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Message Digest 
Volume 29 : Issue 49 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 Crippled pay phones 
 Re: Crippled pay phones 
 Pay phone nostalgia 
 Re: Pay phone nostalgia 
 Re: Pay phone nostalgia 
 Re: Pay phone nostalgia 
 Re: 40% lack home broadband access 
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming
 Re: ISDN
 Re: ISDN
 Re: ISDN
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 819/873 Area Code Overlay in Quebec, CRTC Press Release issued Wed-17-Feb-2010 
 Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming
 Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming


====== 28 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== 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, and other stuff of interest.
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:04:55 -0800 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <bGLen.41787$3W2.32636@newsfe14.iad> David Clayton wrote: > It's all about using a limited resource to its maximum effectiveness, > and while a few of the "face to face" customers may walk out, they'd > probably lose more phone customers if they didn't answer all the calls > - so it works out as a nett gain. > Business before manners. I don't mind the clerk that answers and says, "I'll be with you in a moment when I through with another customer." But, that is seldom the way it works.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:42:51 +0000 (UTC) From: ranck@vt.edu To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <hlhgrr$bnb$1@solaris.cc.vt.edu> Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> wrote: > David Clayton wrote: > > It's all about using a limited resource to its maximum effectiveness, > > and while a few of the "face to face" customers may walk out, they'd > > probably lose more phone customers if they didn't answer all the calls > > - so it works out as a nett gain. > Business before manners. > I don't mind the clerk that answers and says, "I'll be with you in a > moment when I through with another customer." > But, that is seldom the way it works. My wife runs a small business. We have instructed all the sales clerks that they are to let the answering machine take the call if they are already dealing with a customer. The machine is set to answer on the second ring, and the outgoing message gives the hours and location of the shop, which is almost always what they are asking. We still get some people who are upset because someone did not answer the phone when they called, so we'll answer if it's reasonable to do so and they can leave a message and get a call back. It is sometimes hard to explain to a college age person that answering the phone is secondary to dealing with a face-to-face customer, but they eventually get it. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:37:40 +1100 From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <pan.2010.02.17.21.37.36.430985@myrealbox.com> On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:04:55 -0800, Sam Spade wrote: > David Clayton wrote: > >> It's all about using a limited resource to its maximum effectiveness, >> and while a few of the "face to face" customers may walk out, they'd >> probably lose more phone customers if they didn't answer all the calls - >> so it works out as a nett gain. >> >> > Business before manners. > > I don't mind the clerk that answers and says, "I'll be with you in a > moment when I through with another customer." > > But, that is seldom the way it works. But that is probably more a reflection on the modern world rather than business practices. It can be tough to convince an under-30 to ignore a piece of technology that they have now basically had since birth...... - - Regards, David. David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have. ***** Moderator's Note ***** No pun intended, but I've always wondered why children have that Pavlovian response: after all, they not only grew up with telephones, but also with cheap long-distance rates, so I'd think they be able to shrug their shoulders and let it go to the voice mail. Then again, they also grew up with movies and TV that invariably portray cell phone calls as important, and show actors always answering them without any hesitation. It's almost as if they were being paid to promote not only the product, but also a mode of use that made more money for the cellular industry. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:22:34 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Crippled pay phones Message-ID: <6645152a1002162322y28174393r2a958fb81a834d7c@mail.gmail.com> I recently got a new computer and I am moving my archives to the new one. I was scanning through the old telecom postings and saw this from November 15, 1992: "According to a UPI story, Ohio Bell has announced plans to cripple some pay phones in Cleveland. They have already started converting pay phones from tone dial to rotary, and restricting them to outgoing calls only. Now they will also be disallowing coin calls (credit card and collect will still be allowed) at certain hours of the day, and disabling the tone pad after dialing on those phones that still have tone dials. They claim that this will limit the use of pay phones for illegal purposes." Something I long noticed but never asked about was the situation with Texas pay phones. I lived in the state from 1986-1987 and 1998 to present. I lived/visited areas with GTE (and successors), Southwestern Bell (and successors), and third party pay phones. None of them accepted incoming calls. I found