Date: 13 Sep 2000 22:59:33 -0400 Message-ID: <20000914025933.6866.qmail@xuxa.iecc.com> From: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org (Telecom Digest) To: telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Subject: Telecom Digest V2000 #52 Reply-To: editor@telecom-digest.org Sender: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Errors-To: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: 426cee73bcc919d22369459b3f7df3e2 Status: RO X-Status: Telecom Digest Wednesday, September 13 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 052 In this issue: re. customer service at airtel spain Re: What's more rare than a public phone? Re: What's more rare than a public phone? Re: Canadian Landline to Wireless Number Portability (article) a news report warning of pager scam Broadband users need firewall to prevent hackers from prying Australian telco Optus forced to honor unlimited local call deal Expensive NANP Area Codes ; And Caribbean Routing/Numbering History EPIC and Amazon.com Re: CATV Phone Service Lawmakers call for Net privacy legislation Re: What's more rare than a public phone? Re: What's more rare than a public phone? Re: CellOne San Francisco and AT&T Wireless Re: CellOne San Francisco and AT&T Wireless Re: a news report warning of pager scam Re: a news report warning of pager scam 9/13/00 ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 13 Sep 2000 07:21:55 -0400 From: Robert Berntsen Subject: re. customer service at airtel spain henry mensch wrote in message <4.3.2.7.2.20000906000814.00c4c370@pop.verve.org>... >i'm trying to resolve some issues with my airtel (spain) formula gsm >service and i'm not getting much help with the online forms at their >website http://www.airtel.es/ (all the replies i receive from here instruct >me to dial numbers on my GSM phone that won't get me anywhere since i'm in >north america where there's no GSM service) ... a referral to someone at >airtel spain who can use e-mail and help with some service issues (in >english, or in spanish) would be appreciated. > >thanks! ># henry mensch / / http://www.verve.org/henry/ There are 26 GSM operators in USA, with a coverage between 60 and 70% of the US population. Look at: http://www.gsmworld.com/gsminfo/gsminfo.htm But all use 1900 MHz in opposite to 900 and 1800 MHz outside North America. So you need a terminal capable of operating at 1900 MHz. All major vendors have models. A few models can operate at 1900 MHz and one or both international frequencies (Bosh, Motorola, Ericsson). The last problem is then roaming agreement between airtel and these operators. Roaming info should be available from airtel. And then you have to check if any of the roaming partners indeed have coverage where you are. Simple? Well, in the US telecom co. seem to hesitate to make it simple for the customers, for some unknown reason. Good luck. Regards R - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 07:56:21 -0400 From: Joseph Singer Subject: Re: What's more rare than a public phone? 13 Sep 2000 01:20:29 -0400 jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu wrote: >A public phone with a directory, that's what. Of course keeping phone >books in public is a maintenance headache; but you wonder how many calls >are not made because somebody doesn't know the number, or doesn't have >Yellow Pages to look in. It seems odd, too, that the dearth of telephone >directories at public phones is occurring just when there are so many >third-party directory publishers throwing their products at the public. >Seems like there is an opportunity here for one of those publishers to >assure their advertisers that the books containing their ads will be >maintained at a large number of public phone sites. Service for public phones has been going down for years probably due to the fact that so many people now have cell phone service. That's why you pay at least $.35 for a local call. At any rate in some states such as California and Washiington unless you want to fork over the local directory assistance charge which is $.75 or more per call you are relegated to using the directory that is "provided" at the payphone. I've noticed that here in Washington state for Qwest most of the time there is a directory. Whether it's useful or not is another matter entirely. Most of the time the directoriy(ies) are unuseable because they are waterlogged or you'll need a white pages listing and all that they've provided is yellow pages. Evidently years ago the state putlic utility commission granted USWest that they could charge for directory assistance but they had to provide directories. I think it's pretty lame. On the other hand GTE almost never provided directories, but at least you could call local directory assistance from a pay phone at no charge. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joseph Singer Seattle, Washington USA [ICQ pgr] +1 206 405 2052 [voice mail] +1 206 493 0706 [FAX] - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 08:03:41 -0400 From: HALinNY77@aol.com Subject: Re: What's more rare than a public phone? In a message dated 09/13/00 06:18:30 Eastern Daylight Time, owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org writes: > A public phone with a directory, that's what. Of course keeping phone > books in public is a maintenance headache; but you wonder how many calls > are not made because somebody doesn't know the number, or doesn't have > Yellow Pages to look in. It seems odd, too, that the dearth of telephone > directories at public phones is occurring just when there are so many > third-party directory publishers throwing their products at the public. > Seems like there is an opportunity here for one of those publishers to > assure their advertisers that the books containing their ads will be > maintained at a large number of public phone sites. Hard copy telephone directories are dying. Dial-up information services and internet-based directories are what's happening. Yellow pages advertising has never really benefited any advertisers except for plumbers, locksmiths, and maybe tow truck operators. (Would you choose a doctor from the yellow pages?) When directory service was free, hardcopy directories were essential to keeping associated costs down. Now that it is billable (at up to $1.00 per query), there is no incentive to keep hardcopy around, particularly at COTs, where they are subject to much abuse. Hal Kaplan Orion Telecommunications Corp. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 08:35:30 -0400 From: Subject: Re: Canadian Landline to Wireless Number Portability (article) David Lind wrote: > Looks like the Canadians are headed towards wireless number portability in > 2001. Wonder if this will ever happen in the US? Even number portability > between wireless carriers would be welcomed. > TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian consumers won't have to change home numbers if > they move exclusively to a cellular phone and can even get their wireless > number listed in the white pages under little noticed federal regulatory > rulings. Analysts said the changes effectively put cellular companies on par > with the big traditional phone companies as regulators begin to embrace the > soaring demand for wireless communications in Canada... This is what I am waiting for in the USA. It is already apparent to me that I could save a few dollars per month if I went to a cellular phone in place of my wired line. If I could transfer my current home number to a cellular service I would do it tomorrow. I hope the FCC gets on the ball and makes this happen, though they haven't gotten universal caller ID to work yet, so I won't hold my breath. - -- ***************************************************************************** * Bill Ranck +1-540-231-3951 ranck@vt.edu * * Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Computing Center * ***************************************************************************** - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 09:16:46 -0400 From: Carl Moore Subject: a news report warning of pager scam Last weekend, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia broadcast a warning about a pager scam, and pointed out that the large number of area codes made it easier to pull off such a scam. The scam is paging someone with a number which turns out to be an expensive pay-per-call line. (Any ideas of what area codes might be involved?) The counter to this (not in the words used in that broadcast) is doing your homework by finding out where the number you would be calling is. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 11:03:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Broadband users need firewall to prevent hackers from prying Broadband users need firewall to prevent hackers from prying http://www.startext.net/news/doc/1047/1:COMP34/1:COMP340912100.html - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 11:13:07 -0400 From: Nigel Allen Subject: Australian telco Optus forced to honor unlimited local call deal Here is a press release from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. I found in on the ACCC's web site at http://www.accc.gov.au/ 13 September 2000 ACCC Requires OPTUS to Meet Unlimited Local Call Commitment Cable & Wireless Optus has been required to renew its commitment to provide unlimited local calls to customers on certain call plans after intervention by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over concerns that Optus had tried to go back on earlier promises. Optus has admitted that it misled some consumers in attempting to restrict the number of calls they could make whilst on Optus's Unlimited Call plans. "This move should send two very clear messages to all players in the telecommunications industry and to businesses generally", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "First, terms such as 'unlimited' cannot usually be qualified and businesses should be extremely cautious in placing limitations on what consumers would ordinarily see as unrestricted product offerings. "Second, if businesses try to limit expressions such as 'free', 'unlimited' or 'all you can use' then these exclusions must be clearly stated at the time they are made". With regard to acceptable user policies, Professor Fels said that while the ACCC recognised the need for such policies to deter abuse in network industries, it was concerned in