TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:51:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 573

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Million Dollar per Day Fine (Larry McShane)
    NYC Steps up Pressure on Transit Workers (David Carruso)
    Re: NYC Transit Strike Midst Cold Weather and Christmas (Howard S. Wharton)
    Europe on Guard Against Bogus Tamiflu 'Drugs' (Tom Armitage)
    Reaching Firms From Outside the USA (Carl Moore)
    Teen Pleads Guilty After Blog Confession (Orlando Sentinal)
    Cellular-News for Wednesday 21st December 2005 (Cellular-News)
    Siemens Predicts IPTV Surge (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Re: Missing ABN Amro Tape With Two Million Names Found (Ron Chapman)
    Re: Through His Webcam, a Teenage Boy Joins Sordid Online World (R Chapman)
    Re: Dumb Question About "Do Not Call" (Lena)
    The Letter From valent@mailrus.ru (Philip Taylor)
    Last Laugh! Police Have to Convince Woman She Did Win Lottery (Reuters)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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               ===========================

Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
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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: Larry McShane <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Million Dollar per Day Fine
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:23:15 -0600


By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

Commuters trudged through the freezing cold, rode bicycles and shared
cabs Tuesday as New York's bus and subway workers went on strike for
the first time in more than 25 years and stranded millions of riders
at the height of the Christmas rush. A judge slapped the union with a
$1 million-a-day fine.

The sanction was levied against the Transport Workers Union for
violating a state law that bars public employees from going on
strike. The city and state had asked that the union be hit with a
"very potent fine."

"This is a very, very sad day in the history of labor relations for
New York City," State Justice Theodore Jones said in imposing the
fine.

The union said it would immediately appeal, calling the penalty
excessive.

The strike over wages and pensions came just five days before
Christmas, at a time when the city is especially busy with shoppers
and tourists.

The heavy penalty could force the union off the picket lines and back
on the job. Under the law, the union's 33,000 members will also lose
two days' pay for every day they are on strike, and they could also be
thrown in jail.

The courtroom drama came midway through a day in which the walkout
fell far short of the all-out chaos that many had feared. With special
traffic rules in place, the morning rush came and went without
monumental gridlock.  Manhattan streets were unusually quiet; some
commuters just stayed home.

The nation's biggest mass-transit system ground to a halt after 3
a.m., when the union called the strike after a late round of
negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority broke
down. The subways and buses provide more than 7 million rides per day.

New Yorkers car-pooled, shared taxis, rode bicycles, roller-skated or
walked in the freezing cold. Early morning temperatures were in the
20s. Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the throngs of people crossing the
Brooklyn Bridge by foot.

"Hey, can I get a ride?" Jay Plastino asked a neighbor near his home
in the northern tip of Manhattan. Plastino, who was headed to his
midtown job, was angry at the union: "This is a big city. Don't they
realize that?"

By Tuesday's evening rush hour, crowds were thick at both Penn Station
and Grand Central Terminal as commuters waited for trains on the two
suburban rail lines, where ridership had soared earlier in the
day. The Long Island Rail Road, operating out of Penn Station, carried
50,000 more passengers above its usual 100,000.

Gov. George Pataki said the union acted illegally and "will suffer the
consequences." But union attorney Arthur Schwartz accused the MTA of
provoking the strike.

No negotiations were scheduled between the two sides, although a
mediator from a state labor board was meeting with both union and MTA
officials Tuesday afternoon.

The MTA asked the Public Employment Relations Board to formally
declare an impasse, the first step toward forcing binding arbitration
of the contract, said James Edgar, the board's executive director.

It was the city's first transit strike since an 11-day walkout in
1980, which happened in much warmer April weather. The effect this
time, however, was tempered by the advent of personal computers, which
enabled many commuters to stay home and work via the Internet.

Others boarded water taxis along the Hudson River, or jumped into
carpools.  Many lined up in the cold to await private buses arranged
by their employers, or shared yellow cabs with strangers. There was a
minimum $10 fee for cab riders.

