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TELECOM Digest Tue, 6 Dec 2005 14:15:00 EST Volume 24 : Issue 550 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Pity the Poor Phone Company (Scott Bradner) Time Warner and Microsoft Near an Ad Deal (Reuters News Wire) Strowger Switch Identification? (Dave Hunter) IIR's Revenue Management 2006 (Cellular-News) Will Going to Higher Speed RoadRunner Offering Help Vonage? (pattyjamas) FTC Do Not Call List (Felix Tilley) Default COCOT Behavior (Michael Helmeste) Cellular-News For Tuesday 6th December 2005 (Cellular-News) Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Brad Houser) Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Robert Bonomi) Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Vcc Ground) Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (David Quinton) Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet (DevilsPGD) Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet (G Welsh) Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line (GlowingBlue) Re: Don't Call It Spyware (Steve Sobol) Re: Executive Has an Answer to Phone System Cheat Sheet (DevilsPGD) Re: Who Owns the Music? (DevilsPGD) Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line (NOTvalid) Telecoms Turn Attention to Converged Services (USTA Daily Lead) Last Laugh! Simpson's Episode With Stamp Museum (davidesan) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Scott Bradner <networkworld@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Pity the Poor Phone Company Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:42:44 -0600 This story appeared on Network World at http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2005/120505bradner.html 'Net Insider Pity the poor telephone company? By Scott Bradner, Network World, 12/05/05 From a distance it looks like a good time to be a traditional phone company in the United States. The FCC has given these companies an open license to exploit their dominant market positions. The U.S. House and Senate are running down a path to empower them to destroy the Internet. The International Telecommunication Union's standards division is defining technology that will let phone companies block "free" use of "their" networks by interlopers such as Google and Vonage. Billions of dollars are being spent on takeovers and being poured into deploying new video services. But maybe things are not as rosy as they seem. I'm writing this just as SBC's $16 billion takeover of AT&T has been consummated, and as Verizon's $8.5 billion buyout of MCI is getting the last of the state approvals. That is a lot of money being spent to buy up failing long-distance companies just as the whole concept of long-distance is in its dying days. If Congress continues on the path it is on, we will soon get a new telecom regime that will let the big telcos and cable companies block third-party use of the Internet connections that their customers buy from them, all in the name of protecting their networks and helping law enforcement. Unless something drastic happens, this will destroy the Internet, at least for most residential and small-business users. But since most residential users think the Internet is just the Web, most of them will not notice unless they have subscribed to non-carrier VoIP services. Small-business owners are likely to notice quite well their reduced options for alternate phone service. At the same time, the technology that enables the phone companies to offer extensive video services is well-enough developed for them to start widespread deployment and thus have a hook into tens of billions of dollars of cable TV revenue. Sounds like a great time to be a phone company. But things may not be quite as great as they appear. More and more, residential users are dumping their landline phones in favor of cell phones. Once the cell-phone E911 service becomes generally deployed, many more customers will follow them. The In-Stat research group reports that close to 10% of the U.S. population already uses a cell phone as their primary line, and that over half are willing to consider the option. There goes the cream of the residential phone business -- unless you happen to have a wireless division. And even when that is the case, there is a lot of competition, so the profits will be a lot less. Businesses are moving in droves to VoIP, with ZDNet Research reporting that 75% of them have tried it out and 75% of those who adopted it like what they got. And there is no requirement that a business get its VoIP from the carrier that provides its Internet connectivity or even from a carrier at all. Then there is the video dream. Verizon is spending billions of dollars to bring fiber to the home so that it can offer what residential users already have from cable TV and satellite companies -- hundreds of channels with little on them and video-on-demand. The New York Times reports that content owners want more from you phone companies than they get from your competitors, and your competitors can always reduce their fees to match anything you can do. Maybe it's not a great time to be a phone company after all. Disclaimer: It's (almost) always a great time for Harvard to be Harvard, but the above muse is my own. Bradner is a consultant with Harvard University's University Information Systems. He