TELECOM Digest     Fri, 9 Dec 2005 15:20:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 555

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    MPAA Demands Tougher Laws - Jail Time - For Bootleggers (David Caruso)
    Fear of ID Theft Greatly Overblown, per Government Study (Reuters NewsWire)
    Google Ad Fraud Plaintiff Seeks to Cut Role in Case (Eric Auchard)
    Many Domains Registered With False Registration Data (zonk)
    Cellular-News for Friday 9th December 2005 (Cellular-News)
    Re: Hanging up on the New Ma Bell (Ron Kritzman)
    Telecom Update #509 - Canada - (Angus Telemanagement)
    Alltel to Spin Off Landline Business (USTA Daily Lead)
    Re: Hanging up on the New Ma Bell (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com)
    Re: Hypothetical SxS Question (Wesrock@aol.com)
    Re: Hypothetical SxS Question (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: FTC Do Not Call List (Mark Crispin)
    Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: Communications History (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com)
    Last Laugh! RSStroom Reader (CmdrTaco)

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: David Caruso <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: MPAA Demands Tougher Laws - Jail Time - For Bootleggers
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 12:28:18 -0600


By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

Every evening rush hour, hustlers lugging bags full of bootlegged
movies walk the subway train aisles, calling "two for five dollars!"
as brazenly as if they were selling hot dogs at Yankee Stadium. At
those prices, the DVDs, often of current Hollywood blockbusters, sell
well, despite laughable sound and picture quality. Few customers seem
to care the copies were made illegally.

Bootleggers apparently have little to fear. Under state law, people
caught videotaping inside a movie theater face a maximum fine of $250.

As part of its worldwide campaign against piracy, the film industry is
pushing for tougher penalties for smuggling a camcorder into a cinema
in New York, which has the country's worst bootlegging problem and
some of the weakest penalties.

A bill pushed by the Motion Picture Association of America would make
operating recording equipment inside a theater a criminal misdemeanor,
raising the maximum punishment to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

Making the crime a misdemeanor also would empower police to arrest
violators on the spot, rather than simply issuing a summons.

People caught a second time would be charged with a felony.

"We have to do something, because right now there's no risk," said
William J. Shannon, a Yonkers-based deputy director of the
association's U.S.  anti-piracy operation. "Right now, you're looking
at something about the same as a parking ticket."

Legislators, film industry representatives and lawyers met Wednesday
in Manhattan to discuss the new proposal, which would make New York
one of several states to adopt tougher rules on movie piracy in recent
years.

But Pace Law School professor David N. Cassuto likened the use of
tough criminal penalties to attack the lowest-level offenders in
pirating operations to "using a howitzer to solve a roach problem."

The proposed penalties would also apply to an obnoxious 16-year-old
who holds up a camera phone during the coming attractions to snap a
photograph of the screen, warned defense attorney Marvin Schecter.

Through intricate watermarking technology, investigators can now
determine in which theater a film was playing when it was recorded by
someone with a handheld camera.

About half the bootleg films that are recorded live in a theater,
duplicated thousands of times, then sent around the globe originated
in New York City, the trade group said.

___

On the Net:
Motion Picture Association of America: http://www.mpaa.org/

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.

For more Associated Press News, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html
To chat with other readers about this event, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/forum.html

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

From: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Fear of ID Theft Greatly Overblown, According to US Study
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 12:23:28 -0600


A new study suggests consumers whose credit cards are lost or stolen
or whose personal information is accidentally compromised face little
risk of becoming victims of identity theft.

The analysis, released late on Wednesday, in a report commissioned by
the United States government, also found that even in the most
dangerous data breaches -- where thieves access social security
numbers and other sensitive information on consumers they have
deliberately targeted -- only about 1 in 1,000 victims had their
identities stolen.

ID Analytics, the San Diego, California-based fraud detection company
that performed the analysis, said it looked at four recent data
breaches involving a total of 500,000 consumers. It declined to
provide the names of the companies involved in the breaches, but Mike
Cook, ID Analytics co-founder, said one of them was a top five
U.S. bank.

