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TELECOM Digest Fri, 8 Jul 2005 16:50:00 EDT Volume 24 : Issue 314 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update #488, July 8, 2005 (Angus TeleManagement Group) High-Speed Internet Use Soars 34% in 2004, FCC Says (Telecom dailyLead) Google Earth Thrills With Photos, Stunts, But How Practical? (M Solomon) SunRocket VOIP Comments? (jmeissen@aracnet.com) Re: Non-Bell ESS? (John Stahl) Re: Florida Boy on Cell Calls 9-1-1 Over 40 Times! (Joseph) Phone Tag: Uselessness of Phones: Hangups of Technology (Pat Townson) Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 11:40:11 -0700 Subject: Telecom Update #488, July 8, 2005 From: Angus TeleManagement Group <ianangus@angustel.ca> Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca> ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 488: July 8, 2005 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** ALLSTREAM: www.allstream.com ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/en/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** SPRINT CANADA: www.sprint.ca ** UTC CANADA: www.canada.utc.org/ ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Sprint Canada Becomes Rogers Telecom ** Cable Telephony On A Roll Rogers Videotron Cogeco Shaw ** Saskatchewan Appeals VoIP Decision ** MTS-Allstream Buys Delphi Solutions ** CRTC Wants Comment On Bell Digital Voice ** Navigata Cuts Webphone Pricing ** Shift Claims 1000 Business Customers ** Rogers Drops $5 LD Plan ** Cellcos Intro Inter-Carrier Multimedia ** Telus Loses Appeal on Union Jurisdiction ** Telecom Policy Review Panel Issues Guidelines ** CRTC Corrects VoIP Winback Ruling ** Should Telco Local Fibre Be Deregulated? ** Telcos to Pilot Bad Debt Repayment Plans ** 8-1-1 Approved for Health 'Teletriage' ** Rim Sales Up, Shares Down ** Sears to Install 200 Freefones ************************************************************ SPRINT CANADA BECOMES ROGERS TELECOM: After receiving shareholder and court approvals, Rogers Communications completed its acquisition of Call-Net Enterprises and its operating subsidiary, Sprint Canada, on July 1. Call-Net is now Rogers Telecom Holdings Inc., and Sprint Canada has been renamed Rogers Telecom Inc. ** Call-Net, launched in 1986, was Canada's first successful long distance reseller. It survived intense hostility from the telcos and repeated CRTC orders to desist until the Commission changed the rules to allow resale in 1990. It subsequently became a facilities- based long distance and local service provider with more than 600,000 customers across the country. CABLE TELEPHONY ON A ROLL: Canada's cable TV companies are now firmly committed to the residential phone market. Among the latest developments: ** On July 1, Rogers Cable launched Rogers Home Phone service in the Greater Toronto Area. Rates range from $25.46 to $35.66 a month for customers who also take other Rogers services. ** Videotron says it has signed up 42,000 customers since launching phone service in January, achieving 8% penetration on Montreal's south shore. It will begin offering phone service in Quebec City on July 11. ** Cogeco Cable's telephone service, introduced in June in Burlington and Oakville, Ontario, is now available in Trois-Rivires, Trois- Rivires Ouest and Pointe-du-lac, Quebec. ** Shaw Communications says it had 22,450 Digital Phone lines installed or pending in Calgary and Edmonton by May 31. The company now expects that 20% of its cable TV customers will take its phone service within three years, rather than five years as previously predicted. SASKATCHEWAN APPEALS VoIP DECISION: The Government of Saskatchewan has asked the federal Cabinet to review the CRTC's VoIP decision (Telecom Decision 2005-28).. It says the decision disadvantages SaskTel and will 'result in long term and irrevocable harm' to the province. www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2005/07/06-650.html MTS-ALLSTREAM BUYS DELPHI SOLUTIONS: MTS Allstream has acquired Markham-based Delphi Solutions Corp. for approximately $15 million cash. Delphi is best-known as a provider of Mitel, Nortel and Toshiba PBXs to small and mid-sized business across Canada. Delphi's management, including president Ed Lavin, will remain in place. CRTC WANTS COMMENT ON BELL DIGITAL VOICE: CRTC Telecom Public Notice 2005-9 invites comments on Bell's Digital Voice tariff, which received interim approval in June (see Telecom Update #486). To participate, notify the Commission by July 15. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2005/pt2005-9.htm NAVIGATA CUTS WEBPHONE PRICING: Navigata, a Sasktel subsidiary operating in B.C. and Alberta, has cut the price of Webphone, its access-independent VoIP service. Basic service is now $15.95/month; Basic service plus 1000 minutes of North American long distance is $29.95/month. (See Telecom Update #430) SHIFT CLAIMS 1000 BUSINESS CUSTOMERS: Shift Networks, which provides hosted multi-line IP telephone systems to small businesses in Calgary and Edmonton, says it added 483 new customers in the second quarter, bringing the total to more than 1,000. Shift customers purchase IP phones telephones, routers, installation and training from Shift, and must sign 36-month service agreements. ROGERS DROPS $5 LD PLAN: Following Bell Canada's example, Rogers has stopped offering 1,000 minutes of long distance for $5 to its bundle customers. Existing customers have been grandfathered. CELLCOS INTRO INTER-CARRIER MULTIMEDIA: On July 1, Canada's cellular carriers launched inter-carrier multimedia message services, allowing customers with MMS-capable phones to exchange text, pictures, and video no matter which carrier each uses. TELUS LOSES APPEAL ON UNION JURISDICTION: The Supreme Court has refused to hear Telus' appeal against a Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling that former Clearnet employees are now represented by the Telecommunications Workers Union bargaining unit. (See Telecom Update #434, #439) TELECOM POLICY REVIEW PANEL ISSUES GUIDELINES: The Telecom Policy Review panel has posted additional guidelines for submissions, which are due August 15 (see Telecom Update #485). www.telecomreview.ca/epic/internet/intprp-gecrt.nsf/en/rx00024e.html CRTC CORRECTS VOIP WINBACK RULING: The CRTC has confirmed that the incumbent telcos are only prohibited for three months (not twelve) from attempting to win back business customers who have chosen a competitor's local service. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/dt2005-28-1.htm SHOULD TELCO LOCAL FIBRE BE DEREGULATED? In Public Notice 2005-8, the CRTC asks whether the incumbent telcos' high-speed intra-exchange digital services face enough competition in some markets to warrant deregulation, as requested by Bell Canada (see Telecom Update #422). To participate, notify the Commission by July 8. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2005/pt2005-8.htm TELCOS TO PILOT BAD DEBT REPAYMENT PLANS: The CRTC has ordered Aliant, Bell, MTS and Telus to conduct 18-month trials of a program to allow subscribers who were disconnected for non-payment to re-subscribe and pay their debts off over time. The CRTC points to SaskTel's existing program as a model. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/dt2005-38.htm 8-1-1 APPROVED FOR HEALTH 'TELETRIAGE': Responding to an application by Alberta Health and Wellness on behalf of the provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers of Health, the CRTC has okayed the use of the 8-1-1 code to access non-urgent health care telephone triage services. www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/dt2005-39.htm RIM SALES UP, SHARES DOWN: Does anyone understand the stock market? Research In Motion doubled its profit in the three months ended May 28, and it added 592,000 new subscribers in the last quarter, exceeding its announced target of 560,000 to 590,000. Its stock promptly fell 7%, because some analysts had predicted it would add considerably more. SEARS TO INSTALL 200 FREEFONES: Sears Canada has signed a 3-year contract to install some 200 courtesy phones provided by Toronto-based Freefone Inc., in 122 stores across Canada. Freefones include a 15-inch video display which shows advertising while customers make free local calls. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2005 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 13:08:58 EDT From: Telecom dailyLead from USTA <usta@dailylead.com> Subject: High-Speed Internet Use Soars 34% in 2004, FCC Says Telecom dailyLead from USTA July 8, 2005 http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=22940&l=2017006 TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * High-speed Internet use soars 34% in 2004, FCC says BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Mobile phone networks overloaded after London blast * Cisco's Giancarlo gets promotion * Zhone buys Paradyne USTA SPOTLIGHT * FTTH Deployment Webinar: The Trends, Drivers, Technologies and Economics EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES * Yahoo! offers SMS search VOIP DOWNLOAD * Study: Retail VoIP growing globally * A peek inside Skype * Survey: Rural businesses want different VoIP applications REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * U.S. ITC ends investigation of Nortel-Ciena patent feud Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=22940&l=2017006 Legal and Privacy information at http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp SmartBrief, Inc. 