relation to the policies being adopted by a number of companies. The ACCC has received a number of complaints from consumers about acceptable user policies and will continue to monitor the use of such policies. Optus's admission follows the ACCC investigation of complaints, including referrals from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. In March 2000 Optus initially advertised its unlimited local call package with a statement 'your household can make hundreds or thousands of local calls a month'. Optus then introduced a policy in early May, called the Optus Local Fair Go Policy that sought to limit the 'unlimited' local calls to fewer than 500 calls per month. Further, customers were required to sign a 12-month contract, preselecting Optus for long distance calls, but the unlimited local call component expired earlier, on 31 October 2000. "The total package was a 12-month plan, yet the central marketing feature of the plan was only available for a few months. This was not sufficiently disclosed and even where it was disclosed Optus admitted that its advertising material was ambiguous". In the undertaking accepted by the ACCC, Optus has agreed to extend its offer for a further year, allowing all customers on the unlimited local call packages to make unlimited calls until 31 October 2001. "This is a significant outcome for consumers, which ensures that they get the service that was first represented". The ACCC acknowledges the assistance provided by the TIO that demonstrates the way in which the two independent bodies work together for the benefit of consumers. The ACCC also recognises Cable & Wireless Optus's cooperation in resolving this matter. Further information Professor Allan Fels, Chairman, ACCC (03) 9290 1812 or pager (02) 6285 6170 Ms Lin Enright, Director, Public Relations, (02) 6243 1108 or (0414) 613 520 forwarded to the TELECOM Digest by Nigel Allen ndallen@interlog.com http://www.ndallen.com/telecom.html - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 12:08:02 -0400 From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: Expensive NANP Area Codes ; And Caribbean Routing/Numbering History cmoore@ARL.ARMY.MIL writes (in "News Report Warning of Pager Scam"): > Last weekend, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia broadcast a warning about > a pager scam, and pointed out that the large number of area codes made > it easier to pull off such a scam. The scam is paging someone with a > number which turns out to be an expensive pay-per-call line. (Any > ideas of what area codes might be involved?) The counter to this (not > in the words used in that broadcast) is doing your homework by finding > out where the number you would be calling is. Things like this have happened on numerous occasions in recent years-- and it includes leaving messages (either live or to answering machines and voicemail) to call back 976-xxxx, 900-nxx-xxxx, 500-nxx-xxxx, and well as (international non-US) NANP-Caribbean NPA+nxx-xxxx. While it is good to be aware of the seventeen (non-US) NANP-Caribbean NPA codes (sixteen of them split from the long-established "catch-all" 809 for all of the NANP-Caribbean from 1958-95, with 809 retained for the Dominican Republic - also non-US but owned by GTE->VeriZon as "Codetel"), it is NOT to be overlooked that Puerto Rico (787 now MANDATORY split from 809) and the _US_ Virgin Islands (340 now MANDATORY split from 809) _ARE_ the two _US_ (domestic billed) points within the NANP-Caribbean. (I don't know how billing/rating presently is from Canada, AK, HI, etc, for calling with PR/USVI -- many of the discount plans from Canada these days probably rate PR/USVI at the same discounted rate as for Canada->US calling). Sometime shortly prior to or around divestiture (1984), PR/USVI were made "domestic" billed with the continental US. They were previously billed as "international/overseas" ratings. Also, circa 1980, Alaska (907) became domestic billed/rated from the continental US, and Hawaii (808) became domestic billed/rated from the 48-states/DC around 1982. I would assume that calling between AK and HI became domestic-billed at that time as well. (Calling between AK/HI and PR/USVI might still be at their own rate schedules, though... but the LD-carriers' discount plans might give the same discount rates of from 5-to-10-c/min for AK/HI <=> PR/USVI calling as well). And since July 1997 with the incorporation of Guam (+671 -> +1-671) and Saipan/Northern Marianas (+670 -> +1-670) into the NANP, calling between Guam/CNMI and the US/AK/HI is also domestic billed/rated. I'm not sure about Guam/CNMI <=> PR/USVI, though... When/if ever American Samoa (+684) joins the NANP (as +1-684), being a US posession under FCC jurisdiction, it too will fall under the same "domestic rate integration" that Guam/CNMI have been placed into. Some of the "discount dialarounds" or other carriers you can "presubscribe" to have rates for +684 American Samoa that, while not necessarily as low as discount plan / 101-XXXX+ 'dialaround' 5-to-10 cents/min, are comparable to "high noon" domestic-US full-tariffed "coast-to-coast" 1+ DDD rates of 25-to-35 cents/min. It _IS_ important to note that the FCC-approved tariffed