After six months of study, comparing compromised information against
credit applications, ID Analytics said it discovered something
counterintuitive: The smaller the breach, the greater the likelihood
the information was subsequently used by fraudsters to hijack the
identity of victims.

"If you're in a breach of 100, 200 or 250 names, there's a pretty high
probability that you're identity is going to be used," said Mike Cook,
ID Analytics' co-founder.

"The reason for that is if you look at how long it takes a fraudster
to use an identity, they can roughly use 100 to 250 in a year. But as
the size of the breach grows, it drops off pretty drastically."

A study conducted earlier this year by Javelin Strategy and Research,
which mirrored the methodology of an earlier Federal Trade Commission
study, found that 9.3 million Americans said they had been victimized
by identity thieves during the preceding 12 months.

ID Analytics said it discovered that identity thieves have a hard time
using a stolen credit cards to hijack the identity of cardholders
because the cards are usually quickly canceled -- and because piecing
together an identity based on the information on the card is hard
work. Not one of the card breaches it studied resulted in a subsequent
identity takeover.

While the findings will provide some comfort to consumers whose credit
cards are lost or lifted or whose sensitive information is compromised
when, for instance, a laptop is stolen, as recently happened at
Chicago-based Boeing Co., some of ID Analytics' suggestions could be
controversial.

The company suggests, for instance, that companies shouldn't always
notify consumers of data breaches because they may be unnecessarily
alarming people who stand little chance of being victimized.

That's likely to rankle consumer watchdogs, who are pushing Congress
to enact a law, sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting
record), Republican of Pennsylvania, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news,
bio, voting record), Democrat of Vermont, that requires companies to
implement tough data security standards and to notify consumers, law
enforcement and credit-reporting agencies whenever there's a breach.

"As far as notifications, we think there are certain instances where
businesses might want to notify consumers and certain instances where
they might not to inform them," said Cook.

"For instance, if they lose data, and they don't know where it is, we
think too many notices may not be a good thing. They should probably
monitor that and spend dollars on consumers who are actually harmed,
rather than spending dollars on 10 million consumers" most of whom
won't be affected.

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.

For more news stories, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html
To discuss this report, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/forum.html

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

From: Eric Auchard <reuters@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Google Ad Fraud Plaintiff Seeks to Cut Role in Case
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 12:26:03 -0600


By Eric Auchard

Click Defense Inc., which had filed a lawsuit against Google
Inc. claiming the Web search leader's advertising sales practices were
fraudulent, said on Thursday it was seeking to withdraw as lead
plaintiff in the suit in order to focus on its own business.

The company said in a statement it wanted to withdraw as the lead
plaintiff named in a lawsuit seeking class-action status it had filed
against Google in June in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California.

Still, Click Defense said it planned to press its claims against
Google.

"We are only withdrawing as a representative plaintiff," Click Defense
Chief Executive Scott Boyenger said in a statement, adding that the
company was doing so in order to focus on its business as a provider
of technology used to detect "click fraud" in online advertising
campaigns.

Virtually all of Google's revenues derive from so-called pay-per-click
advertising in which advertisers pay only for ads on which Web users
have clicked to view more information.

Click fraud is not "fraud" as defined under the law. Rather, it is an
industry term used to describe the deliberate clicking on Web search
ads by users with no plans to do business with the advertiser. Rival
companies might employ people or machines to do this because the
advertiser has to pay the Web search provider for each click.

Click fraud can run up thousands of dollars in advertiser costs or
benefit a Web site operator that gets a cut of advertising revenue
from Internet search providers.

Google declined to comment on the pending case. At the time the
lawsuit was originally filed it stated: "We believe the suit is
without merit and we will defend ourselves against it vigorously."

In general, Google says its credits advertisers who can show they have
fallen pray to "invalid click" schemes.

