Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id WAA24364; Thu, 18 Sep 1997 22:04:08 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 22:04:08 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <199709190204.WAA24364@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V17 #253 TELECOM Digest Thu, 18 Sep 97 22:04:00 EDT Volume 17 : Issue 253 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Book Review: "Internet Infoscavanger" (Periodical) (Rob Slade) AT&T Database Glitch Caused '800' Phone Outage (Robert J. Perillo) Comprehensive International Country/City Code Listing (Jon Gilbert) Bell Atlantic Drops the Ball on New NPA (John Cropper) ISP Termination Charges (Joe Jensen) Peter Neumann to Receive Social Responsibility Award (Monty Solomon) Dial Access Unit For Value Added Fax Servers (Stuart McRae) NC's Three New NPA Numerics Announced (Bob Goudreau) Multiple Subscriptions on Ericsson (Sprint Spectrum) PCS Phone (S Dietrich) Heads-up for 800 Service Users (Judith Oppenheimer) NYNEX Voicemail Product? (Michael Gutteridge) 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: * telecom-request@telecom-digest.org * 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: 847-727-5427 Fax: 773-539-4630 ** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org ** Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is: http://telecom-digest.org They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp: ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 10:33:01 EST From: Rob Slade Subject: Book Review: "Internet Infoscavanger" (Periodical) PRININSC.RVW 970319 "Internet InfoScavenger", Cathy D. Dupre, 1996+, 1088-0666, U$149/yr %A Cathy D. Dupre %C MSC473, 1153 Bergen Parkway, Suite M, Evergreen, CO 80439-9501 %D 1996+, monthly %G ISSN 1088-0666 %I InfoScavenger Communications, Inc. %O U$149/yr 303-674-2794 800-449-8533 fax: 303-674-4184 subs@infoscavenger %T "Internet InfoScavenger" This is an eight page (letter size) periodical published monthly or possibly ten times per year. The slogan is "Sites and insights for growing businesses." The contents of the four sample issues I received deal with various issues of using the Internet as a business resource. There are articles on market research services, copyright, and business models, but the primary emphasis is on advertising and marketing. In fact, about half of the total material in what I received dealt specifically with publicizing your Web site. URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) are liberally sprinkled through the articles, and the last page of each issue lists all the Web sites again. Despite, or perhaps because of, the limited range of topics, the advice is practical and generally sound. An article on ensuring that your site gets frequently "hit" by search engines also notes that the tactics may be interpreted as "spamdexing", and thus may backfire. For those who are new to the Web, and primarily interested in using it as an advertising tool, there is a lot of good advice. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1997 PRININSC.RVW 970319 roberts@decus.ca rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@vanisl.decus.ca Ceterum censeo CNA Financial Services delendam esse Please note the Peterson story - http://www.netmind.com/~padgett/trial.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Sep 97 13:57 EDT From: Perillo@DOCKMASTER.NCSC.MIL (Robert J. Perillo) Subject: AT&T Database Glitch Caused '800' Phone Outage AT&T's network of toll-free numbers (800) crashed Wednesday 03-Sep-1997 and thousands of callers were greeted with busy signals between 12:30pm and 2:00pm EDT. The network outage was the company's worst overall outage since Jan. 15, 1990. AT&T blamed human error of a technician for the crash. AT&T Corp. stated that it would compensate customer's for their toll-free service disruption. Many customers have contracts that entitle them for compensation. The problem was caused when a technician uploaded to AT&T's Signaling System # 7 (SS7) an incorrect set of translations for the routing of '800' phone calls. Calls using the new '888' prefix were not affected. '800/888' numbers have become increasingly popular for remote access and call centers, and may account for more than 40% of the volume on AT&T's domestic network. Loading incorrect Routing and Translation tables have been the cause of many recent network outages. These tables should be tested off-line, and automatically checked for format problems by a pre-processor. Preferably an automated "knowledge engineering" system should be used to create these tables. Since many of these problems have been blamed on a "technician's human error", increased training is in order. Before the changed Tables/Instructions are uploaded into the system, there should be a mandatory Quality Assurance review. [References: AP, "AT&T to Compensate Customers", 04-Sep-1997. Network World, "Database glitch KOs 800 lines", 08-Sep-1997. ] Robert J. Perillo, CCP, CNE Perillo@dockmaster.ncsc.mil Principal Telecommunications Engineer Richmond, VA ------------------------------ From: Jon Gilbert Subject: Comprehensive International Country/City Code Listing Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 23:42:14 -0400 Organization: Access Orlando (407) 895-1200 Reply-To: jong@ao.net I've seen the archives at http://massis.