rates (including discount plan rates) to AK (907), HI (808), PR (787), USVI (340), and also Guam (671) and Saipan/Marianas (670) _ARE_ at domestic schedules for calls with (at least) the CONTINENTAL/CONTIGUOUS/CONTERMINOUS 48-states/DC. Many PBXes have been known to _BLOCK_ access to these _US_ jurisdication NPA codes. Many "alert" bulletins about "scams" involving Caribbean NPAs do frequently alert PBX managers to block the international (non-US) NANP-Caribbean NPAs, but they frequently include PR/USVI, and even Guam/CNMI (which are in the Pacific, by the way). Many COCOT/COCOT-like payphones either restrict calling to "non-CON-US" NPAs, or else they charge per-min coin-rates that are WAY above what the COCOT-owner would have to pay their LD-carrier. Canadian NPAs may or may not be accessible as well, and PBX/business customers (as well as COCOT lines, which for the most part are "classed" as business lines) _CAN_ get discount rates to Canada that are comparable to domestic US rates. BellSouth's own COCOT-like payphones don't allow (internal chip rating) 1+ coin dialing to 787/PR, 340/USVI, 671/Guam, 670/Saipan, despite the fact that all four of these non-CONUS locations _ARE_ "US" _and_ domestic-rated. AT&T's OSPS-ACTS for "traditional" c.o.controlled coin-lines _do_ allow 1+ coin-rated access (within the AT&T 5E-OSPS "ACTS" system) to these four US/domestic non-CONUS locations. I think that the present AT&T 1+ domestic coin tariffs are still "low enough" for the escrow bucket in the payphone to all "full" Automated Coin Telephone Service, without the need for the live intervention of an AT&T-OSPS operator to do a "ring-forward and post-pay" operation. (Canada, on the other hand, has risen in 1+ AT&T Coin rates to such a level that the "escrow bucket" in the payphone can't handle that much coinage, thus live AT&T Operator intervention to do a necessary ring-forward/post-pay; The non-US NANP-Caribbean has always involved this from AT&T on traditional 1+ coin access, as well as _ALL_ 011+ coin access via AT&T, due to the coin-rates being more than escrow in the payphone could handle)... Back prior to PR/USVI splitting from NPA 809, _IF_ a PBX or COCOT were to allow 1+ coin access to domestic-rated PR/USVI, translations down to the NXX level (809-NXX) needed to be done, to differentiate between the domestic-rated points (PR/USVI) and the international-rated points. This usually involved FULL 6-digit translation of the complete 809+NXX code. Many PBXes and COCOTs didn't want to have to do this, thus PR/USVI were completely blocked. ORIGINATING local Telco central office translations also used to frequently fully 6-digit translate 809 down to the NXX level (as 809+NXX), because of AT&T's request to screen out the international non-US 809-NXX localities if there were Banded-OUT-WATS class-of-service customers in that central office. Banded OutWATS only allowed access to CONUS, AK/HI, and PR/USVI (and possibly now Guam/CNMI) -- i.e. "US" rated points). Prior to around 1986, it was relatively "easy" to differentiate between PR/USVI and non-US 809 locations... Throughout the 1960's/70's/early 80's, Puerto Rico was exclusively 809-7NX (except 809-77X) and 809-8NX -- and US VI was exclusively 809-77X. "Four-digit" translation or examination of digits could be done -- i.e., if the first four digits are 8097 or 8098, then the call is permitted, but if it is any _other_ 809N (other than 8097 or 8098), then special procedures (including blocking) may need to be done. Also, PR and USVI became customer-originated DDD-able from the CON-US (and maybe Canada?) circa 1966/67, as 809-NNX-xxxx. However, it was still many years before the non-US 809 points were customer-DDD-able from the US. Most originating 4(A/M) XB and XB-Tandem toll/tandem switches didn't want to have to do full six-digit translation on each and every "valid" 809-NNX code. So, 809 was simply 3-digit translated and shipped to the 4A in Jacksonville FL. Only then would 809 be fully six-digit'd down to the 809+NNX level. If the code of the desired number were NOT 809-7NX or 809-8NX (or if it was for an UNassigned / vacant 809-7/8NX), then Jacksonville would block the call and play a recorded announcement instructing that only Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands were customer dialable at this time -- and to please call the operator for assistance in calling to other 809/Caribbean points. And since the Jacksonville 4A had no way of knowing whether or not the incoming request as 809-NNX-xxxx were from an operator or a customer, while it was ultimately intended (and TPM billing procedures _did_ "mark-sense" all of the NANP-Caribbean whether US or "intl" as 809-NNX) that the NANP-Caribbean (including non-US) be dialable as 809-NNX, any cordboard/TSP/TSPS Operator who could originate as OTD (Operator Toll Dialing), which was basically the same as the customer's DDD, would need to reach the non-US Caribbean with special 1XX routing codes -- each of the major Caribbean islands or groups of islands had their own unique "Operator / pseudo" NPA codes of the 1XX form. She would key a 1XX followed by the seven-digit number to dial to that specific NANP-Caribbean number that