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TELECOM Digest Fri, 23 Sep 2005 22:45:00 EDT Volume 24 : Issue 434 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cellular-News for Friday 23rd September 2005 (Cellular-News) BT Settles With Ofcom (USTelecom dailyLead) Telecom Update #498, September 23, 2005 (Angus TeleManagement Group) Best-Laid Evacuation Plans Not Good Enough in Texas (Erin McClam) Rita Causes Fresh Floods, More Damage in New Orleans (Allen Breed) Bell System Phone Label Code? (Allen Newman) Getting Rid of 'Legal' Spam? (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Induction Coil Lamps (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: Roaming Charges (Tony P.) Re: Roaming Charges (Isaiah Beard) Re: Roaming Charges (J Kelly) Re: Louisiana Official Caught Ripping Off Donations (DevilsPGD) Re: Vonage Urged to Consider Sale, Float, According to FT (John Levine) Re: Motorola Bag Phone (David L) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Cellular-News for Friday 23rd September 2005 Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 07:53:13 -0500 From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news.com> Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com Aircom to Provide Handset Validation Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14170.php Aircom International, a provider of mobile network OSS, planning, optimisation solutions, has recently launched its new Handset Validation Services unit. Headed by Pietro Macchiarella, the unit provides telecom organisat... Thai Operator Improves its Call Centers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14171.php Avaya says that it has successfully designed and deployed the Avaya Call Centre solution in a US$4 million contract with Thailand's AIS. Avaya was tasked to deliver the full scope of service, from solution design and imp... Enhanced IP Service Capabilities for 3G Cellular Operators http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14172.php Hughes Network Systems has announced that a new system release with VLAN and IP services support has been successfully deployed by cellular operators in Europe and North America utilizing its 26-28 GHz AIReach point-to- ... Orange Orders 3G Kit http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14173.php Orange Slovensko, a major Slovakian mobile operator, is upgrading its wireless network to 3G with Nortel solutions to meet increasing demand for mobile broadband services. Nortel has been chosen to upgrade the operator's... Telefonica Moviles Mexico Converges Internal Voice and Data Traffic http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14174.php Telefonica Moviles Mexico has deployed a packet voice backbone network from Nortel designed to significantly increase internal network capacity and support future delivery of sophisticated mobile data services. Telefonic... 6 million photos sent on Telia mobiles this summer http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14175.php This summer people in Sweden have sent a record number of MMS messages. During June-August, 6.1 million MMS messages were sent through Telia's mobile network, an increase of 56%, compared with the same period last year. ... 3G Growth is Accelerating - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14176.php Yankee Group reports that mobile operators are seeing 3G customer growth after a sluggish start. As the 3G handset range continues to improve and usage charges are further reduced, 3G will become a more attractive altern... DirecTV In Talks With Companies Mulling Wireless Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14160.php DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV), the country's largest satellite TV provider, is in talks with a number of telecommunications providers about possibly adding a wireless service, Chief Executive Chase Carey said Tuesday. ... Nokia Sets Up Mobile Services Devt Center In Taiwan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14161.php Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia Oyj (NOK) Thursday said it has launched a number of programs to develop its mobile services in Taiwan. ... Ericsson To Expand Avea's GSM Network In Turkey http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14162.php Telefon AB LM Ericsson (ERICY) said Thursday it has signed a contract with Turkish mobile operator Avea for the expansion of its global system for mobile communication, GSM, radio and core networks. ... O2 Mobile TV Trial Goes Live, Teams Up With Arqiva, Nokia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14163.php O2 said Thursday that its mobile TV trial will go live in Oxford from next week and last for six months. ... Bouygues Telecom Submitted Bid For Tunisie Telecom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14164.php Bouygues Telecom, the mobile telephone division of French construction company Bouygues SA, Thursday said it has submitted a bid for a 35% stake in Tunisia's largest carrier, Tunisie Telecom. ... O2 German, UK JVs Now Have Nearly 1.2 Million Customers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14165.php O2 said Thursday that its German and U.K. joint venture companies now