urgent about it ...


# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <henry@ads.com>
Date: 26 Sep 1992 17:04:30 GMT
From: rnewman@bbn.com (Ron Newman)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Bargain COCOT - Flat Rate LD!
Organization: Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 734, Message 10 of 13

In article <telecom12.725.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, Frank.Prindle@lambada.
oit.unc.edu (Frank Prindle) writes:

> I just happened upon a COCOT in a restaurant the other night which,
> for any 1+ LD call dialed (at least PA-NJ and PA-CA) would announce
> "please deposit 45 cents for nine minutes"....
> ... it's certainly refreshing to see a COCOT that isn't out to rip you off.

In the Boston area, it's common to see COCOTs advertising long
distance calls to anywhere in the U.S. for a coin deposit of 25
cents/minute.

While this is more expensive than a direct-dial call from home, it's a
lot cheaper than the standard New England Telephone/AT&T coin rates,
especially for short calls.


Ron Newman	rnewman@bbn.com
Date: 2 Oct 92 13:19:23 GMT
From: shagan@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Susan Hagan)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Two-Line Switching Device
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 757, Message 8 of 13

Bob_Frankston@frankston.com writes:

> I think that Radio Shack used to and might still sell a device
> designed for sharing an answering machine on two lines.  It will
> respond to a call coming in on either line.  I presume that the first
> line is still the default for outgoing.  Unlike the switch box, it
> would be automatic.  Since I never used the device, I might be wrong.

Panasonic makes a couple of "Two-Line Answering Machines".  They are
available from office supply catalogs.  We used to have one in the
department I used to work in.  I don't know the specific model number
of the unit but I can find out if there is a real interest.

You can set the machine to answer either line or both.  All the
messages are recorded on one tape and a voice imprint system records
the day and time of the call and what line it came in on.


Susan R. Hagan (shagan@gandalf.rutgers.edu) 
Publications Coordinator - User Services
Rutgers University Computing Services
Date: 5 Oct 92 03:59:17 EDT
From: Barton F. Bruce <Barton.Bruce@camb.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: NYTel Problems
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 761, Message 4 of 8

In article <telecom12.740.7@eecs.nwu.edu>, dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave
Niebuhr) writes:

> In TELECOM Digest, Volume 12, Issue 735 Douglas Scott Reuben
> <DREUBEN@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU> writes:

>> On 24 Sep 92 16:52:40 GMT, henry@ads.com (Henry Mensch) wrote:

>> Then, the next day, call 611. Report the payphone and the problem.
>> Since this is NYNEX, there is a 70% chance they won't fix it.

> Let's make that 90% as per my experience.

>> Isn't NYNEX just SO competent? And some people say GTE is bad ...:)  

> NYNEX/NYTel is USELESS!

The 'office-of-the-President' hot line number in MA is via the
main switchboard at 617-743-9800 -- ask for 'Executive Appeals'.

I am NO great lover of NYNEX or its 'children', but they *ARE*
changing -- give them some credit.

Our company is 'served' by NET&T here in MA and by NYTEL in NY. Though
I agree NYTEL may have its records/billing/repair systems badly messed
up, and they have high TT charges when others are dropping them and
they have many other problems, they DO HAVE SOME *GOOD* features!

Those good features are brought to you by some younger/newer
management that is trying very hard to change the company and who are
daily more frustrated by it than you possibly ever could be.

We have DDS-II (aka BDS or non-hubbed DDS) that is available
intra-LATA and on FCC tariffs at a fraction of the price of the old
DDS rates. We have NRS available that actually lets you log in to
THEIR DACS and reconfigure where each of your DS0s connects to. Do you
have these?

And now there is Frame Relay (in use in NY, in field trial in MA --
but will be available soon). 56 kb F/R costs DDS-II normal charges to
the nearest DACS -- if it is in your local CO, that means $80. Then
you add a $67 port charge into the F/R net -- that is it. You get the
first virtual circuit included. The next five or so are $10, then next
five are $5, and all rest are $1.

An Internet access provider can feed a T1 into the F/R net off a
single cisco port and then feed *HUNDREDS* of modest traffic 56kb
users for far less than ever before. There is no mileage component
other than getting to the nearest DACS. This is goodness. Do you have
it in your state?

NET&T has a user's group that meets periodically. NYNEX management
folks from White Plains come to talk and listen. And they DO listen,
and they do give candid no BS answers. Does your telco do this?

NET&T is even getting connected to the Internet via NEARNET! 

So bitch and natter all you want, but be aware of what is changing; GO
TO DPU hearings; stand up and SPEAK; ask your local politician why the
MBTA (that owns some abandoned rail lines being converted to bike
paths) seems to obstruct bypass carrier's attempts to bury fiber on
such routes (might they have NET&T 'friends'?), and in general get
involved.