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 09:26:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Google Earth Thrills With Photos, Stunts, But How Practical Is It? By WALTER S. MOSSBERG It's good to have a healthy skepticism about the claims of the hype-driven technology industry. But there are times when even a hardened skeptic has to admit to amazement and delight at the sheer coolness of some of the things you can do on a personal computer today. And one of those "wow" moments happens the first time you run a new program called Google Earth. The program lets you view satellite and aerial photos of pretty much any spot on the planet. In big metropolitan areas in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe, you can locate, and zoom in on, individual buildings and houses, and see cars and trees. You can overlay streets onto these urban images, as well as markers indicating restaurants, hotels and more. In other places, you can make out only towns and large geographical features, like lakes. The program rapidly fetches the images from the Internet and visually "flies" you from place to place around the globe. The process is so fluid it feels like a Hollywood stunt. For instance, if you're staring at a bird's-eye view of St. Mark's Square in Venice and you type in your address in Boston, Google Earth will zoom out till you seem high in the sky, then rapidly "fly" you west across the Atlantic into the U.S., and then stop right over your house. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050707.html ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@aracnet.com Subject: SunRocket VOIP Comments? Date: 8 Jul 2005 17:29:00 GMT Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Back in November of last year there was an announcement posted here about Sunrocket VOIP http://www.sunrocket.com . I don't recall seeing anything about them since. Does anyone have any opinions, good or bad, about their service? John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2005 09:55:09 -0400 From: John Stahl <aljon@stny.rr.com> Subject: Re: Non-Bell ESS? > In article <telecom24.312.7@telecom-digest.org>, > dmine45.NOSPAM@yahoo.com says: There was a non-Bell #5ESS switch being sold to the non-Bell Independent telcos back in the Bell System days (pre-divestiture). I seem to remember that a company originally started by AT&T and GTE back when Ma Bell was in control of "The Phone System" named AGCS was "chartered" to manufacture and supply Bell System (designed) type products to the Independent Telcos throughout the country. The reason for this joint effort was that one of the FCC ruling regarding Western Electric was that they could only supply product to the Bell companies. So there were many ILEC's (as they were called later) who had an AGCS #5ESS (can't remember the exact series name) switch in their CO's which was an exact design feature for feature to the WECo #5ESS switch. In these later years, Lucent took over AGCS from AT&T and finally "absorbed" it into the Lucent family. If you go to the AGCS web site (www.agcs.com) today, you will find the Lucent logo. John Stahl Telecom/Data Consultant Aljon Enterprises ------------------------------ From: Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Florida Boy on Cell Calls 9-1-1 Over 40 Times! Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:21:55 -0700 Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com On Thu, 07 Jul 2005 22:33:26 -0400, Nathan Strom <nstrom@ananzi.co.za> wrote: > Guess they still need to work on that E-911 rollout. > Couldn't they check with the cell phone provider and see who the ESN > is/was last registered to? And what good does that do for someone who just gave their old AMPS, TDMA , CDMA or GSM cellphone to a resale shop? The person who buys these old phones won't have "registered" it with anyone. The person who originally had it and the associated ESN/IMEI is long gone and out of the picture. ------------------------------ From: Patrick Townson <editor@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Technology Has its Own Hangups For Users Date: Fri, 08 Jul 2005 18:54:27 -0500 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We just finished a series of messages this past week on 'phone tag' and as a 'Last Laugh!' the overall uselessness of the telephone. I thought this article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette might be interesting reading, if you missed it the first time it ran. PAT] ------------------------- Technology has its own hangups for users. And when the speed with which these answers arrive isn't up to our expectations, we look for someone -- or something -- to blame. Technology, it seems, is an easy target. In a recent survey, 67 percent of the 1,750 people interviewed by Siemens Communications Inc. took target practice at telephone and online communications, saying they spend too much time leaving voice mails and sending e-mails when quick answers are what they need. And when answers finally do arrive, these same people reported the calls often came back too late. Society is plugged in as never before -- with PDAs, cell phones, e-mail, faxes, caller ID and voice mail -- and experts offer varying opinions about the cause and effect. Some say Americans are feeling increasingly unplugged, disconnected and out of