"The city is functioning, and functioning well considering the severe
circumstances," the mayor said. The union "shamefully decided they
don't care about the people they work for, and they have no respect
for the law.  Their leadership thuggishly turned its back on New York
City. This strike is costing us."

Jack Akameiza, 66, was trying to figure out a way to go the nine miles
from Manhattan to Coney Island. "I cannot go to work," he said. "I
cannot take care of my family."

Some commuters were upset at the union, others with management. Some,
as they made their way to work, blamed both sides.

"It's two arrogant groups not caring that 7 million people are
inconvenienced," said Kenny Herbert, 45, of Brooklyn, who took the
train to work Monday night but needed a water taxi across the East
River to get home.

On the picket lines, transit workers expressed outrage at the MTA.

"We're tired of being treated like we're the garbage of the city,"
said Angel Ortiz, 32, standing on the Bronx-Manhattan border with
hundreds of other striking transit workers beneath an elevated rail
line that carried no trains.

The International TWU, the union's parent, had urged the local not to
go on strike. Its president, Michael O'Brien, reiterated Tuesday that
the striking workers were legally obligated to resume working. The
only way to a contract, he said, is "not by strike but continued
negotiation."

The first day of the strike was expected to cost the city $400 million
in revenue, with an additional loss of $300 million per day afterward,
according to the city comptroller's office. Countless stores and
restaurants were affected.

The mayor put into effect a sweeping emergency plan, including a
requirement that cars entering Manhattan below 96th Street have at
least four occupants.

Lorraine Hall came to New York expecting a lighthearted celebration of
her 65th birthday, but the lack of mass transit put a damper on the
occasion.  She was determined to make the best of it until her
departure on Friday.

"I didn't come up here to sit in a hotel room, and as long as my two
feet are letting me push it, I'm going to push it," said Hall, who
lives in Lancaster, S.C.

The union said the latest MTA offer included annual raises of 3
percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent. Pensions were another major
sticking point in the talks, particularly involving new employees.

"Were it not for the pension piece, we would not be out on strike,"
union President Roger Toussaint said Tuesday in an interview with the
New York-based all-news channel NY1. "All it needs to do is take its
pension proposal off the table."

The contract expired Friday at midnight, but the two sides had
continued talking through the weekend.

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. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

For more Associated Press headline news and audio (optional) go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html

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

From: David B. Caruso <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: NYC Steps up Pressure on Transit Workers
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:52:35 -0600


By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer

The city stepped up its pressure on striking transit workers Wednesday
in hopes of forcing them back to work as millions of New Yorkers
trudged to work in another bone-chilling commute without subways and
buses.

Michael A. Cardozo, New York City's corporation counsel, said the city
would ask a judge Wednesday to issue a temporary restraining order
directing union members to return to work. If the order is granted,
Cardoza said, the city could ask for the $25,000-a-day fines -- a
punishment that goes beyond the docked-pay penalty that workers
already are experiencing for the illegal strike.

"We're doing everything possible to make the union obey the law," he
said, adding that union members need to "realize the economic conse-
quences of their actions."

According to various estimates by the city and business analysts, the
strike was expected to cost city government and the economy hundreds
of millions of dollars per day.

On Tuesday, a judge fined the Transport Workers Union $1 million for
each day of the strike for violating a state law that bars public
employees from striking. Union lawyer Arthur Schwartz said the fine
could deplete the union's treasury in the matter of days.

In addition, the TWU's 33,000 members already face the loss of two
days pay for every day they are on strike, meaning a prolonged walkout
could quickly eat up any increased pay they would get with a new
contract.

Transit officials said about 1,000 transit workers crossed pickets
Tuesday and were put to work cleaning and doing paperwork.

The two sides were scheduled to meet with a mediator again Wednesday.

The White House also spoke out on the strike Wednesday. "It is
unfortunate.  We hope that the two sides can resolve their differences
so that the people in New York can get to where they need to go,"
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Crowds of pedestrians, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, bundled up
in heavy coats, hats and mittens against the 24-degree temperature,
and hiked across the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan on
Wednesday. Volunteers waited with hot chocolate.