was still not yet customer-dialable. Since customers were not "supposed" to have access to 1XX/0XX network/operator routing codes, the Jacksonville 4A could recognize the 1XX-NNX-xxxx string and route down to that Caribbean location, "thinking" that the call was being handled (and ticketed/billed) by a telco Operator! MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__HOME:__(USA)__Tel:_CHestnut-1-2497 WORK:__mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu|4710-Wright-Road|__(+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity-5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New-Orleans-28__|fwds-on-no-answr-to Fax:UNiversity-5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail- NWORLASKCG0 (BellSouth #1AESS Cl.5 Local "Seabrook" 504-24x-) to become a #5ESS (yeah!), NWORLASKDS0, 12:01am SAT-11-NOV-2000 NWORLAIYCM3 (BellSouth-Mobility Ericsson Cellular-MTSO NOL) NWORLAMT01T (BellSouth DMS-100 "Metairie" Tndm; Cellular routes thru) NWORLAMA0GT (BellSouth DMS-100/200 inTRA-LATA/fg.BCD Tndm "Main" 504+) NWORLAMA20T (BellSouth DMS-200 TOPS:inLATA OprSvcTndm "Main" 504+053+) NWORLAMA04T (AT&T #4ESS Class-2 Toll 060-T / 504-2T "Main" 504+) JCSNMSPS06T (AT&T #5ESS OSPS:Operator-Services-Tandem 601-0T 601+121) JCSNMSPS14T (AT&T #4ESS Class-3 Toll 040-T / 601-2T; OSPS routes thru) NWORLAELH01 (PBX NEC-2400 504-862-3/8xxx, 504-865-4/5/6xxx) NWORLACADS0 (BellSo.DMS-100 Cl.5 Lcl "Carrollton" 504-86x-;PBX 'homes'on) ========================================================================= - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 13:16:09 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC and Amazon.com Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 12:03:24 -0400 Subject: EPIC and Amazon.com From: "EPIC News" September 13, 2000 Washington, DC Dear EPIC subscriber: I am writing to you regarding EPIC's relationship with Amazon.com, the Internet-based bookseller. In 1996 the Electronic Privacy Information Center became one of the first "Amazon Affiliates." We believed at the time that Amazon was offering a valuable new service to Internet users. We assembled a list of important books on privacy, free speech, cryptography, and open government and made these titles available through our web site in association with Amazon. In 1998 we signed up for "Amazon Advantage." This program allowed us to distribute the various reports that EPIC publishes, including our "Privacy Law Sourcebook," our annual reports on "Privacy and Human Rights" and "Cryptography and Liberty," as well as "Filters and Freedom." We were generally pleased with the Amazon privacy policy. We understood that Amazon did not disclose personally identifiable information to Amazon affiliates. Amazon also made available to its customers an extensive record of customer information, the type of profiling data that many companies do not disclose. And Amazon offered assurances that it would not disclose customer information to third parties. We believed at the time that this business model, together with strong legal and technical measures, could provide a new and more robust form of commerce that would benefit consumers and protect online privacy. Over the years we received several complaints about Amazon. Some people objected to the spam that Amazon sent, others to the Purchase Circle program, and still others to the impact on independent booksellers. The largest number of complaints centered on the one-click patent application that Amazon aggressively pursued. We appreciated the comments and respected the concerns. We said that we would always make our publications directly available so that no one would be required to buy an EPIC publication from Amazon. We also continued to press publicly for Amazon to be more responsive to the privacy concerns of Internet users. Recently Amazon announced that it could no longer guarantee that it would not disclose customer information to third parties. Because of this decision, and in the absence of legal or technical means to assure privacy for Amazon customers, we have decided that we can no longer continue our relationship with Amazon. Over the next several weeks we will take steps to sever our ties with Amazon. This will mean finding a new way to distribute our publications and other publications on privacy, free speech, and related topics. In the interim, you can continue to order all of EPIC's publications directly from us. The web address for the EPIC Bookstore is http://www.epic.org/bookstore. We will notify you when we resume the sale of other publications that we think will be of interest to our subscribers. We appreciate your comments on this matter. We apologize for any disruption in service that might result from this change. We are eager to make our publications and the publications of others available to you, but the protection of privacy must come first. Marc Rotenberg Executive Director Electronic Privacy Information Center - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 15:56:37 -0400 From: mobmmbr Subject: Re: CATV Phone Service Both Cox Communications and Qwest are offering dial tone over CATV in the Phoenix area. And they are also circuit switching technology. Qwests system