HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 00:24:15 -0600
From: TELECOM Moderator <telecom>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Excuse my Error, Please
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 860, Message 9 of 9

I got his name wrong yesterday. It is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger. I stand
corrected and apologize for the error.


Patrick Townson
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 21:38 GMT
From: Richard Cox <mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Tariff Comparisons Wanted                                 
Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 865, Message 7 of 10

I am researching into the variations in telco tariffs across the USA
and Canada.  It would be a considerable help if readers of this digest
could Email me as much detail of *their* *local* tariff as they can
manage.

The sort of detail I need includes:

Different rates of line rental - does it matter what the line terminates on?
What are the charges for ISDN lines, where they are available?
Are ISDN calls charged at different rates?
Calls within a LATA - when are they chargeable?
800 calls - how are these charged: do 800-portable numbers cost more per call
700 calls - ditto.

Particular interest in calls that for whatever reason access carriers
via the less usual channels ... is it Feature Group D on 950 numbers?

I am trying to establish the width of the variation, not the average!
(I want to include the material in a conference presentation in London
soon, dealing with equal access, numbering, tariffing and billing.
The stories in this Digest on carrier billing, 900 scams, etc have all
been very helpful).

All information will be gratefully acknowledged - but the identity of
sources will remain confidential unless they request otherwise!


Richard Cox

Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF
Voice: +44 222 747111      Fax: +44 222 711111      VoiceMail: +44 399 870101
E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk     Not diallable on 511 in mainland USA
From: shobhana@shakti.ncst.ernet.in (Shobhana)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Recommendations For Modems + Terminal Server Rack?
Date: 21 Nov 92 07:29:00 GMT
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 864, Message 3 of 15

We need to have dial-up connectivity at our facility here -- we'll be
looking to provide about 50 lines. Given that our facility has a
TCP/IP based network with workstations connected over ethernet, what
configuration you would recommend for a modem + terminal server rack?

Is there any way to avoid using 50 modems? What about PBXes? Would
they be useful?

I would appreciate E-mail responses since our site tends to lose news
sometimes. Please reply to shobhana@shakti.ncst.ernet.in.


Thanks in advance,

Shobhana
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 14:24:03 CST
From: todd@valinor.mythical.com (Todd Lawrence)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Computerized Sales Call "Locked" My Line
Organization: (What? Organized??) - Mythical Computer Systems
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 847, Message 5 of 17

clifto@indep1.UUCP (Cliff Sharp) writes:

>> [Moderator's Note: Well you are right of course that 20-30 seconds
>> can mean life or death under some conditions. But the current telco
>> technology is such that if the man wants his phone line back (more or
>> less) immediatly, he will need to disconnect and wait about that
>> period of time for the CO to get rid of the other party who is hanging
>> on the line.  PAT]

>    I've found that (at least locally) I can get those calls off the
> line by shorting tip to ring.  Not a _nice_ thing to do, but very
> effective.  I figure the total impedance in the runs from the CO to
> the house should very effectively prevent any real burnout, and so far
> I've been right (or lucky) about that.  Don't know _why_ it works, but
> it does.

Just to re-iterate, as Pat originally stated, in an ESS environment,
you will recieve your dialtone after closing the switchhook for 30-40
sec's or so (depending on your particular switch/configuration/system
load).  In a step system you will never get your dialtone back unless
the calling party hangs up first (unless an addon (at the CO) disconn-
ecting device has been added on your switch -- unfortunately not the
case in my hometown growing up!).

Also be advised for those of you trying the "shorting ring to tip"
trick, doing so as far as I can tell would not cause any damage to the
system per say, however on an ESS switch, doing so will cause a "line
showering" ("SHWL Etc.." for those who like telco acronyms) error to
appear on the local maintenance TTY and if the telco see enough of
these they may dispach a repairman out to see if he can determine why.
Line showering also indicates partial short conditions or sometimes
impedance mismatch situations.


Todd Lawrence    todd@valinor.mythical.com    uunet!valinor!todd
From: gould@waterloo.hp.com (Dan Gould)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Looking for Caller Display Hardware
Date: 15 Nov 92 19:40:54 GMT
Organization: HP Panacom Div Waterloo ON Canada
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 850, Message 12 of 13

I am looking for a hardware software package to use my Telco's caller
display feature with a PC running windows. I would like incoming calls
to be announced by a window popping up. I would also like to give the
software a list of numbers I know about so that the caller's name will
also appear.

It should interface to the PC via a serial port if possible.

Thank you in advance for any leads you may be able to offer.