have nearly 1.2 million customers between them, with Tchibo mobil having acquired around 435,000 pre-pay subscribers in its first year of operation an... Sprint Nextel Integration Ahead Of Plan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14166.php Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is ahead of plan on its post-merger integration and the combined business will cost less to operate than the company initially expected. ... Nortel Gets CTI Movil Pact: Value Not Disclosed http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14167.php America Movil S.A. de C.V.'s (AMX) CTI Movil subsidiary will use Nortel Networks Corp. (NT) wireless broadband solutions to expand its GSM wireless network in Argentina. ... Lebanon Police Hold Cell-phone Traders Over Hariri Probe http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14168.php BEIRUT (AP)--Lebanese police have arrested four mobile-phone dealers on charges of withholding information relevant to the inquiry into former prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination, court officials said T... Sprint Sees Hiccup In 3Q Subscriber Growth http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14169.php Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (S) focus on rolling out its combined brand in September hurt the company's subscriber growth in the months ahead of the launch. ... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:27:02 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com> Subject: BT Settles With Ofcom USTelecom dailyLead September 23, 2005 http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24861&l=2017006 TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * BT settles with Ofcom BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Verizon begins TV service in Texas * Telstra postpones report on strategic review * Symantec to acquire WholeSecurity USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * New! Voice Over IP Crash Course by Steven Shepard TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Gotta stay connected VOIP DOWNLOAD * Level 3 exec says VoIP marketing falls short * Net2Phone tests mobile/Wi-Fi convergence technology * VoIP bloggers hold sway REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Senate panel introduces emergency communications bill * FCC chief calls for better first-responder network * Telecoms discuss response to Katrina Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=24861&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, 23 Sep 2005 11:04:14 -0700 Subject: Telecom Update #498, September 23, 2005 From: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca> Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca> ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 498: September 23, 2005 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: http://www.avaya.ca/en/ ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: http://www.ericsson.ca ** MITEL NETWORKS: http://www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: http://www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: http://www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: http://www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Videotron to Resell Rogers' Cellular ** Industry Minister Wants More Broadband Money ** Local Forbearance Hearing Starts Monday ** Montreal Airport to Go IP ** Infosat Offers Business Broadband ** Telus Sends Service Calls Offshore ** CRTC Extends Comment Period on Bell VoIP Tariff ** Bell Wants Local High-Speed Circuits Deregulated ** Bell Refuses to Collect Alternate Directory Bills ** Sault Utelco, Ontera Join for Networking ** Globalstar Adds Northern Gateway ** Avaya Buys Ottawa Peer-to-Peer Developer ** Cisco Offers Small-Business Bundle ** Virttel Launches Secure VoIP in U.S. ** Mosey Joins Orano Board ** Anguses to Keynote Telemanagement Live ============================================================ VIDEOTRON TO RESELL ROGERS' CELLULAR: Videotron plans to offer wireless phone service next year, reselling Rogers Wireless voice and data services. The cableco says it will be the only provider in its service area to offer "true one-stop" TV, Internet, phone, and wireless customer service. INDUSTRY MINISTER WANTS MORE BROADBAND MONEY: Industry Minister David Emerson said this week that he wants the next federal budget to include increased funding for projects that extend broadband to unserved areas. Speaking to the Empire Club in Toronto, he said: "Without Internet access today, people and communities simply cannot get into the game. They're not able to get into the economic mainstream." ** On September 15, Ottawa's Strategic Infrastructure Fund and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador each donated $5 million to a project that will extend broadband to 68 schools and 103 communities in rural and remote regions of Newfoundland and Labrador. LOCAL FORBEARANCE HEARING STARTS MONDAY: As part of the CRTC proceeding on deregulating the incumbent telephone companies' local phone service, the Commission is holding a public hearing in Gatineau next week. The hearing will be broadcast live on the Web, starting at 9:30 am on Monday, September 26. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/process/2005/sep26_t.htm MONTREAL AIRPORT TO GO IP: Old buzz-phrases never die! In the early eighties, every magazine featured articles hyping the soon-to-arrive "office of the future." This week Bell Canada and Cisco announced the "airport of the future" -- a contract to provide Montreal-Trudeau airport with Wi-Fi, IP telephony, digital signage, information kiosks, and Internet-equipped business centres. The announcement did not say when the future will arrive. INFOSAT OFFERS BUSINESS BROADBAND: Infosat Communications, a Telesat subsidiary, now offers business-grade Internet access at 1 Mbps anywhere in Canada, using Telesat's new Anik F2 satellite, for $89.95/month. TELUS SENDS SERVICE CALLS OFFSHORE: On Wednesday, Telus informed the Telecommunications Workers Union that "for the duration of the labour disruption" it will route "some customer care and operator services calls" to its call centre in the Philippines, and that Telus Mobility will route "some client care calls" to a call centre outsourcer in India. ** On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council called on the federal Minister of Labour "to appoint an Industrial Inquiry Commission to look into the causes of the dispute and to make non-binding recommendations to facilitate its resolution." CRTC EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON BELL VoIP TARIFF: The CRTC has given interested parties until September 28 to comment on Bell Canada's application to price its access-dependent "Digital Voice" VoIP service differently in Ontario and Quebec, and has ordered Bell to place its Tariff Notice 6900 on the public record. (See Telecom Update #496) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2005/pt2005-13-1.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2005/b2_6900.htm BELL WANTS LOCAL HIGH-SPEED CIRCUITS DEREGULATED: Bell Canada has re-filed its February 2005 application for deregulation of its high-speed intra-exchange digital services in exchanges where at least one fibre-based competitor is providing high-speed service to at least one customer. Initial comments on this application were due this week. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2005/8640/c12_200507618.htm#2h BELL REFUSES TO COLLECT ALTERNATE DIRECTORY BILLS: At this morning's expedited hearing of a dispute between Bell Canada and YP Corp, an Internet-based directory services provider, Bell told the Commission that it should not be required to provide billing and collection services to YP Corp, even though it does so for its former affiliate, Yellow Pages Group. The Commission will issue a decision by October 5. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/process/2005/sep23.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2005/8622/y2_200508731.htm SAULT UTELCO, ONTERA JOIN FOR NETWORKING: PUC Telecom, a utility-based telecom carrier in Sault Ste. Marie, has formed a joint venture with Ontera (formerly O.N.Telcom) to help utilize the utelco's growing municipal fibre network. Ontera will provide back-office and provisioning services. GLOBALSTAR ADDS NORTHERN GATEWAY: Globalstar LLC, an international satellite phone provider, has begun construction of a new gateway near Anchorage, Alaska, which will extend its coverage in Yukon, North West Territories, and northwest B.C. AVAYA BUYS OTTAWA PEER-TO-PEER DEVELOPER: Avaya has bought Ottawa-based Nimcat Networks, a developer of small-business peer-to-peer IP telephony software, for $46 million. Nimcat's software operates on the IP phone, eliminating the need for a PBX or key system. CISCO OFFERS SMALL-BUSINESS BUNDLE: Cisco Systems has introduced a bundled offering of voice and data services for businesses with 20 to 250 employees. Business Communications Solution includes a router equipped with call control and messaging software, plus Cisco's Catalyst Express 500 switch. VIRTTEL LAUNCHES SECURE VoIP IN U.S.: Virttel, an IP services provider based in Smiths Falls, Ontario, has extended its encrypted Internet telephony and data offerings to the U.S. In Canada, Virttel's IP-based local/long distance service costs $26.95 (residential) and $69.95 (business). MOSEY JOINS ORANO BOARD: Terry Mosey, recently retired Bell Canada EVP, has joined the Board of the Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario, the organization that owns and operates ORION, the province's leading-edge research and education telecom network. ANGUSES TO KEYNOTE TELEMANAGEMENT LIVE: On October 18, Ian and Lis Angus, co-editors of Telecom Update, will present an exclusive keynote report on "Telecom Transformation: Profits, Pitfalls and Payoffs in the Next Wave of Network Change," at the Telemanagement Live conference in Toronto. ** Telecom Update subscribers who register online now will receive a $200 discount on an All Access pass, including all sessions and meals and a ticket to the Telecommunications Hall of Fame Dinner. To qualify, register at www.telemanagementlive.com and enter AMBP95 in the "promotional code" field. ============================================================ 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 