HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 02:56:18 GMT
From: edg@netcom.com (Ed Greenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AOS Payphones @#$%%%$#
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 920, Message 1 of 11

> [Moderator's Note: Well, genuine Bell payphones don't seem to have
> those problems, and they are routed through a variety of carriers
> where credit card and collect billing is concerned, although they all
> default to AT&T for coin calls. Maybe the COCOTS could start using a
> little better software.  I am not sympathetic.   PAT]

My brother-in-law has recently gone into the business of selling
COCOTs!  (That's what brothers-in-law are for, don't you know.)  While
I want my wife's brother to make money, I cringe every time he tells
me how much business he's doing, since each sale represents one more
place from which I can't make a phone call. :-) I told him so, of
course.

Torre tells me that he can now, in California, obtain a "Coin Line"
from Pacific Bell.  This line has the following features, detailed
discussion of which leads me to believe that Torre is telling the
truth, and even understands it :-)

* Pacific Bell operator collect and return.
* Pacific Bell/AT&T coin calling with standard Pacific Bell call
costing.
* Subscription to the operator service of your choice (Torre's phones
typically are subscribed to AT&T or MCI.  Having been burned himself, he
does not sell sleazy AOS service.)
* No computer in the phone.  
* No need to cut off the keypad.
* Uses standard Western Electric coin phone.
* This one is amazing:  Pacific Bell 611 (repair) service with
Email/Fax dispatch of the coin phone provider's serviceperson.

Torre states that he uses these lines for high traffic phones, and
uses more traditional COPT lines (not POTS lines) for lower traffic
areas.  The coin lines are about $250.00 to put in and about
$55/month, although they carry free local calling (owner keeps the
20c)

Is this service news, or an I only the last to hear about it?


Edward W. Greenberg  | Home: +1 408 283 0511 | edg@netcom.com
1600 Stokes St. #24  | Work: +1 408 764 5305 | DoD#: 0357
San Jose, CA  95126  | Fax:  +1 408 764 5003 | KM6CG (ex WB2GOH)
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 93 13:22:35 -0500
From: shri%unreal@cs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Good Opportunity For Fraud
Organization: UMass, Amherst MA + Temporal Sys & Computer Networks Bombay India
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 3, Message 2 of 12

In article <telecom12.928.6@eecs.nwu.edu> cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us wrote:

> I've been working on a credit card / phone project, and discovered
> something that is probably known to many but was news to me: My PIN is
> _on_ my calling card!  Recorded on Track 2, offset 23 characters after
> the SS.  In the clear.

I believe the bankcard passwords are also often in the clear in the
ISO mag stripe. Shudder! Remember having read something to that
effect on the net. Could some please deny ... please .. please!

Or do the ATMs check with the central computer each time (hope the
traffic is encrypted.)


shrikumar (shri@legato.cs.umass.edu)
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 92 04:47:07 PST
From: rlm@mcgort.COM (Robert McMillin)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: GTE Rural Area Phones Go Digital
Organization: PBSR (Private Beta Site Research - Certified NetWare Engineer)
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 920, Message 3 of 11

louie@sayshell.umd.edu (Louis A. Mamakos) writes:

> In article <telecom12.913.6@eecs.nwu.edu> jack@myamiga.mixcom.com
> writes:

>> The FCC allotted the Quitaque system up to 23 frequencies in the range
>> of 450 megahertz, Langley said. The system can handle as many as 92
>> simultaneous telephone conversations.

>> Skeptical residents warmed to the system after officials met with them
>> to explain benefits: No more lines broken by ice or high winds; no
>> threat of calls being monitored; greater clarity.

> So, let's see: the phone calls are transmitted over radio now, so that
> eliminates that threat of them being monitored?  And since they are
> not cellular telephone calls, it may even be legal to monitor them
> under the ECPA.