control, trapped in a never-ending game of phone tag. Others say that the ability to screen phone calls through caller ID, sift through e-mail and, particularly for businesses, handle customer calls through automated voice systems is worth any inconvenience and potential waiting game. "Isn't it interesting that we blame the technology?" said Richard Thompson, a professor and director of the graduate program in telecommunications at the University of Pittsburgh. Thompson worked for 20 years at AT&T Bell Labs before coming to Pitt in 1989. "Isn't this like being annoyed about traffic congestion, so we blame the inventors of the automobile? It sounds to me like when people need information from someone else, that 67 percent of them put off getting it until the last possible minute. "I think this complaint says a lot about how busy we are and how hectic our jobs are, on both sides of the phone call or e-mail, but especially on the calling party's side." Barry Lawrence of Siemens, the survey folks, says productivity is declining because it's so hard to reach people. And our personal lives have grown more frustrating because it's hard to reach a live person at your health club or day-care center. The communications technology designed to make our lives easier is affecting our work, lifestyles and mental health, Lawrence said. Playing phone tag also is making our skins thinner, said Wu Zhou, a senior analyst for Boston-based IDC, a top telecommunications research firm, because we never know when or if the person we're trying to reach listens to voice mail or reads e-mails. But technology doesn't give people a license to be rude, said Martin Weiss, associate professor of telecommunications at Pitt. "It's like the argument about guns," he said -- do you blame the people who use the technology for not returning calls or e-mails, or the technology that allows them to screen your communication? And is caller ID something the complainer covets himself because he can screen, say, persistent telemarketers? "You can't have it both ways," Weiss said. Zhou argued that those who do listen to voice mails and read e-mails could be using that time more productively. It's a balancing act, these questions of civility versus service, efficiency versus delay, and which side you fall on depends mostly on which side of the phone line you happen to be on. Out of reach "We are so bombarded by information that we are defending ourselves with tools such as caller ID," said Pier Forni, an expert on manners at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and author of "Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct." "If a talkative friend is calling and you are busy, you have the good, traditional option of answering. Just state that you are busy, and that you will call back later." But not responding to voice or e-mails "is a form of non-acknowledgement; hence it's rude," Forni said. Once again, Pitt's Thompson advised not to blame the messenger. In an e-mail -- a prompt answer to a query about this article -- he set up a premise, explaining that he is "usually someone from whom people want information, instead of the one seeking the information. People have a question about my master's program, so they call me or send an e-mail." He notes that most questions could be answered by viewing the University's Web site, "but they're too lazy or too busy to work independently." So a percentage of that group might call him and wind up leaving voice mail, setting up a potential phone-tag situation. "If they had sent me an e-mail, with the question in the e-mail, I could respond directly, at least by the next day," Thompson said. "I think many of us haven't learned how to use the appropriate technology for the given task." Any human will do ... The one universal villain in advanced telecommunications seems to be automated voice mail. All telephone users have visited that special ring of Hades where automated menus reside. Last week, Gene Dwyer of Crafton called the Pennsylvania American Water Co. to report a problem with muddy, rusty water. "I went through three or four button pushes until a lady came on wanting my account number, my Social Security number and telephone number, and then they were willing to listen to my story," says Dwyer. The woman told him they hadn't received any other complaints but that one of their water experts would look into it. Dwyer also called KQV radio, reporting the muddy water as a news tip. They, too, said they'd look into it. "You go through a long series of automated phone menus, then you pick the number closest to your topic," Dwyer says. "Go through four menus, then in the fourth menu, you go through two additional sub menus." When Dwyer has called Duquesne Light during a power outage, he has been given another number to call. "You have to get a flashlight to make the call," he says. "I won't even get into trying to contact a doctor, credit-card company, Blue