TELECOM Digest     Tue, 13 Sep 2005 14:00:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 417

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Wireless TV a Hot Topic at Broadcaster Confab (US Telecom Daily Lead)
    How a Telephone Works (eagle_speaks@yahoo.co.uk)
    ITU-T International Accounting Rates (roksana@smoore.me.uk)
    Cellular-News for Tuesday 13th September 2005 (Cellular-News)
    Re: Flat Rate Water (jared)
    Re: Flat Rate Water, was: Verizon Complaints About EVDO (John Levine)
    Re: Flat Rate Water, was: Verizon Complaints About EVDO (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: NYC Phone Rates, was: Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy (Lisa Hancock)
    My First Internet Access in Two Weeks (Mark J. Cuccia)
    Delay in Reaching Operator; 762 and 424 NPAs (Mark J. Cuccia)
    Back in the Cord-Board Days (Re: Delay in Reaching Operator) (M Cuccia)
    BellSouth/AT&T New Orleans "Main" at Baronne & Poydras Sts (Mark Cuccia)

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See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:33:54 EDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Wireless TV a Hot Topic at Broadcaster Confab


USTelecom dailyLead
September 13, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24561&l=2017006

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Wireless TV a hot topic at broadcaster confab
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Nokia to broaden mobile corporate e-mail system
* Icahn promises proxy fight in battle with Time Warner
* Free Internet calls bring more competition to voice market
* China Netcom snaps up provincial networks
* Analysis: Cable may target wireless market
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT 
* Think TELECOM '05 is not for you?  Think Again.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Success of "wallet phones" not guaranteed outside Japan, Korea
* Pannaway launches new version of BAM
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* FCC head pushes telcos' mergers

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24561&l=2017006

------------------------------

From: eagle_speaks@yahoo.co.uk
Subject: How a Telephone Works
Date: 13 Sep 2005 07:09:02 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Though I am in the telecommunications field ( software side) I am a
bit confused about how everything works, though I have a high level
overview. So I am stating my undestanding, so that someone can
correct or fill up the gaps.

1. Each home suscriber has a twisted copper pair that runs from his
telephone to a cable containg thousands (why no multiplexing here and
send it through a single wire??) thousands of such pairs; to the local
excahnge or the central office.

2. In the central office there is a hardware equipment (LTG ??) which
has a lot of ports, to one of which the copper pair that runs from the
suscribers telephone is plugged in.

(I hope I am correct here.)

3. The central office is connected to the tandem office via trunks
which I hope are a thick co-axial cable or optical fiber through which
multiplexed traffic from various CO flows.

Also there is a seperate cable for SS7 siganlling, connecting various
CO to TO .

There is also a switch at the tandem office.

4. Now if a suscriber dials a number, the DTMF tones are resceived at
the CO which has a directory (databse ???) look up. It finds that this
number is at antother exchange and sends a SS7 signal to that . From
there how is the trunk reserved ????

5. Also how is the incoming call from a modem and telephone
distinguished at the CO. Or does the modem also dial DTMF signals???

I hope someone can answer my questions.

------------------------------

From: roksana@smoore.me.uk
Subject: ITU-T International Accounting Rates
Date: 12 Sep 2005 16:20:07 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


I was wondering if anybody had any knowledge on the current state of
play regarding the ITU and International Accounting Rates. I wanted to
know what has been done to address the problem with particular
reference to D.140 Annex E or Annex F.

The data on the ITU website is quite old in this area and searches
elsewhere have returned little useful information.

Thanks in advance for any help, 

Roksana.

------------------------------

Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 13th September 2005
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:38:19 -0500
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news.com>


Cellular-News  http://www.cellular-news.com

  Cheaper Calling Between African Nations
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14039.php

Celtel, which operates several GSM networks across Africa has
announced a pan-African calling tariff for their customers. It was
announced that the new tariffs are exclusively for Celtel customers
calling other Celtel su...

  3 UK Opens the Door to Wireless Internet Use
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14040.php

Hutchison 3G is finally going to unlock their wireless internet garden
wall and let their customers access a wider range of wap and web sites
on their 3G handsets. Until now, 3 has blocked access to the vast
majority of ...

  Brits can send PrePay Credits to Nigerian Phones
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14041.php

MTN Nigeria has begun the sale of its PrePay top-up cards in the
UK. This unique initiative by MTN allows Nigerians living in the
United Kingdom, to buy airtime and send to their relatives and friends
in Nigeria, while M...

