Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id XAA23408; Tue, 4 Feb 1997 23:57:08 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 23:57:08 -0500 (EST) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Message-Id: <199702050457.XAA23408@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V17 #30 TELECOM Digest Tue, 4 Feb 97 23:57:00 EST Volume 17 : Issue 30 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Global 800 Numbers (Tad Cook) Sprint Submits Access Reform Proposal to FCC (Al Hays) Fax Spam! (Tad Cook) GSM vs CDMA Technical Seminar (Konny Zsigo) Wayland MA, Screwed by DPU (Ken Levitt) Re: Telegraph Questions (Nils Andersson) Re: Telegraph Questions (Ken Jongsma) 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: 847-329-0571 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is: http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp: ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of the help file for the Telecom Archives. ************************************************************************* * 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. * ************************************************************************* 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Global 800 Numbers Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 14:36:56 PST From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) Companies Call In Requests for Global 800 Numbers By Jon Van, Chicago Tribune Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News CHICAGO--Feb. 4--Toll-free phone service, fabulously successful in the United States, is about to go global. But it's not clear if you'll soon be dialing 800 EAT SNAIL to order food delicacies from France or 800 FOR OOOMPA to buy musical tapes from Germany. International toll-free dialing is far more complex than its domestic counterpart, but even so, tens of thousands of businesses have applied to get the numbers, say long-distance phone carriers. While vanity numbers that spell out words have been hugely popular for 800 service in North America, concerns hoping to do business with one number for several foreign countries probably won't spell out words, said Patricia Sieh, a spokeswoman for AT&T Corp. "In most other countries, they don't have letters on the telephone touch pad, so you can't spell out words," Sieh said. "And in France, they do have letters, but they start over the first pad instead of the second as we have in North America. So spelling words still doesn't work the same way." Large international phone companies began signing up customers for international 800 service last September in a process that ended last weekend. Customers could apply through their phone company to the International Telecommunications Union in Geneva, Switzerland, for the numbers they want. The international toll-free service will use 800 followed by eight digits instead of the seven-digit format used in the United States and Canada. The 800 is preceded by a country's international access dial, which is 011 in the United States. In the next few months, applicants will learn if they got the numbers they sought, Sieh said. If two or more applicants sought the same number, the international body will follow pre-established guidelines to award the number. There are already toll-free numbers in most industrialized countries, but they are different from one country to the next. The new service will make it much easier for companies to advertise a single number. "If you want to check with your airline, it'll be easier to know just one number that you can use whether you're in Germany, France or the United Kingdom," said Alan Garratt, a spokesman for MCI Communications Corp. The new system is good only for international calls and won't affect existing domestic toll-free services. The first round of applications for international 800 numbers has been rather quiet as major carriers contacted customers to explain the service, AT&T's Sieh said. "It's been an educational campaign rather than a marketing campaign," she said. "We didn't have to market it because we know people want it, but it takes a lot to explain how it works." The second phase of international 800 numbers promises to attract more attention as smaller phone companies join the fray. One international carrier, USA Global Link, based in Fairfield, Iowa, launched its marketing campaign Monday with ads in {The Wall Street Journal}. Now that the initial application phase is complete, subsequent applicants will be given international 800 numbers on a first-come, first-served basis. USA Global Link is urging American companies with popular domestic 800 numbers to apply for similar numbers for international use, even if they aren't now marketing their products globally. "If they don't protect their number now, they may never have a chance again," said Ginger Taylor, director of strategic operations for USA Global Link." The international 800 numbers will initially work in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. ------------------------------ From: Al Hays Subject: Sprint Submits Access Reform Proposal to FCC Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 15:16:31 -0600 SPRINT SUBMITS INNOVATIVE ACCESS REFORM PROPOSAL TO THE FCC WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 1997 -- Sprint today submitted to the FCC a comprehensive proposal for access reform which will result in lower long distance rates. At the same time, the proposal distributes the costs of access in a more economically rational manner during the first phase of access reform. Leon Kestenbaum, Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs said, "Sprint has provided the Commission with what we think is a very well-balanced approach to access reform. Clearly the burden should not be placed on one sector of the industry. We have in the past taken on the role of 'honest broker' because of our unique role as both local and long distance service