The complaint filed by Click Defense of Fort Collins, Colorado,
alleged that Google has refused to take steps to thwart fraudulent
advertising billing practices "even though the company was well aware
of the practice."

"We remain a member of the class and our click fraud claims against
Google will still be litigated when and if the class is certified,"
Boyenger said.

Click Defense said it was withdrawing after another potential
plaintiff had stepped forward to act as representative plaintiff.

On Wednesday, Advanced Internet Technology (AIT), a $34 million-a-year
Internet service provider serving customers in the Middle Atlantic
states and the Carolinas, said it planned to take over as lead
plaintiff in the suit against Google.

"(Click Defense) started down the road and got cold feet and we are
jumping in their stead," Jay O'Dell, a sales executive with AIT, told
Reuters by phone.

Darren Kaplan, an attorney with the law firm Chitwood Harley Harnes
LLP, remains plaintiff's counsel.

A hearing on the motion for class certification in the Google click
fraud case has been scheduled for May of 2006, Click Defense said.

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.

For more news headlines, please go to:
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To discuss this item with other readers, please go to:
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------------------------------

From: Zonk <zonk@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Many Domains Registered With False Data
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 19:05:15 -0600


Posted by Zonk on Thursday December 08, @01:01PM
 from the seekrit-webmaster-conspiracy dept.

bakotaco writes "According to research carried out by the US
Government Accountability Office (GAO) many domain owners are hiding
their true identity. The findings could mean that many websites are
fronts for spammers, phishing gangs and other net criminals. The
report also found that measures to improve information about domain
owners were not proving effective." From the article: "The GAO took
300 random domain names from each of the .com, .org and .net
registries and looked up the centrally held information about their
owners. Any user can look up this data via one of the many whois sites
on the net. The report found that owner data for 5.14% of the domains
it looked at was clearly fake as it used phone numbers such as (999)
999-9999; listed nonsense addresses such as 'asdasdasd' or used
invalid zip codes such as 'XXXXX'. In a further 3.65% of domain owner
records data was missing or incomplete in one or more fields."

To discuss this matter further, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As the official Keeper of the Records,
ICANN was asked for a comment on this report, but they refused any
discussion of it.  PAT]

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

Subject: Cellular-News for Friday 9th December 2005
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 07:50:18 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>


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

[[ Financial ]]

Virgin's Branson Confident NTL's Mobile Bid Will Go Ahead
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15161.php

Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said Thursday he is confident
that NTL Inc.'s bid for Virgin Mobile Holdings U.K. PLC will go
ahead. ...

Qualcomm Raises 1Q View On Chip Shipments
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15163.php

Qualcomm Inc. raised its outlook for first-quarter earnings based on
growth in mobile station modem chip shipments. ...

Ukraine's Kyivstar plans to invest over $600 mln in 2006
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15164.php

Ukraine's leading mobile operator Kyivstar plans to invest over
U.S. $600 million in the development of its network in 2006, compared
with about $594 million allocated for this year, Telenor's CFO and
Kyivstar's board of directors' member Torstein Mo...

[[ Handsets ]]

Nokia To Open Flagship Stores In "Shopping Capitals"
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15162.php

Finland's Nokia Oyj Thursday said it would start a new multimedia
retailing activity by opening several Flagship Stores in "shopping
capitals of the world." ...

[[ Network Contracts ]]

Sprint Shakes Up, Expands Business Consulting Unit
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15165.php

Sprint Nextel Corp. is looking to expand its presence in the
consulting business beyond advice and into implementation. ...

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

Date: Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:23:48 -0600
From: Ron Kritzman <ron@dbOnayAmspaYmasters.com>
Subject: Re: Hanging up on the New Ma Bell


cnnmoney@telecom-digest.org wrote:

SBC has joined forces with AT&T and taken its name ...

Okay. Illinois Bell, Ameritech, SBC, and now AT&T, in area codes 312,
708 and 847. So I've had 4 phone companies 3 areacode swapped out from
under me while living in the same house with the same phone number.
What do I win?