Some people had to walk miles. Others shared cabs and car pools,
caught water taxis, biked, skated or hitchhiked.

"A nightmare, disorganized, especially going home," Aleksandra
Radakovic said Wednesday morning in describing her commute.

Bloomberg urged the union to end the strike.

"All the transit workers have to do is listen to their international
(union) that's urged them to go back to work, listen to the judge who
ordered them back to work, and look at their families and their own
economic interests," he said. "They should go back to work. Nobody's
above the law, and everyone should obey the law."

The strike over wages and pensions began Tuesday morning, during the
height of the Christmas shopping and tourist season.

Wednesday's headlines on the city's tabloid newspapers reflected the
attitude of some commuters. "Mad as Hell," proclaimed the Daily
News. "You Rats," the New York Post said of the striking transit
workers.

Striker Bill McRae, a bus driver since 1985, said Wednesday he thought
negotiations should have continued -- but he still backed the walkout.

"The union executives called for a strike, and we have to do what we
have to do," McRae said on Manhattan's West Side.

Police reported only two minor incidents related to the strike. A cab
driver was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman in his cab in an
argument over the fare, causing minor injuries. A police officer was
accidentally bumped by a truck at a traffic checkpoint.

New York retailers, restaurants and bars are expected to bear much of
the brunt of the strike. The week before Christmas historically
accounts for up to 20 percent of many stores' holiday sales, and
consumers who must pay higher taxi fares or face long walks could
reduce their spending.

The union said the latest MTA offer included annual pay raises of 3
percent, 4 percent and 3.5 percent. Pensions were another major
sticking point in the talks, particularly involving new employees.

In its last offer before negotiations broke down, the MTA had proposed
increasing employee contributions to the pension plan from 2 percent
to 6 percent, said union lawyer Walter Meginniss Jr. He added that
such a change would be "impossible" for the union to accept.

"Were it not for the pension piece, we would not be out on strike,"
union president Roger Toussaint said in an interview with NY1. "All it
needs to do is take its pension proposal off the table."

The International TWU, the union's parent, urged the local not to go
on strike. Its president, Michael O'Brien, reiterated Tuesday that the
striking workers were legally obligated to resume working. The only
way to a contract, he said, is "not by strike but continued
negotiation."

The nation's largest mass transit system counts each fare as a rider,
giving it more than 7 million riders each day -- although many
customers take a daily round trip.

Associated Press writers Verena Dobnik and Anne D'Innocenzio
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. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

For more Associated Press News Reports, go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html 

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

From: Howard S. Wharton <yhshowie@acsu.buffalo.edu>
Subject: Re: NYC Transit Strike Midst Cold Weather and Christmas
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 09:13:27 -0500
Organization: The University at Buffalo


In NYS, strikes by public employees are illegal under the state Taylor
Law. How we may feel about the stirke, it's still illegal.  I agree
that they should be treated with respect. The NYCTA which runs the
cities busses, subways and the Staten Island Rapid Transit is under
the control of the MTA. Employees do get disciplined for the most
minor infractions. I agree with them on what they are asking. But like
it or not, the strike is still illegal.

There are many who would like to change the Taylor Law. There are many
points to the law that protects the public employee.  We cannot pick
or choose what laws we want to obey.

Howard S. Wharton
Fire Safety Technician
Occupational and Environmental Safety Services
State University of New York at Buffalo


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know Howard, that's the same line
many folks in the Confederate States of America used to say before
and during the Civil War in the 1860's. "No matter what you may think
about slavery, it is the law here (in this southern state) and you
have to obey it, and anyway, most of us try to treat our slaves in a
good, humane fashion." And even the Supreme Court agreed with the
southern people now and then, especially in one very notorious case
before the court. Here is a piece of advice for you: the transit
workers do not belong to the citizens of New York nor the politicians.
If the residents of New York are so damned inconvenienced by the
strike (and I am sure they are) then their wrath should be taken out
on the lousy political adminsitration and transit system who forced 
the workers to go out on strike to start with; either go on strike or
lose much of their pensions; get cuts in pay, etc. 