providers, and we feel that we have achieved an even-handed approach to much needed reform." The following measures are what Sprint proposes the Commission adopt to restructure access rates: o Immediately transfer all carrier common line and non-traffic sensitive switching costs to the Subscriber Charge. o Require all the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) under price cap regulation to submit cost studies reflecting total element long-run incremental costs (TELRIC), and to transition their usage-sensitive switching charges and transport charges to TELRIC levels within five years. o Apply the annual price cap productivity factor against the transport interconnection charge (TIC) until it is reduced to zero. In the meantime the TIC should not be assessed in cases where the transport is provided by an alternative access vendor. o Any increase in explicit universal service funds received by an ILEC should be offset dollar for dollar by reductions in the TIC and in the difference between current and TELRIC-based rates for usage-sensitive switching and local transport. These steps would immediately reduce the cost of interstate access charges by nearly one-half, would place only a modest additional burden on the fixed monthly charges paid by end users, and would give the ILECs a brief period of time to adjust to a new legal and competitive environment and to manage their remaining above-cost charges down to a cost-based level. Sprint estimates that at the end of this transition, the access charges paid by long distance carriers would be only one-fourth of present levels. These reductions in access charges would facilitate further reductions in long distance rates for consumers, and for many consumers, these lower toll rates would more than offset the slightly higher fixed monthly charges. Sprint also strongly cautioned the Commission against allowing the RBOCs to provide long distance service in-region before access charges are reduced to TELRIC levels. Such a move would permit the RBOCs to engage in an anti-competitive price squeeze. Sprint is a global communications company -- at the forefront in integrating long distance, local and wireless communications services, and the world's largest carrier of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' only nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and is the leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $12.8 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 15 million business and residential customers. Contact: Eileen Doherty, 202-828-7423 E-mail: Eileen.B.Doherty@mail.sprint.com Alan H. Hays The Mark Travel Corporation Senior Telecommunications Analyst 8097 N. Port Washington Road Voice:414-934-2600 Fax:414-351-5837 Post Office Box 1460 EMail: ahays@marktravel.com Milwaukee, WI 53201-1460 ------------------------------ Subject: Fax Spam! Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 23:27:12 PST From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) Colorado-Based Businesses Fight Unsolicited Facsimile Messages By Jane Turnis, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--Feb. 3--Rob Sachs' home office has been invaded. Sachs, who owns Sachs Marketing Resources, was thumbing through a business magazine last month when he saw an advertisement for a marketing-services book that piqued his interest. He called to place an order, and the company also asked for his fax number. He gave it. Then he went on a business trip. But while he was gone, strange things were happening in his office. "While I was in Palm Springs, my fax-paper roll ran out, and I started getting messages from clients saying, `Your fax machine is giving us an error; it's out of paper,' " Sachs said. He called his wife and asked her to put more paper in the machine. When she went into his office, she saw them. Faxes. Everywhere. They had dollar signs, flames and a plethora of exclamation marks. "Shaa-zam!! Multi-Billion $$$ Industry," one screamed. "EARN $400 DAILY! ONLY $50 TO START!" shrieked another. One, hawking "The HOTTEST Recruiting Audio Tape of 1997!" featured a giant picture of a dust mite, with the words, "Guess Who's Sleeping in YOUR Bed?? You MITE Be Shocked!!" They came from different companies offering different multilevel- marketing plans and get-rich-quick schemes. And they kept coming. Sachs has received one or two a day for three weeks now. "These people are buying a fax list like companies buy mailing lists," said Sachs. (His name rhymes with fax.) At the bottom of some of the faxes is a note: "You were referred to us as someone who might be interested in a Home Based Income Opportunity. However, if this is not true, call (800) 424-2678 and you'll be removed. Please accept our sincere apology." But in many cases, the only way Sachs could stop receiving further faxes was by faxing the company back and paying for a long-distance call. Some of the calls were to Florida, Connecticut, Tennessee, Maryland and Virginia -- states all different from the faxes' origination point. "If you don't get off the list, you're in the fax twilight zone," Sachs said. Unfortunately, the only way to get off fax calling lists is to fax back. "There's an address you can write to keep unsolicited mail from coming to you, but fax numbers are a whole different thing because they're so new," said an employee at the Colorado Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit. "We get a lot of complaints about this." Beginning in 1992, the Federal Communications Commission banned the transmission of unsolicited advertisements to fax machines. "No person may transmit an advertisement describing the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services to a telephone facsimile machine without the prior express permission or invitation of the party receiving the facsimile," the rule states. Any message sent to a fax machine must clearly mark the date and time of transmission, identity of the sender, and telephone number of the sender or sending machine. Beyond faxing or calling the sender back, about all fax victims in Colorado can do is file complaints with the state attorney general's office. Sachs said the number of faxes he's receiving is dropping off now, but in the meantime, he's armed himself. He typed up a note telling the company to remove his fax number from its list and keeps it next to the fax machine. "As soon as they come in, I fax that out," he said. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 01:44:52 EST From: Konny Zsigo Subject: GSM vs CDMA Technical Seminar THE GREAT DEBATE GSM vs CDMA February 26 - 27 - 28, 1997 The Embassy Suites Hotel San Francisco, CA A technical workshop to explore both GSM & CDMA technologies. Sponsored by Zsigo Wireless More details available at http://www.zsigo.com 800-594-5102 or 517-337-3995 telephone Program Overview ---------------- There is currently great interest in CDMA and PCS1900 systems as two of the technology choices for upcoming PCS services. These digital systems are considerably more complex than their analog counter parts. In this tutorial we will discuss the technical aspects of both of these systems including the physical layer characteristics, network performance characteristics, and the various estimates on system capacity and the assumptions involved in such estimates. The quantitative effect of various different assumptions which have been made in previous analyses will be explained, so you can learn why various previous estimates differ so significantly. We will clearly identify factors in comparative system analysis which are inherent features of the two technologies and distinguish them from features which are included in the system but which are either optional for the system operator or which could be designed in or designed out without affecting the basic aspects of comparison. We will investigate several important facets of both system designs, including: - The GSM frequency hopping system. - The CDMA multiple access technique. - The forward and reverse links. Why are they different? - Inter-cell and intra-cell interference - various models. - Power control. - Required operating value of SNR and its relationship to the cellular environment. - Network capacity and its dependence on the environment and multi-path propagation. - The Rake receiver, pilot tones, pilot tone tracking, cell size. - Physical layer parameters of IS-95 and PCS-1900. - Significance of spread spectrum vs. frequency hopping on fading and channel quality. - Soft handoff vs. seamless handoff vs. hard handoff. - Various cell cluster frequency plans and use of sectored and directional antennas. - Speech coders and speech quality. - Design aspects which permit longer standby and transmit time from the handset battery between recharges. Telecommunications technology is now growing in areas which were recently the very specialized and arcane province of only a few experts. Today a large number of telecom industry people, regardless of their technical background, must understand these technologies and make responsible decisions based on their understanding. This presentation puts you in that position. The Logistics ------------- The Great Debate will be held in San Francisco, CA on February 26, 27 & 28, 1997 at: The Embassy Suites Hotel San Francisco Airport - Burlingame 150 Anza Boulevard Burlingame, California 94010 Phone: 415-342-4600 Fax: 415-342-8109 Dr. Richard Levine, Sc.D. ; Concentrating on GSM ------------------------------------------------ Dr. Richard Levine is an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He has lectured frequently on digital radio access technologies and has consulted for numerous telecommunications firms on this subject. Dr. Levine will focus his presentation on GSM and PCS-1900. Although this presentation does not cover IS-136, significant points of comparison to that additional TDMA technology will be drawn where appropriate. Prof. Elvino Sousa, Ph.D. ; Concentrating on CDMA -------------------------------------------------- Professor Elvino Sousa teaches at the University of Toronto in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. He has worked in the area of spread spectrum communications since 1983. He has also given numerous short courses, seminars, and special presentations in the areas of mobile communications and CDMA at the major IEEE conferences in wireless communications and industrial and University research Labs in various countries. At the University of Toronto he leads a group working in the area of wireless communications and CDMA. Prof Sousa will focus his presentation on CDMA. We are fortunate to have two independent members of academia who are both actively involved in the evolution of digital airlinks. You will hear a comprehensive and unbiased presentation of two technologies in a public forum. Sessions will begin at 8:00 am in the Santa Cruz room. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided. Zsigo Wireless has blocked rooms for this event. To receive our discounted rates of $150/single or $165/double, please mention Zsigo Wireless when making your reservations. We would be happy to assist you in making your room reservation or you can call the hotel direct. The EMBASSY SUITES SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT BURLINGAME is located directly on the San Francisco Bay. Five minutes south of San Francisco International Airport and an easy 20 minutes from downtown, convenient to CTIA. Free airport shuttle available. Konstantin J. Zsigo, President Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants, Inc. 2875 Northwind Drive, Suite 232, East Lansing, MI 48823 517-337-3995 (phone); 517-337-5012 (fax) kjz@zsigo.com Check out our web site at http://www.zsigo.com Zsigo Wireless Data Consultants provides training and consulting services to wireless carriers and manufacturers in North America. Since 1989, we