  Vodafone Orders Ringback Tones for Greece
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14042.php

NMS Communications and LogicaCMG have announced yet another joint
ringback commercial launch, as Vodafone Greece launched ringback
tones. Vodafone Greece's ringback tone service is based on NMS's
MyCaller personalized mo...

  Bango Enables PayPal Billing on Mobile Phones
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14043.php

The mobile billing provider, Bango has announced that it now provides
mobile phone users with the ability to pay for mobile content using
their PayPal accounts. With this agreement, mobile phone users can
approve purchas...

  USA Wireless Calling Surpasses Wireline Calling
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14044.php

Yankee Group has revealed that wireless substitution thrives,
substantially displacing wireline services and leaving fixed-mobile
convergence far behind in an embryonic state of development. According
to Yankee Group's w...

  Deutsche Telekom To Sell 10% MTS Stake On Russian Market
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14034.php

German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) Monday said
it will sell its stake of about 10% in Russian firm OJSC Mobile
TeleSystems, or MTS, in an accelerated book-building process. ...

  eBay To Buy Skype For $2.6 Billion In Cash, Stock
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14035.php

Seeking to enhance its core e-commerce business while venturing into a
fast-growing segment of the communications field, eBay Inc. (EBAY)
said Monday it will acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA
(SKYPE.YY). ...

  Vodafone Group Launches High Speed Data Product
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14036.php

Vodafone Group PLC said Monday that it has launched 3G/UMTS Router, a
new product that provides high speed mobile data connectivity for
teams working on the move, together with Linksys and Cisco
Systems. ...

  TDC To Launch Business 3G Service In Denmark October 3
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14037.php

TDC AS (TLD), Denmark's leading telecom operator, Monday said it would
launch service on its third-generation mobile network for business
customers Oct. 3. ...

  Wind Reassures Market On Financing, Eyes IPO
  http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14038.php

The new owner of Italian telecoms operator Wind SpA (WIF.YY) Monday
reassured the market about the company's financing and said management
backed its new strategy, including expansion in Italy and Europe and
an initial p...

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:05:33 -0600
From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared)
Subject: Re: Flat Rate Water


Recently my water bill had an ad for a water monitor. Apparently the
meters are read remotely by unit in a vehicle going down the
street. For a modest charge I have a device about the size of two
packs of cigs, press a button and it polls the meter using an RF
link. Fun to see how much water a load of wash takes or what is the
rate of use to water the garden. The council subsidises the price as
it can be used to motivate water conservation.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The water meter-reader comes around
> once per month to read ours (they have to lift a cover off of the
> hole in the ground where the water meter is located; usually it is
> typically in the front yard (most are actually in the parkway; the
> grassy area between the sidewalk and the street).

------------------------------

Date: 13 Sep 2005 04:23:40 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Flat Rate Water, was: Verizon Complaints About EVDO
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> As a bit of a side trivia, NYC customers actually pay roughly
> _twice_ the metered rate since there's a corresponding sewer
> fee. There's a small group of homeowners who have their own septic
> tanks and are exempt from that -- if they know to apply ...

Septic tanks in NYC?  Yuck, unless perhaps they're in the nether parts
of Staten Island.

Actually, I'm surprised that they're exempt from the sewer fee.
Around here upstate, any property close enough to a sewer line to hook
up pays the sewer fee whether they hook up or not, on the theory that
there's a public benefit to getting everyone's poo out of the
groundwater.

We don't have any people with wells and sewer service, but some of the
other villages nearby do, and they have meters on their own wells to
compute their sewer rate.

R's,

John

------------------------------

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Flat Rate Water, was: Verizon Complaints About EVDO
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:38:43 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.416.4@telecom-digest.org>, Danny Burstein
<dannyb@panix.com> wrote:

> In <telecom24.415.12@telecom-digest.org> John L. Shelton
> <john@jshelton.com> writes:

>> The moral issue is: whether an "unlimited" service sold to an
>> individual can be shared with others.  Past history suggests "no." We
>> don't share our unlimited local phone lines with the neighborhood, nor
>> our cable TV. We don't rent one trash pickup in the nbhd and tell
>> everyone to bring their trash on over to one house for pickup. We
>> don't jam everyone possible into a car at the drive-in theatre in an
>> effort to avoid paying for extra cars. In places with unmetered water
>> (like NYC), we don't extend hoses to our neighbors so they don't have
>> to pay for a basic water hookup.

> Minor correction and update:

>	NYC _used_ to have a kind-of flat rate service [a]
>	for residential water users. You paid a fee based
>	on your frontage (size of your property) _and_
>	the number of faucets per the plans on file
>	with the building department.