How much money has NYTA lost through theft by its own workers and
general ineffeciency? Clean up its own house, _then_ talk about any
percieved need to cut back pensions and salaries. As I have mentioned
here before, Chicago Transit Authority lost literally _millions of
dollars_ due to employee theft and mangement's overall ineffeciency. I
am sure NYTA is not a lot different. Oh, and by the way, in the 1960's
strike by transit workers, it was the same deal:

A NYC judge blustered about it, fined them umpteen jillion dollars per
day in fines, and when the court _tried_ to collect the fines the day
the strike finally ended, the union's posture was "we still have
umpteen millions more in our treasury, let's continue the strike a few
more days until the money is totally gone ... who will be the ultimate
loser?  If the city (when it gets fined by some higher government) 
resolves the matter by casually budgeting the money (needed to pay the
fine) each year but then _continues to do things as they always have_
we can do the same. To hell with you! We can go to jail also; isn't
that where we belong while muggers and rapists roam the streets freely?"

The court reconsidered its imposition of a fine, and forgave the whole
debt, and the workers went back to work the same day. Read the court
transcripts from the strike 25 years ago. I think this time around will
be a lot the same way. Anyway, Howard, aren't you from around Buffalo
somewhere? I thought in general the people in upstate New York hated
the 'city people'. What do you care if/when/how they settle the
transit strike? This message is brought to you by the Tin-Foil Hat
man, who stands ready to humiliate, mortify, and discredit the entire
net whenever the solor rays hit his brain, as the Scientist would say.  
PAT]

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

From: Tom Armitage <reuters@telecom-digest.org>  
Subject: Europe on Guard Against Bogus Internet Tamiflu 'Drugs'
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:59:36 -0600


By Tom Armitage

The little white bottle claims to hold 75 milligrams of oseltamivir
phosphate -- the generic name for the flu drug Tamiflu.

But consumers hoping their purchases over the Internet will help them
survive a possible bird flu outbreak are being warned that rather than
Tamiflu they might simply be buying vitamin C.

U.S. authorities this week seized 51 packages of counterfeit Tamiflu,
a treatment for flu made by Roche Holding AG that governments have
stockpiled to ward off deadly avian flu.

Counterfeit versions of Tamiflu have also now cropped up in Britain
and the Netherlands, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products,
Swissmedic, said on Wednesday.

"Initial laboratory tests have shown that the products contained
vitamin C instead of the active ingredient oseltamivir," Swissmedic
said in a statement.

The batches in question had been ordered over the Internet from
suppliers in the United States and Asia, it said.

A spokeswoman for Roche in Basel confirmed that there had been one
case reported in the Netherlands where someone bought a product
falsely claiming to be Tamiflu on the Internet.

"The product came in a strange bottle saying generic Tamiflu," the
spokeswoman said.

However, while Roche has entered into talks with various southeast
Asian countries and companies about producing generic versions of
Tamiflu, no officially sanctioned version of the drug has yet been
made.

Swissmedic said that no bogus Tamiflu had made its way into the
official supply chain -- something Roche says would be very unlikely
anyway, given the security features included in its packaging.

Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said it
had identified around 20 Internet sites that were illegally
advertising Tamiflu, four of them in the UK, and was analysing test
purchases from the sites for bogus ingredients.

Roche has repeatedly warned consumers not to buy the medicine over the
Web, not least because it requires a prescription from a doctor, but
also because you may not receive your medicine at all, or just some
bogus stuff.

An Internet search throws up scores of sites advertising generic
Tamiflu, alongside drugs purporting to be copycat versions of
impotence treatments Viagra and Cialis, as well as the sleeping pill
Ambien.

(additional reporting by Ben Hirschler in London)

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. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

For more headlines and news from Reuters, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html

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

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 15:04:06 EST
From: Carl Moore <cmoore@ARL.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Reaching Firms From Outside the U.S.