this strange as pay phones in other states I had lived in accepted calls. According to this page: http://www.puc.state.tx.us/ocp/telephone/telefacts/payphs.pdf pay phone operators must indicate if a pay phone can accept calls. This tells me there was no blanket law prohibiting this. Yet it seemed to be the rule. Further searching doesn't reveal anything. I'm guessing with pay phones being so passé this just doesn't come up. I'm curious if anyone here knows the story of Texas pay phones and why they didn't like incoming calls. If you're ever bored or nostalgic it's worth a visit to the archives to see just how far we've come (or how bad we've gotten depending on your perspective). http://massis.lcs.mit.edu/archives/back.issues/ John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jmayson ***** Moderator's Note ***** The pay phones were changd to outgoing only and dial-pulse to prevent them being used to order drugs or by dealers. An outgoing-only phone can't be used as an "order desk", and with dial-pulse phones, you can't put "order codes" into the dealer's pager. BTW: the archives changed to a new format in 2009, with each day's posts presented in "digest" format as they would be for a mailing-list subscriber who chooses to receive a daily digest. I'd like to make the "old", threaded digest available again, and welcome help from the readers to do it. In the meantime, GIYF. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:16:01 EST From: Wesrock@aol.com To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Crippled pay phones Message-ID: <1b6a9.7694050.38adeed1@aol.com> In a message dated 2/17/2010 8:05:48 AM Central Standard Time, john@mayson.us writes: > I recently got a new computer and I am moving my archives to the new > one. I was scanning through the old telecom postings and saw this > from November 15, 1992: > > "According to a UPI story, Ohio Bell has announced plans to cripple > some pay phones in Cleveland. They have already started converting > pay phones from tone dial to rotary, and restricting them to > outgoing calls only. Now they will also be disallowing coin calls > (credit card and collect will still be allowed) at certain hours of > the day, and disabling the tone pad after dialing on those phones > that still have tone dials. They claim that this will limit the use > of pay phones for illegal purposes." This was common in many places. Quite a few years go I encountered this at a grocery store in an area of Oklahoma City which I would say was borderline. What I found disconcerting was that you had to give your credit card number aloud to an operator. > Something I long noticed but never asked about was the situation > with Texas pay phones. I lived in the state from 1986-1987 and 1998 > to present. I lived/visited areas with GTE (and successors), > Southwestern Bell (and successors), and third party pay phones. > None of them accepted incoming calls. I found this strange as pay > phones in other states I had lived in accepted calls. This depends on the situation. At one group of pay phones at Tinker Air Force Base, workers on break would call their home number and when it rang once or twice, would hang up. This would be a signal for the called party to call them back. Hence a heavy trafficked group of pay phones that did not generate any revenue for the phone company. Those phones were changed to outgoing only and the abuse stopped. I would guess this was done in many places. (..snip..) > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > The pay phones were changd to outgoing only and dial-pulse to > prevent them being used to order drugs or by dealers. An > outgoing-only phone can't be used as an "order desk", and with > dial-pulse phones, you can't put "order codes" into the dealer's > pager. An earlier reason, as noted, was to try to stop cheating the phone company. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:31:24 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Pay phone nostalgia Message-ID: <6645152a1002162331o76ee69fl633171fc9e4fd073@mail.gmail.com> I last flew in and out of Atlanta's airport in 2005. I pointed out something to my son and I still find it amazing. When I lived in Atlanta (1987-1992) it seemed every bare section of wall in the various concourses had pay phones. I would love to know how many Southern Bell had crammed in there. Even more amazingly I found myself at times having to wait for a phone to become available to make a call. In 2005 every phone was gone. If there were any pay phones I couldn't find them. I couldn't even tell they had even existed. Lately around Austin I've made it a point to search for pay phones. I have been in malls, airports, supermarkets, and hospitals and haven't seen any. To make this a worthwhile post and not the ramblings of a telephone geek with insomnia I found this page to be interesting: http://www.payphone-project.com/. It appears there are at least a few pay phones still out in the wild. John - - John Mayson <john@mayson.us> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jmayson ***** Moderator's Note ***** Telephone geek? Insomnia? Remind you of anyone? ;-)
