33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.

The Telecom Digest for Feb 7, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 24 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Quality ratings of cell phone handsets? (HAncock4)
Verizon to sell wireline operations, towers worth $15.6 billion (Bill Horne)
Do you like Net Neutrality? Thank Verizon (Bill Horne)
CenturyLink works to prevent another 911 outage (Bill Horne)
The World's Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy Who is Going Broke (Bill Horne)

Patronage is the sword and cannon by which war may be made on the liberty of the human race.  - John Tyler

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Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2015 17:54:13 -0800 (PST) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Quality ratings of cell phone handsets? Message-ID: <38fe7f98-2006-4245-a8ec-7a8f2e1db2a4@googlegroups.com> Many calls I receive nowadays originate from cell phones. The voice quality varies tremendously--some calls sound nearly as good as a landline, but many times the call is barely discernable and very "tinny". Using a cell phone speakerphone makes things even worse. But even when a cellphone user switches back to normal mode, the connection can be terrible. (People don't seem to mind this. As the Bell Labs history of 'genius' put it, connectivity is more important than voice quality.) Anyway, is there any guide that reports on the voice quality of cell phone handsets? Which transmit well and which do not? (I'm surprised that there are lousy handsets out today in the "smart phone" world.) [public replies, please]
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2015 10:13:58 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Verizon to sell wireline operations, towers worth $15.6 billion Message-ID: <mb2lmk$vc5$1@dont-email.me> BY MALATHI NAYAK AND LIANA B. BAKER (Reuters) - Verizon Communications (VZ.N) said it would sell wireline assets to Frontier Communications (FTR.O) for $10.54 billion in cash and sell and lease cell phone towers for around $5 billion to American Tower in a deal that will help it pay off recent wireless spectrum purchases. The transaction is the latest in a series of non-core assets that Verizon has sold in recent months to reduce debt and raise cash for investments. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/06/us-verizon-comms-divestiture-idUSKBN0L92UG20150206 -or- http://goo.gl/ifdaGn -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly) I thought saw a man brought to life he was warm, he came around, he was dignified He showed me what it was to cry Well, you couldn't be that man I adored Don't see to know, seem to care, what your heart is for - Natalie Imbruglia
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2015 10:23:24 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Do you like Net Neutrality? Thank Verizon Message-ID: <mb2m89$1vh$1@dont-email.me> by Haley Sweetland Edwards To the millions of Americans who wrote passionate letters to the Federal Communications Commission last year arguing that it should ensure the Internet isn't divided into "fast lanes" and "slow lanes," Verizon is the enemy. Or one of the enemies, at least. Cable and telecom companies have been one of the biggest forces aligned against the web's grassroots in the battle over how the FCC should regulate Internet traffic. http://time.com/3697122/net-neutrality-verizon/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly) There's a light beyond these woods, Mary Margaret Do you think that we will go there See what makes it shine - Nanci Griffith ***** Moderator's Note ***** This is telecom related to the extent that it touches on VoIP and the possibility that LECs will replace trunk lines with Internet bandwidth. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2015 14:29:20 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: CenturyLink works to prevent another 911 outage Message-ID: <mb34lh$13g$1@dont-email.me> by Andy Porter Work is underway to prevent a repeat of a 911 blackout last month that affected Walla Walla (Washington) and surrounding counties. CenturyLink spokeswoman Kerry Zimmer said the company should have redundant fiber optic cable connections completed by the middle of this month for this area to prevent a recurrence of the Jan. 23 event. http://union-bulletin.com/news/2015/feb/05/centurylink-works-prevent-another-911-outage/ -or- http://goo.gl/LQXsxR -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly) Wheel, gull, spin and glide You've got no place to hide That's because you don't need one - David Crosby
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2015 14:35:27 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: The World's Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy Who is Going Broke Message-ID: <mb350s$238$1@dont-email.me> by Julia Angwin Werner Koch's code powers the email encryption programs around the world. If only somebody would pay him for the work. The man who built the free email encryption software used by whistleblower Edward Snowden, as well as hundreds of thousands of journalists, dissidents and security-minded people around the world, is running out of money to keep his project alive. Werner Koch wrote the software, known as Gnu Privacy Guard, in 1997, and since then has been almost single-handedly keeping it alive with patches and updates from his home in Erkrath, Germany. Now 53, he is running out of money and patience with being underfunded. http://www.propublica.org/article/the-worlds-email-encryption-software-relies-on-one-guy-who-is-going-broke -or- http://goo.gl/lvKaWH -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly) ***** Moderator's Note ***** Since some encrypted phones use GPG, I'm qualifying this as telecom related. There's an update on the web site about some grant money, but the guy is doing this on his own and he needs the dough, so please chip in. Bill Horne Moderator

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