http://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. ============================================================ ------------------------------ From: Erin McClam <ap@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Best-Laid Plans Not Good Enough in Texas Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 19:43:35 -0500 By ERIN McCLAM, AP National Writer It was envisioned as the anti-Katrina plan: Texas officials sketched a staggered, orderly evacuation plan for Hurricane Rita and urged people to get out days ahead of time. Busses will leave at these times from these places, police officers will change road lanes at certain times, etc. Everything was going to work nearly perfect. But tangles still arrived even before the storm's first bands. As everyone waited for the hurricane yet to arrive, panicked drivers ran out of gas, a spectacular, a deadly bus fire clogged traffic, and freeways were red rivers of taillights that stretched to the horizon. In an age of terrorist danger and with memories of the nightmare in New Orleans still fresh, the Texas exodus raises a troubling question: Can any American city empty itself safely and quickly? Thousands of drivers remained stranded Friday to the north and west of Houston. Many were stuck in extreme heat, out of gas -- as gas trucks, rumored to be on the way, or at least buses to evacuate motorists, never came. They were frustrated, angry and growing desperate, scattered and stranded across a broad swath of the state as the monster storm bore down. "It's been terrible, believe me," said Rosa Castro, who had driven more than 17 hours by Friday. Her sister behind the wheel, seven children in tow, the car was idling on less than an eighth of a tank of gas. Castro was hoping to get gas from a lone Shell station that had opened north of Houston. But her car was at the end of a miles-long line. "I wondered why so many people in Katrina didn't move in time, and now I'm in the same situation," she said. "All I have is cash, clothes and God." Houston is a landlocked city, an hour's drive from the Gulf of Mexico. Besides Houston's 4 million people fleeing, as many as 2 million were trying to get out through Houston from the coastal side. In Galveston County along the Gulf, authorities set up three evacuation zones, beginning Wednesday evening and staggered at eight-hour intervals, with the most outlying areas to be the first to leave. But people in all three zones left early anyway, further snarling traffic. From Houston, the main roads out of town -- Interstate 10 to San Antonio, I-45 to Dallas, and U.S. Highway 290 to Austin -- were turned into one-way thoroughfares only Thursday, and even then the one-way flow began well outside Houston. "There were some weaknesses," Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee , a Democrat, acknowledged to KTRK-TV on Friday. "We could have fixed some of the elements ... a fuel truck that works, a mechanical system that works, and opening the contraflow," the term emergency officials use for routing all lanes in one direction. Later in the day, Jackson Lee told The Associated Press the state should have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for supplies. "I'm marching people all over looking for gasoline," she said. Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday decision to order one-way flow came after the storm, originally on a track south of Houston, changed course and headed toward Houston instead. "It's not perfect," he said. "I wish I could wave a magic wand and somehow transport people magically from Houston, Texas, to Dallas or other points, but that's not the fact when you have the type of congestion that you see in the state of Texas on a daily basis." He added: "I think when you look behind later, it will be almost miraculous that this many people were moved out of harm's way." State emergency management coordinator Jack Colley said 2.5 million to 2.7 million Texans had already been moved out of harm's way, and the governor said 25 buses would canvass Beaumont, looking for people still trying to get out. By midday Friday, lanes were restored to normal traffic. County Judge Robert Eckels said traffic had cleared and authorities needed lanes in both directions for emergencies. Still, many remained stranded beyond Houston's suburbs. Before the late 1990s, emergency management officials were in charge of evacuations, and transportation engineers had little interest. But those engineers have devoted great energy to the problem since Hurricane Georges forced an evacuation of New Orleans in 1998, and Hurricane Floyd an evacuation of the Carolinas in 1999. Rita and her hellish predecessor, Katrina, come in the new age of terror, as authorities try to draw up plans for clearing out cities in the event of deadly strikes with unconventional weapons. Still, experts say the massive coastal zone that needs to be cleared of people before a major hurricane is far larger than the area to be evacuated after an industrial accident or a terror attack. And in this case, there have been a couple days advance notice. What happens when a terrorist attack gives people an hour's warning or less? In the event of a nuclear accident, federal rules require the evacuation of a 10-mile radius