Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id UAA23958; Thu, 2 May 1996 20:46:06 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 20:46:06 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (Patrick A. Townson) Message-Id: <199605030046.UAA23958@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #211 TELECOM Digest Thu, 2 May 96 20:46:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 211 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson UCLA Short Course on Multimedia Compression (Bill Goodin) CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference (Tyler Proctor) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (Peter Bell) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (Linc Madison) Re: Adult Entertainment Lines (John R. Levine) Re: Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges (Roy A. McCrory) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Craig Nordin) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (John R. Levine) Re: MFS Purchases UUNET (Ron Mackey) Cellular Phone For Use in Israel (Joel M. Hoffman) Re: Nynex Announcement on AT&T Calling Card Changes (turner7@pacsibm.org) Re: AT&T Worldnet Service (geneb@ma.ultranet.com) Re: AT&T WorldNet Service (Fred Whitebook) Re: AT&T Worldnet Service (Roger Conlin) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Kyle Cordes) Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop (Robert Bulmash) 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: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu * The Digest is edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 500-677-1616 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent-* * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************* In addition, TELECOM Digest receives a grant from Microsoft to assist with publication expenses. Editorial content in the Digest is totally independent, and does not necessarily represent the views of Microsoft. ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BGoodin@UNEX.UCLA.EDU (Goodin, Bill) Organization: UCLA Extension Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 09:31:52 -0700 Subject: UCLA Short Course on Multimedia Compression On August 6-9, 1996, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "Multimedia Compression: Principles, Applications, and Standards", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The instructors are Jerry D. Gibson, PhD, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University; Richard L. Baker, PhD, Chief Scientist, PictureTel Corp; Toby Berger, PhD, Professor, School of Electrical Engineering, Cornell University; and Tom Lookabaugh, PhD, Vice President, Research and Business Development, DiviCom. The efficient digital representation or compression of data, speech, music, facsimile, still images, and video for storage and transmission plays a dominant role in current and developing communications systems, computer networks, PCs/workstations, video-on-demand, and entertainment. Standards have been and continue to be developed for this host of multimedia applications that will serve as the traffic on the information superhighway. This course explains the fundamental principles and algorithms underlying these standards and describes in detail current and evolving multimedia compression standards. Audio tapes, slides, videotapes, and equipment demonstrations complement the lectures. The course should help professionals to understand existing standards and products, evaluate future standards, and incorporate these compression methods into their own applications. Topics include: entropy and lossless coding, quantization, predictive coding, speech coding standards, frequency domain coding, audio coding, vision, perception and image representation, standards and applications in video compression, grey-scale image compression, videoconferencing, desktop videoconferencing and collaboration. The course fee is $1395, which includes extensive course materials. These notes are for participants only, and are not for sale. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: (310) 825-1047 (310) 206-2815 fax mhenness@unex.ucla.edu ------------------------------ From: Tyler Proctor <75260.710@CompuServe.COM> Subject: CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference Date: 2 May 1996 13:18:43 GMT Organization: Zsigo Wireless CELLUCOMM 96 WIRELESS DATA CONFERENCE East Lansing, MI -- April 24, 1996 -- CelluComm 96 Wireless Data Conference and Exposition will be held May 20, 21 and 22 at the Regal Riverfront Hotel in St. Louis, MO. CelluComm '96 is devoted to the wireless data industry and is tightly focused on four "early adopter" vertical markets. Public Safety, Transportation (fleet management), Utilities and Petroleum will be spotlighted by featured speakers, exhibitors and a newly revised educational agenda. Divided into two conferences, CorporateTrack and IndustryTrack, the conference is designed to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of attendees. IndustryTrack has been developed for cellular and PCS carriers and manufacturers involved in data. It focuses on the latest issues facing the industry and exposes new technologies and developing market information. The sessions have