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The Telecom Digest for September 25, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 241 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
AT&T, DOJ headed for February trial over T-Mobile USA buy (Bill Horne)
Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors (tlvp)
LightSquared claims that it solves GPS interference with new device (Bill Horne)
Re: LightSquared claims that it solves GPS interference with new device (danny burstein)
Net neutrality rules kick in November 20 (Bill Horne)
Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors (unknown)
Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors (Steven)
Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors (tlvp)
"The Invention That Changed the World (radar)" (HAncock4)

====== 30 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 Bill Horne 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 that person, or email address owner.
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Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:51:49 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: AT&T, DOJ headed for February trial over T-Mobile USA buy Message-ID: <CAFY5RQ+GqcvvbOmUhjA0fA=h2goTwLkxMrcopjQ=LkK03HrGWw@mail.gmail.com> AT&T, DOJ headed for February trial over T-Mobile USA buy >From FierceBroadbandWireless http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/att-doj-headed-february-trial-over-t-mobile-usa-buy/2011-09-22 September 22, 2011 12:44am ET | By Lynnette Luna There was no settlement following yesterday's court date that came about because of the Justice Department's challenge of AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Instead, AT&T is seeking a swift trial to oppose the DOJ's challenge, an AT&T lawyer said during an hour-long hearing. The judge set a trial date for Feb. 13. -- Bill Horne (Filter QRM for direct replies)
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:32:15 -0400 From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors Message-ID: <1jdaec2oiwcde.1m3eztplg3xdv$.dlg@40tude.net> On Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:05:27 -0400, Gary wrote: > ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> >> Hotels charge for WiFi? > > Some do, some don't. It's a lot like local calls used to be - inexpensive > hotels provide it free as a selling point while higher end hotels in big > markets charge for it assuming their clients can pay for it. Even that rule of thumb is more honored in the breach than in the keeping. Examples: Motel 6 (*very* inexpensive chain) tends to charge $3 for 24 hrs; every single hotel on a recent tourist trip to Turkey offered wi-fi gratis; most US Hiltons (not lower-end :-) ) offer free wi-fi to HHonors members. > Thanks, > > -Gary It's a crazy-quilt world out there! Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP. ***** Moderator's Note ***** It seems to go in cycles: when WiFi was relatively new, hotels charged for it, but then around 2000, they all had it without extra charges, and now the pendulum seems to be swinging back. When I was traveling a lot and all the hotels were charging for WiFi, I used to keep a 2.4 GHz yagi and a Wireless Access Point in my suitcase: there was only one time that I had to resort to paying for the hotel's WiFi. The problem was that all the TSA minions thought it was a bomb, and I gave up trying to explain what a Yagi is. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:33:30 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: LightSquared claims that it solves GPS interference with new device Message-ID: <CAFY5RQJdO3WvJ_j2FtAW6idLCnyrwCZ==QKGqfiOMV-nKTpo_g@mail.gmail.com> >From CNET: LightSquared solves GPS interference with new device By: Marguerite Reardon LightSquared, which is building a nationwide 4G LTE wireless broadband network using spectrum that is adjacent to the spectrum GPS device makers use, said it has developed receivers with GPS device manufacturer Javad GNSS that will eliminate concerns that the GPS community has brought forth regarding how its service would interfere with precision GPS devices. ... LightSquared hasn't started building its network yet, but its entire business has been called into question recently as it faces criticism from the GPS industry, which claims that its network will interfere with high-precision GPS satellite services used in industries such as agriculture, surveying, aviation, construction, and national defense. Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20109559-266/lightsquared-solves-gps-interference-with-new-device/#ixzz1YpyR9zyi This "solution" worries me a lot. Here's why: 1. Many LECs make extensive use of GPS timing devices to synchonize the various components in their networks. If LightSquared's '4G' system causes interference to those GPS receivers, major outages are possible, and they'd probably be intermittent and thus hard to identify. 2. I didn't see anything in the article about "non precesion" GPS receivers, and if LightSquared isn't providing any solution to the problem of interference to "consumer grade" devices, that means that the Garmin GPS on the dashboard of my car, and similar units in millions of other vehicles, might be made obsolete. -- Bill Horne (Filter QRM for direct replies)