marries up the POTS service and the VDSL service at a cross connect box in the field, and then feeds it to the user over their existing POTS line. Cox puts their dial tone on at the Head end and then feed it over their CATV network. Of the two I personally think the Qwest product is much better if they can come up with a way to keep the broadcast levels up during peak usage hours. Cox's POTS is of lesser quality than POTS only service, but then they are the new kids on this particular block. Marvin A Sirbu wrote: > Excerpts from netnews.comp.dcom.telecom: 12-Sep-100 CATV Phone Service > Marty Brenneis@sparkolog (561*) > > > Can some wizardly netizen point me at a description of how the CATV > > phone networks work? I'm curious. I know how traditional POTS works > > with a copper pair running back to a switch in a CO. > > > I got to wondering if the signal that is created by the CATV to phone > > box that is installed by the local cable company is de-moded and fed to > > a regular switch, or is it packet switched some how. > > > Post here so all can learn. > > To date, all of the CATV-based telephony services that have been offered > use circuit switching, not packet switching. > > The first major trial of IP telephony over cable is about to get > underway in Montreal as an offering of Videotron, Quebec's major MSO. > Expect ATT Broadband to begin its own trials within a year. > > See: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000814/pa_motorol.html > -- > The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail > messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. - -- "This," cried the Mayor, "is your town's darkest hour! The time for all Whos who have blood that is red To come to the aid of their country!" he said. "We've got to make noises in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!" --Dr. Seuss -- - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 16:54:46 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lawmakers call for Net privacy legislation Lawmakers call for Net privacy legislation WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) - The U.S. Congress must set minimum guidelines to protect consumers' privacy on the Internet, two key legislators said, while acknowledging that industry has made substantial progress to guard personal data. Legislation should require that every Web site post privacy policies, let users prohibit companies from collecting information, supersede any state laws and give U.S. regulators the power to enforce and review policies, said Representative Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cti520.htm - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 18:54:21 -0400 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: What's more rare than a public phone? >Service for public phones has been going down for years probably due to the >fact that so many people now have cell phone service. That's why you pay >at least $.35 for a local call. You just live in the wrong place. Here in beautiful Trumansburg the LEC's payphones still require a dime, deposited when the called party answers. Most other places in New York it's a quarter, LEC or COCOT. In fairness, pay phones were a nickel most places in 1950, and a dime most places in 1965, which are equivalent to 36 cents and 54 cents in inflated 2000 dollars. Pay phones cost about what they always did, although I agree that they do now too often come equipped with booby traps, e.g., operator services that charge you $6 for a call that would have cost 40 cents with a decent calling card. - -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 19:07:45 -0400 From: John De Hoog Subject: Re: What's more rare than a public phone? Joseph Singer wrote... >Service for public phones has been going down for years probably due to the >fact that so many people now have cell phone service. That's why you pay >at least $.35 for a local call. Here in Japan, where telecommunications costs are generally much higher than in the US, payphones are still 10 yen (roughly a dime) for three minutes local. But their number is fast dwindling as cell phones proliferate. Interestingly, this trend intersects NTT's program of replacing conventional payphones with newfangled ISDN models. Anyway, cell phones are obviously much more useful than payphones in most situations. Like last night when our daughter, bicycling home from school in the rain, got hit by a car. We got the news immediately from her cell phone and were directed to the location by keeping in touch with a good Samaritan on our own PHS (micro-cell unit), arriving by taxi soon after the ambulance. Payphones would have been no good in that case. (She's fine now, happily.) - -- John De Hoog, Tokyo http://dehoog.org - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 19:53:48 -0400 From: "Michi Kaifu" Subject: Re: CellOne San Francisco and AT&T Wireless > Anthony Argyriou wrote: > In the SF Bay Area, the wireline provider was GTE > Mobilenet, and the non-wireline was MacCaw Cellular, operating under the > Cellular One brand. OK, so GTE got "B" band (wireline), so that partly explains my problem. I still am a bit puzzled because PacBell (AirTouch's former parent) is the