a unique format, allowing for well over an hour's worth of Q&A between panelists and audience members. These discussions reveal important facets relating to deployment, sales, and management of the cellular data business. CorporateTrack has been developed primarily for corporate IS managers and executive management seeking to implement wireless data solutions. It is a tutorial track, designed to allow attendees to interact in a fairly small classroom environment, freely asking questions and discussing technology options for thier business. It has the advantage of being incorporated into a much larger conference, so CorporateTrack attendees can first learn about the issues surrounding data over cellular, then see solutions demonstrated by experts on the exhibit floor. CelluComm '96 will tackle leading edge issues such as Data Over Digital Cellular Networks (TDMA, GSM, CDMA, and IS-661 (Omnipoint), Cellular WANs and LANs, Wireless Internet Access and PCS-1900. There will also be nearly two dozen featured speakers sharing thier personal experiences in the industry. CelluComm '96 is much more than just a training class! This years exhibition floor is bigger than ever with over 40 leading technology companies displaying the latest in wireless technology. Floor hours have been expanded to allow ample time for attendees to discuss thier specific needs with the exhibitors. Rounding out the conference are vendor sponsored breakfasts and luncheons as well as private vendor presentations. For information on registering for CelluComm '96, call 800-594-5102 or e-mail zsigo@netcom.com. Based in East Lansing, MI, Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants is the leader in technical and marketing training for the wireless data industry. CelluComm is the only national conference devoted exclusively to cellular data. CONTACT: Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants, Inc. Konstantin Zsigo 800-594-5102 or 517-337-3995 zsigo@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 22:10:06 -0400 From: Peter Bell Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Organization: Yale University I found the discussion of why the international long distance sex lines are profitable *very* enlightening. I do wonder, though, why you singled out gay sex lines as the offshore specialty. Are most of them oriented to gay men, or are there also plenty of them catering to the majority of men? I suppose I'd know the answer if I read the phonesex ads in the back of our local weekly more carefully Peter bell@minerva.cis.yale.edu ------------------------------ From: Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com (Linc Madison) Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Date: Wed, 01 May 1996 22:41:24 -0700 Organization: Best Internet Communications In article , PAT wrote: > I guess the USA carriers say turn about is fair play; > if the telecom in Guyana is going to hustle the gay guys here in > the States, then they'll work on superstitious old women in Europe. PAT, in fairness, you should not characterize these sex lines as a gay phenomenon. Sure, there are a lot of them that are aimed at gay men, but also quite a few aimed at straight men, bisexual men, transvestite men, omnisexual men, pansexual men ... For example: "Sexy Explicit Adult Erotic Images! WARNING! WARNING! Highly explicit sexual entertainment! Over 100,000 adult GIF, Shareware, Windows/DOS files -- updated daily! FREE unlimited downloads! No subscription required! And now ... LIVE VIDEO GIRLS! Use your modem to dial 011-373-837-xxxx MCI callers, dial 10288-011-373-837-xxxx International Long Distance Rates Apply" That is from that hot-and-steamy sex publication {Microtimes}. I crossed out the last four digits just to spoil everyone's fun. ;-P Didn't the FCC or FTC try to rule against doing this sort of carrier kickback with the U.S. carrier of an outbound call, though? By the way, 373 is the country code for Moldova, formerly known as Moldavia. It's a former-Soviet republic on the Black Sea on the southwest side of Ukraine. Linc Madison * San Francisco, Calif. * Telecom@Eureka.vip.best.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You and Peter Bell both raise the same point about gay people and their role in this. While it is quite true that all sexual lifestyles are to be found in the phone sex industry, and all contribute to the profits of the people who run it, I believe you will find that gay people are the most profitable part of it; so profitable that they provide a disproportionate amount of the profit relative to their numbers in the population as a whole. Phone sex appeals to people who for whatever reason are not free to act out their fantasies or desires as often as they wish. If they are heterosexual men, perhaps they are married and their wife keeps them on a very short leash. Perhaps they are very well known and trusted leaders in their community and the risk of exposure they would face if they used the services of a prostitute is, in their estimation, to great to deal with. Maybe they are school teachers, ministers, rabbis, or other professionals who are expected to 'behave themselves'. If their public found out they were 'messing around' it would be their ruination. "People