can be reached at sob@sobcomcom. All contents copyright 1995-2005 Network World, Inc. http://www.networkworld.com 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: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Time Warner and Microsoft Near an Ad Deal Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 11:00:35 -0600 Time Warner Inc is closing in on a deal with Microsoft Corp. to team up on an online advertising service to compete with Google Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks. The paper said the two companies were now focusing on a deal that would combine their advertising-related assets, with little or no money changing hands. It said they expected to reach an agreement before the end of the year, but that it was still possible that Time Warner's America Online unit could strike a deal with competitor Google instead. Time Warner has been holding talks with both Microsoft and Google over AOL, sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters and other media. Sources familiar with the matter had said that Time Warner's initial discussions included the possible sale of a stake in the Internet unit, but recent media reports said that the two likely buyers may be backing away from such an investment in favor of smaller-scale partnerships with AOL. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who has been critical of Time Warner's strategy, has also said that he would hold Time Warner board members personally responsible if they forged a deal for AOL that valued the Internet provider too cheaply. The Journal said that, under negotiations between Time Warner and Microsoft, AOL would drop Google as its main Internet search provider and switch to Microsoft's MSN service. Under their current agreement, Google derived about 11 percent of its first-half revenue from AOL, which also generates substantial revenue from the contract. The Journal said Microsoft and Time Warner are also negotiating to create a joint advertising sales force to sell online ads across both the AOL unit and Microsoft's MSN. Both services would remain under the control of their current owners, according to the report. People familiar with the talks told the newspaper that the companies expected to announce a deal by the third week of December. Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. 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. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:04:45 -0400 From: Dave Hunter <dhunter@isn.net> Subject: Strowger Switch Identification? Hi all! I know, I know, Strowger is dead. Yesterday in the mail I received a Northern Electric Strowger switch unit, with the following numbering inside: ED3286-31 GD WD NE-585D Does anyone have the specs for this switch? I suspect it is a connector -- would this be correct? The contact bank is missing, and the wipers have been all but destroyed by being shipped unprotected, but even if it is unuseable, it would still make a nice visual display unit for the museum if I can find a stand for it ... Dave The Telephone on Prince Edward Island: http://www.islandregister.com/phones/phones.html The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island: http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit! ------------------------------ Subject: IIR's Revenue Management 2006 Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 21:27:37 -0600 From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com> IIR's Revenue Management 2006 23-26 January 2006 Radisson SAS, Nice France http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=367 I am delighted to announce that the brochure for this year's Revenue Management 2006 is available for you to download at http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=369 As you will see, this year's event boasts 18 SERVICE PROVIDER case studies from key players including: *BT * Vodafone UK * China Unicom * Telecom Italia * T-Online International * T-Mobile UK * Iceland Telecom * * The Carphone Warehouse * Eurotel * Cellcom * Qwest Communications * Telenor International Mobile * Sprint * VimpelCom * *MTN Group * mobilkom austria * Telkom SA * Cable & Wireless * IIR's Revenue Management, 23-26 January 2006, will enable you to progress your revenue, risk and credit management strategies to identify new areas for revenue grow whilst safeguarding against fraud and revenue loss from next generation networks and services. For full details of the speakers, topics and event sponsors, please see http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=367 To download the event brochure visit http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=369 To register for this event please call our Customer Services department on +44(0)207 915 5055, email registration@iir-conferences.com or register online at http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=368 Please quote CG2250CNEM when you register. ------------------------------ From: pattyjamas@gmail.com Subject: Will Going to Higher Speed RoadRunner Offering Help Vonage? Date: 5 Dec 2005 15:46:50 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Will going to higher speed RoadRunner offering help Vonage? Have had Time Warner Road Runner (roadrunner) for years and added Vonage a few days ago. Had a few disconnects (fast busy), a tiny bit of echo (can live with), and today there was a 30 second period where the caller could not hear me. I also have a wireless router-Linksys WRT54GS (ver 4 firmware) but it is inactive about 90% of the time. By inactive, I mean, no one is using it except a few hours a week (Tivo and my laptop). Would it behoove me to go to the highest (faster) bandwidth Road Runner for $20 more to assist with any issues with Vonage?? Thank you, Patty ------------------------------ From: Felix Tilley <ftilley@cyberbromo.int> Subject: FTC Do not Call List Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 19:41:16 -0700 Organization: i.delete.spammers.int I called 1-888-382-1222. After I entered my phone number, the voice said the calls would stop in 3 weeks, My understanding is that it is 3 months. Felix Tilley MAJ, LARTvocate Fanatic Legions 1-800-555-LART ------------------------------ From: A Reader <elf@notchur.biz Subject: Default COCOT Behavior Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 03:20:54 -0800 I have an interest in telephony, and to further it, I recently bought a COCOT for personal use to play around with. One interesting thing I discovered about the way this particular unit came programmed was that when you'd dial numbers such as 1-800- COLLECT or 1-800-CALL-ATT, it would dial an AOS instead (one that didn't announce any company name). This seems deceptive at best, and possibly even illegal(?). I think it is rather obvious why the phone was programmed this way, but it's disappointing. Also, dial-around numbers appear to confuse it, and are not usable. Isn't there any kind of regulation on the industry that produces or sells this equipment to ensure that they follow FCC regulations? Another interesting behavior I've noticed is that while you're dialing a number, but before you deposit any money, it beeps out the DTMF for the number to be dialed extremely slowly over the line. If you don't deposit any money by the time the number is about to be completely dialed, it will hang up. After you deposit the money, it will pick up again and dial the number quickly. Does anyone have any explanations for why it would do this? The circuit board inside is described as an "Elcotel Series 5," if anyone is curious. Despite all the oddities, having your own pay phone sure is fun. [Note to moderator: please withhold name/e-mail] ===== My firewall got too hot and it burned a hole in my ethernet, and my token ring fell out. Can you help? ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 6th December 2005 Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 07:43:48 -0600 From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com> Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Telecom Italia, Samsung To Trial 4G Mobile Handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15104.php Telecom Italia said Monday its mobile unit, TIM, signed an agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. to run trials of the new wireless broadband mobile phones -fourth-generation mobile handsets -at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. ... Nokia Powers Eurotel's WCDMA Network, Makes HSDPA Tests http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15105.php Finland's Nokia Oyj Monday said it is powering Eurotel Praha spol. s.r.o.'s third generation WCDMA network in the Czech Republic, after successfully testing the network in October and after entering a deal in September to provide the core networks. ... Operators Protest At Ukrtelekon's 3G License Award http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15110.php Ukraine's two top cellular operators, Kyivstar and UMC, Monday said they had written to the President objecting to state-owned operator Ukrtelekom receiving a 3G license without a tender. ... Huawei Wins New Zealand 3G Agreement http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15111.php China's Huawei Technologies says that it has been selected by Econet Wireless New Zealand as the latter's strategic partner for WCDMA networks deployment. This is the first 3G network deployed by EWNZ in New Zealand, and is the first 3G network for i... [[ Financial ]] NTL Mulls 323P Offer For Virgin Mobile http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15099.php NTL said Monday that further to recent press speculation, it has approached Virgin Mobile regarding a potential offer to combine ntl and Virgin Mobile. ... Swisscom To Draw Up New Corporate Plan After Government Veto http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15101.php Swisscom Monday said it will draw up a new corporate strategy after the Swiss government's veto on foreign acquisitions late November. ... T-Mobile Confirms Support For Possible NTL, Virgin Deal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15102.php T-Mobile International AG Monday said it would support a deal under which Virgin Mobile Holdings (U.K.) PLC, would merge with U.K. cable operator NTL Inc. ... LONDON MARKETS: Virgin Mobile Rivals Lower On Possible NTL Deal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15103.php Virgin Mobile surged in London on Monday, but other telecoms lost ground, after NTL sparked bidding war hopes and raised competitive fears by saying that it may buy the company for $1.4 billion. ... Vodafone Confirms Bid Submitted For Turkey's Telsim http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15106.php U.K.