I just looked through a catalog which said to use AT&T direct in APO,
FPO and U.S. possessions to reach a 1-800 telephone number.

A different catalog had a non-toll-free number which was listed (for
international callers) as 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx.  As has been noted several
times, the leading 1 is the country code or the "long-distance"
(usually toll?) indicator, depending on what context it's used in.

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

From: Orlando Sentinal <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Teen Pleads Guilty After Blog Confession 
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:01:47 -0600


An 18-year-old passenger who caused a fatal crash by pulling on the
steering wheel pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter after prosecutors
discovered a confession on his online blog.

Blake Ranking wrote "I did it" on his blurty.com journal three days
after the October 2004 crash that caused a friend's death and left
another seriously injured. He had previously told investigators he
remembered nothing of the crash and little of its aftermath.

Blake was sitting in the back seat as he and then-17-year-old friends
Jason Coker and Nicole Robinette left a party when he pulled the
steering wheel as a prank, causing the car to somersault off the road.

His blood alcohol content after the crash measured 0.185, more than
double the legal limit.

Robinette, who was driving and had no traces of drugs or alcohol in
her system, was seriously injured. Coker lay in a coma at Orlando
Regional Medical Center until he died Jan. 11.

"It was me who caused it. I turned the wheel. I turned the wheel that
sent us off the road, into the concrete drain ..." Ranking wrote in
the blog.  "How can I be fine when everyone else is so messed up?"

Ranking later retracted his words, deleting them from the blog and
penning an explanation.

"People say I 'contradict' myself since I 'already admitting pulling
the wheel.' I didn't 'ADMIT' anything. I went on a guilt trip, and I
posted the story that I WAS TOLD ... Nicole told me I pulled the
wheel, I believed her," he wrote.

Still, the confession forced him to lead guilty Monday to manslaughter
charges. He could have gotten 15 years in prison, but defense lawyer
John Spivey and Assistant State Attorney Julie Greenberg recommended
five years in prison, 10 years of probation and a permanent license
suspension.

Circuit Judge Mark Hill agreed to impose the sentence Dec. 28.

Greenberg said she had planned to use the blog as evidence, a first
for the office covering Lake, Citrus, Hernando, Marion and Sumter
counties, but almost certainly not the last.

"Anytime a defendant confesses, that is very relevant and important,"
she said.

Ranking posted the lyrics to Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" the day
of Coker's funeral, but prosecutors said his remorse was not always
apparent in his blogs, which included entries railing at Coker's
mother because she asked him to stop calling and coming to the
hospital.

"He lost the best friend he ever had," Spivey said in Ranking's
defense.

Ken Coker, Jason's father, said his family never wanted prison time
for Ranking, but they wished Ranking would stop writing about them
because they felt the blog was insensitive. He said Ranking would
benefit more from psychiatric counseling.

"There's not enough forgiveness in the world," he said.

Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com

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. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at
http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

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

Subject: Cellular-News for Wednesday 21st December 2005
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:18:18 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>


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

[[ 3G ]]

Orange Reports 100,000 3G Subscribers in Israel
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15330.php

Israel's Partner Communications, which trades under the Orange brand
name says that it now has approximately 100,000 3G
subscribers. Partner's CEO, Amikam Cohen, expressed his satisfaction
from the rate of subscribers joining the 3G network, and stat...

[[ Financial ]]

Toshiba: No Plans To Build US$6 Billion Singapore Chip Plant
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15317.php

Japan's Toshiba Corp. Tuesday denied a media report that it may build
a Nand flash chip plant in Singapore, a company spokesman told Dow
Jones Newswires. ...

Telekom Malaysia: Not In Talks To Partner India's Aircel
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15320.php

Government-controlled Telekom Malaysia Bhd. Tuesday said it's not in
talks to partner Indian cellular network operator Aircel. ...

Etisalat: Deal Reached On Pakistan Telecom Sale
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15322.php

United Arab Emirates-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp. said
Tuesday it has reached an agreement with the government of Pakistan on
completing its purchase of 26% in Pakistan Telecom. ...