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/country.codes/, and the Americom CGI at http://www.inconnect.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/americom/aclookup, and I'm despaired: Is there a comprehensive listing in a singular format of internation country and city codes available? I'm planning on writing an automatic dialling script, and I'm going to need something along those lines. And rather than try to format all the data at massis into a standard format, I'm hoping that someone already has done this. Have they? jong out. Jonathan Gilbert jong@ao.net ------------------------------ From: John Cropper Subject: Bell Atlantic Drops the Ball on New NPA Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 16:15:05 -0400 Bell Atlantic is consistent, if not accurate. Upon trying to reach a client in the new 931 area code today, I was stopped at the 8th digit by a BA circuit in northern New Jersey with the standard canned message "it is not necessary to dial a 1 before calling this number". Upon calling Bell Atlantic repair, rep after rep repeated the company line: "It is a problem with your long-distance carrier, not us". I repeatedly tried to explain that THIER switch was not even letting me through, because 931 was not entered as an NPA, but apparently they had already made their mind up on the issue, and I was just "some dumb customer who didn't know better". Having completed a call TO THE SAME NUMBER earlier in the day using my LD carrier's calling card, I know that BA is pretty much full of S. This is the second incident in two days that BA has blamed on the LD carrier, and both were problems on THEIR end. In a few months when competition is in full swing, I will be among the first in line to switch local dialtone providers if BA's service department continues with their 'limited culpability'. John Cropper voice: 888.76.LINCS LINCS fax: 888.57.LINCS P.O. Box 277 mailto:jcropper@lincs.net Pennington, NJ 08534-0277 ICQ: 2670887 FREE areacode info: http://www.lincs.net/areacode/ $17.95 internet: http://www.lincs.net/internet/dialupacs.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I had the very same problem a few years ago with a new exchange which opened in 414; Illinois Bell refused to listen to anything I had to say. Finally after a couple days of trying to tell them my LD carrier worked just fine, I had to go way over their head and talk to a guy from AT&T based in Kansas City. I told him about it and how IBT/Ameritech would not even try to correct it. His response was, "they'll listen to me and do as I say ..." and sure enough, a couple days later I was able to get through just fine. I guess Ameritech had to completely reload the tables or something. So John, perhaps a reader here who carries some weight will get in touch with you for particulars and then call someone at BA and get them to straighten it out. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joe Jensen Subject: ISP Termination Charges Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 07:40:08 -0400 In a recent TELECOM Digest article, Fred Goldstein wrote: > Two other gambits stem from the Communications Act of 1996, based on > the status afforded to Competitive LECs. A CLEC who owns a switch > negotiates a "reciprocal compensation" agreement with the Bell. > This is sort of like what the UK and now Holland have -- the LEC > recipient of a call is paid to terminate it. (US IXCs, on the other > hand, pay the LEC at both ends.) The ILEC and CLEC are peers and pay > each other. An ISP on a CLEC switch therefore generates "terminating > minutes of use" revenue for the CLEC -- why do you think MFS (CLEC) > bought UUNET (ISP)? Typical MOU reciprocal compensation rates are .3 > - .7 cents/minute. Some ISPs are becoming or are creating > data-oriented CLECs to take advantage of this. This fact has not gone unnoticed by the RBOCS, based on the inequity between outgoing termination compensation and incoming compensation. In at least one region, the RBOC has filed a complaint and placed the termination compensation associated with ISP traffic that would have gone to the CLEC in escrow pending resolution. Their argument is that internet access is interlata and therefore not subject to termination charges. This issue is still being debated at the national and state level. Joe Jensen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 01:15:26 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Peter Neumann to Receive Social Responsibility Award Reply-To: monty@roscom.COM Begin forwarded message: Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 00:06:33 -0700 From: Susan Evoy Subject: Peter Neumann to Receive Social Responsibility Award September 16, 1997 For Immediate Release Contact: Duff Axsom 650-322-3778 Peter Neumann To Receive Social Responsibility Award Palo Alto, CA. - Peter Neumann, a national authority on computer security and risk, will be given the prestigious Norbert Wiener Award for excellence in promoting socially responsible use of computing technology. Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) annually honors an outstanding leader for personal dedication to increasing the public awareness of the social and political consequences of the uses of technology. Dr. Neumann will be honored October 4, 1997 at the CPSR Annual Conference in Berkeley, CA. "Peter Neumann is a remarkable scholar and social activist", said CPSR president Aki Namioka. "His contributions to our knowledge about the risks and reliability of computing technology are widely published in scientific journals, but even more importantly he initiated the public dialogue through open discussion in one of the most widely read computer online USENET newsgroups, RISKS Forum (comp.risks)." "Dr. Neumann is a pioneer in linking the risks in using technology to our most cherished rights to privacy and our need for a secure environment", stated Namioka. "CPSR is extremely proud to present the Norbert Wiener Award for 1997 to a truly important citizen, an activist and a distinguished scientist. He was one of the early members of CPSR and helped bring public awareness to the major flaws in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) during the Reagan administration." The Norbert Wiener Award was established in 1987 by CPSR in memory of the originator of the field of cybernetics. Norbert Wiener was among the first to examine the social and political consequences of computing technology. His book, The Human Use of Human Beings, pointed out the dangers of nuclear war and the role of scientists in weapons development in 1947, shortly after Hiroshima. Dr. Neumann's research on the implications of computing gained wide recognition when he created the ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes in 1976 with considerable attention to risks issues, and then created the online Risks Forum in 1985. He was also co-author of the National Research Council (NRC) report, Computers at Risk in 1990. Dr. Neumann is the author of Computer-Related Risks, published in 1995 by The Association for Computing (ACM) and Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Computer-Related Risks summarizes many real events involving computer technologies and the people who depend on those technologies, with widely ranging causes and effects. It considers problems attributable to hardware, software, people, and natural causes. More information about this book can be found at: http://heg-school.awl.com/cseng/authors/neumann/crrisks/crrisks.html His expertise in the issues of privacy and cryptography are demonstrated in his role as an author of the seminal study, Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society for the NRC. He served on the Expert Panel of the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. He is a member of the U.S. General Accounting Office's newly formed Executive Council on Information Management and Technology. Over five decades, Dr. Neumann, Principal Scientist at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, has been concerned with critical computer and communications systems issues such as security, reliability and human safety. He holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and was a Fulbright scholar at the Technicsche Hochschule, Darmstadt, Germany. He has worked in the computer field since 1953. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was the recipient of the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award in 1996 and the ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Service Award in 1997. More information and access to many of his writings may be obtained at his webpage, http://www.CSL.sri.com/neumann.html. CPSR was founded in 1981 by computer professionals in the Silicon Valley concerned about the use of computers in nuclear weapons systems. CPSR has grown into a national public interest alliance of computer scientists, information technology professionals, and others concerned about the critical choices facing society in the applications of computer related technology. CPSR has 22 Chapters throughout the United States and is based in Palo Alto, CA. ---------------- Duff Axsom, Executive Director http://www.cpsr.org/home.html Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility P.O. Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 94302 Phone: (650) 322-3778 Fax: (650) 322-4748 Email: duff@cpsr.org ------------------------------ From: Stuart McRae Subject: Dial Access Unit For Value Added Fax Sservers Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 11:27:37 -0400 I'm looking for information on redialer units to provide access to value added fax services. We can route faxes over the intranet if a fax user dials the server and then DTMF's the recipient, but end user's aren't motivated to figure out how to do this (and some fax machines make it real hard). I've heard people talk about auto-dialers that can re-route calls like this to a different number, and DTMF the number dialed, but have never come across such a unit. I guess it would also need to insert a DTMF prefix to identify the originating machine for routing non-delivery notifications (and to authorize access). Can anyone provide a lead on how I find such a unit? I've never seen one in a catalogue, but