dominant WIRELINE carrier around here. Maybe GTE has some significant wireline service area somewhere in SF MSA. Michi Kaifu michi@pop.net - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 20:11:26 -0400 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R Levine) Subject: Re: CellOne San Francisco and AT&T Wireless >OK, so GTE got "B" band (wireline), so that partly explains my problem. I >still am a bit puzzled because PacBell (AirTouch's former parent) is the >dominant WIRELINE carrier around here. Maybe GTE has some significant >wireline service area somewhere in SF MSA. It is my understanding that in areas with multiple ILECs, there was a lottery to see which ILEC got the franchise. In practice, the ILECS formed up into a small number of bidding groups (often just one, making the lottery a sham), dividing up ownership and assigning the operations to one of them. Around here, for example, my small rural ILEC won the lottery, but the franchise was (after a very long and eventually unsuccessfull challenge by a another nearby Indian tribe) co-owned by NYNEX and Frontier, and operated by Frontier, then merged into BAMS and now Verizon. Dunno if my ILEC is still a silent partner or if they were bought out. This occasionally had peculiar results, as in Cape Cod and adjacent islands where the ILEC was New England Tel, except for one small island with a tiny ILEC owned by Malcolm Forbes. It's so small it doesn't even have a switch, just runs all the wires under the harbor to Bell's Falmouth switch, but they were plenty real to get into the cell lottery. I think they made a deal with NET, after a long challenge by the Gay Head Indian tribe on Martha's Vineyard. - -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 20:15:01 -0400 From: John David Galt Subject: Re: a news report warning of pager scam Carl Moore wrote: > Last weekend, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia broadcast a warning about > a pager scam, and pointed out that the large number of area codes made > it easier to pull off such a scam. The scam is paging someone with a > number which turns out to be an expensive pay-per-call line. (Any ideas > of what area codes might be involved?) The counter to this (not in the > words used in that broadcast) is doing your homework by finding out where > the number you would be calling is. This is an urban legend at least 15 years old. US and Canadian pay-per-call numbers (except area code 900) can only be reached from their local areas (LATAs) for exactly this reason. There are some scams using 011 (overseas country code) numbers, some of which aren't even located in the country the code would imply, but the FCC requires US telcos to block access to those numbers. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 13 Sep 2000 21:12:35 -0400 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: a news report warning of pager scam >> Last weekend, KYW news-radio in Philadelphia broadcast a warning about >> a pager scam, and pointed out that the large number of area codes made >> it easier to pull off such a scam. The scam is paging someone with a >> number which turns out to be an expensive pay-per-call line. (Any ideas >> of what area codes might be involved?) The counter to this (not in the >> words used in that broadcast) is doing your homework by finding out where >> the number you would be calling is. > >This is an urban legend at least 15 years old. US and Canadian >pay-per-call numbers (except area code 900) can only be reached from their >local areas (LATAs) for exactly this reason. Unlike some urban legends, this one is at least partially true; I've heard plausible reports of pager spam in New York City to surcharged 554 numbers. A big part of the problem is that there's no consistency to which prefixes are used for surcharged numbers, and they're not well publicised. -John] - -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 22:54:04 -0400 From: "Judith Oppenheimer" Subject: 9/13/00 ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES ************************************************************************* ICBTollFree.Com HEADS UP HEADLINES ************************************************************************* from ICB Toll Free News - Daily News and Intelligence covering the Political, Legal and Marketing Arenas of 800 and Dot Com. ************************************************************************* CONTENTS - - ADM REQUIREMENTS FOR NA ENUM DEPLOYMENT - - KENNARD DOES STANDUP AT VOIP CONFERENCE - - THE BURGER OF DNS: SECONDARY DOMAIN NAMES - - U.S. PLANS TO BLOCK ITU INTERNET SETTLEMENT PLAN - - DOC 'STRATEGIC PLAN FY 2000 - FY 2005' DRAFT SEEKS COMMENT - - GLOBAL GIANTS FACE NEW COMPETITION - - TELEVISION.COM DRAWS TRAFFIC ************************************************************************* !!! YOUR TEXT AD HERE !!! 