around the plant. After a so-called "dirty bomb" nuclear detonation or the release of chemical or biological weapons, only the region immediately downwind of the release point would have to be cleared. "Natural disasters just dwarf anything that's manmade," said Reuben B. Goldblatt, a partner at traffic engineering firm KLD Associates in Commack, N.Y. Brian Wolshon, a professor of civil engineering at Louisiana State University, said Texas officials "will probably see there were things they could have done better." But he added: "It's not economically or environmentally feasible to build enough roads to evacuate a city the size of Houston in a short time and with no congestion. It's just not going to happen." It was a point all too clear to Bruce French, who left his home in Clear Lake, Texas, early Thursday, and ran out of gas just past Conroe, far short of his destination of Dallas. On Friday morning, he was stranded, waiting for fuel. "They're giving $10 worth of gas if you're on empty and $5 if you have some," he said. "That's not going to get you very far." EDITOR'S NOTE - Associated Press writers Kristen Hays in Houston, Liz Austin in Austin and Suzanne Gamboa in Washington, National Writer Matt Crenson in New York and photographer Paul Sancya contributed to this story. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. More headlines and news at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Allen G. Breed <ap@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Rita Causes Fresh Floods, Disasters in New Orleans Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 19:48:59 -0500 By ALLEN G. BREED, Associated Press Writer Hurricane Rita's wind-driven storm surge topped one of New Orleans' battered levees and poked holes in another Friday, sending water gushing into already-devastated neighborhoods just days after they had been pumped dry. An initial surge of water cascaded over a patched levee protecting the impoverished Ninth Ward, flooding the abandoned neighborhood with at least 6 feet of water. As Army Corps of Engineers employees watched with disgusted looks, their 'temporary, emergency repairs' smashed by the latest hurricane. "Our worst fears came true," said Maj. Barry Guidry, a National Guardsman on duty at the broken levee. Leaks beneath another levee that was repaired with rock and gravel after Hurricane Katrina flooded homes with at least a half-foot of water. Meanwhile, wind-whipped waves pushed water from Lake Pontchartrain over a seawall and rain runoff with no outlet pooled in city streets. Evacuees from the misery-stricken city learned of the new flooding with despair. "It's like looking at a murder," Quentrell Jefferson of the Ninth Ward said as he watched the news at a church in Lafayette, 125 miles west of New Orleans. "The first time is bad. After that, you numb up." The flooding came as Rita began lashing the Gulf Coast with rain and wind, and up to 500,000 people in southwestern Louisiana headed north. Some who fought hours of gridlock to get out of Texas were frustrated to find they had to keep going to stay out of the storm, which was expected to make landfall early Saturday. Lake Charles, not far from Rita's predicted path along the Texas-Louisiana line, was a virtual ghost town, as were the coastal parishes. Before nightfall, squalls were flattening sugar cane fields and knocking over trees near New Iberia, about 110 miles west of New Orleans. There were fears the storm would stall after coming ashore, dumping as much as 25 inches of rain over the next several days. In New Orleans, water poured through gaps in the Industrial Canal levee, which engineers had tried to repair after Katrina's floodwaters left 80 percent of the city under water. The rushing water covered piles of rubble and mud-caked cars in the Ninth Ward, rising swiftly to the top of first-floor windows. It spilled east into St. Bernard Parish, where ducks swam down Judge Perez Drive. The storm surge was both stronger and earlier than expected, apparently coming through waterways southeast of the city, said Col. Richard Wagenaar, the Army Corps of Engineers' district chief in New Orleans. Water poured over piles of gravel and sandbags in the damaged Industrial Canal levee despite efforts to build it up. "We believed the 8-foot elevation was sufficient" to protect the Ninth Ward, Wagenaar said. Farther north, water 6 to 8 inches deep was streaming into homes south of Lake Pontchartrain, spouting from beneath two gravel-and-rock patches on the London Avenue Canal levee. Corps engineers said they expected the leaks. "It's a rock levee," said Richard Pinner, who is supervising the levee's repair for the corps. Officials with the corps said other levees around the city appeared secure. The problems would set back repairs at least three weeks, Wagenaar said, but June is still the target for getting the levees back to pre-Katrina strength. In New Orleans, forecasters said the hurricane could bring 4 to 8 inches of rain, enough to put the patched levees at more risk. An added fear was that another strong storm surge would push water through the walls in other places. Still, the city may have escaped worse damage because it was not in the direct path