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:03:34 +0000 (UTC) From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: LightSquared claims that it solves GPS interference with new device Message-ID: <j5krg6$988$1@reader1.panix.com> In <CAFY5RQJdO3WvJ_j2FtAW6idLCnyrwCZ==QKGqfiOMV-nKTpo_g@mail.gmail.com> Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> writes: [snip] >2. I didn't see anything in the article about "non precesion" GPS > receivers, and if LightSquared isn't providing any solution to the > problem of interference to "consumer grade" devices, that means > that the Garmin GPS on the dashboard of my car, and similar units > in millions of other vehicles, might be made obsolete. Similarly, while tests of, say, 10 "smart" LightSquared units working alongside 50 standard GPS'es may work ok in the lab, that's very, very, different from having 10,000 of them in the field, often outside, with weather and power spikes and water and bird poop. If we make up the number that one percent of them will go kablooey each year, that's a pretty ugly number of facilities that will cause problems... -- _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:24:53 -0400 From: Bill Horne <telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Net neutrality rules kick in November 20 Message-ID: <CAFY5RQJZDPEHV+7MiuSpD7W3KNUsC58V534ozo2sgskZgruggw@mail.gmail.com> This is from cnet: The FCC rules--the outcome of years of debate--lay out specific Net neutrality principles and essentially let Internet service providers ration access to their networks while preventing them from discriminating against content that comes from competitors. The rules are more strict for wired broadband providers than for wireless carriers. Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20110468-266/net-neutrality-rules-kick-in-november-20
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:48:12 -0400 From: Ron <ron@see.below> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors Message-ID: <tr2q77979n19ab3bh7t9ue2p0tu68lk1bd@4ax.com> >***** Moderator's Note ***** > >Hotels charge for WiFi? Rule of thumb: The pricier the hotel, the more they will nickle and dime you for everything, including the internet. I suspect this is because they can. They're catering to business people on expense accounts. Since connectivity is necessary, the accounting department won't balk when they see a charge for it on the expense report. -- Ron (user telnom.for.plume in domain antichef.com)
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:16:17 -0700 From: Steven <diespammers@ikillspammers.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors Message-ID: <j5ks83$4nc$1@dont-email.me> On 9/23/11 3:48 PM, Ron wrote: >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> >> Hotels charge for WiFi? > > Rule of thumb: The pricier the hotel, the more they will nickle and > dime you for everything, including the internet. > > I suspect this is because they can. They're catering to business > people on expense accounts. Since connectivity is necessary, the > accounting department won't balk when they see a charge for it on > the expense report. Last year a hotel attempted to charge me for access: it appears that the system detected my Ibooks AirPort Card. I did not use their system, since I carry an Overdrive from Sprint and when I logged [in], I [knew] I was using it and not the hotel [WiFi]. I can not understand how they could do that: my understanding [is] that you have to ask for the service since they charge [for it], [and] it is like charging for food in the room even though your did nit use it. -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2011 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co.
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:01:19 -0400 From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: mobile wifi hotspots, was Strange new at&t rumors Message-ID: <ehbqhltk9nuh$.77xdh7ouoqn0.dlg@40tude.net> On Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:16:17 -0700, Steven wrote: > Last year a hotel attempted to charge me for access: it appears that > the system detected my Ibooks AirPort Card. I did not use their > system, since I carry an Overdrive from Sprint and when I logged [in], > I [knew] I was using it and not the hotel [WiFi]. ... Unpuzzle me, please: even if the system did detect your AirPort card, how'd it know to link that card to your bill and not to someone else's? TIA; and cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:59:18 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: "The Invention That Changed the World (radar)" Message-ID: <c1a10aad-4b92-4882-ba2e-76e12651217c@l4g2000vbz.googlegroups.com> I came across the following book, which may be of interest to readers of this newsgroup. "The Invention That Changed the World" by Robert Buderi, 1996, is about the development and implementation of radar for WW II and associated technologies. Bell Labs and MIT Rad Lab were heavilly involved, along with other companies and British efforts. The crash effort to develop and implement radar led to other technologies, such as microwaves for communications (and cooking), semi-conductors, and later, digital computers for the SAGE defense system. The book touches all of these and the key people involved. It also discusses the inter-relationships between the scientists and the military, and experiences of trying out new radars in combat conditions. It is part of the Sloan Technology Series
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