- Ron

Emoveray ethay Igpay Atinlay otay eplyray


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You must apparently live in the north
shore area of Chicago. (I assume they are still '847' or has that been
changed as well?) PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 10:50:40 -0800
Subject: Telecom Update #509
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 509: December 9, 2005

Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous 
financial support from: 
** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/
** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca 
** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ 
** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca
** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/
** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/
** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com
** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions 
** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca

************************************************************

IN THIS ISSUE: 

** Former Bell Exec to Head MTS-Allstream
** Alberta Plans Canada's First Wi-Max Net
** Yukon, NWT Get Wireless Competitor
** Shaw Quits Cable Association
** Cellphones Up 481,000 in Three Months
** Bell, March Ally for Surveillance
** Amtelecom Buys Rural Telco
** Competitors, Cablecos Battle over Voice QoS
** Rogers Wants Ban on Wireless Junk Voicemail
** Ontera Waives Charges for Kashechewan Customers
** Dog Days for Cellphones
** Wi-LAN, Cisco Settle Suit
** Globalstar Readies Satellite Launch
** Nortel Buys into Vodavi
** Court Approves TIW Payout
** Branson Says Virgin Deal "Close"
** Cogeco Sales, Profits Rise
** IIC Conference in Ottawa Next Week

============================================================

FORMER BELL EXEC TO HEAD MTS-ALLSTREAM: Pierre Blouin, former head of
Bell Canada's consumer and wireless organizations, has been named CEO
of MTS Allstream, Canada's third-largest telecom carrier. He replaces
Bill Fraser, who previously announced his plan to retire.

** Blouin left Bell in September after a reorganization 
   removed Bell Mobility from his portfolio. He had been with 
   the telco for 20 years. (See Telecom Update #495)

ALBERTA PLANS CANADA'S FIRST WI-MAX NET: The Alberta Special Areas
Board has contracted with Nortel Networks and Netago Wireless to
deploy what is believed to be the first commercial network in Canada
based on the new Wi-Max standard. The network will bring high-speed
Internet access (1 Mpbs to 3 Mbps) to about 80% of businesses and
residences in rural parts of southeastern Alberta by the third quarter
of 2006.

YUKON, NWT GET WIRELESS COMPETITOR: Cellular competition began in
Yukon this week when Ice Wireless Inc. launched service in
Whitehorse. The Ice consortium plans to extend coverage soon to
Yellowknife; one of its partners, New North Networks, has served
Inuvik since 1999. Until now Bell Mobility has been the sole provider
in most of the North.

SHAW QUITS CABLE ASSOCIATION: Shaw Communications has resigned from
the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association, citing "divergent
interests and different strategic objectives." The CCTA expressed
regret and promised to continue "business as usual."

CELLPHONES UP 481,000 IN THREE MONTHS: There are now more than 16
million cellphones in use in Canada. Figures compiled by the Canadian
Wireless Telecommunications Association show a net increase of 481,000
phones in the third quarter of 2005, and over a million in the first
three quarters.

** Rogers added 402,000 subscribers in the first nine months 
   of the year. Telus Mobility grew by 349,000; Bell/Aliant 
   added 306,000.

BELL, MARCH ALLY FOR SURVEILLANCE: Bell Canada and March Networks have
formed a partnership to develop and market video surveillance
applications in Canada. Development will take place at the Bell
Advanced Solutions Innovations Centre in Ottawa, a joint venture of
March's holding company and Bell. (See Telecom Update #500)

AMTELECOM BUYS RURAL TELCO: Amtelecom, Ontario's third-largest
independent telco, has bought the tenth-largest, People's
Communications of Forest, for $21 million. Amtelecom gains about 5,000
phone subscribers, bringing its total to approximately 27,000.

COMPETITORS, CABLECOS BATTLE OVER VOICE QoS: Cybersurf, supported by
Vonage, Primus, and a coalition of Quebec ISPs (see Telecom Update
#507), wants the CRTC to order Shaw, Rogers, and Videotron to make
PacketCable functionality available to ISPs, and to require Shaw to
allow competitors to resell a Quality of Service enhancement it
currently markets to its own Internet customers.