of Hurricane Rita, said Tim Destri of the National Weather Service in Slidell. "It's a combination of wind-driven water and tides," he said. "It's not the sudden storm surge of the hurricane." The water level in Lake Ponchartrain -- about 4.5 above sea level on Friday afternoon - likely will not rise much more but will remain high enough to pose a continued danger to the "flimsy" repairs, said Paul Kemp, a storm-surge expert at Louisiana State University. The additional flooding brought by Hurricane Rita also would complicate the search for the dead left by Hurricane Katrina. "It's going to make it a lot tougher," said Richard Dier, a FEMA group supervisor who oversees hundreds of people searching for bodies. "We'd like to start where we left off, but my men don't submerge or go into houses with deep water. It makes searching almost impossible ..." The search-and-recovery effort was called off Friday morning as the storm approached. On Friday, Katrina's death toll stand at 841 in Louisiana and 1,078 across the Gulf Coast. A mandatory evacuation order was in effect for the part of New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River, including the Ninth Ward. A spokeswoman for Mayor Ray Nagin said officials believed the neighborhood had been cleared of residents. Mark Madary, a St. Bernard Parish councilman, said houses that were under 12 feet of water after Katrina would probably get an additional 3 feet. He accused the Army Corps of Engineers of not rebuilding the levee properly. "Everybody's home's been crushed, and let's hope their dreams aren't," he said. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE - Allen G. Breed is the AP's Southeast regional writer. Associated Press writers Mary Foster, Adam Nossiter and Michelle Roberts in New Orleans, Brett Martel in Lake Charles, Julia Silverman in Lafayette, La., and Janet McConnaughey in Baton Rouge, La., contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. ------------------------------ From: Allen Newman <anewmanagn@excite.com> Subject: Bell System Phone Label Code? Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 18:41:08 -0500 On the number cards/labels affixed to latter-decades' Bell System phones, there was a letter M stamped like this: ----------------------------- | AREA | | CODE M 555-4321 | | 595 | ----------------------------- What did the M mean? ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Getting Rid of "Legal" Spam? Date: 22 Sep 2005 12:05:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Several years ago I signed up for the big PC Expo show in New York City. I included my real email address. Since then I have received many advertisements for subsequent technology shows and from various vendors. Early on I sent in a request to remove my name; that request was ignored. The promotors of PC Expo are not some "fly by night" basement outfit, they are supposedly a legitimate organization. But I am angry that they released my email (which was required) to outsiders and that I continue to get spam from them. The latest spam came from: ITD Holdings <dnina@itdholdings.com> Any suggestions? Thanks. [public replies please] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Induction Coil Lamps Date: 22 Sep 2005 13:28:38 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Induction coils have been used in telephones almost since the beginning. Now they are being used as a light source for highway signs. The coil is at the center, surrounded by a electron-ion-plasma material and inert gas. The globe is coated with phosphors. The coil creates UV radiation that makes the globe glow. Lifespan is claimed to be 27 years and used for backlit traffic signs. http://www.quixtraffic.com ------------------------------ From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net> Subject: Re: Roaming Charges Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 16:57:22 -0400 In article <telecom24.432.10@telecom-digest.org>, JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com says.: > On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:52:16 GMT, Ken Abrams <k_abrams@[REMOVETHIS] > sbcglobal.net> wrote: >> If this was 7 years ago, I'm guessing it was analog service; it >> certainly was not GSM. I'd be interested to see what happens on some >> of those calls today using GSM service. > Quite the contrary. GSM service was functional as early as January of > 1996 for VoiceStream which is now T-Mobile. The first GSM network in > the USA was turned on in 1995. That's at least 10 years ago. That was OmniPoint which got sucked up by VoiceStream which then got sucked up by Deutch Telecom now know as T-Mobile. ------------------------------ From: Isaiah Beard <sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com> Subject: Re: Roaming Charges Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:51:43 -0400 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Joseph wrote: > Quite the contrary. GSM service was functional as early as January of > 1996 for VoiceStream which is now T-Mobile. While that is true, I do remember looking at a Nationwide GSM map provided by VoiceStream, and NONE of the GSM systems that one could roam on at the time were adjacent to each