Perhaps the unwritten assumption made by the author here is that the
links are point-to-point microwave using parabolic dishes.  This would
make it harder, not impossible, to monitor calls than ordinary
cellular, which is omnidirectional.


| Robert McMillin                 PBSR - Private Beta Site Research          |
| Voice: (714) 638-2459           13611 Purdy St.  Garden Grove, CA 92644    |
|                                 USENET 'R' us                              |
| Internet: rlm@mcgort.COM        Certified NetWare Engineer - Novell PDP    |
| Unix Systems Engineer   Private Beta-Test Site Resource for Netware NLM's  |
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 16:12:11 EST
From: fraser@ccl2.eng.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Columbus Trade Point Center (Infop
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 914, Message 1 of 14

In August 1992, Columbus accepted the invitation of the United Nations
to establish a Trade Point Center (or "infoport") as part of a global
UN project called the Trade Efficiency Initiative.  Columbus will be
one of 16 sites around the world and the only site in North America.
Each Center will feature the use of video teleconferencing,
interactive information networks (offering bulletin boards, market
data, and trade information) and the use of electronic data
interchange (EDI), and related technologies.  The goals are to make
available and showcase paperless trading and to overcome many of the
traditional obstacles created by geographic, language, regulatory, and
commercial barriers.

Columbus Mayor Lashutka appointed a task force to prepare a
preliminary design.  Our plan so far is that the initial stages of
infoport will include (1) on-line access to trade information, (2) a
commercial and cargo transaction system, and (3) education, training,
and facilitation.  In later stages we might want to include other
services such as: a working group to share information on
international standards, telework centers to support telecommuting,
multimedia applications, and satellite connections.

I am a member of the task force and I've been asked to solicit input
on (1) ideas on specific services that could be part of infoport and
(2) resources to support infoport services.

If you want to help with ideas or resources, please respond by sending
me one page describing (1) your idea for a service that infoport might
provide, and/or (2) resources you can offer to make infoport happen.
You may send brochures, etc., on your organization, but the one page
will probably get more attention.

You can respond to this request (1) by sending me a printed one page,
(2) by sending electronic mail via CompuServe to 75300,2251, (3) by
sending electronic mail via Internet to fraser-j@eng.ohio-state.edu,
or (4) by using your personal computer and modem to call the local
bulletin board Strictly Business!  (614-583-9250, 8/N/1); upload your
response (in the new uploads file section) or leave a message (in the
Infoport message section) addressed to Jane Fraser.

We anticipate receiving many exciting ideas for infoport; therefore,
we may not be able to include your idea in initial infoport stages,
but we also plan to establish working groups that could proceed to
design later stages of infoport. Thanks for you help.

Please distribute this message to others who might be interested. 


Jane Fraser, Co-Director, Center for Advanced Study in
Telecommunications, The Ohio State University, 210 Baker Systems, 1971
Neil Avenue, Columubs, OH 43210.  614-459-7209 (voice), 614-292-7852
(fax), fraser-j@eng.ohio-state.edu.
Date: 26 Dec 1992 05:58:07 GMT
From: burgoyne@access.digex.com (J. Robert Burgoyne)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Sad to Say, Telemarketing Works
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 920, Message 8 of 11

haynes@cats.UCSC.EDU (Jim Haynes) writes:

> First, lets hope the judge recognizes this as a tragedy-of-the-commons
> situation. [reference to Garret Hardin's highly influential essay "The
> Tragedy of the Commons" in which he shows how an act which is
> insignificant when performed by one person becomes devastating to the
> community when everybody does it] Second, the fact that people
> actually respond to her sales pitch is, well, sickening.  Maybe
> instead of crusading for a national list of people who don't want to
> receive telephone solicitations, we should crusade for a list of those
> who do want them, and permit only the people on that list to be
> called.

Now just a moment.

Many people make their living through various telemarketing, both
inbound and outbound. I don't, but can understand and appreciate their
arguments.

The telephone is an undeniably essential tool of business. And the
role it plays and the services it provides are dynamic. Simple
mechanisms exist to prevent autodialers from reaching you. But others
see the autodialer as providing them with useful products and/or
services, and thus they don't object to the auto-calls, and further,
they respond to the offers.