Cross, airlines, banks, etc.," says writer Patricia Orendorff Smith, 62, of Indiana, Indiana County. "I am put on hold after punching number after number only to hear a computerized voice. It drives me nuts. I want to talk to a real live person, one in the flesh." Joanna L. Krotz, in a report titled "'Voice-mail jail' and other blunders of automation" for www.microsoft.com, acknowledged that "increasingly, customer care is being managed and massaged by automation." She added that more than 70 percent of midmarket companies say they plan to invest in contact center or e-mail management systems within the next two years, according to a survey from AMR Research, a Boston-based market analyst. Although automated systems may come at a cost to customers' time and nerves, they also save the company money, a savings that should filter back to clients. "There's no question that computerized services offer dramatic savings," Krotz wrote. "Typically, it costs an exorbitant $50 or more for a human agent to field a customer's call. By contrast, self-service interactions on the Web run mere pennies. In between, combinations of human agents and technologies ... cost a few bucks per call." Weiss admitted that automated voice mail isn't winning any fans. "I hate them, everybody hates them. But does it mean that, let's say, the bank having them can offer me cheaper services? If it does, then it's a trade-off. Life is full of trade-offs. This is just one of them." Interpreting the survey We began with a poll that says a majority of us are ticked off about the time ticking away as we wait for an answer. The follow-up question we asked experts is: Are the trade-offs -- such as caller ID and cheaper services -- worth the waiting game? "I think the technology has raised our expectation that we can get the information we need easier and sooner," Thompson said. "Like the automobile has raised our expectation that we can commute from Harmar Township to Smithfield Street in 25 minutes. Since we can't do it, because we spend 20 minutes trying to get through the traffic light at Route 28 and the 31st Street Bridge, we vent our frustration on the technology in some survey." If the survey implies that things are worse than they used to be, then it's giving a false impression, Thompson said. "I don't want to appear defensive about telecom technology, but what did we do before we had voice mail and e-mail? That was a different time, when we all weren't so frantic, so it's hard to make an A-B comparison." The survey reminded Pitt's Weiss of a time when caller ID was a case for the Federal Communications Commissions and the courts. "Back around the late '80s, early '90s, one of the big debates was whether caller ID should be allowed at all because of privacy issues," he said. "Some 15 years later, it's become ubiquitous," he said. "And where before we were complaining about privacy invasion ... now we have it and people are taking advantage of it. You can't have it both ways." Liz Raphael Helegesen, 41, who records messages for corporate America's voice mail systems, screens calls with caller ID and says she returns all voice mails. "When I'm on the other line, in a conference, in a recording session, parenting or eating a meal, it would be inappropriate to interrupt an existing conversation, meeting or family time to take a phone call," she said. To Helegesen, caller ID is an important tool. "People rely on caller ID because they don't want to talk to you," said Jeff Kagan, a national telecommunications analyst in Atlanta. Added management consultant April Callis of Lansing, Mich.: People use voice mail "to collect calls they don't want to deal with and don't plan on returning." Weiss quotes an article that he thinks sums it up when he said caller ID and other telecom tools are "a way of defending ourselves from the information onslaught, and I think that's true." The future, he adds, is bound to include more intelligent screening devices as the onslaught of information continues unabated. "I think we'll see a lot of different techniques for helping us cope," Weiss said. But that doesn't mean we'll see an end to complaints. (Bill Hendrick of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Post-Gazette staff writer L.A. Johnson contributed to this story. Copyright 1997-2005 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved. ------------------------------ 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 networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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The program has state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning. Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at 405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at http://www.mstm.okstate.edu ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 fifty 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. End of TELECOM Digest V24 #314 ****************************** | |