Aucbvax.2901 fa.telecom Tue Sep 1 21:25:39 1981 TELECOM Digest V1 #7 From JSol@RUTGERS Tue Sep 1 21:19:40 1981 TELECOM AM Digest Wednesday, 2 Sep 1981 Volume 1 : Issue 7 Today's Topics: Novice Reference Manual for Phones Does Anyone Know The Time In Sydney? Calling In France - English Please... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 31 Aug 1981 08:28:36-PDT From: telecom-link at Berkeley Subject: Telecom for Beginners Is there a generally accepted reference on telephony that is up to date? I am (relatively) new to the detailed world of telephony; I certainly don't know the difference between the different ESS versions, but I know what one is; I know what a step-by-step system is, but not TSPS. I would very much like to get up to speed, as I find it very interesting and quite useful. Any suggestions? Chris Kent ------------------------------ Date: 31 Aug 1981 08:39:27-PDT From: telecom-link at Berkeley Cc: hobs@Berkeley, ucbvax!ucla-s!lauren@Berkeley Reply-to: "ihuxo!hobs in care of" Subject: TSPS and the time in Sydney TSPS is short for Traffic Service Position System and is a way of semi-automating the telephone operator's job, I don't know what TOPS is. Lauren, I tried calling the IDDD number that you gave for the time in Sydney, Australia, and all I got was an announcement telling me that "My call could not be completed as dialed." Pray, tell me what is the correct number. John Hobson Bell Labs-Indian Hill ------------------------------ Date: 31 August 1981 09:34-EDT From: Andrew Tannenbaum To: edh at BBN-RSM cc: telecom at MIT-AI TSPS - Traffic Service Postion System It's a system that Telco operators hack. Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ ------------------------------ FFM@MIT-MC 09/01/81 05:26:10 Re: EN ANGLAIS S'IL VOUS PLAIT(=ENGLISH PLEASE) I have had the necessity quite a few times in the past to have to get phone #s in Paris and other such places. In no case did the operator on this side ever speak french. In fact most of the time the operator asked me to speak to them. My ability to speak french is not as good as I'd like; tho I can do reasonably if I go quite slowly. Most operators in other countries have some command of english. However here I doubt if 1 out of 100 has command of any foreign language. I also have the sneaking suspicion that more than 1% of operator interactions with customers are monitored. The front of the local(Palo Alto) phone book states that 1% or less of operator-customer interactions are monitored for 'quality-control' purposes. I suspect it is much higher than that. What TELCO does internally I dunno, BUT legend has it that they are not the friendliest of employers and if they treat there employees like they treat thier customers most of the time I can really understand why "even the stockholders of the phone company...hate the phone company". Anyway have fun, Sends Steve ------------------------------ Date: 09/01/81 08:12:49 From: PCR@MIT-MC Subject: "Bell's Satellite Use Threatens to Slash Data Throughput" This is the title of an article in the latest issue of Information Systems News. It deals with the fact that AT&T is planning to freely intermix ground-link and satellite-link circuits, and the inherent delay in a satellite circuit will degrade data transmission that uses IBM's binary synchronous or other ARQ (automatic request repeat) protocols by as much as 85%. It seems that some remote-job-entry systems require acknowledgment of the previous data block before the next can be sent. If there is a satellite delay in the link, effective baud rates can drop from 4800 baud to almost 400. (I've seen this when I've called the west coast to access a bulletin board. There was almost a half-second delay between typing a character and getting the echo back.)w The solution is either to re-dial, or use some diffrent protocol (and pay through the nose to get the software upgraded). Anybody got any comments?? ...phil ------------------------------ Date: 1 Sep 1981 18:53:03-PDT From: CSVAX.geoff at Berkeley Subject: Bill-Paying by Phone First Interstate Bank, in its previous incarnation as United California Bank, has had the pay-your-bills-by-touch-tone-service mentioned in TELECOM V1 #6 for at least a year. I investigated the service, but found out that Allstate Savings (yes, "a member of the Sears family" is emblazoned on much of their literature), has an essentially equivalent service which may be MUCH cheaper. First Interstate charges $1/month plus $.10/transfer *in addition to* your checking account charges. Allstate savings has *no charge* if you keep your balance above $500 at all times, a flat $3/month otherwise. And they pay you 5-1/4% interest on your funds (a NOW account), don't charge for checks, travellers checks, and so on. They also will waive the service charges if you have $3000 in any other kind of account with them. I've been using Allstate for about a year now, with absolutely no complaints. As I recall, I started banking there after someone (Lauren?) mentioned it on Human-Nets, and they had been using it for several years with no complaints. UCB, now FIB (would you trust a bank with THAT for an acronym?), does have one feature on their telephone bill-payment system which Allstate lacks: you can specify a payment to be made on a specific future date. That could be convenient if you're going to be away for a month or two. (But you can always have a friend call the computer and pay your bills for you -- since the list of accounts which can be paid is fixed in advance by you, you still have a secure arrangement.) Geoff Peck ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest **********************