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:04:14 -0800 (PST) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Pay phone nostalgia Message-ID: <26fd40b4-52db-4e8c-ab60-ac678e368f5b@o3g2000yqb.googlegroups.com> On Feb 17, 2:31 am, John Mayson <j...@mayson.us> wrote: > I last flew in and out of Atlanta's airport in 2005.  I pointed out > something to my son and I still find it amazing.  When I lived in > Atlanta (1987-1992) it seemed every bare section of wall in the > various concourses had pay phones.  I would love to know how many > Southern Bell had crammed in there.  Even more amazingly I found > myself at times having to wait for a phone to become available to > make a call.  In 2005 every phone was gone.  If there were any pay > phones I couldn't find them.  I couldn't even tell they had even > existed. In Pennsylvania Station NYC there are some pay phones and people using them. The Trenton NJ railroad station had a whole wall of payphones as you describe. When the station was rennovated these were removed, but a few payphones were installed at major entrances, and I've seen them in occasional use. A number of Verizon payphones in the NYC metro area, including at train stations, take coins for station long distance calls at a rate of 25c per minute, $1 minimum. This is a very useful feature. There are still people who don't own cellphones, and plenty of people who forgot theirs or the battery is dead. People lose lots of cellphones. At many railroad stations there is a payphone on the platform which mainly serves as a 911 emergency phone. The carrier pays the phoneco the cost of the phone--this is cheaper than a dedicated line help phone, and of course lets passengers call anyone they want if they wish. I see them in use occassionally. > Lately around Austin I've made it a point to search for pay > phones.  I have been in malls, airports, supermarkets, and hospitals > and haven't seen any. I was at an old shopping mall and noticed that where there was once a battery of pay phones near a main entrance there was now only one, and the rest of the wall covered with plywood. Your post reminded me how ubiquitous payphones used to be. Almost every public place had at least one payphone, often more, at each entrance. There would also be payphones scattered throughout the facility, such as in the hallway near restrooms or elevators on every floor. Shopping malls had them in fancy kiosks, some malls built in the 1970s had Touch Tone payphones (a novelty at the time). Many small businesses, such as luncheonettes and gas stations, had "semi-public" pay phones. Sometimes these had an answer-only blank- dial extension in a back room; in those cases the payphone would have a plastic flip top over the coin slots to warn users to listen first. The village where I live used to have outdoor payphones at numerous locations; the last ones (at the convenience store) were recently pulled out. One remains at the train station as described above. New York City still has many pay phone kiosks on street corners. The reason is that the kiosk enclosure holds advertising cards which couldn't be out there otherwise; and the ad revenue pays for the phone. According to the NYT, there are one or two remaining real phone booths on the street. In thinking about it, it appears the old Bell System usually was rather liberal about installing pay phones. I remember lots of locations where I was surprised there were multiple phones that never seemed to be used. I knew of many isolated locations in buildings (e.g., at the end of a little used corridor) that had a pay phone. If someone wanted a payphone in a marginal location the property owner would have to ensure a minimum revenue and make up the difference, a policy that continues to this day (see above for railroad stations). In the past, I wonder if some businesses paid to have extra payphones installed so as to avoid employees and guests using company phones for personal calls. Many years ago in large places like major railroad stations there would be a payphone center with an attendant with a switchboard. The attendant would place the calls for patrons and direct them to a booth when the connection was made. In the late 1970s Pennsylvania Station in NYC still had an attended payphone center, but I don't know if the attendant still connected the calls given dialed direct (TSP/TSPS) for everything was common by that point. The attendant may have assisted with overseas calls. Many years ago Western Union would have a desk at the largest train stations and airports and these would handle a lot of traffic in the 1950s.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:31:50 -0800 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Pay phone nostalgia Message-ID: <H%_en.31$Ab2.27@newsfe23.iad> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > On Feb 17, 2:31 am, John Mayson <j...@mayson.us> wrote: > The Trenton NJ railroad station had a whole wall of payphones as > you describe. When the station was rennovated these were removed, > but a few payphones were installed at major entrances, and I've seen > them in occasional use. I don't know which did in public pay stations quicker: 1. Wireless phones 2. Private pay phones that quickly became notorious, making a one-arm bandit in Las Vegas look like a gift machine by comparison. ***** Moderator's Note ***** People are funny: a shopkeeper who finds out he can make 25¢ or 50¢ per call will often do the magical mental dance that allows him to think Ma Bell was making just as much and keeping it for herself. Of course, Ma Bell had an army of statisticians where could predict the affect any price increase would have, but, well, it's human nature to assume that a pay phone that used to be used 30 times per day will always be used 30 times per day. Those who (briefly) benefitted from the COCOT craze soon found out that people resent being ripped off more than they resent paying extra for cell phones: as I said, people are funny. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:45:49 +1100 From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Pay phone nostalgia Message-ID: <pan.2010.02.18.03.45.44.617799@myrealbox.com> On Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:31:50 -0800, Sam Spade wrote: .......... > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > People are funny: a shopkeeper who finds out he can make 25¢ or 50¢ per > call will often do the magical mental dance that allows him to think Ma > Bell was making just as much and keeping it for herself. > > Of course, Ma Bell had an army of statisticians where could predict the > affect any price increase would have, but, well, it's human nature to > assume that a pay phone that used to be used 30 times per day will > always be used 30 times per day. Those who (briefly) benefitted from the > COCOT craze soon found out that people resent being ripped off more than > they resent paying extra for cell phones: as I said, people are funny. How many hotel chains are now regreting the decades ripping-off guests with exorbitant outgoing call costs which basically kick-started the business mobile phone industry as an alternative? Talk about "biting the hand that feeds you", I wonder how much revenue hotels get now from guests using their own phones now that virtually everyone has a mobile? -- Regards, David. David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:48:16 GMT From: sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com (David Kaye) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: 40% lack home broadband access Message-ID: <hlge11$eqm$1@news.eternal-september.org> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >What bothers me is that the techies of the world think everyone has >convenient broadband access and design their websites and other >services accordingly. The "people who matter" probably do. I have the occasional customer with dial-up and they're not the typical consumer of the hotshot websites. Usually they just use their connection for email and can't be bothered with Facebook or other fancy sites.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:59:47 GMT From: sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com (David Kaye) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <hlgemj$eqm$2@news.eternal-september.org> David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> wrote: > When you are on the other end of a voice connection you can't see > why the phone is not being answered [....] I'd prefer that to get a busy signal than to get an answer and a facetious "Your call is important to us" message. At least with the busy signal I'm aware that everybody is engaged. With a hold queue I'm not so sure. > Those on-hold messages like "You are X in the queue" are designed to > provide some visibility and let the caller decide what to do with at > least some information. Until one day I called Microsoft and the voice said, "The average wait time is 75 minutes." That was excessive. > Commerce knows that the initial answering of a call - even if it is > just "Hold the line please" - makes the eventual [....] When I was in the "call center" business (we called it the "answering service" business at the time, we never told a caller to hold. We'd say, "Just a moment" and then put them on hold. People reacted much more positively to that phrase. > It's all about using a limited resource to its maximum > effectiveness, and while a few of the "face to face" customers may > walk out, they'd probably lose more phone customers if they didn't > answer all the calls - so it works out as a net gain. If there isn't enough staff to do a job effectively, it's not the customer's fault. Also, when it comes to phone calls versus in-person visits, I'd take the human presence immediately. The possibility of a sale is so much higher. In retail, callers are usually fishing for information when they phone. Such questions are: how late are you open, do you have x product, where are you located, etc. In fact, in most retail stores, they sales clerk is not prepared to take an order for something via the phone. So, there's not much sales potential there.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:44:02 -0500 From: Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <barmar-21AFEA.08440217022010@news.eternal-september.org> In article <6645152a1002162016x37b926b6g57a35ff0844bcabb@mail.gmail.com>, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote: > I understand the need to prevent prisoners from conducting "business" > from their cell, ordering hits, etc. But on the other hand prisoners > who keep in touch with their families, even if it's sending an "I love > you" to a child every night via text, helps to prevent convicts from > returning to prison. Surely there's a compromise here without going > down this path? Can't they keep in touch with their families using land-line phones? The article says that cellphones are forbidden in prisons. - - Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group *** ***** Moderator's Note ***** The prison staff has no way to monitor cellphones, whereas the landlines may be recorded, and sometimes have an announcement warning the person being called that the call originated in a correctional facility. OTOH, cellphones don't contribute to the profits of the (pun intended) well-connected companies which run prison pay-phone services. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:36:00 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <6645152a1002170636m16f656fyb561feed834ba4c6@mail.gmail.com> On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 7:44 AM, Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote: > > Can't they keep in touch with their families using land-line phones? > > The article says that cellphones are forbidden in prisons. They are. My concern is we're effectively using a tactical nuke to kill a housefly. How much of a problem is cell phones in prison? What does that say about our prison system if these can be smuggled in and used? > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > The prison staff has no way to monitor cellphones, whereas the > landlines may be recorded, and sometimes have an announcement > warning the person being called that the call originated in a > correctional facility. > > OTOH, cellphones don't contribute to the profits of the (pun > intended) well-connected companies which run prison pay-phone > services. I've never been in prison either as a visitor or a "guest". I question if they can monitor ALL legal phone calls in and out. And I also question if this is more about lost revenue with their pay phone service than anything else. Are we responding appropriately or overreacting like we have with buying cold medicine or boarding an airplane? -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jmayson
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:42:25 +0000 (UTC) From: David Lesher <wb8foz@panix.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <hligfh$ib1$1@reader2.panix.com> John Mayson <john@mayson.us> writes: >> The article says that cellphones are forbidden in prisons. > They are. My concern is we're effectively using a tactical nuke to > kill a housefly. How much of a problem is cell phones in prison? > What does that say about our prison system if these can be smuggled > in and used? Not much good, I agree, but it is a major problem. > I've never been in prison either as a visitor or a "guest". I > question if they can monitor ALL legal phone calls in and out. You'd be wrong. They can and do, with one exception: attorney-client communication. > And I also question if this is more about lost revenue with their > pay phone service than anything else. No one objects more to the prison phone ripoff; it hurts those famalies outside more than the inmates, for one thing. But I do believe they have a problem with cell phones that thus far has evaded other solutions. Suggestions? -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:02:09 -0500 (EST) From: Dan Lanciani <ddl@danlan.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: ISDN Message-ID: <201002170902.EAA11755@ss10.danlan.com> > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > My DSL is about 600k/100k, and I think that qualifies as really > sucky: too slow even for Vonage. Until recently I had 768k/128k. Eventually I was able to upgrade to a whopping 1M/384k but the service still does not seem suitable for VOIP. The funny thing is that the problem appears to be mainly in the downstream direction. The various web sites that offer tests for VOIP suitability seem to concentrate on the upstream path. I'd really like to understand better what is going on... Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.com
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:05:32 -0500 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: ISDN Message-ID: <MPG.25e61617d15d1512989c8f@news.eternal-september.org> In article <201002170902.EAA11755@ss10.danlan.com>, ddl@danlan.com says... > > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > > > My DSL is about 600k/100k, and I think that qualifies as really > > sucky: too slow even for Vonage. > > Until recently I had 768k/128k. Eventually I was able to upgrade to a > whopping 1M/384k but the service still does not seem suitable for > VOIP. The funny thing is that the problem appears to be mainly in the > downstream direction. The various web sites that offer tests for VOIP > suitability seem to concentrate on the upstream path. I'd really like > to understand better what is going on... > > Dan Lanciani > ddl@danlan.com Who is providing your DSL service? I've often suspected the likes of Verizon and other companies of deliberately blocking VoIP traffic if it isn't destined for THEIR servers. ***** Moderator's Note ***** In the case of Comcast, port blocking has already been proven. I wrote an article some time back, asking readers to contact their congressmen and support the "net neutrality" doctrine. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:41:14 +1100 From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: ISDN Message-ID: <pan.2010.02.17.21.41.09.123215@myrealbox.com> On Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:02:09 -0500, Dan Lanciani wrote: >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> >> My DSL is about 600k/100k, and I think that qualifies as really sucky: >> too slow even for Vonage. > > Until recently I had 768k/128k. Eventually I was able to upgrade to a > whopping 1M/384k but the service still does not seem suitable for VOIP. > The funny thing is that the problem appears to be mainly in the downstream > direction. The various web sites that offer tests for VOIP suitability > seem to concentrate on the upstream path. I'd really like to understand > better what is going on... On assumes that your VoIP connection directly connects into the last piece of network equipment that connects to the ADSL modem and that it has QoS working correctly? -- Regards, David. David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:23:46 +0100 From: Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam1002@zugschl.