>		[a] kind of like the kind-of flat
>		rates for phone service, I guess...

> Beginning about two decades ago all new residential hookups were
> metered, and bit by bit all the older ones have been switched over as
> well.

> As a bit of a side trivia, NYC customers actually pay roughly _twice_
> the metered rate since there's a corresponding sewer fee. There's a
> small group of homeowners who have their own septic tanks and are
> exempt from that -- if they know to apply ...

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you mean to tell me septic tanks are
> allowed in New York City? Here in Independence, KS, _everyone_ has to
> be hooked to the sewer, with no exceptions. Outside the city limits
> (that area which is known as 'rural Independence') is a different
> matter.  Most of them are _not_ hooked to the sewer, but they are
> hooked to the water, and many of them complain about the cost of
> 'rural water' which is much more expensive than 'city water'. I cannot
> believe there are places and communities so backward that septic tanks
> are allowed, except by default in small rural areas. But NYC? Not even
> in Chicago do you see that any longer. 

Don't bet money on that!  <grin>

There are houses on well and septic tank within 1/2 mile of Golf Mill
shopping center.  Properties selling in the $150-200K price-range.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Okay, I won't bet any money on that.
Actually, I want to thank you for giving me _yet another reason_ why I
would not want to any longer live in the Chicago area. A two hundred
thousand dollar home with inadequate plumbing arrangements is really
sad. I guess they can get that much money for those houses since
'everyone knows' that life in a big city is such a wonderful, great
thing. After all, why would anyone want to live in a small rural
community when you could instead have a bunch of corrupted politicians
in charge of things, a high crime rate, etc. Not only could I _not_
afford to live in a two hundred thousand dollar home, nor even rent a
tiny room in such, I certainly would not want to be where someone like
the inerrant Mayor Daley was always breathing on me. I can only hope
the dorks there were smart enough to figure out to draw their drinking
water _upstream_ from wherever they put their outhouse or septic tank.
PAT]
------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: NYC Phone Rates, was: Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy
Date: 13 Sep 2005 06:35:33 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Tony P. wrote:

> I wonder how VoIP and unlimited local/ld is impacting measured
> service.  Put it this way, a measured service line in RI would cost
> about $25 a month. For that much I use Vonage and get unlimited.

People who would want VOIP are not the same customers who would want
measured service.

As mentioned, inflation is the biggest deterrent to measured service.
The cost differential appears to have remained the same -- $2-$3 a
month saving.  Back when the phone bill total was $4.65 a $2 saving
was significant.  Today it is not significant and its more of a
marketing tool or PUC mandate.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:11:04 PDT
From: Mark J. Cuccia <markjcuccia@yahoo.com>
Subject: My First Internet Access in 2 weeks


Thanks to all for your concern.

Today (this evening), Monday 12 September 2005 is my first actual
attempt at Internet access in 2 weeks.
 
If I don't personally reply to everyone who emailed me directly,
forgive me, since I have 150+ msgs in my inbox that I am working my
way thru.

I was "high and dry" throughout the entire storm (on Monday 29 August)
and the aftermath. I also had MORE than enuff food/water/liquid,
either what was stocked up, or what was delivered by police and other
good samaratans.

I suffered no water nor wind damage to my apartment, not even a broken
window, altough some apartments had broken windows and some other
miscellaneous damage. But debris is all over the place -- broken
branches, leaves, shingles from the roof, etc. A pine tree did go into
the roof of the apt building, but across the courtyard from me. The
building is a 2-story apartment complex.

I did lose utility service ...

Electric power went out almost immediately, which is just about always
the case with any kind of tropical storm or hurricane or just heavy
rains.

But as the brunt of the storm was finishing up, I noticed that I
couldn't get a dialtone. This too isn't all uncommon -- I simply
thought that there was just heavy traffic thru the central office. I
did have "battery" and "sidetone" at the time ... i.e., I could "hear"
myself talking into the telephone thru the handset, but I simply
couldn't get a dialtone. I also couldn't get a signal on my Cingular
telephone.

Cable TV obviously went out, but I don't know when that happened,
since when electricity went out, that meant the end of TV viewing. I
simply listened to WWL-870 (50Kw) on a battery powered pocket radio
the whole time. (not 24/7, but when I felt like listening -- I wanted
to save the batteries as much as possible).

I had a close to full charge on my cellphone battery, but I kept the
cellphone turned off to save that battery for when I would eventually get
a cellphone tower signal.