** Videotron, the Canadian Cable Telecommunications 
   Association, and Telus say such an order is unwarranted 
   and would amount to a revision of the VoIP decision. 

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2005/8622/C122_200512716.htm

ROGERS WANTS BAN ON WIRELESS JUNK VOICEMAIL: Rogers has asked the CRTC
to prohibit "voicecasting" -- automatic delivery of unsolicited
solicitations to voice mailboxes--to wireless customers. Rogers says
its customers are irate about the cost and annoyance of receiving such
messages. (See Telecom Update #452)

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2005/8622/r11_200514936.htm

ONTERA WAIVES CHARGES FOR KASHECHEWAN CUSTOMERS: Ontera, the
provincially owned telco in northern Ontario, is waiving more than
$12,000 in long distance and Internet charges for relocated residents
of Kashechewan.

DOG DAYS FOR CELLPHONES: Vancouver-based On4 Communications says it
will introduce a $350 cellphone for dogs early in 2006. The
bone-shaped PetCell, a GPS-equipped handsfree (pawsfree?) device, will
enable owners to track runaway dogs, and allow them to talk to lonely
home-alone pets.  Calls to the dog-phone will require a passcode, to
ensure the pet isn't bothered by wrong numbers and telemarketers.

WI-LAN, CISCO SETTLE SUIT: Cisco Systems has purchased patents from
Wi-LAN Inc, settling a suit for patent infringement filed by the
Calgary wireless broadband developer in 2004. (See Telecom Update
#439)

GLOBALSTAR READIES SATELLITE LAUNCH: Globalstar has signed contracts
with two European companies and obtained U.S. government approval to
launch up to eight spare satellites in Kazakhstan, beginning in
2007. The satellite phone provider is also building a new satellite
gateway in Wasilla, Alaska.

NORTEL BUYS INTO VODAVI: In an SEC filing dated December 2, Nortel
Networks says its Korean subsidiary has acquired 23.3% of the
outstanding shares of Vodavi Technologies, an Arizona company that
manufactures IP-based business telephone systems.

COURT APPROVES TIW PAYOUT: Telesystem International Wireless, which is
going out of business, has obtained court approval to distribute $259
million to shareholders. A further $27 million payout may follow. (See
Telecom Update #502)

BRANSON SAYS VIRGIN DEAL "CLOSE": Virgin Mobile Holdings has rejected
NTL's offer to buy the cellco for US$1.4 billion, but Virgin's owner
Richard Branson says the two sides are "quite close." In Canada,
Virgin Mobile is a partnership between Branson's company and
Bell. (See Telecom Update #427)

COGECO SALES, PROFITS RISE: Cogeco Cable says that its digital and
Internet customer base grew by 22.5% and 15.9%, respectively, in its
2005 fiscal year. Revenue increased 5.3%, to $554 million; net income
was $28.7 million.

IIC CONFERENCE IN OTTAWA NEXT WEEK: The Canadian Chapter of the
International Institute of Communications is holding its fifth annual
conference at the Ottawa Congress Centre on December 12-13. The theme
of this year's meeting is "Broadband: Are We Ready?" See the IIC'S
website for the conference agenda and registration information.

http://www.iic-canada.ca

============================================================

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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
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============================================================

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

Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 13:34:27 EST
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Alltel to Spin Off Landline Business


USTelecom dailyLead
December 9, 2005
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zNnwatagCAhfldDseX

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Alltel to spin off landline business
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* EA snaps up JAMDAT
* Report: Cable penetration sagging
* Cable's wireless dilemma
* Free Wi-Fi becomes the norm
* Alcatel projects big growth from mobile operations
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Voice Over IP Crash Course by Steven Shepard
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* Yahoo! strikes cross-platform deal with Aussie broadcaster
VOIP DOWNLOAD
* BellSouth enhances enterprise VoIP offering
* BT takes another step toward 21CN reality

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/zNnwatagCAhfldDseX

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

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Hanging up on the New Ma Bell
Date: 9 Dec 2005 10:04:31 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


> "the new Ma Bell"

Too many journalists writing about AT&T these days still use the term
"Ma Bell".  That's inaccurate.  Ma Bell isn't going away, it's been
long gone.