EU OKs Ericsson To Buy Most Of Marconi Assets
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15323.php

The European Commission Tuesday cleared Swedish telecommunications
equipment manufacturer L.M. Ericsson to buy most of the assets of
Marconi PLC, a U.K. peer. ...

Sprint Locks Up Largest Affiliate With Nextel Partners Buy
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15328.php

Sprint Nextel has finally agreed to buyout terms with affiliate Nextel
Partners, ending a bitter dispute and locking up the largest remaining
affiliate for the wireless company. ...

[[ Interviews ]]

INTERVIEW:Egypt's MobiNil Faces Up To New Entrant Threat
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15318.php

PREMIUM - The imminent arrival of a third mobile network player in
Egypt may force down prices, but won't be a threat to the growth of
the current market leader, The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services,
its Chief Executive said Monday. ...

[[ Legal ]]

PRESS: Kyrgyzstan's Bitel stops collecting money after seizure
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15324.php

Kyrgyz mobile operator Bitel has stopped collecting money from
subscribers after a recent seizure of the company's head
office by little-known Russian company Rezervspetsmet, Russian
business daily Kommersant said Tuesday. 

PRESS: Russia's SMARTS hires famous law firm to defend vs Sigma
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15325.php

Russia's regional mobile operator SMARTS has hired law firm Yegorov,
Puginsky, Afanasyev and Partners to defend its interests to prevent a
hostile takeover bid by Sigma investment group, a source with SMARTS
said, Russian business daily Kommersant sa...

Ukrainian mobile operators appeal to president for help 
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15329.php

ive Ukrainian mobile operators have appealed to the country's
President Viktor Yushchenko for help saying their problems with the
government's backing of state-owned telecommunication companies, as
well as with back taxes and antitrust hurdles wa...

[[ Mobile Content ]]

Football Video Chat show on Mobiles
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15331.php

O2 UK is launching a sports talk show that will be broadcast to GPRS
and 3G handsets. The new interactive audio-video format has been
created by Buongiorno to exploit the audio and video capabilities of
mobile technology. Soccer Addicts creates a for...

Big Fine for Crazy Frog
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15334.php

The UK's Premium rate services regulator ICSTIS has fined the Crazy
Frog service provider mBlox US$71,000 and ordered it to pay refunds to
all those who complained to the regulator. The sanctions have been
imposed after ICSTIS found the promotions fo...

[[ Network Operators ]]

PRESS: Russia's MegaFon hands out free subscription packages
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15326.php

Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon has launched a
marketing campaign whereby two pre-paid subscription packages are sold
for the price of one, Russian business daily Vedomosti said Tuesday
citing Anna Smolnyakova, director of the advert...

TeliaSonera assumes total responsibility for ABB's telephony
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15333.php

The industrial services group, ABB has handed TeliaSonera with total
responsibility for its telephone services in Sweden. The term of the
agreement is three years and its value approximatelyUS$19 million. The
agreement includes upgrading the technica...

[[ Statistics ]]

China Mobile Adds 3.92 Million Subscribers In November
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15319.php

China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., the listed arm of China's largest
mobile operator, said Tuesday it added 3.92 million subscribers in
November, up slightly from 3.90 million additional users in
October. ...

Irish Mobile Phone Penetration Hits 100%- Regulator
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15327.php

Ireland's communications industry regulator ComReg Tuesday said Irish
mobile penetration hit 100% in September, while broadband
subscriptions more than tripled in the 12 months to September. ...

Saudi Arabian Operator Passes Subscriber Landmark
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15332.php

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) says that it now has just over 11 million
subscribers. STC continued its organic proportionate growth until mid
November and in the past fifty days alone it has gained a record
breaking 1.4 million new customers and has gr...

[[ Technology ]]

How RFID Chips Track Lost Airline Baggage
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15321.php

Bag it, then tag it. That could be the European airline industry's new
mantra as costs and penalties soar for lost or misplaced luggage under
new European Union rules. ...