TELCOs can change, and you can help :-)
From: shri%unreal@cs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: The Smallest US Telephone Company
Date: 1 Oct 92 03:57:20 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 751, Message 7 of 14

In article <telecom12.748.5@eecs.nwu.edu> ...

> [Moderator's Note: We've discussed Buena Vista here before, and [..] not
 ...
> the smallest phone company however. There is (or was) a guy in
> Colorado who owned a telco with *eight* subscribers. Does anyone
> remember the name of that one?    PAT]

Still on my one track ...

Which is the smallest long distance company ?

I suppose thats an ill-defined question, if ever there was one.

So let's say I mean ...

    Which is the IEC with the smallest turn-over?
    Smallest investment?
    Smallest subscriber base (counting default IEC selection for line)?
     ... and such.


shrikumar ( shri@legato.cs.umass.edu, shri@iucaa.ernet.in )
Date: 1 Oct 92 03:39:52 GMT
From: B521307@vmtecqro.qro.itesm.mx (Benjamin Millan Garcia)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Need Information About PM and FM Actual Applications
Organization: Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Queretaro
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 749, Message 5 of 13

Hello, we are students and we would like to know about pulse and
frequency modulation, because we are coursing a lab in the University,
where they ask for this information. We will thank any help on these
topics.


b521307@vmtecqro.qro.itesm.mx     b248152@vmtecqro.qro.itesm.mx
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 92 20:21:43 -0500
From: dmiller@elli.une.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: My Favourite 'Stupid' Intercept
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 753, Message 17 of 18

As some readers may know, the second telecommunications carrier
(Optus) is currently setting up shop in Oz.  The international access
code for Optus is 0099 (versus the "normal" 0011), with service
currently to New Zealand only.

When one dials 0099 + any country code besides New Zealand, the
intercept is:

   Optus service to the country you have dialed is not yet
   available.  Please try again, and if unsuccessful call the
   operator on 0100.  This is a Telecom announcement.

While I appreciate the speed with which the industry progresses,
I somehow doubt the message was well thought out ...


Best regards,

David M Miller     Internet:    dmiller@elli.une.edu.au
PO Box 695         CompuServe:  100032,341
Hornsby NSW 2077   Australia
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 18:42:52 GMT
From: rmintz@ecst.csuchico.edu (Rich Mintz)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Funny 800 Number Spelling
Organization: California State University, Chico
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 735, Message 12 of 13

I don't remember what the product or number was, but I can remember a
couple of years ago seeing a commercial that used an eight-letter word
as an easy way to remember the part of the phone number after the "1
800". The gimick relied on the customer being dumb enough to dial the
eighth digit, corresponding to the eighth letter, which would be
ignored by the equipment processing the call (it stops listening and
starts putting the call through after the "1" + ten digits).


Rich
From: rcarter@gizmo.nic.ddn.mil (Page Carter)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Internet White Pages
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:47:27 GMT
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 754, Message 7 of 13

This is to try to clarify, for the moment, the policy on the
registration of Internet users at the NIC. The NIC, at the direction
of the National Science Foundation (NSF), no longer accepts
registration of Internet users, unless they are contact persons for
registered networks, domains, hosts, etc. The following is from a
recent statement circulated on the "comm-priv" forum by Stephen Wolff,
director of the NSF:


 Subject: Re: the NIC ( aka: "those jokers in the NIC")
 Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 14:12:56 EDT
 From: Stephen Wolff <steve@cise.cise.nsf.gov>
 Status: OR

The NIC's been taking a lot of undeserved heat for what was an NSF
decision.

DISA has the NIC under contract to serve the DDN.  They have augmented
the contract to supply **some** services to the rest of the Internet
community; this augmentation is paid for by NSF by transferring funds
monthly to DISA.

When we were negotiating the terms and conditions (and cost) of this
augmentation, we said "Don't register hosts, and don't register
people."  One reason was to save a little money, but the primary
reason (as has been alluded to already on this list) is that without
central **control** over which hosts and which people use the Internet
no one but a fool would accept the (centralized) **responsibility** of
keeping such a "registry" up to date.  Only a decentralized directory
("registry" sounds too big-brother-ish) of people makes sense.

DARPA and NSF have jointly supported the Field Operational X.500 (FOX)
experiment, with participation of USC-ISI, SRI, Merit, and
Nysernet/PSI.  This work has been regularly reported to IETF, and a
number of IDs and RFCs have been issued.  The experiment is still
rather small-scale, as together with the European X.500 trials still
(I believe) fewer than a million people are registered worldwide.  For
a sample, telnet to wp.nyser.net and login as fred.

Recently, the NSF conducted a competitive solicitation for
Registration/ Information/Directory services for the NREN program and
the Internet.  This process has nearly run its course, and we hope
soon to be able to offer much more comprehensive whois/white_pages
service than ever before.  Stay tuned.