"Ma Bell" referred to the old AT&T Bell System pre-divesture.  It
referred to the old system, somewhat negatively, of when Bell owned
all equipment and long distance, and supplied 100% of customers needs.
Once AT&T divested the local companies, it ceased being the old Ma
Bell.  It quickly evolved into other types of business.  It even lost
the "Bell" name.  The old AT&T died at divesture.

If anything, the term "Ma Bell" is more accurately applied to the
divested companies since they still have monopoly control in some
areas and operate more of the traditional services.  They use the Bell
name and logo.  (Verizon still prints the "Bell Telephone Company of
Pennsylvania" on its literature and puts the Bell logo on its
payphones.)

People, knowing my interest in telephones, ask me how I feel about
"AT&T going away".  I answer it went away long ago at divesture.

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

From: Wesrock@aol.com
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 19:58:04 EST
Subject: Re: Hypothetical SxS Question


In a message dated  Wed, 07 Dec 2005 18:12:00 -0600, Neal McLain
<nmclain@annsgarden.com> writes:

> Advantage: This plan avoids two SxS taboos: subscriber numbers beginning 
> with 0 or 1:

>    - Initial 0 is taboo because "experience has shown that in a single-
>      office system it is not advisable to use subscribers' numbers
>      commencing with the numeral zero (0) unless absolutely necessary
>      to secure the desired capacity" [1].  And, of course, zero is
>      traditionally used to reach the local operator, if any.

>    - Initial 1 is taboo because an SxS (or any other rotary-dial) switch
>      can't distinguish between an intentionally-dialed 1 and a false
>      switchhook depression.

> Disadvantage: It's not possible to match subscriber numbers to apartment 
> numbers (although, as PAT notes, this might not be a good idea anyway).

> [1] Kempster B. Miller.  "Telephone Theory and Practice" vol. 3 
> "Automatic Switching and Auxiliary Equipment."  New York: McGraw Hill, 
> 1933, p. 129.

> Neal McLain

The 1933 citation you mention, which I read in the 1940s, was really
my introduction to how the telephone and telephone systems works, and
definitely piqued my interest in the field.

However, the 1 as initial digit taboo was reserched thoroughly when
DDD was extended to customers through CAMAs in largely step-by-step
exchanges, particularly in large cities that were primarily
step-by-step.

I forget how many million actually live calls were studied to
determine how many of them had a false switchhook depression.

There were none. Zero.  Conventional wisdom was wrong.

Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I used to know someone who worked his
away around the 'incoming calls only' rule on a telephone at the place
where he lived. Although the phone did have dial tone, it also had a
blank face plate, to avoid being able to dial outgoing calls,
supposedly. His respose was to learn how to tap on the hook in the
proper sequence and timing. Inconvenient to be sure, but it worked. PAT]

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

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomni.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Hypothetical SxS Question
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 2005 15:50:42 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.552.6@telecom-digest.org>,
 <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

> This question is purely speculative only, not for real use.

> Suppose we wanted to install a PABX using step-by-step gear in a condo
> complex.  We need 250 stations.  My question regards the most
> efficient station number assignments.

> One person says the stations ought to have a four digit number that
> corresponds to the apartment number.  There are 19 buildings with
> 10-15 units per building.  So unit #103 would get phone number 0103
> and unit #1513 would be phone 1513.

> While the above is easier to remember, wouldn't that be a waste of SxS
> terminals and require more switch units without any gain in
> efficiency?  Isn't a four digit code inherently more complex than a
> three digit in an SxS environment?  I think the phone ought to be
> numbered strictly sequentially, starting from 111 and going upward.