do tend to get very upset you know, when they discover their gods are actually human beings much like themselves." (The last sentence in the above paragraph is attributed to Henry Ward Beecher from his sermon at Plymouth Church on the Sunday in 1862 following the report in the {New York Herald-Tribune} of his 'affair' of many years with Elizabeth Tilton, wife of the Senator and Vice Presidential candidate.) Now with heterosexual people, they are entirely free to be as boorish and crude as they like; they can live dangerously and have extremely active sexual lives; all that will happen at worst is as described above: their wife will divorce them and others might ridicule them. Those who want to be discrete are; those who are too dumb to be discrete or don't care are not. But with gay people on the other hand, the stakes are a little bit higher in some places. In 24 states of the United States, gay sexual activity is still illegal on its face. It is not a question of whether it is in private with a consenting person or out in public where they scare the horses as Oscar Wilde put it. You just don't do it, period, and you could go to jail or be murdered if you get found out. Older gay guys can tell you how it used to be through the 1950-60 era and into the middle 1970's. Even if you live in a big city with a 'tolerant' atmosphere, you still cannot 'be that way' or make others much aware of it if you are in certain professions or situations. Again, refer to the example above of teachers, religious leaders, community leaders, policemen, firemen, etc. Most places just won't deal with it, or they give the gay people a very hard time with it. The phone sex lines don't advertise with the idea in mind of getting the openly gay guys in San Fransisco or Chicago as customers. It would be a waste of their time and their advertising dollar. They go after the ones who of (their actual or perceived) neccessity must stay 'in the closet'; they go after lonely and very isolated gay guys all across rural and small town America -- zillions of them. A small per- centage of gay people live in the big 'tolerant' cities and go bar hopping and bed hopping every Saturday night. Most are in small towns where they're not school teachers; they're not ministers or priests; they're not in any position of trust in their community. Maybe all they are is a grocery stock person at the Safeway, a clerk in an office or a janitor at the bus station. They still wouldn't dare openly talk about their feelings in the town they live in, and they dream about the day when they will have the money to go visit San Fransisco, Chicago or New York. The most exciting place they've ever been is the gay bar in a somewhat larger town a hundred miles away. Those are your phone sex customers. Where the heterosexual community is concerned, the phone sex lines cater to the 'respectable' ones. They are not interested in the ones who go out to those bars and pick up women all the time either. What need would those people have for phone sex? The phone sex people don't make money off the young, very open and tolerant people of either sexual orientation who do it in the streets and scare the horses. Their customer base comes from people who find it prudent to keep their thoughts to themselves. Whether that is a 'respectable' older heterosexual man living a lie he has been in for so long he cannot now escape as a dignified and trusted member of the community or any number of gays all across America begs the question. That is the customer base, other than a few curiosity seekers from time to time who wander into one of those services for thrills. Although there are lots of heterosexual guys in that boat together, there is a considerably larger number of gays in that boat, for reasons described above. The phone sex industry is very dependent on having a lot of people around who feel sex is something shameful, dirty and nasty; something to be kept secret. That's the only way it can survive. The telephone offers a nice anonymous way to validate your fantasies by talking about them with others who 'understand your feelings.' If you want to check out the ratio of gay users of those systems to heterosexual users, why not ask Compuserve or America On Line about where *their money* comes from. CB Simulator has paid the bills at CIS for many years now; you think people actually call there to read the Groliers Encyclopedia on online or check the weather forecast or make airline reservations? They pile into CB by the thousands on weekend nights and as the night goes on and the crowds thin out, some channels will have two, three, five or ten users still on. Then tune channel 33 on the 'B' or 'C' machines; the two 'gay lifestyles' channels. Four in the morning, still 150-200 gay guys on that one channel alone, even as other channels are deserted. CB Simulator is the most profitable part of Compuserve by far, and the 'gay lifestyles' part of it is extremely profitable. And when on, look at the 'node listing', or the point of telephone connection to Compuserve. Small town America written all over it. AOL is the same way, if you care to check out the crowds in that part of the chat system long after most other users have logged out for the night. Beautiful and liberated people don't need phone sex or computer hot chat. Unfortunatly most people are not beautiul, and very few are liberated. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 11:26 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: Adult Entertainment Lines Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y. > Many of those places have a very out of balance account with the > American telcos regards the amounts each owe the other for traffic > handled. Many very small foreign countries are chronically in debt > to the USA carriers ... Perhaps I'm misinformed, but my understanding is that in the international settlements process, there's a payment between the carriers regardless of which way the traffic travels, which seems to be related somehow to the relative prices charged in the two countries. Since the U.S. rates are invariably lower than in third world countries, the payments are always from the U.S. to the other country. The only place I know of with a balance problem is Cuba, due to the embargo. That's why you can't call Cuba collect, there's no way to settle the account. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Even phrasing it in the way you do, it still makes lots of sense for traffic to flow from the USA into those countries; it means more money for them from the USA carriers doesn't it? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Roy A. McCrory Subject: Re: Suing AT&T/Nynex For Credit Card Charges Date: 2 May 1996 13:32:52 GMT Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory Dumb question. Why can't you get your numbers put on the "no third party/calling card billing" list at AT&T and Nynex? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is a 'no third number billing allowed' list but I do not think there is any such thing as a 'do not issue credi cards to this number or accept them in use later' type of list. PAT] ------------------------------ From: cnordin@vni.net (Craig Nordin) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Date: 2 May 1996 08:32:38 -0400 Organization: Virtual Networks Please correct this if it is wrong: MFS is the managing entity of MAE-East; MFS supplies many datalines to many ISPs big and small; MFS has been "cherry picking" the lines in metro areas to make its living -- it does not have full coverage anywhere; UUNet itself doesn't seem very interested in retail dial-up; UUNet supplies many high-speed access ports to other ISPs and especially IP consuming organziations. http://www.vni.net/ cnordin@vni.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 11:53 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg, N.Y. > As part of MFS, UUNET will be the only Internet service provider to > own or control fiber optic networks for local, intercity and > undersea connections in the United States as well as France, Britain > and Germany. I suspect that Sprintlink, InternetMCI, and AT&T Worldlink might contest that claim. > In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the > net for many years. Comments welcome. Unless MFS is a lot dumber than I think they are, they'll leave it alone for the time being. On the other hand, uunet started as a non-profit mail and news switch to connect dial-up uucp users to the Internet. That's still the most visible part of the business to most net users, but I'm sure it's a tiny nit compared to their corporate Internet business. So maybe they'll spin that off. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 640 Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 1996 11:40 CDT From: rem@dsiinc.com (Ron Mackey) Subject: Re: MFS Purchases UUNET Organization: Distributed Systems International, Inc. In article TELECOM Digest Editor noted: > In an interesting business development late Tuesday, MFS Communications > Company, Inc announced it is buying UUNET Technologies, a major supplier > of Internet service. [snip] > I am wondering what Digest readers think of this, and what differences > they see in the months ahead in the performance of the two companies. > In particular, what about UUNET and its long standing role with the > net for many years. Comments welcome. I think it's a good deal for UUNET, as MFS will be able to provide them with additional infrastructure they could not afford to build on their own. I don't see UUNET changing their role as a dominant internet service provider (ISP). Frankly, I'm more concerned with the smaller ISP's that currently use MFS as their primary Internet connection. If I'm not mistaken, all of the major ISPs in the Chicago area currently use MFS's services, in one form or another. My question is "Now that MFS owns their own major ISP, what is going to happen to all the other independent ISP's currently serviced by MFS?" Best regards, Ron Mackey Distributed Systems International, Inc. rem@dsiinc.com 531 W. Roosevelt Road, Suite 2 708-665-4639 Wheaton, IL 60187-5057 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 May 96 10:59 EDT From: joel@exc.com (Joel M. Hoffman) Subject: Cellular Phone For Use in Israel I have cellular service here in New York, but next year I'll be in Israel. By the time I'm done, I'll own my phone, a gift to me for using BANM cellular service for a year. My local