other. All were very distant from each other, in major metropolitan areas (and a couple of second-tier locations where PCS spectrum was cheap back in the day). So, unless you made a call in El Paso, Texas on the VoiceStream network, and then instantaneously transported to, say, New York City on the Omnipoint network, there was no chance you were going to be able to test intercarrier handoffs. As such, I would bet real money that no intercarrier call handoffs were set up between the GSM carriers back in '96 ... it just wasn't physically possible to do until much alter, when the networks expanded. Now, AMPS providers there were plenty of in '96. Some did do roaming handoffs, and some didn't. It all depended on how amicable the relationship was between the neighboring cellular companies. E-mail fudged to thwart spammers. Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply. ------------------------------ From: J Kelly <jkelly@*newsguy.com> Subject: Re: Roaming Charges Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 10:41:07 -0500 Organization: http://newsguy.com Reply-To: jkelly@*newsguy.com On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:52:16 GMT, Ken Abrams <k_abrams@[REMOVETHIS] sbcglobal.net> wrote: > J Kelly <jkelly@*newsguy.com> wrote: >> On 16 Sep 2005 05:33:58 -0000, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote: >>>> This raises a question I thought of recently, but had not bothered to >>>> ask anyone about. Suppose I start a cell call in local but move to a >>>> roaming tower during the call? Does the call get charged as roaming >>>> or not? >>> I doubt you'd get a handoff in a situation like that. It'd drop the >>> call and you'd call back. >> I worked for a small cellular carrier about 7 years ago. I would >> routinely test handoffs from our network to the network adjacent to >> us. > If this was 7 years ago, I'm guessing it was analog service; it > certainly was not GSM. I'd be interested to see what happens on some > of those calls today using GSM service. Often things touted as "new > and improved" aren't. That's my impression of GSM, at least the way > it is being implemented now. While it is hard for a user to tell when > a call is handed off to another site, I don't think I have ever had a > successful hand-off with GSM. I have, however, had a LOT of calls > dropped when moving ... sometimes just a few feet. It was analog. I've used GSM (we got GSM here in 1997, btw). Worked great. Never handed off between networks with it (there is no other network to hand to) but routinely would drive 50+ miles on the same call and not drop. And I know that CDMA can hand off, either soft or hard. I'm guessing here, but it probably has to do a hard handoff between networks (or other MTSOs on the same network) while a soft handoff can occur between sites on the same MTSO. ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net> Subject: Re: Louisiana Official Caught Ripping Off Donations Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 16:51:25 -0600 Organization: Disorganized In message <telecom24.433.7@telecom-digest.org> DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net> wrote: > In message <telecom24.432.3@telecom-digest.org> Associated Press News > Wire <ap@telecom-digest.org> wrote: >> Police found cases of food, clothing and tools intended for hurricane >> victims at the home of the chief administrative officer for a New >> Orleans suburb, authorities said Wednesday. >> Officers searched Cedric Floyd's home because of complaints that city >> workers were helping themselves to donations for hurricane >> victims. Floyd, who runs the day-to-day operations in the suburb of >> Kenner, was in charge of distributing the goods. >> Police plan to seek a charge of committing an illegal act as a public >> official against Floyd, and more charges against other city workers >> are possible, police Capt. Steve Caraway said. > That seems like an odd reaction. Perhaps he should be airdropped just > ahead of Rita and we'll call it even? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If we wish to be consistent here, we > need to remember all the looting in general which took place over > several days there. And the 'city workers' who were helping themselves > to the lately-given donations, etc were not doing much different, > except perhaps it is okay to loot a store with merchandise for sale at > a profit, but not okay to loot merchandise intended for give-away to > the victims. Also recall, many of the city workers involved were also > themselves victims and were entitled to the same help as the other > victims were receiving. My thought would be since the city workers > were staying on the job trying to assist the other victims, perhaps > some 'professional courtesy' reciprocation should be allowed > (i.e. they get first pick of the donations, etc just as they are > getting the first pick of the temporary mobile homes as they become > available.) Just don't get greedy about it or make a big issue of > showing the other victims what is happening. PAT] I'd add most of the looters who stole anything other then basic essentials to the list. However, in my mind there is a large difference between "looting to stay alive" vs "looting from emergency supplies intended to keep others alive". If they were simply taking what was allocated to them as fellow victims, the police wouldn't be involved. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is what I guess they will have to try and detirmine; if the emphasis should be on the 'victims taking needed food, etc' _or_ common variety looter. No one down there has had things very easy in the past month. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 22 Sep 2005 22:08:54 -0000 From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> Subject: Re: Vonage Urged to Consider Sale, Float, According to Financial Times Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA In article <telecom24.433.1@telecom-digest.org> you write: > Vonage Holdings Corp., which provides residential phone services over > the Internet, is being urged to consider a sale while it presses ahead > with plans for a public float, the Financial Times reported on > Thursday. That's very peculiar. I read today's FT all the way through (it's not that big) and I found no mention of Vonage at all, much less a feature about it. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In separate email I said to John there is sometimes a problem with news items by the time they reach me here being 'out of synch' by a day or so, and he might try 'Thursday' to actually be Wednesday or Friday. He then replied: PAT] On Fri, 2005-09-23 at 13:35 -0400, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: >> no mention in FT > Did we check the proper FT on the specified date? It said "Thursday" so I looked in detail at yesterday's paper. I flipped through the Weds paper, and I'll look and see if by some chance it's in today's when I pick it up. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I also suggest using the link inside the article on line _at the source_ and seeing if it comes up with a different date sometimes as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: David L <davlindi@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Motorola Bag phone Date: 23 Sep 2005 15:23:55 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Test calls can usually be made by calling 411, although cellcos are starting to be less friendly to incoming analog calls from unactivated handsets differently as of late, since they take up so much bandwith. I recently was unable to get an analog call to connect to the network to test in N. CA or a credit card call in an emergency. Using 411 or perhaps 922 (which also might connect to 911 in a few areas like N.VA) is a much better choice, since you won't be taking up an emergency call operators time, that they could be used responding to a real emergency. 922 may be either be a 911 test number number OR the telco system may be programed to forward any calls which appear to be an attempt to call 911 Calling 922 from a Verizon GPS enabled phone, even an unactivated one, will allow the toweer to send the GPS coords to the handset's GPSONE debug screen in many areas. As long as it's an urban area with AGPS enabled on the network, and calls don't get forwared to 911, there is a good chance the GPS coords will appear in one of the GPS ONE menu screens. **Calls from activated VZW phones to 922 WILL GET BILLED AS 411 CALLS! So, if you want to play with the GPS function use an unactived phone or be prepared to deal with VZW CS. Likely the billing system is already set up for some GIN GPS pay service, which will use the built in GPS. My usual advice of keeping a bag phone in the trunk for free, emergency 911 calls from a three watt high powered phone, may have some practical limitations when trying access the network for Credit Card calls. Allthough 911 calls will have priority, cellular operators are cutting back analog bandwidth and users have reported trouble in completing calls even with paid analog plans. Unless one is in the middle of Nowhere where the extra power of a 3 watt analog phone might be an advantage to connecting to an old analog cell tower, I would recommend carrying a dualmode A/D handset. Probably something like an older Verizon 800mhz dualmode/trimode model would be a good choice for the those who have no phone, or those using a GSM phone, planning on going into rural areas. GSM is lacking coverage in the mountains and out west especially. So carrying a CDMA/analog (3 watt analog in some areas)phone has a good chance for connecting to any existing tower, for an Emergency call, or credit card call, in case of a car breakdown. Unless one knows they are in or traveling to a CDMA 1900mhz area, a dualmode should be fine. There are a few 1900mhz areas. As of about Aug 1st, no cellular handset will be allowed to be activated unless it has AGPS built in, on VZW. Existing phones are excepted, but once taken off the network, they will not be able to be activated back on. Verizon Wireless is enforcing this new policy, AFAIK, 100%. Since it's an FCC ruling dealing with GPS phase in, I suspect other carriers will follow suite, once they get their activation databases to comply. Dave Lind Davlindi@hotmail.com ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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