We don't need more regulation. This country needs to rid itself of
regulation. This country needs to have more of its citizens accept
some minimal level of responsibility without resorting to whining for
the government to always do something.

If you don't like outbound automated calls, do something about it. As
my Dad says, there is no law which says that you must pick up your
phone when it rings.


A free market capitalist to the core, I am,

J. Robert Burgoyne		  Maryland FYI		  Laurel, Maryland
  301-317-0726 24 Hours	   burgoyne@access.digex.com	301-317-0587 FAX

       	     Have a Happy, Happy Holiday this year!
From: starr@hriso.att.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: It's Not a Bug, it's a Feature ...
Date: 31 Dec 92 20:35:20 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 927, Message 14 of 14

This past Christmas my sister gave my 13 year old son an AM radio kit.
One of the interesting things I discovered was that my son had never
heard of AM radio.

This brought back many memories of when I was his age, and how I
probably spent as much time with my transister AM radio as he does
with his video games.  I would spend many of a late evening hour
attempting to "DX" from my Baltimore home, with my best bets being New
Orleans and Toronto (an international DX!).  Occasionally, when I
travel home late at night, I'll still hunt around the AM dial on my
car radio and try to pick up distant cities.

Another memory is of the radio that was in my father's car in the
early '60s.  It was a tube job, and when you first turned it on, the
oscillator would hum loudly, and there would be a wait as the tubes
warmed up.  As the tubes hit operating tempature, the sound would
slowly increase until it inevitably become too loud.  And of course,
as we travelled, we would loose the signal everytime we went under a
bridge.

Included in my son's AM kit was a booklet of the "A-Zs of radio
communications".  My son was reading this, when he came to me
excitedly to show me the chapter on static.  His reaction was "Wow,
look what you can do with this!"  To paraphrase, the book stated that
AM radio can detect lightning storms well before they hit your area,
and if you want to know if a lightning storm is headed your way, turn
on your AM radio.

Gee, when I was growing up, I considered this feature an annoyance.


Michael Starr   starr@hriso.att.com   att!hriso!starr   attmail!starr


[Moderator's Note: Thanks for a great story to close this issue, and
Happy New Year to you  ... and all readers!    PAT]
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 02:05:47 GMT
From: dcg5662@hertz.njit.edu (Dave Grabowski)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Format of ZIP Code Bars on Envelopes
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 3, Message 6 of 12

  {The New York Times} had a short article with diagram that explained
the mysterious barcodes on January 28, 1990. Here's the gist (jist?)
of it:

  Bars are divided into sets of five. Within a set, each bar,
left-to-right, represents the numbers 7, 4, 2, 1, and 0. In each set
of bars, only two are tall. These two represent the numbers that
should be added to get a digit. (By convention, 7 + 4 = 0).

  The barcode starts and ends with a tall bar. The check digit is the
number that would be required so that the sum of all digits plus the
check digit is evenly divisible by ten. i.e., if the zip+4 code was
15230-9821 (digits add to 31), the check digit would be 9, because
31+9=40, which is divisible by 10.


Dave
Kappa Xi Kappa - Over & Above!                         dcg5662@hertz.njit.edu
9 Sussex Ave., Newark, NJ (car theft capital USA)   70721.2222@compuserve.com
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 92 11:54 CST
From: guy@ihlpw.att.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Sprint Dis-Cards
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 918, Message 7 of 9

> Pat writes [lots of stuff about credit law deleted]:

>> their system, and they'll have to fix it in a lawful manner. Why not
>> consider using 'voice prints'? I think Sprint has such a thing they
>> were testing, and 'voice prints' are almost foolproof, no?    PAT]

> No.  The basic problem of how to identify users of remote systems is
> one that lots of folks are trying to solve.  The current state of the

According to the following news clips, we may be using voice prints
for ATM access in a little more that a year:

AT&T IN THE NEWS *** ATMs LISTEN -- Someday, perhaps as soon as early
1994, account holders may be talking back to their automated teller
machine -- and it won't be in disgust.  AT&T and its computer unit,
NCR, the world's largest maker of computerized bank tellers, are
developing a new machine that identifies clients by voice, rather than
by passwords punched into a keyboard.  The voice-identification system
being tested by NCR and AT&T will make it more difficult for thieves
to use stolen ATM cards, most of which are now easily decipherable by
machines that read the card's magnetic strip and therefore the
password.  The new NCR automated tellers, set to be widely tested by
banks in mid-1993, use voice-identification technology and "smart
cards" that have no magnetic strips, both developed by AT&T Bell
Laboratories.  