I'd have thought that with more Internet Fax services being advertised there'd be a growing demand. I'm interested in availability in the US and also Europe and other countries. For users at the same site as the fax servers, it has been suggested that PABXs might support this function. Is this reasonable? Thanks, Stuart McRae ------------------------------ From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 10:24 EDT Subject: NC's Three New NPA Numerics Announced Today's issue of Raleigh's newspaper _The_News_&_Observer_ says that Bellcore has announced the numeric values of the three new North Carolina area codes which are to be split off from the existing three NPAs over the forthcoming year. The story also listed most (but not all) of the dates associated with the splits. The new codes are: 336, which will cover the northern half of the current 910 NPA, and which will encompass the "Piedmont Triad" of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, among other areas. This is the NC code in greatest jeopardy, and so it will take effect very soon (12/15). Unfortunately, there was no mention of the date on which permissive dialing will end. 252, which will cover the eastern three-quarters of the current 919 NPA, including cities such as Greenville and Rocky Mount and most of eastern North Carolina including the Outer Banks. This NPA takes effect on 3/22/98, and becomes mandatory 6 months later on 9/21. 828, which will cover the western two-thirds of the current 704 NPA, including Asheville and most of NC's western mountain region. This NPA is *tentatively* schedule to take effect on 6/1/98 and become mandatory on 10/5. For more details, see the N&O story online at . Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive +1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA ------------------------------ Subject: Multiple Subscriptions on Ericsson (Sprint Spectrum) PCS Phone? Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 17:46:46 EDT From: spock@blacksun.adelphi.edu (Dr. Sven Dietrich) Hopefully someone can clarify this one for me, or point me in the right direction: I recently bought an Ericsson CH-337 PCS 1900 phone, with a subscription to Sprint Spectrum PCS. What prevents me from getting another smartcard (SIM chip) from, say, Omnipoint (NY) and using it with that in NY rather than roaming with Sprint? I mean, it's the _same_ model as the one being sold by Omnipoint, no? It's the same GSM technology, right? I've heard different stories, so if someone could explain the technical details or direct me to a FAQ, I'd be grateful. Please reply by e-mail, if possible. Dr. Sven Dietrich | Internet: spock@abraxas.adelphi.edu (MIME/PGP) Dept of Math & CS | Voice: +1-516-877-4488 Fax: +1-516-877-3545 Adelphi University, New York | http://www.adelphi.edu/~spock ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 14:42:49 -0400 From: Judith Oppenheimer Reply-To: joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com Organization: ICB TOLL FREE - 800/888 news... commentary... consulting... Subject: Heads-up for 800 Service Users AT&T IS SHIFTING GEARS in its policies towards call centers, large corporate users and others that have low-or-no-or-infrequent volume 800/888's along with their more active toll-free numbers. The essence of it is to reduce specific inventory that carries cost with no revenue, regardless of the overall business done with the carrier. Details can be found at ICB TOLL FREE NEWS, http://www.icbtollfree.com. 800/888 ICB TOLL FREE NEWS 800/888 today's regulatory news for tomorrow's marketing decisions. TRY US FREE FOR 15 DAYS !!! http://icbtollfree.com (ph) 212 684-7210. (fx) 212 684-2714. 1 800 THE EXPERT. ICB Headlines Autosponder: mailto:headlines@icbtollfree.com ------------------------------ From: Michael Gutteridge Subject: NYNEX Voicemail Product? Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 15:31:14 -0700 Organization: ONYX Software Corp. Reply-To: mikeg@spam.onyx.com Hiya I want to use NYNEX's Voicemail product in the Stoneham area (617-438-xxxx). Basically, there aren't enough people in our remote office there to really justify a key/integrated system, but we'd like to retain some "real" voicemail features. Most notably, we'd like to have the ability for people who reach a subscriber's mail box to transfer out to an operator (zero destination, I think it's called on the Meridian?) However, to get this feature, we are told that we need to go with what NYNEX calls "Type III" service, at the rate of $150 *per line*. For the 25 (minimum) lines we'd have to get, that's far too much money. I cannot believe this is accurate. I guess I'm suspicious because the NYNEX rep keeps bringing out a salesman hawking the Intertel switch/voicemail system. And, while he will talk with the end-users, he won't call me (responsible for telecom, thankyouverymuch.) Any users of NYNEX voicemail out there? Any hints on a way to do this without buying a switch? Thanks, Michael Gutteridge ONYX Software Corp. System Administrator http://www.onyx.com mikeg @ onyx.com 425.519.4118 (remove spam in the "from" address) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V17 #253 ******************************