-based telecommunications firm Vodafone Group PLC Monday said it has submitted a sealed bid to buy Turkish mobile telecom operator Telsim Mobil Telekomunikasyon. ... [[ Legal ]] Executive says Telenor may take legal action vs VimpelCom soon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15108.php Norway's telecommunications company Telenor may take legal action against Russia's second-largest mobile operator VimpelCom for its acquisition of Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS) after it has received a response from VimpelCom's management, Senior Vic... Russian IT sector regulator Reiman denies WSJ article http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15109.php Russian Information Technology and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman Monday said an article written about him by The Wall Street Journal was "initiated by an unprincipled investor." ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Mobile Marketing Across Borders - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15113.php Marketing initiatives targeting the mobile consumer must integrate communications and content in order to have the greatest impact, according to a study published this week by researchers at the International University of Japan. Based on the results... 3D Pac-Man Game for Mobile Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15114.php Namco Europe's Web & Mobile Content division has announced the launch of PAC-MANIA, the 3D sequel to the world famous video game PAC-MAN. In PAC-MANIA, PAC-MAN can jump in all four directions. Competitors now have to keep an eye out for bonus fruits ... [[ Network Contracts ]] WiMAX Network Planned for Finland http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15115.php Omnitele says that it has been contracted by two local Finnet group telephone companies, Mikkelin Puhelin and Kajaanin Puhelinosuuskunta, to carry out the radio network planning of the first two extensive WiMAX-implementations in the world.... [[ Offbeat ]] T-Mobile Paints a Plane http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15118.php T-Mobile has taken to painting an entire plane to advertise their German network. The company is re-branding an Airbus A319 operated by the German low-cost carrier, Germanwings with its colour scheme and logo. The "Spirit of T-Mobile", as the jet is ... [[ Personnel ]] Vodafone Chairman to Step Down Next Year http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15119.php Vodafone has announced that the company Chairman, Lord MacLaurin will be retiring next July. He will be succeeded as Chairman by Sir John Bond, currently Group Chairman of the banking group, HSBC Holdings and a non-executive director of Vodafone. Sir... [[ Regulatory ]] Russia Min: VimpelCom Has Priority For Far East Frequency http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15107.php OAO Vimpel Communications will be given top priority when new frequencies become available in Russia's far east, Russian Information Technology and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said Monday. ... Indian Interconnection Congestion Alarming - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15117.php The Indian telecoms regulator, TRAI has been monitoring mobile network congestion at the interconnection points between the operators. The operators are required to achieve a benchmark of ... [[ Statistics ]] Vodafone Portugal Claims 50% 3G Market Share http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15120.php Vodafone Portugal says that it recently exceeded the figure of 4 million customers registered with its mobile network, an increase of around 12% over the last 12 months. The number of customers in the Portuguese mobile market grew by around 8% in the... [[ Technology ]] NEC Electronics Develops Advanced Chip Production Tech http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15100.php NEC Electronics Corp. said Monday that it has developed advanced technology to produce semiconductors with circuit widths as narrow as 55 nanometers. ... Fujitsu Develops GaN HEMT Technology for Base Station Amplifiers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15112.php Fujitsu Laboratories has announced the development of the world's first gallium nitride (GaN) high electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) with insulated gates capable of practical output levels of 100 watts (W) or higher. By reducing gate leakage curren... Keep Your Mobile Number When Using Laptop VoIP Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15116.php Tatara Systems has launched a mobile VoIP solution to enable nomadic VoIP services using a subscriber's mobile phone number across any IP network, with the first application as an integrated laptop solution for mobile operators. Tatara has entered ma... ------------------------------ From: Brad Houser <bradDOThouser@intel.com> Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 15:55:39 -0800 Organization: Intel Corporation Reply-To: bradDOThouser@intel.com On 5 Dec 2005 10:25:24 -0800, jonfklein@gmail.com wrote: > Here is the problem, > I have two telephone lines. I want to make both of these lines ADSL > connections to the internet and use these connections to provide > internet access to several wireless laptop computers. A maximum of > about 20 laptops would be connected to the system at once. I would > like the laptops to be able to use both lines simultaneously so that I > don't have one line overloaded and one underloaded (ie: I want to > balance the traffic on the lines at any given time). > Anyone have any suggestions on how to set up something like this? > -Jonathan You should look for a router that does per-packet load balancing. Brad Houser ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomni.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:50:05 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article <telecom24.550.3@telecom-digest.org>, <jonfklein@gmail.com> wrote: > Here is the problem, > I have two telephone lines. I want to make both of these lines ADSL > connections to the internet and use these connections to provide > internet access to several wireless laptop computers. A maximum of > about 20 laptops would be connected to the system at once. I would > like the laptops to be able to use both lines simultaneously so that I > don't have one line overloaded and one underloaded (ie: I want to > balance the traffic on the lines at any given time). Without assistance from the 'other end' of the DSL lines, you cannot reliably accomplish load balancing. Absent some 'special' arrangements, each DSL line will have it's own address space. When a laptop connects to the wireless LAN, you can assign it an address from one space or the other, and _attempt_ to balance things by using addressing from the 'least busy' (at that time) circuit. *BUT* the traffic loads can change _while_ that address is assigned to that laptop. Now, if you're using NAT/PAT on a per-connection-to-the-outside-world basis, the *same* problem can occur -- the "window of vulnerability" is merely "somewhat" narrower. 'Flipping' a laptop from one address-space to the other one is fraught with peril -- even if it occurs 'between' connections to the outside world, there may be a 'logical session' involved that spans those connections. Having the IP address of the machine change _during_ the "session" MAY fatally confuse the machine on the other end. Now, *IF* there are ways to control the type of traffic to/from those laptops, then with _sufficient_knowledge_ of what they are doing, you can come somewhat closer to being able to do 'dynamic' balancing of your circuit utilization. It's *really* easy, if you have 'co-operating' smarts on the far end of the lines -- postulating that both lines go to the _same_ place, that is. :) ------------------------------ From: Vcc Ground <vccground@yahoo.co.in> Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously Date: 6 Dec 2005 00:14:17 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I believe you need a router that does WAN interface bonding (akin to ISDN B-channel BONDING) using ML-PPP or something. Anyway, this is my assumption: don't know for sure if such bonding is possible with asynchronous links like ADSL. As far as I know bonding is possible in synchronous DSLs like HDSL/SDSL/G.Shdsl. Hope I am not wrong and it helps. ------------------------------ From: David Quinton <usenet_2005D_email@REMOVETHISBITbizorg.co.uk> Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 08:50:56 +0000 On 5 Dec 2005 10:25:24 -0800, jonfklein@gmail.com wrote: > Anyone have any suggestions on how to set up something like this? I am no expert, but why not bond them? <http://www.aaisp.net.uk/aa/adsl/multiline.html> do this in the UK. Locate your Mobile phone: <http://www.bizorg.co.uk/news.html> Great gifts: <http://www.ThisBritain.com/ASOS_popup.html> ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> Subject: Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:37:47 -0700 Organization: Disorganized In message <telecom24.550.9@telecom-digest.org> TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to nospam4me@mytrashmail.com : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been told GPS does not work that > well _inside a house or an office_; that its optimal use is when > attached to an outside thing. Most VOIP set ups are indoors, are they > not? Given enough time, a highend GPS receiver can typically get a lock almost anywhere that gets sunlight. Since I suspect most VoIP gear is installed and left in place most of it's life, so it would probably work most of the time. I've never had a problem getting a GPS lock on a $90 bluetooth GPS receiver in a hotel, or even in most offices, so I suspect it's doable. It might take a few minutes to get a lock, but not being able to make a 911 call for several minutes after an ATA is powered up shouldn't be a big deal. Who wants another $90-$200 added to their VoIP gear's price simply for the convenience of not having to type your address into a website? > Or, another approach might be for the TA unit to 'listen' > for '911' being dialed, and then instantly breaking the connection and > redialing 911 via a landline phone nearby? If you're wanting to roll this out, and assuming that your ISP actually knows where you are. Many people VoIP over dialup on a very regular basis (PPPoE), which doesn't give the ISP any clue about where you're actually located, but they can still get you to the right call center which is all the current proposals really attempt