dealer will pretty much give me any low-end phone I want. (I have a Motorola flip phone now.) So: which phones will I be able to use once I get to Israel? All of them? None of them? (I realize they may have to be reprogrammed.) I'm not talking about high-end word-wide service, but local service in Israel. Thanks, Joel (joel@exc.com) ------------------------------ From: turner7@pacsibm.org (TUrner-7) Subject: Re: Nynex Announcement on AT&T Calling Card Changes Date: 1 May 1996 19:54:12 GMT Organization: PACS IBM SIG BBS Very seriously -- am I the only person who misses and prefers the former system where ONE calling card issued by the phone company "fits all" -- local, short long distance, long distance? Where you didn't have to memorize multiple sets of access codes and stand at a pay phone keying them in in the rain? As an individual consumer, not a telco employee/provider/beneficary -- I fail to see how we consumers have benefited from long distance competition. In the mid 1970s, I made lots of long distnace calls,a nd AT&T rates were quite modest back then -- and it wasn't competition that forced them down. Divesture and LD competition added tremendous cost and overhead to the telephone network, eliminating a lot of economies of scale. Much equipment that did multiple purposes in call handling had to be split off to either 100% local or long distance (see Mountain Bell's history for more details.) Now local companies have to print special subset bills for LD carriers, and accomodate a subscriber's choice. Who paid for this transition? The stockholders of AT&T? The new stockholders of the divested local companies? Or the new long distance companies like MCI and Sprint? I suspect it was us customers! I know very large organizations can now negotiate volume discounts, but as a private individual that's meaningless to me. Indeed, my bills go up to cover those discounts. I also know, thanks to "competition", toll rates at pay phones have shot through the roof. Maybe that's want Judge Greene wanted, but as a consumer, it's coming out of my pocket. Rationalize it any way you want, thanks to divesture, I'm paying more and getting less. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A lot of the divestiture of AT&T has been pure politics, nothing more. There were a lot of people in the Justice Deaprtment at that time who disliked AT&T for various reasons, and even Judge Greene did little to hide his own animosity toward the company. Some good things have come out of it, but by and large I think that phone service in America has suffered from it. Some of the things they are doing now are totally outrageous, things AT&T would never have done. PAT] ------------------------------ From: geneb@ma.ultranet.com Subject: Re: AT&T Worldnet Service Date: 2 May 1996 03:02:03 GMT Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc. Reply-To: geneb@ultranet.com In , John Stahl writes: > You will note by my email address, I am a subscriber to AT&T's new > Internet service and can report to you that so far, I'm very happy > with the service they offer. > Here's a bit of what I have observed so far: > One of the questions asked is what type of service you > want. One of the options is for a small monthly fee you get the 5 free > hours of access they tout, after which you pay by the hour similar to > AOL and the others. The other option, for big users of the Internet, > is an unlimited usage account for $19.95/month. Do note, however, that there is NO online means of switching from between the plans. You must call the 800-WORLDNEt number and speak to a rep, who will happily switch your service. Note also that the Worldnet Dialer only tracks elapsed time for the current session; it does not track total time online, so if you want to stay under five hours, you'll have to keep track manually. Also, you must use a minimum of one hour per month on the five hour plan, or they'll deactivate your account. Gene ------------------------------ From: fredw2@ix.netcom.com (Fred Whitebook) Subject: Re: AT&T WorldNet Services Date: 2 May 1996 05:01:49 GMT Organization: Netcom In Joshua Fenton writes: > Another reader wrote: >> Its now past mid-April, and I still haven't seen anything of my >> software kit, so I'm just wondering if anyone out there has actually >> gotten signed up for this and is using it? > {Consumer Reports}' current issue rates a variety of services, and I > _believe_ (don't quote me) it states that the WorldNet services is > Netscape and EMail only primarily, but is essentially a PPP > connection. > Regarding the software delay, I called to sign up in the first few > days after it was announced. I used their MESA forms IVR system, > recording my name and details after each 'beep'. When I called this > past Monday and spoke with an EXTREMELY helpful rep, I was quickly > escalated to a 'duty manager' who explained that in the first weeks of > the promotion, they had a problem with their IVR system, and lost > several thousand requests. He then took my request on an expedited > bases, and stated I should have the software and materials in about a > week. I noticed your post. I am an Augustana grad (class of 1958) who just changed careers by getting hired as a Tech Support Rep on the AT&T