18,000+ weekly readership, over 112,000 targeted impressions every month! Space is limited -- ORDER NOW! -- email editor@icbtollfree.com. ************************************************************************ CUSTOMER SERVICE NOTE: ICB is a popular research destination, with all content archived indefinitely. Find all ICB headlines, current and archived, at http://www.icbtollfree.com/icbheadlns.cfm. ************************************************************************ ARTICLE ACCESS CODE LEGEND ICB Toll Free News offers two valuable service options: F = Free - News and Features articles P = Premium - Unlimited Site Access including all Articles and Documents. ************************************************************************ HEADLINES for September 13, 2000 P - ADM REQUIREMENTS FOR NA ENUM DEPLOYMENT Establishment of a practical ENUM service for numbers in the North American Numbering Plan will require some entity to be chartered to perform the administrative function of maintaining DNS records. The entity will have to establish relationships and interfaces with NPAC and 800 SMS to obtain information on ported numbers. There will need to be some specification of the operational procedures for carriers and number users to specify or change the record containing their service registrar. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4481 F - KENNARD DOES STANDUP AT VOIP CONFERENCE I was thinking about the top six reasons to encourage IP telephony. I had ten reasons, but we are streamlining at the Commission, so now I have only six. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4477 F - THE BURGER OF DNS: SECONDARY DOMAIN NAMES The meat of this burger is the question of which record to use to do what you want. Remember that the whole point of DNS is to resolve a name into an IP address (the four part number) so that we can get to a particular machine for our intended purpose (which is to send it a piece of email, get a web page from it, ping it, etc.). Once we have its numerical address, how we get to it is a routing issue, and we don't care here how that works--only that it does! CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4483 ************************************************************************* **************************************************advertisements********* >>>>>>>>>>>>> http://1800TheExpert.com <<<<<<<<<<<<< 800 & Domain Name Acquisition Management, Lost/Stolen 800 # Retrieval, Litigation Support, Regulatory Navigation, Correlating Domain Name & Trademark Matters. ************************************************************************* Are you a local or regional business that advertises in newspapers, direct mail, on radio or tv? 1 800 BRAND IT shared use marketing programs can help your sales skyrocket! http://www.1800BrandIt.com ************************************************************************* FT Telecom Conferences In its 20th year, this event will bring leading personalities in the telecomms industry to discuss opportunities and challenges which technological advancement, increased competition and restructuring will pose to the future of global telecommunications. Register online to receive your 10% discount. http://www.ftconferences.com/dynamic/conferences/ftwt00.htm?bn=icb ************************************************************************* EVERY 3.6 SECONDS SOMEONE DIES FROM HUNGER http://www.hungersite.com/ ************************************************************************* Visit Global Telecom Domains(SM), 'The Best Names in Telecom' www.GlobalTelecomDomains.com ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* more HEADLINES for September 13, 2000 F - U.S. PLANS TO BLOCK ITU INTERNET SETTLEMENT PLAN The WTSA meeting will address the vaguely worded draft recommendation by ITU Study Group 3 that opponents say would impose the international settlement rate system now in place for voice telephony on Internet traffic. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4482 P - DOC 'STRATEGIC PLAN FY 2000 - FY 2005' DRAFT SEEKS COMMENT Comments due by September 15th. There will also be a Department of Commerce Stakeholders meeting on September 19 from 3 to 4:30 PM in B841A of the Herbert Hoover Building, 14th and Constitution Aves., N.W., Washington, DC 20230 in Room B841A. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4480 P - GLOBAL GIANTS FACE NEW COMPETITION Twenty years ago, telecom monopolies were forced to face the wrath of deregulation and thousands of pretenders to their throne. But the biggest among them have survived the competitive onslaught, only to be challenged in the new millennium by Internet and wireless start-ups. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4479 F - TELEVISION.COM DRAWS TRAFFIC Television.com has drawn over 700,000 unique visitors (Web Trends) and more than 3.5 million page views in its first two weeks, it was announced by television.com's CEO Larry Namer. CONTINUED HERE: http://www.icbtollfree.com/article.cfm?articleId=4478 ************************************************************************* **************************************************advertisements********* TelecomCareers.net - Cutting Edge Telecom Careers, #1 Telecom Job Site! http://TelecomCareers.net ************************************************************************* P.A.T. - a real Live person inside your voice mail? Yes. P.A.T.LiVE, a division of ATG Technologies, Inc., rents live secretarial services through a toll free number. P.A.T. 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