UltraWideband Interoperability Testing Sucessful
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15335.php

UWB silicon providers - Alereon, Staccato Communications and Wisair
have announced their initial attempts at interoperability were
successful. At TDK Test Services, the three companies performed
interoperability testing of their pre-production PHY si...

Virgin Mobile Data Trial Boosts ARPU
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/15336.php

Virgin Mobile UK has been trialing Zi Corp's. internet information
portal, and they have announced that preliminary results from the
trial indicate significant increased usage levels on the mobile phones
involved -- from simple voice calls to SMS, MMS...

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

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 12:27:02 EST
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Siemens Predicts IPTV Surge


USTelecom dailyLead
December 21, 2005
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/AwqkatagCCmSqFDGpQ

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Siemens predicts IPTV surge
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* IBM acquires Micromuse
* Sprint Nextel buys Nextel Partners
* AOL-Google deal includes shared sales force
* Nortel loses CMO
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Get your IP Video Conference recordings
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* Market for 3G gear could soar in 2006
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* U.S. government indicts former Qwest CEO
* Aussie competition watchdog rejects Telstra proposals

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

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

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 07:08:01 -0500
From: Ron Chapman <ronchapman@wideopenwest.com>
Subject: Re: Missing ABN Amro Tape With Two Million Names Found


In article <telecom24.572.3@telecom-digest.org>, Ron Chapman
<ronchapman@wideopenwest.com> wrote:

> And potentially, it's still out there being used -- because I don't
> believe that ABN got that tape back yesterday. I believe they're
> lying. It's just too coincidental.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, it is _possible_ that ABM got the
> missing tape back after a month or so. More than likely ABM had their
> shipment through DHL insured to a maximum value, and when an _insured_
> shipment gets somehow lost in transit, the package tracers will look
> high and low, even a month or more to find it rather than have to pay
> off on the loss.   PAT]

No question, Pat, but let's look at the facts:

1) they lost the tape;

2) they were forced to tell their customers that they lost the tape;

3) the VERY DAY that their customers receive their letters, this tape
MAGICALLY reappears.

This and the other coincidences are too much to bear.  The bullshit
meter is pegged.

And:

4) we have no way, nor will we ever have a way, of verifying that
they're telling us the truth.  Frankly, I have to assume the worst.
This is identity theft we're dealing with here; ABN's exposure is
tremendous.  Sure they're going to tell everyone they got the tape
back.  They hope that six months from now, everyone has forgotten
about it -- and that any issues arising from this will be ascribed to
something else.

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

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 07:13:52 -0500
From: Ron Chapman <ronchapman@wideopenwest.com>
Subject: Re: Through His Webcam, a Teenage Boy Joins a Sordid Online World


In article <telecom24.572.1@telecom-digest.org>, Kurt Eichenwald
<nytimes@telecom-digest.org> wrote:

> The 13-year-old boy sat in his California home, eyes fixed on a
> computer screen. He had never run with the popular crowd and long ago
> had turned to the Internet for the friends he craved. But on this day,
> Justin Berry's fascination with cyberspace would change his life.

> Weeks before, Justin had hooked up a Web camera to his computer,
> hoping to use it to meet other teenagers online. Instead, he heard
> only from men who chatted with him by instant message as they watched
> his image on the Internet. To Justin, they seemed just like friends,
> ready with compliments and always offering gifts.

> Now, on an afternoon in 2000, one member of his audience sent a
> proposal: he would pay Justin $50 to sit bare-chested in front of his
> Webcam for three minutes. The man explained that Justin could receive
> the money instantly and helped him open an account on PayPal.com, an
> online payment system.

> "I figured, I took off my shirt at the pool for nothing," he said
> recently.  "So, I was kind of like, what's the difference?"

> Justin removed his T-shirt. The men watching him oozed compliments.

> So began the secret life of a teenager who was lured into selling
> images of his body on the Internet over the course of five years.

Am I alone in being *flabbergasted* that a 13 year old boy has that
kind of private time with a computer?  Especially to the point that it
got that far?

Where were his parents during all of this?