Worldnet Project. I started training on Monday 4-22 and hit the floor on Saturday 5-4 with a group of 90. They have hired about 300-400 in California and have no more room in the telecenter. They are starting a second unit in Colorado. AT&T is mailing out thousands of kits each week. I have heard that 300,000-400,000 kits have been ordered. The registration servers are sometimes overwelmed. I ordered my software on 3-8-96 and have not heard anything yet. I did get a copy of a set we installed in training. A 32 bit upgrade (Netscape 2.01) will be out in a few weeks. Hang in there ... AT&T is spending a lot of money to try to catch up with the unanticipated demand and is sincerely commited to first class free 24 hour, seven day Tech Support. Fred Whitebook ... fredw2@ix.netcom.com installed Worldnet at home as yet, I'm waiting for the 2.01 version as I have on Netcom. ------------------------------ From: conlin@shout.net (Roger Conlin) Subject: Re: AT&T Worldnet Service Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 14:37:25 GMT Organization: Shouting Ground Technologies John Stahl wrote: > You will note by my email address, I am a subscriber to AT&T's new > Internet service and can report to you that so far, I'm very happy > with the service they offer. Both the Internet connection and the AT&T > 800-number dial in help service line has been superb! No, I'm not an > AT&T employee nor do I have any connection what so ever with AT&T; I'm > just a user. [chop] > I have 'surfed' for many happy hours since signing up in February. The > only down time thus far is their scheduled maintenance period, > Thursday mornings from something like 2:00 AM to 7:00 AM when the > service is off. This is in comparison to the local ISP I used to use > who experienced -- especially on weekends when there was no one in the > office -- much down time. AT&T so far seems to always be there, 24 > hours a day, both for call-in help and the ISP service! Glad to hear from somebody using this. I've been waiting forever for the software. Got some little postcard finally saying it was on the way, but it's still not here. I can echo your experience with a local ISP, and was hoping for some better service with Worldnet. Glad to see somebody else try it and find out it actually works, than sign up and find out that AT&T can't handle the business. conlin@shout.net http://www.shout.net/~conlin ------------------------------ From: kcordes@mo.net (Kyle Cordes) Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop Date: Thu, 02 May 1996 13:40:22 GMT Organization: Automation Service > I live in University housing, and we have to use their phone service > for local and long distance. However, this has not stopped AT&T from > calling me at least three times asking me to switch to them. Each time > I explained to them that given the nature of my phone service, it was > not possible to me to make the switch to them, or anyone else. > Yesterday, I received a check for $100 which, if I encash, authorizes > them to switch me to their LD service (with 40% True Reach savings for > the first 6 months). I really have no objection to being switched to > AT&T - their rates seem better than what I get now. Do you think I > should encash the check, and let them try to switch my LD service? > Once they realize that I cannot be switched, maybe they will stop > pestering me by phone? The way I see it, in spite my of telling them > more than once that I cannot be switched, if they send me a check for > $100, they deserve to lose the money. I can be a little to eager to prove points, but if I were you, I would cash it. If/When they realize that no switch can occur (or ever could have occurred), and if/when they contact you about it, offer to send the $100 back as soon as an appropriately high level manager calls to apologize for pestering you. Kyle Kyle Cordes @ Automation Service kcordes@mo.net ------------------------------ From: prvtctzn@aol.com (Prvt Ctzn) Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Know When to Stop Date: 1 May 1996 22:07:59 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Reply-To: prvtctzn@aol.com (Prvt Ctzn) > Yesterday, I received a check for $100 which, if I encash, authorizes > them to switch me to their LD service (with 40% True Reach savings for > the first 6 months). I really have no objection to being switched to > AT&T - their rates seem better than what I get now. Do you think I > should encash the check, and let them try to switch my LD service? > Once they realize that I cannot be switched, maybe they will stop > pestering me by phone? The way I see it, in spite my of telling them > more than once that I cannot be switched, if they send me a check for > $100, they deserve to lose the money. > Comments? I have till May 23 to cash the check. Take the money! If the endorsement states that, by cashing the check, you are giving your consent to have your service switched it seems like a legitamite contract. The fact that your consent is not sufficient to switch is something that is not within the four corners of the agreement. Robert Bulmash Private Citizen, Inc. http://webmill.com/prvtctzn/home ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #211 ******************************