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <hlhc7i$vfu$1@news1.tnib.de> sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com (David Kaye) wrote: >Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> wrote: >> I find a ringing phone an intrusion. Getting up to answer it is >> still a bigger intrusion which I accept if it is a friend or >> family. > > I just realized how quaint the concept of "getting up" to answer a > phone has become. I have not had landline service in nearly 9 > years, so the idea of having to go across the room to answer a phone > is becoming a distant memory. People who are 18 or 20 today > probably never have had to get up to answer a phone in their lives. I get up regularly to answer the phone since [due to the] Internet I get so few private phone calls that I regularly [don't] bother to have the cordless or cell phone in reach. Greetings Marc -- -------------------------------------- !! No courtesy copies, please !! ----- Marc Haber | " Questions are the | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | Beginning of Wisdom " | http://www.zugschlus.de/ Nordisch by Nature | Lt. Worf, TNG "Rightful Heir" | Fon: *49 621 72739834
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:13:53 -0800 (PST) From: "Mark J. Cuccia" <markjcuccia@yahoo.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: 819/873 Area Code Overlay in Quebec, CRTC Press Release issued Wed-17-Feb-2010 Message-ID: <37761.40007.qm@web31105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (the Canadian Federal Government's telecom/radio/TV/etc. regulatory agency similar ot the US' FCC) issued a press release today, Wed-17-Feb-2010, regarding the forthcoming area code overlay in central and western/ northwestern Quebec, NPA 819 to be overlaid with new NPA 873. The 819, 450, and 514 area codes in Quebec went to mandatory ten-digit local dialing back in Fall 2006, even though at that time, the only area code to be overlaid with 514 (with 438) for Montreal and the IMMEDIATE vicinity itself. Later this year (2010), 450 for the outer areas of southwestern Quebec outside of the immediate Montreal metro area, will be overlaid with 579. Now, 819 will finally be overlaid. The CRTC documentation can be found from: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2010/r100217.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-94.htm At the time the CRTC initially uploaded their documentation on Wednesday morning, regarding the Quebec 819/873 overlay, there was an error! The CRTC press release originally stated that the new 873 overlay is to take effect on (Saturday) 19-March-2011. This date shown is WRONG! That date is when the 249 overlay to 705 in eastern/northeastern Ontario will officially take effect. Later during the day, the CRTC corrected the date for 819/873 in the press release at their website. The official-start-date for the 819/873 Quebec overlay (according to the CNA, Canadian Numbering Administrator) is for Saturday 01-June-2013. This is also the corrected date now shown in the CRTC's press notice at their website. Central Office Codes can be requested under the new 873 NPA code from SAIC-CNA as early as Saturday 01-December-2012. Ten-digit local intra-819 dialing is already mandatory throughout the entire 819 NPA region in Quebec (since Fall 2006), so any permissive/ mandatory 10-digit dialing transition is MOOT! Test-Number Effective date (NO LATER THAN) Friday 01-March-2013. Test-Number discontinue date (NO EARLIER THAN) Monday 01-July-2013. 873-610-TEST/BILL for 8050 Bell Canada QC 873-810-TEST/BILL for 8304 MTS-Allstream (CLEC) 873-510-TEST/BILL for 8377 Rogers-CallNet? 743B Rogers-Cable? (CLEC) (Rogers CallNet does have a presence at Hull QC) There might be an 873-710-TEST/BILL for 8239 Telebec at Val-d'Or QC, for their DMS-200 tandem, but that hasn't yet been determined. The CLEC-side of Telus-Quebec might possibly have a test/bill number pair for the new 873 NPA, but that hasn't yet been determined. Verbage/text for the test-number announcements will be French-then-English: "La communication a été établie avec succès au numéro de vérification de l'indicatif régional 8-7-3, à [NOM DU TÉLÉCOMMUNICATEUR], Québec, Canada." "You have successfully completed a call to the 8-7-3 Area Code Test Number at [CARRIER NAME] in Québec, Canada." More details to come later... there will obviously be a NeuStar-NANPA Planning Letter at a later date. The SAIC-CNA's website is: http://www.cnac.ca/ Mark J. Cuccia markjcuccia at yahoo dot com Lafayette LA, formerly of New Orleans LA pre-Katrina
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:27:32 +0100 From: Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam1002@zugschl.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How do you get your number off a list so that it's gone, gone Message-ID: <hlhcek$vki$1@news1.tnib.de> David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> wrote: >On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:20:13 +0000, David Kaye wrote: >> Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> wrote: >>> An anology are the rude retail staff who cut off face-to-face >>> conversation with me to answer the phone. The smart retailers >>> (the minority) do not do that. >> >> I have been to retail stores where the clerk has stopped my >> transaction to answer a call. I've walked away. The clerk usually >> chases me down and I tell them, "I'm sorry, your call was more >> important than me, so I let you take your call." The apologize but >> I continue to walk. No retail transaction is worth that much to >> me. I can always buy at another time. > > Interesting how we have been