The entire week and a half after the storm -- I had MORE than enough
food and water ... several of us at the apartment complex who stayed had
stocked up on supplies, but the police also told us that it was okay
to get NECESSARY supplies from stores that had been -- "opened
up". And the police and other Good Samaritan type neighbors were
passing by and dropping off cases of water, juice, food (including
military MREs, Meals Ready to Eat), etc.

Running water stopped on the Wednesday after the storm, but we could
get "flush water" from using a bucket to scoop water that was standing
water in the middle of the streets just outside of the apt buildings.

The main highway that runs alongside the apts was why we didn't flood.
But the streets behind the building did have some standing water.  And
the subdivisions behind the building did flood in varying degrees.

So, from Monday 29 August until Wednesday 7 September, that's mostly
how things were -- just day to day living. It was mostly sunny, with
some occasional rain. But either hot and humid, or later on hot but
DRY.

On Wednesday 7 September in the early morning hours, I began to notice a
slight signal on my Cingular phone. It turns out that the cell phone
carriers were putting up backup temporary cell sites.

When I realized that I had a signal strong enuff to place a call, I
first started calling relatives to let them know I was okay ... and
also some of you who I am always in telephone/email contact with. I
also realized that by Wed-7-Sept, there was a good "window of
opportunity" to finally leave.  I was NOT going to leave from there
earlier with all of the other problems associated with New Orleans and
Katrina.

I had already packed up to bags or boxes of things to take with me if
I was going to flee. But that is only scratching the surface of what I
still have left behind.

I took those things and went 1/2 mile down the highway to another
major intersection where I was told the National Guard would be
picking up people who wanted to be evacuated.

I was taken in the back of an open miliary truck through New Orleans
to the Convention Center where there was processing outside of that
building.

I saw firsthand how much of New Orleans metro looked either "bombed
out" or flooded out. I did have a chance to see some of this earlier
on a battery powered BW TV set that the lady who manages the
apartments was watching.  But she had to leave the apartments rather
early after the storm to get some more heart medication. But the TV
coverage was nothing compared to seeing it up front. The National
Guard truck was trying to rescue as many people as possible to fit
into the back of the truck to evacuate.

The MPs outside of the convention center went thru all of our
belonging to make sure that there was no contraband. We thought we
might be on military busses or military helicpoters. Instead we were
taken on charter "tour" busses from the convention center over to the
Airport. There were two options available to us on Wednesday afternoon
 -- a bus to Baton Rouge LA or a plane flight out to "where ever". I
first wanted to go to BR LA to get closer to relatives in Lafayette or
Baton Rouge.

I was using my cellular phone the entire time, noticing how the
battery was beginning to run down.

At the airport (located in the Kenner-Briarwood DMS-100 central
office, 504-46x), I was able to get dialtone on the "super payphones"
installed there (coin slot, LCD readout, card-swipe, touch-a-carrier-
buttons, etc).  The "super payphones" were of course, "COCOT" type
phones, not Central Office Switch controlled ... but they were
"GTE-AE" type housings that were fitted with these other appliques. By
GTE-AE type, I mean that the coin slot and coin-return slot were on
the right-hand-side, and the cord for the handset was on the left hand
side of the phone itself, not the left-hand-side of the
front-of-the-phone. I used the 800 type dial-ups for AT&T, and for my
MCI-prepaid, to make card type calls.
 
Later on that afternoon, we were told that there would be no more
busses to Baton Rouge LA (it turns out that the Red Cross couldn't
process any more evacuees in Baton Rouge), and that the only option on
Wednesday evening was to fly out on the next flight out, or else spend
the night at the airport until the next day to see what would be
available by then.

I chose to fly out. We had to be checked again, this time by TSA
personnel.  However, the TSA people were NOT the usual "b*tches" that
we've heard about for the past 3 or 4 years. They were rather polite
to us.

It turns out we were flown to Columbia SC (still NPA 803). At least I
was still going to be in BellSouth territory! :) Wednesday evening, we
arrived, and were first initially processed by Red Cross people. We
were then put into motels for the night (and next several nights). I
was at a "Kinghts Inn". They have some motels in New Orleans too and
have motels all over the US and Canada, but are not yet in every state
or province though.

I was able to charge up my cellphone batteries again, and also make
card calls via 800- dialup on the Motel phone. I was NOT going to use
8+ or 9+ and then 0+ten-digits since I had absolutely no idea who the
Motel PBX' Card/Operator provider would be!!!  1+ bill-to-room access
was NOT available to us. But I would never use that from a motel
anyways.