Previously, voice-identification technology had been hampered by
laborious "maturing the template," teaching the computer to identify
the unique characteristics of a particular human voice so that it was
not fooled by similar voices.  AT&T technology, said John Gray,
assistant vice president of the NCR unit responsible for ATM machines,
takes fewer than eight attempts to "mature" the machine and can be
used by rattled, flu-stricken customers. [NY Times 12/9]
	
"We're testing the idea of using speech verification to get access
into your account," said Diane Wetherington, president of AT&T Smart
Cards.  Jim Adamson, vice president of NCR's self-service and
financial systems division, said it means increased security.
"Magnetic-strip cards are fairly easy to reproduce, and fraudulent
withdrawals made using counterfeit cards cost banks millions of
dollars per year," Adamson said.  The systems can be installed in
existing NCR teller machines.  AT&T plans to make the card "interface"
available to other terminal developers as well.  [NY Newsday 12/9]
From: PJJ125@URIACC.URI.EDU (Tony Pelliccio)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AOS Payphones @#%*&(*@#$&!
Date: 25 Dec 92 22:02:22 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 917, Message 14 of 17

Well ... taking the phone with you isn't the best idea in the world
especially if there happens to be a police cruiser nearby. Those
phones have ALWAYS had the capablility to block 10xxx calls since what
you punch on the pad isn't neccesarily what goes out. The CPU sees the
10xxx and routes you to that bogus "Press 1 for AT&T" prompt that
disables the ttp. I'd actually go one better ... just take a really
large rock and smash the dial pad. That'll put the phone out of
service for a short time. :)

 
Tony Pelliccio, N1MPQ/AG   pjj125 @ uriacc.uri.edu
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 21:41:51 GMT
From: bcapps@atlastele.com (Brent Capps)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Caller-ID and Forwarding
Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 926, Message 3 of 10

In article <telecom12.922.6@eecs.nwu.edu> Terry Begley <tbegley@
parrot.creighton.edu> writes:

> What happens when you call a phone that has been forwarded to another
> phone?  Does the ringing phone display the original calling number, or
> the number from which the call has been forwarded from?

> [Moderator's Note: The number of the ORIGINAL caller is displayed; and
> the number of the FORWARDING caller is charged for the cost if any.  PAT]

> In my experience, the number of the forwarding call is displayed.

> {Moderator's Note: I think the catch here is the cellular carrier does
> not deal with the caller-id when a call arrives at the cell switch.

Carriers don't use CLID, they use ANI.  These two technologies handle
this issue differently.  CLID, designed for residential use, sends the
number of the calling party.  ANI, designed for billing use, sends the
number of the billed party (i.e., the forwarding party).  Other
technologies that provide caller ID information (e.g., SMDI, ISDN)
tend to identify the calling party.  


Brent Capps | bcapps@agora.rain.com (gay stuff)
bcapps@atlastele.com (telecom stuff)
Date: 2 Jan 1993 01:13:16 GMT
From: petrilli@hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Chris Petrilli)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Yet Another Horrible AOS Story
Organization: Department of Redundency Department
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 1, Message 3 of 13

Just to increase the enjoyment for the holidays, I thought I'd share
my AOS story with everyone.

I was on the way from Austin, TX -- where I live -- to Dallas to visit
a friend, when I stoped in Garland to make a "routine" call to tell
him that I would be there shortly (Garland is 30 minutes or so from
where he lives), when I foolishly selected a "generic" pay phone at a
Texaco gas station.