A 'subset' 4-digit system (where all digits are in the range 1-4) would
likely be the 'most efficient' hardware construct.  this gives you 256
'numbers', which is a close match to your 250 station requirement.

> The Bell System history talks about "graded multiples" to more
> efficiently use trunks and switchgear in central offices, but I don't
> think that would apply in this application.

> Now if we wanted to implement the above using modern technology, would
> only a PC be required with appropriate software and cards?  I guess
> we'd need capacity for about five conversations at once.

Correct, one approach would be a _little_ PC (e.g. a 386 box),
Asterisk software, and an appropriate number of line cards.

And, of course, with computer-based system, you can assign 'dialable'
numbers any way you want. You don't have any additional 'mechanical
complexity' based on the length of the numbering plan.

The problem is going to be in those 'line cards'.  250 'stations'
requires 250 POTS ports on the 'switch'.  Now, you _can_ get that many
ports on the PC, no problem.  A mere 3 quad-port T-1 cards does it.
But then you need 11 "D-4" channel banks, or equivalent, to break
those T-1s out to the individual POTS circuits.

Then, if this is going to be more than an 'intercom' system, you need
a bunch of 'trunk' lines to the C.O.  '5 conversations' may be a
reasonable 'average' usage (although it strikes me as _low_), but
you'll need *several* times more than that to handle reasonable
variability in call volumes.  probably more like 50 (at least!) to
handle 'reasonable' peak calling without having to give fast-busy, due
to lack of 'trunk' circuits.

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

From: Mark Crispin <MRC@CAC.Washington.EDU>
Subject:  Re: FTC Do Not Call List
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 13:50:45 -0800
Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing


There's a very nice way to shut out all telemarketers.

See if your LOC offers Do Not Disturb service.

Do Not Disturb service, which is often *cheaper* than No Solicitation,
can be set with a 24 hour/day "no-disturb" period.  To ring your
phone, the caller has to know a 4-digit password set by you.  You can
optionally allow "emergency calling" with "*", which requires the
caller to state their name (and you get to hear that before deciding
whether or not to allow the call to connect).

You have to make sure that you do not have voice mail or other
forwarding, since it will send your call to your voice mail if you do.
An answering machine is OK.

I've done this for over a year now, and the blessed silence from my
landline phone has been delightful.  The handful people who are
authorized to call me all know the password; and it's easy enough to
program it into the speed dial on most modern phones.  You can also
change the password at any time.


-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomni.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Using Two ADSL Internet Connections Simultaneously
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 2005 14:53:33 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.551.9@telecom-digest.org>, William Warren
<william_warren_nonoise@speakeasy.net> wrote:

> 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

> Obtain a Linux server, connect each DSL line to a separate Ethernet 
> card, and modify its route table to give equal weight to each line. 
> You'll need a third card for your wireless AP or other LAN connections.

This approach only solves "part" of the problem, namely 'outgoing'
traffic.

"Incoming" traffic is an entirely different problem.  And
load-balancing _that_ traffic cannot be done in anything approaching a
satisfactory manner without 'help' from the 'upstream' end.  And it
requires that both DSL circuits terminate at the same 'upstream'
provider.

In article <telecom24.552.10@telecom-digest.org>, jonfklein@gmail.com
wrote:

> I know nothing about setting up a server, so please pardon my
> ignorance. Is there any reason why it needs to be a linux server?

No, it *doesn't*have*to*be* "Linux".

> Could it be Windows?

It _could_.

*BUT* the 'standard' routing code _in_the_kernel_ of most operating
systems does =not= support multiple equal-priority routes to the same
destination, *with* rotating use of those routes on a per-packet
basis.

Thus, you are _very_probably_ going to have to modify the relevant
pieces of the O/S kernel to accomplish this 'ping-pong' load-balancing.

Doing those modification is _much_ easier if you have the source-code
for the O/S available.