On Thursday 8 September, we were taken in shuttle busses (chartered from
the local transit company) to the Red Cross center downtown at the Univ.
of SC campus in Columbia SC for further processing and orientation.

While it was very bureaucratic and filled with red-tape, everyone who
was there to help us was VERY courteous and polite trying to be as
helpful as possible. While there were some computer terminals for us
to have Internet access (if we wanted it), the lines were quite
long. I felt it was better to just wait until I was in a more
convenient location for using a computer to check email and web-surf.

I had already planned on Greyhounding it back to Lafayette LA or Baton
Rouge LA, most likely via Atlanta GA where I could have more privacy
and access to my email, and more convenience to use computer
terminals.

I was hoping to leave Columbia SC on Greyhound, first to Atlanta,
earlier (maybe on Friday or Saturday), but I needed to pick up
supplies (more clothes, etc) at Wal-Mart. But I was also feeling very
fatigued, tired, weak. I did eat well all along, but I was quite
tired. I also don't know if I had breathed in any toxins while
travelling thru New Orleans on the army truck, or if I caught any
virus on the plane or in close quarter contact at the Red Cross
Center.

On Friday, I visited the Red Cross center again for a brief "once
over" medically. They didn't draw blood or anything, but did give me a
basic check-up (stethescope, blood pressure, checking/feeling glands,
etc).  I did need to rest-up some before continuing any further
travel.  But I did pick up some needed supplies at Wal-Mart on Friday
and then on Saturday.

All along, various charitable and church groups were bringing us
clothes and food to the motels if we needed anything.

I did everything to rest-up on Sat/Sun, because I was hoping to be
able to get on a Greyhound bus, first for Atlanta.

By Sunday afternoon, I felt up to travelling, and on Monday morning, I
officially checked out of the motel (I gave the necessary personal
info to the desk to give to FEMA/Red Cross people who were arranging
the motel rooms), and took a cab to the Greyhound Bus station. Then I
started my journey back, first stopping here in Atlanta. I plan to
stay here for about a week, and then continue on Greyhound to Baton
Rouge and Lafayette LA.

I am staying at the house of one of our telecom-list-members who lives
here in Atlanta, and am able to have convenient and private access to
the Internet.

I really did NOT have the time to check out the BellSouth central
office in Columbia SC. I did get some street maps and a transit map of
Columbia SC, but not any individual bus schedules/timetables. I did
notice the electrical high-voltage transmission lines scattered
throughout Columbia ...  some of their lines still use "H-frame" type
wooden pole structures for some 115-Kv lines. They also have quite a
bit of hydro-produced power.  (New Orleans uses gas or coal fired
generators though).

Atlanta Metro is HUGE! Which I expected it to be. I did see some of
the legacy AT&T and BellSouth switching offices ... at least from the
outside though!

Those of you who know my cellphone number, please feel free to call
me.  I can charge up my batteries okay, and I also noticed that
Cingular set up a new temporary voicemail platform as of Tuesday
morning (13-September) in these early morning hours. I've already a
new voicemail message left by one of our friends in a north-central
state! Also please remember that all inbound calls to my cellphone
MUST be routed via the New Orleans cingular switch (there ain't no
other way to do it, since my cellphone is a New Orleaans based number,
and your LD carrier is GOING to route to New Orleans) ...  so you
might encounter All Ccts Busy conditions, but it IS possible to route
calls inbound to my cellphone ...

But it will take me some time to go thru the email messages in my
inbox, so I might not immediately reply to you personally if you
emailed me directly. Hopefully this post will help to answer any
questions you might have.

BTW, it does appear that the AT&T 4ESS in New Orleans (NWORLAMA04T) is
okay ... but several BellSouth local central offices in New Orleans and
southeast LA (and a few in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area) have been
"down" since the storm. That includes the "Seabrook" 5ESS
(NWORLASKDS0) that serves my home/landline phone. It might take some
time for these central offices to be back up and running again.

Again, thanks for all of the interest! I hope this post answers
most/all questions you might have ...

Also Greyhound terminals in Atlanta GA and Columbia SC (and when I was
last in Baton Rouge LA) have Nortel-Millenium "Super" payphones, with
all of the whistles-and-bells that I mentioned regarding the super
payphones that are at the New Orleans airport. The "branding" on the
payphones at Greyhound seem to be "Sprint".