Sicne both the origination number and the destination number were in
the 214 area code, I decided to place the call simply using a quarter
(hoping it wasn't long distance).  Anyway, I reached the party, and
spoke to them for a total of about five seconds before the phone
decided that it wanted to eat more of my money ... it asked for
something around $2.50 for the "next two minutes."  At that point, I
dialed the phone number against to use my SWBT phone card, hoping to
force it to deal with SWBT ... no go, I get a "bong" and a "Thank you
for using ATMT" (note this sounds A LOT like "The Phone Company"
AT&T).  I then dialed the standard 10288, the whole number, and then
receive a bong and the same "ATMT" message.  Not even forcing through
to AT&T ... I'm not a happy camper.

To solve the problem, I ended up driving about a block to a SWBT pay
phone that liked what I wanted better ... note that THIS pay phone
allowed me to make the full call on a quarter.


Chris Petrilli   petrilli@gnu.ai.mit.edu   I don't even speak for myself.
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1993 03:14:05 GMT
From: tbenham@cybernet.cse.fau.edu (Tom Benham)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: X.25 Switch Vendor Info Please
Organization: Cybernet BBS, Boca Raton, Florida
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 4, Message 2 of 12

rpw3@rigden.wpd.sgi.com (Rob Warnock) writes:

> jchen@ctt.bellcore.com writes:

>> A foreign company would like to purchase a few small X.25 switches
>> from an US company. I am collecting information for them.

> Be aware that X.25 packet switches fall under the COCOM export
> controls.  You will need an export license, and can't ship at all to
> some countries.  As Phil Karn said at the time:

I don't know about export controls, but IBM sells software that runs
on PCs that lets you build an X.25 net.  A friend of mine and I were
thinking of selling it in the Carribean, but opted for other greener
pastures.  In addition, you can also build a very expensive X.25 net
on an SNA backbone.  I know no one in his right mind would want to do
this, but it is possible.


Tom
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 11:15:44 -0500
From: Joe.Bergstein@p501.f544.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Joe Bergstein)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Facilities for Low Cost, Non-US Access to US BBS's
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 919, Message 11 of 14

I've responded via Netmail to several recent inquiries regarding both
domestic and international access to BBS or other online systems.
Compuserve offers a service called "Network End User Billing" which
will allow users to connect to your BBS via compuserve at a rate of
$7.50 per hour (up to 9600 bps).  This is generally cheaper than DDD
or 800 cost, and the advantage for users is that the price uniform
throughout the day, and the rate is distance insensitive.

But, the best thing of all, is that if your BBS users generate $3,500
or more of connect time to your BBS via Compuserve, (equivalent to
466.67 hours) then the BBS operator pays _NOTHING_ for the 9600 bps
dedicated circuit and associated eight port X.25 PAD which Compuserve
installs to connect to your system.

Best way to find out more is for you or and reader to contact any
CompuServe sales rep directly for latest details and pricing.


Happy holidays,

Regards,

Joe Bergstein
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 02:35:18 GMT
From: mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: GTE Rural Area Phones Go Digital
Organization: The Programmer's Pit Stop, Ann Arbor MI
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 922, Message 3 of 10

In article <telecom12.920.3@eecs.nwu.edu> rlm@mcgort.COM (Robert
McMillin) writes:

>> The FCC allotted the Quitaque system up to 23 frequencies in the range
>> of 450 megahertz, Langley said. The system can handle as many as 92

> Perhaps the unwritten assumption made by the author here is that the
> links are point-to-point microwave using parabolic dishes.  This would
> make it harder, not impossible, to monitor calls than ordinary
> cellular, which is omnidirectional.

Last time I checked, 450MHz was not considered in the microwave range.
While it is possible to design a directional antenna setup for such a
low frequency, the signal is still going to spread out a great deal
more than something in the 10GHz range or so.  And if they keep the
power low enough to reduce eavesdropping, they'll probably get
complaints from the users when propagation gets bad and they start
getting static or dropouts.


Marc Unangst, N8VRH      mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us