trained to respond to the demands of a > piece of technology over a real human in front of our faces, innit? This morning, I was in the middle of a medical exam when my cell phone rang. The nurse actually asked me whether I wanted to answer it and was genuinely surprised when I said "no, that call can wait until you're finished". > Those on-hold messages like "You are X in the queue" are designed to > provide some visibility and let the caller decide what to do with at > least some information. Back in the day when the information given was real. Currently, it is regularly the case that one is getting the "You're first in the queue, the next agent will be with you soon" message for half an hour. > Commerce knows that the initial answering of a call - even if it is > just "Hold the line please" - makes the eventual > conversation/transaction more likely than just letting the call ring > out, so people in that situation are instructed to answer every call > no matter if they are dealing with someone in front of them. Unfortunately, this method of operation came to Europe well before telephone flat rates. So we had to pay for the "Hold the line please" message instead of having it ring through for free, and we still pay for that if the company being called is using a "service number". For most of these the flat rates don't apply. Greetings Marc -- -------------------------------------- !! No courtesy copies, please !! ----- Marc Haber | " Questions are the | Mailadresse im Header Mannheim, Germany | Beginning of Wisdom " | http://www.zugschlus.de/ Nordisch by Nature | Lt. Worf, TNG "Rightful Heir" | Fon: *49 621 72739834
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:48:12 +0000 (UTC) From: ranck@vt.edu To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <hlhh5s$bnb$2@solaris.cc.vt.edu> danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote: > ANNAPOLIS, Md - Equipment that jams cellphones will get its first > federally sanctioned test inside a prison in Maryland this week, as Sigh! Can't they just RF sheild the damn buildings? Then they don't risk interfering with people outside. Churches and theatres certainly have that option. Jammers are a bad idea. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ***** Moderator's Note ***** Passive shielding is really hard to install and maintain, even in environments (e.g., a computer data center) where all the players are on the same page and want it to work. It can't go on the outside of the building because copper thick enough to withstand the elements would cost too much. On the inside, it must be overlaid on all the windows and vents, and all the doors have to have special bonding strips (like weather strips or refrigerator seals) to close the shield when the door swings shut. Of course, in a prison, the inmates have a vested interest in defeating the shielding. It's just not a viable solution for a corrections environment. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:27:26 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <6645152a1002171927n5c81f8a3ub44dd8a5d60686af@mail.gmail.com> On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 1:48 PM, <ranck@vt.edu> wrote: > danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote: > >> ANNAPOLIS, Md - Equipment that jams cellphones will get its first >> federally sanctioned test inside a prison in Maryland this week, as > > Sigh! Can't they just RF sheild the damn buildings? Then they > don't risk interfering with people outside. Churches and theatres > certain ly have that option. Jammers are a bad idea. That was my first thought but it would never fly. Bill gave some valid reasons but another huge one is passive shields can't be turned off. Prison staff, medical services, law enforcement, etc. need for their radios to work and perhaps even their cell phones. The prison could turn off a jammer temporarily in those instances. They could design that feature into new prisons, but it would create issues for the staff if they needed to radio for help. John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> http://www.linkedin.com/in/jmayson
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:03:58 -0500 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Prison to Test Cellphone Jamming Message-ID: <MPG.25e615b682d92719989c8e@news.eternal-september.org> In article <6645152a1002162016x37b926b6g57a35ff0844bcabb@mail.gmail.com>, john@mayson.us says... > > And here it starts... anyone in a betting mood? I'm going out on a > limb and saying in 2020 there will be fierce debate if churches and > movie theaters should employ this technology and dropped calls due to > jamming while driving past certain businesses will be the newest > complaint. > > I understand the need to prevent prisoners from conducting > "business" from their cell, ordering hits, etc. But on the other > hand prisoners who keep in touch with their families, even if it's > sending an "I love you" to a child every night via text, helps to > prevent convicts from returning to prison. Surely there's a > compromise here without going down this path? > > I can't wait for the first lawsuit when a surgeon can't be reached > due to cell phone jamming. > > John You make an excellent point. There will come a moment in time where the signal of someone's phone will be jammed in the case of a legitimate emergency. Here is a solution for places like churches, et al. Put in little cubbyholes in the vestibule. Eveybody places their device in the cubbhole before services and retrieves after service.
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