Mark J. Cuccia
markjcuccia at yahoo dot com
	
Yahoo! for Good 
Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. 
http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/ 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:16:33 PDT
From: Mark J. Cuccia <markjcuccia@yahoo.com>
Subject: Delay in Reaching Operator; 762 and 424 NPAs 


Jayson Smith wrote (in Yahoo-Central Office, last week):
 
> Hello,

> On our Bellsouth lines, 411 for Directory Assistance waits a few
> seconds then gives a reorder.  It's been like that since at least
> Monday afternoon. You'd think they could reroute DA calls somewhere
> else by now.  Also, dialing 0 for the operator menu gets a recording
> I've never heard before.  There's a set of SIT tones, then it says
> "We're sorry.  Due to heavy calling, the operator will be delayed in
> assisting you.  If your call is urgent, stay on the line, and an
> operator will answer as soon as possible." This recording is
> repeated twice, then rings through.  Someone should probably get a
> recording of this for historical preservation.  

I can remember back in the 1970s era (pre-divestiture, of course), that
during storms, floods, etc., dialing '0' for SCBell/AT&T Operator Service
(using TSPS back then), if there was heavy calling, you'd get the same
type of recording.

New Orleans was one of the first places to have TSPS (Traffic Service
Position System) automation for Operator Servvice, back around 1970 or
so.  But automation for operator type services even goes back to the
early 1960s with TSP (Traffic Service Position) and even late 1950s
with PPCS (Person to Person Card Special) in some parts of the midwest
and northeast.

As for NPA 762, I understand that the 762-222-7777 test number now
returns billing/answer supervision. It originally did NOT do such.
 
And for those who don't know, NANPA has relased a new Planning Letter,
this one regarding that NPA 424 WILL overlay NPA 310 in so.California
(barring any further court action pending).

The test number is to be 424-424-0424, not the originally intended
424-654 number (which DID work back in 1999 and for several years
thereafter).
 
I thought that maybe the test number might be changed to 424-424-0424,
since the original test number in 2000 (which did work for some time)
of 951-800-0951 was changed to 951-951-0951 when 951 actually did
split from 909 in so.Cal back in 2004.

mjc
markjcuccia at yahoo dot com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:20:59 PDT
From: Mark J. Cuccia <markjcuccia@yahoo.com>
Subject: Back in the Cord-Board Days (Re: Delay in Reaching Operator)


> Jayson Smith wrote (in Yahoo-Central Office, last week):

> On our Bellsouth lines, 411 for Directory Assistance waits a few
> seconds then gives a reorder.  It's been like that since at least
> Monday afternoon. You'd think they could reroute DA calls somewhere
> else by now. Also, dialing 0 for the operator menu gets a recording
> I've never heard before.  There's a set of SIT tones, then it says
> "We're sorry.  Due to heavy calling, the operator will be delayed in
> assisting you.  If your call is urgent, stay on the line, and an
> operator will answer as soon as possible." This recording is repeated
> twice, then rings through. Someone should probably get a recording of
> this for historical preservation.

That I can remember back in the 1970s era (pre-divestiture, of
course), during storms, floods, etc., dialing '0' for SCBell/AT&T
Operator Service (using TSPS back then), if there was heavy calling,
you'd get the same type of recording.

New Orleans was one of the first places to have TSPS (Traffic Service
Position System) automation for Operator Servvice, back around 1970 or
so. But automation for operator type services even goes back to the
early 1960s with TSP (Traffic Service Position) and even late 1950s
with PPCS (Person to Person Card Special) in some parts of the midwest
and northeast.

I forgot to add something about the old Cord-Board days ...

With the automated appliques for Operator Services, TSP, TSPS, TOPS,
OSPS, etc., callers can be held in a queue. You can queue up more
callers than there might be operators available to assist
immediately. Today that is even more so since many LECs (and AT&T)
provide touchtone/voice menu applications for automated operator
services.

But back in the cord-board days for dial-0 operator services...

Calls to 0 just kept popping up on manual boards until operators could
be available to plug into them to answer them. Of course, trunks to
the dial-0 operator center from individual central offices might be
limited as well.  But if you could get a trunk to the operator toll
board from your local central office, you would just pop up on the
board until some operator there could plug in.

In 1980/81, I lived in Spokane WA (Pacific Northwest Bell,
pre-divestiture, and before the early 1960s it was part of Pac Tel &
Tel along with Cal).  Remember in May 1980, the volcano in southwest
WA (some 300 miles away) blew its top. Ash was spewed mostly
eastward. This affected numerous parts of the US and Canada eastward
from Washington state.

Other than those in the immediate area of the volcano, there was no
real property damage or loss of life.

But trying to get telephone calls to points outside was difficult.
 