to do anyway. This could be implemented relatively easily with existing infrastructure if everybody cared enough to make it work. Establish a domain, lets call it example.com since this is an example. You could perform a DNS lookup of a magic keyword "local.example.com" which participating ISPs would CNAME to the correct city/state/country's location. The default record (in example.com's zone, for non-participating ISPs) would route you to a call center equipped to put you in touch with correct emergency services providers. Anycast could be used to assist routing for non-participating ISPs. When you dial 911 (or 112), your ATA would lookup local.example.com and connect the call to the appropriate location. The DNS records returned could be in the form of "TXT PSTN +1.4035551234" (meaning that the call needs to be terminated like any other VoIP to PSTN call) or "TXT <protocol> 1.2.3.4" forms, where protocols are assigned and managed by the central authority controlling this system. The VoIP adapter would also have the ability to perform lookups for city.state.country.manual.example.com records, to provide the information for a specific locality rather then an unknown/generic record. An ATA might not be able to use this, but a PC-driven emergency system could. It would also allow a user to specify the appropriate call center by city name (for travelers who don't want to rely on local ISPs). Since DNS is hierarchical, the number of segments could vary, it could get as detailed as suburb.city.state.country if needed, the word "rural" could be used instead of a city if applicable, or a ZIP code lookup could be done by looking up 12345.zip.country.manual.example.com" If the VoIP adapter isn't capable of performing the lookup it would get passed up to the VoIP provider (when applicable) and the VoIP provider could route it based on account information if applicable. The advantage of this system is that it takes very little additional infrastructure, DNS access is basically a given already, plus it allows an ISP to mirror the zone so things still work when the base provider is down (so a DDoS won't take out 911 for the entire VoIP network) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One question ... you stated above that 'many people use VOIP over dialup frequently', and that confuses me. I _thought_ the idea of VOIP was to be able to avoid (for whatever reason) telco landlines. And frankly, although VOIP works over a dialup line just as it does with broadband, I really did not think that dialup was 'wide enough' of fast enough to do a very good job. I know that even with a bigger pipe (let's say, for example, DSL or cable internet) if you get too much traffic on the line at one time (for example two or three computers all going at once), as they all contend for space in the pipe, times get tough. And this is what I thought was a chronic condition when using something like dialup to feed your VOIP. Assuming that is not correct, then why wouldn't one simply use the telephone (on the dialup line) to call 911 and eliminate all the subsequent steps in the interim you propose? Now assuming dialup is _not_ a feasable way to run VOIP and that you are using broadband as I (most people?) do; you _still_ have some ISP don't you? In my instance, it is Cableone.net, (a national ISP just like aol.net or others.) Can't they be used -- assuming they would cooperate, etc -- to intercept any '911 dialing' on the VOIP line and route it back to local authorities, etc? The local ISP would be in the best position to know where to route the call, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh <reply@newsgroup.please> Subject: Re: Satellite GPS Can Locate Wireless Phones Within 15 Feet Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 11:35:02 -0500 Organization: UseNetServer.com nospam4me@mytrashmail.com wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been told GPS does not work that > well _inside a house or an office_; that its optimal use is when > attached to an outside thing. Most VOIP set ups are indoors, are they > not? What advantage and disadvantage would there be to equipping VOIP > terminal adapters either with a small antenna capable of receiving GPS > coordinates (although you might have to mount the GPS receiver either > next to a window or preferably _outside_ with a wire running in to the > TA itself)? How many people would do it? Not many, I fear. > Or, another approach might be for the TA unit to 'listen' > for '911' being dialed, and then instantly breaking the connection and > redialing 911 via a landline phone nearby? I know many people who don't have landlines because they use cellphones; surely many VOIP users won't have landlines, either. Maybe the FCC should mandate extremely low-cost 'emergency only' landlines?!? > Or, have the 911 interception be done at the local ISP (whose lines > you were on anyway) and have the ISP forward your call to the local > 911 authorities along with its records of who you were, where you > were at, etc? PAT] If you never moved from your original ISP, your VOIP provider would already have your address and be able to provide it to the 911 authorities... and that would be simpler (& cheaper) than having ISPs intercept calls. How about having TAs that 'remember' their last GPS reading (e.g. in NVRAM)? When in buildings where GPS doesn't work, it would at least remember the position of the entrance to the building. There are situations where the TA would be shielded from GPS for long distances (e.g. subway rides) and, if the user doesn't need to step outside after those trips, this locating system would not work. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine whether this is more effective or more harmful than any other proposal (or the status quo.) Geoffrey Welsh <Geoffrey [dot] Welsh [at] bigfoot [dot] com> Never leave until tomorrow what can wait until next week. ------------------------------ From: GlowingBlueMist <nobody@invalid.com> Subject: Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 18:33:10 -0600 Organization: Octanews "Chasman" <xarush@omelas.com> wrote in message news:telecom24.550.6@telecom-digest.org: > I want to figure a simple way of being able to dial in on one work > number and then dial out on another work line. > The reason is that I want to be able to call international from my > cell phone really cheaply or free. So I want to make a local call to > my office and then reroute that call somehow through my VOIP phone to > wherever I want to dial. This way I get the benifit of really cheap > rates. > Thanks for any ideas. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The device you want is known as a > 'call extender' or 'WATS extender'. The name comes mainly from many > years ago when long distance calls were quite expensive but using the > office 'WATS line' allowed a long distance call to be 'free'. Essenti- > ally, call in on a local line, get hooked either to a PBX-type line > from whence you would dial the WATS code (then out on WATS) or else > just connect direct to the WATS line itself. A smart user would always > have a passcode request in there somewhere, to avoid having the WATS > (or other network services) abused. I got one of these devices once > from Mike Sandman http://sandman.com and after a bit of tweaking it > worked reasonably well. You can adjust it via a capacitor on the top > so it knows when to answer the incoming line and how long to hold the > line open, and when to disconnect it. The prototype Mike let me use > was easy enough to adjust the cap for pickup and disconnect and wait > to restart. But the volume level was not very good, at least on my > prototype (some manufacturer was trying to talk Mike into reselling > these devices), and I do not think they ever got the volume level > adjusted as desired. It would not make a lot of difference on good > quality WATS lines or a decent PBX, etc. The transmission level would > go down a little, but you could live with it. However, I was trying to > use mine to connect landline, via a PBX to a VOIP line outbound, and > this was _before_ (or maybe still?) VOIP was able to share bandwidth > with computers, etc on internet and sound good quality. So I had two > problems: VOIP outbound (with the older style Vonage TA's) sounded > dreadful, IMO, and the 'call extender' didn't help it any. > Commercial or industrial grade call extenders used to be quite > expensive; you had to be able to amortize its cost versus your toll > charges; now the cost for a unit is almost nothing; but then again, > so are toll charges, even international ones. You might check with > Mike Sandman (mailto: mike@sandman.com) or check his web site > httpw://sandman.com and find out if the transmission quality > problems have been corrected, and does he still have those little > units. (About the size of a package of cigarette, weight a couple > ounces; just plug an incoming and and outgoing line into it.) PAT] You might want to check out the DialMate CM1003 at http://www.woodtel.com/CM1003f.html. They were flashing a price around $130 when I last looked. You can read the user manual at http://www.woodtel.com/cm1003.html for more information. ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> Subject: Re: Don't Call It Spyware Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:51:23 -0800 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com Monty Solomon wrote: > Three years ago the company was considered a parasite and a scourge. > Today it's a rising star In whose opinion? (Not mine.) Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Company website: http://JustThe.net/ Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/ E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Nor mine. There is no such thing as the rehabilitation of a spyware/spam company. PAT] ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> Subject: Re: Executive Has an Answer to Phone System Cheat Sheet Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:08:10 -0700 Organization: Disorganized In message <telecom24.550.1@telecom-digest.org> Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote: > To show that automation can be good and turn English's assault into a > business opportunity, Zirngibl put out his own cheat sheet for > businesses on how to create customer-friendly systems. Among the tips: > never hide the option for speaking to a live agent and never require > callers to repeat personal information once they reach a human being. Personally, I repeat information exactly one time. If that representative cannot tell me how to get to a human and bypass the system next time, they