If you can get access from Microsoft, go for it.   <wry grin>

> Where can I get further information about setting up a server and
> modifying the route tables?

"If you have to ask ..." about basics like that, you should _not_ be
attempting this on your own.  This kind of exotic tweaking _does_ call
for a "guru". Hire a professional to explain to you what this
approach _will_ accomplish, and what it will *not* accomplish.  There
are a _lot_ of things to take into consideration that have not even
been _touched_ on in this discussion, before concluding that this
approach is viable for what you "really" want to accomplish.  e.g. do
you want to load-balance 'incoming' or 'outgoing' traffic, or "both"?

Also, what proportion of the total traffic will be 'incoming', and how
much will be 'outgoing'?  Also _where_ will the 'far end' of the
traffic be going -- is it "anywhere on the Internet" (as in a
'Internet cafe' environment), or is it all to a _single_ place (as in
a 'remote' office, just needing connectivity back to the big computers
at 'headquarters')?  Will this be TCP traffic, or UDP traffic?  will
TCP 'connections' be long-lived, or very transient?

*ALL* of those things affect the nature of the 'solution' to
load-balancing traffic loads that is 'right' for _your_ situation.

> William Warren wrote:

>> 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

>> Obtain a Linux server, connect each DSL line to a separate Ethernet
>> card, and modify its route table to give equal weight to each line.
>> You'll need a third card for your wireless AP or other LAN connections.

>> Best of luck.

>> William

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

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Communications History
Date: 9 Dec 2005 07:34:06 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Dave Marthouse wrote:

> Anyone who can shed light on this subject would be appreciated to
> help scratch my historical itch.

I pulled up the Bell System Eng & Science history and there is an
extensive chapter on radiotelephony and overseas calls.  They go into
good detail on the technical challenges of high powered transmitters,
greatly varying originating voice signal strength, amplification, echo
control, 2-wire to 4-wire conversion, antenna design and construction,
signal propagation, etc.  It is in the first volume of the series,
1875-1925.  I strongly recommend it*.  A large muncipal or college
library likely would have it.

As mentioned, they used both high and low frequency depending on
conditions.  Channel capacity was very limited.  It appears that
functions of radio transmission we take for granted today all had to
be worked out by them.  It amazes me that a tiny little cell phone can
do everything (although at much lower power) they needed to do to send
and receive a telephone radio signal.

They DID use a basic encryption to provide some privacy by inverting
some frequency bands and "wobbling".  As mentioned, a determined
listener could bypass that but a cascual listener would not hear
intelligable conversation.  The book goes into detail on this process.

*I also recommend Vol 2 which covers 1925-1975.  Lots of interesting
stuff on switching development.  Vol 3 covers military applications
which I didn't find so interesting but there are chapters on military
radio development.  At the beginning of WW II they experimented with
both AM and FM vehicle radios to see what was best.  They also talk
about the challenges of dealing with sub-contractors meeting demanding
military specs.  Equipment for the domestic market simply would
quickly break in the rough military environment.

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

From: CmdrTaco <CmdrTaco@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Last Laugh! RSStroom Reader
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 19:11:06 -0600


Get RSS Feeds on Your Toilet Paper
Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday December 08, @02:29PM
from the raising-the-bullshit-detector dept.

0110011001110101 writes "A crazy new product out of Taiwan seems to be
aimed at the feed dependent of us out there. The 'rsstroom reader' is
a bathroom gadget that prints news feeds onto your T-P -- that's
right, your TOILET PAPER! The best part is the "biometrics" toilet
seat that'll figure out who you are based on your weight and prints
the news you want -- not your roommates tabloid garbage. Going to the
rsstroom will never be boring again!


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you know how to program this RSS
reader, fine, but if you do not, the vendor will ship it to you
pre-programmed with certain 'factory default' settings regards the RSS
feeds, based on 'average' weight and posture on the toilet seat, and
including such gems of RSS feeds as Slate, PC World Communications and
Telecom Digest. PAT]

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


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