Spokane WA at that time still had a cord-board for local/toll operator
services. There was still a #4A Crossbar toll machine and it still
used a photo-mechanical card-punch reading system for
routings/translations.  It did not even have an ETS (Electronic
Translator System). I assume Spokane WA got TSPS for Operator Services
before divestiture in 1984 though. 

With only a cord-board for toll services, you did NOT have 1+ coin,
you did NOT have 0+ dialing of any kind, and ONLY ESS offices (from
non-coin) could have SOME form of 011+ IDDD, sent-paid non-coin
traffic only (i.e.., no 01+ IDDD special-billing customer dialed
calls).  I remember trying to dial home to my parents in New Orleans
collect for several days after the volcano blew its stack. I would
simply keep dialing '0' from a payphone until an operator would
finally answer.

They were trying to be helpful and polite, but they couldn't answer
all the call requests immediately. And the 4A crossbar toll machine
and associated card-translator must have been overwhelmed.  Even when
I could get an operator on the line to talk to to place a collect call
back to New Orleans to tell them that I was safe, all the operator
might get was re-order (fast busy) or some kind of ccts busy
recording.

And all operators in their frustration were actually saying: MY BOARD
IS LIT UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE!  That is really how manual toll cord
boards were like whenever there is a disaster or other types of high
call volume.

mjc
markjcuccia at yahoo dot com

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:24:05 PDT
From: Mark J. Cuccia <markjcuccia@yahoo.com>
Subject: BellSouth/AT&T New Orleans "Main" at Baronne & Poydras Streets


I have read some of the posts to one or another of the Yahoo groups
regarding the BellSouth/AT&T "Main" building in New Orleans, located
at the riverside and uptown corner of Baronne and Poydras Streets.

Apparantly BellSouth's "Main" 5E and the DMS-100/200 Tandem are still
operational. NWORLAMADS0 (5ESS) and NWORLAMA0GT (DMS-100/200 Tandem)
are NOT listed at BellSouth's site of local central offices which are
having problems.

And the AT&T 4ESS in the building (NWORLAMA04T, 060-T) is working, but
quite overwhelmed with call volume. You will frequently get "All ccts
busy" or "due to the hurricane in the area you are calling"
recordings, with trailers of "zero-six-zero, tee" (060-T being the
Network Switch Number of the New Orleans 4ESS).

All inbound traffic to my Cingular cellphone must pass thru New
Orleans to the Cingular GSM switch here. You will frequently encounter
such busy conditions via the LD carrier you might be calling on. But
you CAN get thru to my cellphone as well.

While in "exile" (and last Wednesday, 07-September-2005 while leaving
New Orleans), I was able to use my Cingular phone to place outbound
calls (and receive inbound calls), and also use my AT&T calling card
(and MCI Prepaid card) from the payphones at the Airport. I was able
to call numbers in New Orleans/etc. as long as the central office was
still working and also remember that the line to the house had to
still be connected (the loop) as well.

As for "Main" -- the Main-1AESS (NWORLAMACG2) customers and their
504-52X (and other NXX) c.o.codes were supposedly finally "absorbed"
into the Main-5ESS just two days before Katrina hit, on Saturday 27
August 2005.

This leaves only four 1AESS WECO/Lucent offices still in the New
Orleans Metro area:

NWORLAARCG0 "Aurora", 504-39x, on the westbank, still up and running;
NWORLAMCCG0 "Mid City", 504-48x (HUnter), presently not operational;
NWORLALKCG0 "Lake", 504-28x (ATwood), presently not operational;
NWORLACMCG0 "Chalmette", 504-27x (ARabi), presently not operational;

The "Lake" building at Prentiss and St.Anthony streets also has a
5E-Remote housed there (hosted by Main-5E), to supply ISDN to the
University of New Orleans campus on the lakefront. 504-280 (never
known as ATwood-0, but it COULD be referred to as such since the
digits/letters do match!).  I don't know how the Lake 5E-Remote fared
though. I assume ultimately, BellSouth will expand the Lake 5E-remote
into a "standalone" full fledged 5ESS office to replace the 1AESS at
Lake.

With the exception of low-lying areas further down the river from the
metro area, NOTHING on the westbank of the New Orleans metro area lost
central office dialtone. Again, some people might have lost their loop
to downed lines though ...

Overall, the westbank of New Orleans fared well.

BellSouth's "Interconnection" website indicates things about downed
switches: http://interconnection.bellsouth.com and then click away
from there.

As for "Main"...