will either transfer me to a manager that will give me that information or they will close my account. That being said, I rather prefer automated systems for a lot of queries, if I have a choice of any automated system or a person I'll almost always take the automated system. However, when I do need to go beyond the scripted voice system, I want more then a meat-driven voice response system (in other words, they need to think, not follow a script) and they need to have the information I already gave the system. You'll notice differences in companies though. If you call my power company, the first words out of the IVR system tell you that no human is available, when a human will next be available, then it offers to help you automatically (and their automated system is great, you can actually move service with it in some cases, and I have *never* repeated anything to a human that the system already asked me) This is great, if I know that the system can't help me (or if I happened to be too ignorant to use an automated system), I can hang up right now. Alternatively, if I want something the system can do, I can still do it. Oh yeah, it will also put me through to a voicemail or let me request a callback. If you swear at it, you get a rep right away too :) If you call my telco, even if the very first button you push tells the system with 100% certainty that you will need to speak to a person, it still needs your phone number, and account type (didn't I just give you my phone number? Ever hear of a database?) and a few other details before it can tell you that the department you need is closed, then it hangs up. No voicemail. Oh, and if you swear at it, it doesn't understand. This benefits the company because they can get stats about who is calling and why, so they can look at what areas would be served by longer operating hours, at the expense of wasting a bunch of my time only to not even try to help me. It's about corporate attitude. It's possible to make very smart, very adaptive phone systems which can address many/most calls, but it needs to be done with the customer in mind, not as a cost savings measure for the company (the cost savings come due to lower employee costs, but that should not be a primary goal) ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD <spam_narf_spam@crazyhat.net> Subject: Re: Who Owns the Music? Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 02:08:10 -0700 Organization: Disorganized In message <telecom24.550.10@telecom-digest.org> Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com> wrote: > DevilsPGD wrote: >> Common sense may tell you that, but in my jurisdiction you'd be very >> wrong. <snip> > I was not posting legal advice and besides this has to to with Federal > Law!! Read the other postings that came before mine and after. Also > title 17 of the US Code which others have listed is really open on > that, since as was said it covers mostly software, not music, but the > lines are mixed now with all the online access to music and video. And if the US were the whole world, I might care about your federal laws. Since it's not, I don't. ------------------------------ From: NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us Subject: Re: Box to Redirect Incoming Call and Redial to Outgoing Line Date: 6 Dec 2005 08:12:20 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com A WATS extender is a good opportunity for phreaks. On my cell I use OneSuite. Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Hong Kong 2CPM. Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com/ No monthly fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: "FREEoffer23" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 13:06:39 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com> Subject: Telecoms Turn Focus to Converged Services USTelecom dailyLead December 6, 2005 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zAhUatagCznffBxeIs TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Telecoms turn focus to converged services BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Analysis: Virgin deal would give NTL quadruple play * Verizon's directory auction likely to draw a crowd * Ericsson wins major deal with Britain's 3 * Time Warner Cable tops 1M VoIP subscribers USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Buy Now: Telecom Management Crash Course TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * MCI takes security to the next level * At long last, Qualcomm joins Wi-Fi Alliance REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * TWC opposes a la carte Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zAhUatagCznffBxeIs ------------------------------ From: davidesan@gmail.com Subject: Last Laugh! Simpson Telecom Reference Date: 6 Dec 2005 09:23:26 -0800 On this past week Simpson's the family is visiting a new stamp museum. Push a button and the stamp tells you why that person was honored by a stamp. The Alexander Graham Bell stamp said: "I invented the telephone." Which was followed immediately by with "No you didn't I did!" from the Elisha Gray stamp. Bell then told Gray to look at the patent number, and then something suitably irreverant which I can no longer remember. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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