have provided technical and marketing insights to over 10,000 industry professionals. We concentrate on advanced technologies (such as CDPD, CS/CDPD, cellular modems, GSM, TDMA and CDMA) with programs ranging from customer service to sales to engineering. Zsigo Wireless is the proud sponsor of the industry's most prestigious trade exposition and conference, CelluCommEXPO. CelluCommEXPO '97, Scottsdale, May 19-21, 1997 CelluCommEXPO '98, Dallas, May 4-6, 1998 ------------------------------ From: Ken Levitt Organization: Vet's Pet Veterinary & Kennel Software Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 18:37:12 -0500 Subject: Wayland MA, Screwed by DPU Wayland Massachusetts sits directly on the border of the proposed 508/978 area code split. It is a mostly residential community with about 6000 phone lines in use. What makes Wayland unique is that even though there is already a Wayland phone exchange (358), more than half (more like 2/3) of the phone lines in town are services by exchanges from the MUCH larger towns of Natick and Framingham. When the state killed the idea of an overlay area code, Nynex proposed a split which had Wayland, Natick, and Framingham in the new 978 area code. This solution would have balanced the load between 508 & 978 and kept the status quo in regards to Wayland still having most of it's lines serviced by exchanges in other communities. This situation has existed since the 50's and cause no problems. However, the politicians and other special interests managed to get Natick and Framingham put back into 508 causing a 60/40 imbalance between the two area codes and leaving Wayland hanging in the middle. Local politicians faced with the prospect of having 2 different area codes in the same small town opted to have all of the town in 978. The general public was never made aware that this would require 2/3 of the town to not only get a new area code but a new exchange as well. The DPU told town officials that people would get to keep their same last 4 digits, but my investigations indicate this is not always possible. Nynex plans to only add 1 new exchange for the people in south Wayland. Given that there are currently 7 Natick exchanges and 20 Framingham exchanges, there are bound to be some duplicates in the last 4 digits. Almost nobody was aware of the prospect of losing our phone numbers until about a week ago. (I have had the same home number for 25 years and the same business number for 15.) People in town now agree that we need to keep all of Wayland in 508 and keep our old numbers. The DPU's position is that there was plenty of time for public comment and their decision is final. They say that 508 already has too much of the load and they can't unbalance it any further. My position is that all of the publicity around the public hearings centred around the split vs overlay issue and there was no mention of losing our phone numbers until a week ago and the public had no opportunity to be herd on this issue. My talks with Nynex seem to indicate that they don't really care one way or the other. I want to fight this decision, but I'm not sure if I can make a difference. I have contacted all of our elected officials but they don't seem to anxious to get overly involved in this issue. It looks like the deadline for filing an appeal is 2/13/97. Any advice on how to fight this would be appreciated. Ken Levitt Vet's Pet Veterinary & Kennel Software Levitt@VetsPet.com http://www.VetsPet.com ------------------------------ From: nilsphone@aol.com (Nils Andersson) Subject: Re: Telegraph Questions Date: 3 Feb 1997 20:22:37 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com In article , lwinson@bbs.cpcn.com (Lee Winson) writes: > Lastly, today, given how expensive they are, why would anyone use a > telegram? I would guess only when you need to send a "certified" > message in a hurry, that is, the equivalent of a Certified Letter > (official proof of receipt), which you can't get from a fax. Yes indeed. As late as in the seventies, international phone calls were so expensive that for a short message a telegram was lots cheaper. Now, the main reasons to use a telegram are: 1) To have a verified send (as you suggest); 2) If the addressee does not have a phone, or cannot be reached by phone for some secondary reason, even trivial ones like the phone being left off-hook intentionally or unintentionally. I once participated in sending a telegram to a person who was too deaf to understand an important message over the phone. 3) In some contries, used for congratulations or condolances, leaving a permanent record (somewhat similar to 1) above. Regards, Nils Andersson ------------------------------ From: kjongsma@p06.dasd.honeywell.com (Ken Jongsma) Subject: Re: Telegraph Questions Date: Tue, 04 Feb 1997 18:06:46 GMT Organization: Honeywell, Inc. - DAS lwinson@bbs.cpcn.com (Lee Winson) wrote: > Speaking of telegrams, in old movies they are mentioned quite > frequently, indeed, people appear to send telegrams in situations > where today we'd use long distance telephone. I know years ago Long > Distance was very expensive -- could I assume telegraph rates were > relatively cheap? (Now an oral Western Union telegram is quite > expensive , delivery, if available, is even more.) Anyway, I guess at > some point long distance phone rates declined to the point where it > became cheaper to telephone rather than telegraph. Would anyone know > approximately when that was? PBS has been running a documentary on the history of the telephone. One of the comments they made was that AT&T set rates for the first long distance calls to be 1/5th the cost of a train ticket between the respective points. They cited an example between two east coast cities, but I don't recall what it was. Ken Jongsma kjongsma@p06.dasd.honeywell.com Honeywell Defense Avionics Systems, Albuquerque, NM ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V17 #30 *****************************