In the 2L-4N days they were as follows, with the 2L-5N name as of 1957:

CAnal which became JAckson-2
MAgnolia which became JAckson-3 (the original "Main" manual office name)
TUlane which became JAckson-4
RAymond which became JAckson-5
EXpress which became JAckson-9

In the 2L-4N days, EVERY OFFICE NAME had to have DIRECT TRUNKS WITH..
every other local office name. There was NO "blocking" of
names/digits.  Everything in New Orleans regarding exchange names as a
"hodge-podge", almost as if we were a "Panel" or #1-Crossbar city such
as the huge urban areas of the midwest or northeast. But no, we were
always Step-by-Step. Only thing was that every office-name had to
trunk directly to every other office name.

During the later 1950s, we cutover from 2L-4N to 2L-5N (in preparation
for full DDD), one office building at a time. All office names were
replaced by a new common office name followed by a third new digit
(see above for how the offices names in "Main" were consolidated into
"JAckson-X" office codes).

More "Main" trivia ...
 
In 1970/71 or so, the first #1ESS was added into the business district
at "Main", initially the 504-58x codes (NWORLAMACG0).

In the later 1970s, another ESS (a 1AESS) was added to "Main", mostly
the 504-56x codes (NWORLAMACG1).

In the very late 1970s, the Main SXS (NWORLAMA52A) was replaced with yet
another ESS (another 1AESS), the NWORLAMACG2 switch which was recently
absorbed into the Main 5E.

In 1985, the 1970/71 Main 1ESS (504-58x) was absorbed into the
mid/late 1970s Main 1AESS (504-56x, -CG1) switch. This was ultimately
fully replaced with the Main 5ESS (NWORLAMADS0) circa 1989-91
timeframe. But it wasn't until just two weeks ago when the remaining
1AESS in Main (the third 1/1A type ESS to be hosed there in the very
late 1970s), but also the ORIGINAL SXS office there, was finally
absorbed into the already existing digital 5ESS.

NOTE ... there are some ideosynchosies and "quirks" regarding some
specific few 504-5NX codes as to which switch they were on at which
time, mainly the 504-JA.5 code (originally RAymond) and the (FTS)
504-589 code.  These two codes had been flipped around at times
between different Main switches during the 1970s and 80s. I don't
remember the specific details at the moment though.

Now for some more trivia re Main at New Orleans...

In Spring 1983 during our annual "once in a century" floods from heavy
rains, Metro area got flooded out as usual. Electric power was knocked
out in some parts of the area as expected.

South Central Bell and its pre-divestiture parent AT&T (remember this
was still 1983) lost NOPSI (now Entergy) commercial power at Main.

The backup generators were in the basement which got flooded out. They
tried to fire up the backup generators but were unsuccessful. WECO
batteries were used to power the three local 1/1AESS end offices and
possibly the SCB/ATT-LL 4ESS switch as well (and any other ESS tandems
associated with the 1AESS end offices). The 4ESS was only two years
old, replacing the early 1950s era 4A XB toll machine and the
"Broadmoor" XB-Tandem machine only back in 1981.

Battery power did provide local dialtone to the Central Business
District, as well as for tandem'd local calls, and toll into/out-of
New Orleans, but eventually the batteries began to run out.

There was a period of 12 to 24 hours when New Orleans was "cut off"
from the rest of the world. The local TV and radio stations which
still had power but hadn't yet cutover to their own satellite
reception of CBS/NBC/Mutual/ ABC/etc. were unable to get network radio
and TV programming.

I understand that a non-demoninational church had a sat-dish used to
pick up sat-fed Christian programming was being used by the media to
uplink news reports of the flooding in New Orleans in Spring 1983, to
be fed to the major US radio/TV networks/national media.

Eventually, SCBell/AT&T got power back to the switches housed at Main,
and got the batteries re-charged. I tend to think that they re-worked
central office "power" and backup since then for "Main", since it
"appears" that Main is working, both BellSouth end offices/tandems,
and AT&T 4ESS, though overwhelmed, at this time with the Katrina
aftermath.

But many BellSouth LOCAL offices do seem to still be down.

One day last week, BellSouth seems to have put a new generic (male
voice) recording, most likely played from the Main DMS-100/200 tandem,
for inbound calls to numbers on those out of service local offices:

"Due to intense storm damage, the number you are calling may not be
available for an extended period of time".
 
This recording plays only once and then drops.

Mark J. Cuccia
markjcuccia at yahoo dot com


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And so, with the four messages in
this cluster, those of you who had expressed concern about Mark
Cuccia now know his fate: alive and well.  These were presented as
a follow up to the three or four messages of inquiry about him which
ran in the Digest last week.  PAT]

------------------------------


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