Dan Gould    gould@arris.on.ca
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 19:00:00 -0500
From: Nigel Allen <nigel.allen@canrem.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Transcontinental ISDN Project (TRIP '92)
Organization: Echo Beach
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 852, Message 3 of 14

Many telephone companies, including Bell Canada, will be offering 
ISDN demonstrations in connection with the Transcontinental ISDN 
Project (TRIP '92) next week.

TRIP '92 will focus on three major elements - demonstrations of 
actual applications of ISDN, national interconnectivity of ISDN 
through the interexchange network, and a series of activities 
centered in the Washington area.

For information about Bell Canada's participation in TRIP, call the 
Communications Seminar at  (416) 581-2400 in Toronto, 
(613) 785-2020 in Ottawa or (514) 875-2511 in Montreal.

For more information on ISDN demonstrations in your area, 
call the Corporation for Open Systems International (COSI) at 
1-800-759-COSI voice or 703-848-4572 fax, or the ISDN manager 
at your local telephone company.

A message from Bell Canada follows:

The week of November 16-20, 1992 has been chosen as it coincides 
with the industry's most extensive event of the year - the 
Transcontinental ISDN Project 1992 (TRIP '92). TRIP '92 heralds the 
arrival of National ISDN-1, the first ISDN service based on standards 
accepted by all vendors in North America.

The week-long program includes a number of two-hour tours 
scattered throughout each day, three or four per day, starting 
Tuesday, November 17 through Friday, November 20. Each tour will 
be hosted by numerous live demonstrations of the latest ISDN 
applications. Each day, except Friday November 20, will end with a 
one-hour Video Dial-up multipoint demonstration, between 5-6 PM 
and cocktail reception, sponsored by Canadian distributors of 
videoconferencing equipment.

The program will be held simultaneously in the three Bell 
Communications Seminars located in Toronto - Bell Trinity Square, 
Ottawa - Place Bell Canada and Montreal - Place Victoria.

As this is certain to be a busy week, please confirm your attendance 
by calling the Communications Seminar, listed below, and reserve for 
this most exciting event.

 Toronto : 416-581-2400
 Ottawa: 613-785-2020
 Montreal: 514-875-2511

We look forward to seeing you there.


Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 14:56:32 CST
From: mearle@pro-party.cts.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: New Area Code Blitzes Cell Phone User
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 852, Message 2 of 14

This last weekend (November 7) a friend and I were in Houston
attending a conference. He is from San Antonio, which the week prior
had officially cut over to area code 210 (from 512). He dutifully went
and had his portable cmt reprogrammed, and reports calls in and out
worked fine all week while in San Antonio.
 
Upon arriving in Houston, he tried to make some calls, but got
constant reorder -- no message. Upon checking with customer service,
it turns out that GTE Mobilnet hadn't updated "something" and believed
his phone number and esn not to match the data base, and thereby
denied him service. He was unable to use his phone the entire weekend.
No one in CS seemed to be able to do anything for him; it "might" be
fixed by Monday, they said.
 
Seems like, with over a year's advance notification of the exact date,
and all the publicity, *someone* at GTE Mobilnet would have considered
this and done whatever updates were required.
 
Oh well. At least my phone (on the same carrier as my friend's,
Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems) worked, since my home area, Corpus
Christi, did not change with the new A/C.


mearle@pro-party.cts.com (Mark Earle) [WA2MCT/5]-=  +
FidoNet at       Opus 1:160/50.0  
Bitnet           adblu001@ccsu.vm1
Internet  73117.351@compuserve.com
Date: 15 Nov 1992 10:08:27 -0500
From: Bob Sherman <bsherman@mthvax.cs.miami.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Two Cellular Phones on the Same Number
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 843, Message 7 of 11

In <telecom12.840.13@eecs.nwu.edu> Alan Boritz <72446.461@Compu
Serve.COM> writes:

> Change "most" to ALL.  There should be NO US cellular carriers that
> will permit more than one ESN to operate on any particular phone
> number.  Failure to validate the ESN is a serious violation of FCC
> rules (EIA standards incorporated into the CFR).

No, I think most is more accurate than all. Bell South in the South
Florida (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) area DOES offer to allow the usage of
two phones on the same number. They do charge quite a bit extra for
the second phone, which of course must be registered with them in
order to work.


bsherman@mthvax.cs.miami.edu | bsherman@nyx.cs.du.edu  | MCI MAIL:BSHERMAN 
an764@cleveland.freenet.edu  |                         |
Date: 15 Nov 92 06:48:00 GMT
From: cccbbs!daniel.furnier@uceng.UC.EDU (Daniel Furnier)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Source Wanted For Area Code Information
Reply-To: cccbbs!daniel.furnier@uceng.UC.EDU (Daniel Furnier)
Organization: Cincinnati Computer Connection BBS-Cincinnati,OH - 513-752-8248
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 852, Message 12 of 14

I am a AT&T System 75 Administrator, I also run two predictive dialing
systems.  Does anyone know where I can find out each time a new area
code comes out?  The phone company never notifies me and I usually
find out a few weeks after the fact by my phone operators.  And a lot
of the time, I am not sure if the areacodes I am dialing are correct
or if someone made a data entry error.