No matter; this kind of thing has been going on forever -- where the
parents are totally oblivious to what's going on in their childrens'
lives.

This is no different than Columbine, for example.  So it happened with
a computer instead of homemade bombs -- it's still a parental issue at
heart, and we as a society need to step up to the plate and scorn the
parenting styles that create this and the parents who use such
parenting styles.

The computer was the tool or outlet in this particular case, but this
isn't about computers and the internet.  This is about horrible
parents, plain and simple.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When that article first came across the
New York Times RSS newsfeed on Tuesday, that subject line 'Teenage Boy
Joins a Sordid Online World' got me to thinking; maybe one of his,
ummm ... 'patrons' had exposed or pursuaded the boy to read my blog
http://ptownson.blopspot.com or seduced him into reading 
http://telecom-digest.org where he would see a picture or ten-minute
video of the Tin Hat Man as he caused embarassment and mortification
for all the 'right thinkers' on the internet. 

But you are right, Ron; Columbine, and a few other such incidents such
as Justin Berry's case go right back squarely to the parents.   PAT]
 
------------------------------

From: Lena <lenagainster@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Dumb Question About "Do Not Call"
Date: 21 Dec 2005 06:18:42 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


This might work:

http://www.privacycorps.com/products/?id=20

It's from Privacy Corps, but it costs $100.

It clams to block "anonymous and unidentified numbers" Been tempted to
try it, and then the telemarketers go away, so I forget about it.
There is also the configuration problem; how does it block all the
phones in the house.  Can I mount it where the line comes in, and then
tie all the phones to it?  They sell "remotes", but that drives the
cost up.  Verizon has this "iobi" service that appears to have the
ability to block unwanted calls.  It costs $4.95 per month when added
to a "Freedom" package ($7.95 without).  More flexibility, it seems,
than the Privacy Corps Caller ID.

Lena

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

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:50:27 +0000
From: Philip TAYLOR <P.Taylor@Rhul.Ac.Uk>
Subject: The Letter From valent@mailrus.ru


> In article <telecom24.566.15@telecom-digest.org>, TELECOM Digest
> Editor noted in response to a message from Valentin
> <valent@mailrus.ru>:

>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I thought about this message for quite
>> a while, and although it would probably qualify as spam (by virtue of
>> how many copies were distributed, I personally do not think it is a
>> scam.

> It's spam.

> Spam is theft.

> Therefore, it's a scam.

> If he's so hard up, where did he get the resources to spam with?

> Wasn't there just a thread on why spam continues, because so many
> idiots send money to spammers? Some are suckers for bigger bodyparts,
> others for free money, others for helping the needy. All of those are
> reasons that spam continues.

> Seth

It may be spam.  It may even be a scam.  Or it may be genuine.  If
it's genuine, then we -- the recipients -- are in a position to help
soneone in genuine need.  If it's a scam, then we may end up a little
poorer, and the scammer a little richer, but on balance, does it
matter?  It's hardly in the same league as the Nigerian scam (and
anyone who falls for that needs their brains tested), so isn't it
worth risking losing a few rubles /kopeks/whatever ?  I think it is.

Philip Taylor

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

From: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org
Subject: Last Laugh! Police Had to Convince Lottery Winner it was Real
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:06:50 -0600


A lottery company had to call the police to convince an elderly German
woman that she had hit the jackpot, police said Tuesday.

"The woman had quite a sizeable win but was worried that she was
having her leg pulled," said Joachim Gerhardt, a police inspector in
the eastern German city of Gera. "After all, " he noted, "the
Americans send us so much spam garbage in email each day, who knows
what to believe on the internet any more. I was not sure of it myself
until I checked with the ISP of the sender and also the company which
sent her the email. They both assured me it was quite up and up. Then
I sent another inspector to see her and discuss it. 

"We were fortunately able to convince her so she could celebrate her
good fortune," he said, adding that the woman would probably receive
her winnings before Christmas.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
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http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html

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the Spam Daily News on the 'latest issue' page on our website.  

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


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #573
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