Thank you, 

Dan Furnier
From: bo836@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Richard D. Mccombs)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: A New DMS-100 in Town
Date: 15 Nov 92 11:24:01 GMT
Reply-To: bo836@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Richard D. McCombs)
Organization: The Redheaded League; Lawton, OK, USA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 850, Message 10 of 13

We have a new DMS-100 in town, is there anything in particular I
should know?


Internet: rick@ricksys.lonestar.org, bo836@cleveland.freenet.edu
UUCP: ...!rwsys!ricksys!rick,  {backbones}!ricksys.lonestar.org!rick
BITNET: bo836%cleveland.freenet.edu@cunyvm Fidonet: Richard McCombs @ 1:385/6
Date: 15 Nov 92 19:12:45 GMT
From: wah@zach.fit.edu (Bill Huttig)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Looking for Home PBX System
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 849, Message 13 of 13

I would like to purchase a HOME PBX that has at least three lines.

Features wanted:
   SMDR with Caller ID for inbound calls
   Flexable numbering
   Speed Dialing 
   Dialing of extesions and Speed dial (and local) from inbound call
   Least Cost Routing/Select Outbound line

And lots of other things.

Any suggestions?


Bill
From: clifto@indep1.chi.il.us (Cliff Sharp)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Please Explain "Crossed Lines"
Date: 15 Nov 92 16:31:39 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 849, Message 8 of 13

In article <telecom12.803.12@eecs.nwu.edu> stevef@wrq.com (Steve
Forrette) writes:

> In my case, it was exactly as Pat desribed: someone else had my line
> on their secondary pair.  In this instance, it was a second line at my
> parents' house that I had installed for my use when I visited.  During
> the time when my "phantom" calls were made, there had not even been a
> phone plugged into that line, so there was nobody to hear the other
> person, no unusual ringing, etc.  What disappointed me was that when
> Pacific Bell located the spurious jumper, they just removed it and
> reported this fact to me.  They made no effort to identify where it
> went so that the proper people could be billed for their calls.
> Devious or not, the other people should rightfully expect to pay for
> their calls, even if it was their honest mistake.

   In my case, I ended up several years ago calling the phone co.
sheepishly and saying "This sounds crazy, but I think my line is
tapped."  They sent someone out who found a surreptitious connection
down the alley and removed it, then explained to me in great detail
what had happened and told me that TelCo Security was being called in.

   The second time this happened, some years later, the man who came
out gave me what sounded very much like a canned answer (something
like, "There are no unauthorized connections to your line").  I asked
the neighbor across the alley (a TelCo lineman) what that meant, and
he laughed and told me that what he said was TelCoEse for "Your line
is being tapped, but by a court order."  I had no idea who would want
to listen to long, boring conversations between hams and/or computer
hackers (that last made me think...).

   Again, years later, I kept picking up the phone and hearing someone
hang up the phone, no dial tone.  I "invented" a 555 circuit to
monitor the line and every time it lit, I picked up the phone and
yelled, "I'm gonna get you, you @!%&@!!" and they'd hang up.  Finally,
upon calling the TelCo, I got someone who went up the pole to the
oooooold box there and found that mine was the outermost (easiest to
grab) pair, and that linemen were hooking their butt packs to my line
with great regularity.  He put the pair waaaay back in the box, and I
had no battery!  Turns out they'd used it so much that the
insulation-piercing clips they used scored the wire enough that it
broke when moved.


Cliff Sharp    clifto@indep1.chi.il.us   OR  clifto@indep1.uucp  WA9PDM
From: clifto@indep1.chi.il.us (Cliff Sharp)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Message Center and Call Waiting
Date: 15 Nov 92 14:56:25 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 849, Message 7 of 13

> [Moderator's Note: Yes, there is a different call waiting signal for
  ...
> with or without three way calling. In Chicago, the distinctive ringing
> numbers (you can have two plus the main number) can be programmed at

   ??? My local (Schiller Park) phone book says "Distinctive Ringing:
Lets you designate calls from up to ten numbers for 'special' ringing..."


Cliff Sharp    clifto@indep1.chi.il.us   OR  clifto@indep1.uucp


[Moderator's Note: The terms get used interchangeably sometimes; I
should have used the proper name: Multi-Ring, which is the service
which allows a second and/or third actual telephone number to be
assigned to a main number and ring with a different cadence. You are
correct that Distinctive Ringing is one number with up to ten callers
entitled to cause a special ring when they call.   PAT]
From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: News Summaries
Date: 15 Nov 92 22:29:42 GMT
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 849, Message 9 of 13

In article <telecom12.830.1@eecs.nwu.edu> TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM writes:

> 3.  Article titled "New Player on the Cellular Circuit" discusses
> AT&T's buying McCaw Cellular, which is AT&T's first involvement in
> cellular in ten years.  AT&T sells 42% of the 90 metropolitan area's cellular
> equipment anyway, making it a major supplier.

Yea, execpt for McCaw Cellular, which has been replacing its AT&T
switches with Erricson switches for the past few years!


Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 09:29:14 GMT
From: pictel!nail.NoSubdomain.NoDomain!geiser@uunet.UU.NET (Wayne Geiser)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone With Motion
Organization: PictureTel Corporation
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 844, Message 4 of 12

In article <telecom12.833.7@eecs.nwu.edu>, Tansin A. Darcos & Company
<0005066432@mcimail.com> writes:

>  = Forwarded Message =
>  Date:     Thu Nov 05, 1992  2:11 pm  GMT
>  From:     Wayne Geiser
>            EMS: INTERNET / MCI ID: 376-5414
>            MBX: geiser@roadrunner.pictel.com
>  Subject:  Re: AT&T's COLOR Videophone WITH MOTION

I'm very disappointed with Mr. Robinson.  He (or someone else)
apparently forwarded this private mail message to this group without
my knowledge.

I am not ashamed of what I said.  However, I feel that it should be
placed in perspective.  As you undoubtedly all could see from my mail,
I have only the vaguest grasp of any of these topics.

On past occasions when I've seen interesting discussions in public
forums, I've passed the appropriate questions on to those people here
who *DO* know all the nitty gritty details.

Please do not take any of what I wrote as opinions of my employer,
PictureTel.  They are my (partially informed) opinions only.  If you
want more accurate commentary from a PictureTel employee on this
subject, you'll have to ask someone other than me.


Wayne Geiser ("Drivel King")    Voice:    (508) 977-8253    
PictureTel Corporation          FAX:      (508) 532-6893    
One Corporation Way             Internet: geiser@pictel.com 
Peabody, MA      01960           CIS:      70313,3615        


[Moderator's Note: Mr. Geiser, I want to apologize for the
unauthorized use of your correspondence in the Digest. I make some
assuptions about the material which is sent here; one being that the
parties involved have consented to its use. The heavy volume of stuff
arriving daily makes personal confirmation by myself difficult.  But
in any event, all articles appearing in the Digest are deemed to be
the personal opinion of the writer, and in no way a reflection on the
official policy of the person's employer.  PAT]
From: wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: AT&T Language Line -- A Practical Query
Date: 16 Nov 92 14:47:41 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 853, Message 3 of 13

There's been some mention in recent Digests about the AT&T Language
Line service, and I've seen ads for it in various law-enforcement
magazines.  While the people who've used it and reported on it here
have given clear descriptions of how it works, I am still confused by
one aspect of using it. While it is pretty obvious how one can set up
a conference call when one knows what language interpretation will be
needed, how does it work in the opposite situation -- when a call
comes in to you in an unknown language?

I usually see these ads in the context of something like 911 service,
where a non-English-speaking individual is calling in an emergency
situation.  It has never been explained just how the caller's unknown
language is identified.

For example, suppose you are a 911 dispatcher for an agency that
subscribes to AT&T Language Line. You get a call from a
frantic-sounding individual and what you hear sounds like "Deegle
bangle skoov YAWP!". What do you do if your inquiries in English (or
any other languages you know) get no intelligible responses? After
all, you have no idea if this is Uzbek, Tamil, Xosa, or whatever (and,
face it, the average US native knows zilch of foreign tongues).

Does the AT&T LL have some sort of "Identification Service" where you
can patch in a person trained to recognize different languages who
will then route the call to the proper interpreter? If so, how do you
make clear to the individual on the other end that they have to wait
and hold on while this conference call is set up? Considering that the
caller is in some form of emergency, it is not unlikely that limited
English-language skills may have deserted him due to the emotional
state he is in. How long does this call set-up process take, anyway?
(I can't see putting the caller on "hold" and then expecting him to
still be there when the emergency center and the LL people come back
on-line ...)

I've never seen this situation addressed in any of the AT&T LL ads
I've seen, so I suspect it might be an insoluble problem, or at least
one they have not yet been able to cope with. Yet it would seem to me
to be one of the prime reasons a government operation like a 911
dispatch center would subscribe to an LL-like service. Anybody know
just how this situation is handled by AT&T LL?


Regards, 

Will   wmartin@st-louis-emh2.army.mil OR wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil