---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1610161319070.18564@panix5.panix.com> Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2016 13:22:08 -0400 From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> Subject: Water is Wet and.. "911 surcharges" don't go to 911 centers Same story this week as last week, last month, last year... [AP] Fees meant to update 911 system get diverted to other uses New York trails other states in modernizing its 911 systems to handle greater cellphone use, in part because lawmakers routinely divert money intended for that purpose and use it to plug holes in the state budget. ====== rest, with a "ditto" for may other states: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7575195391194399b0a17424d79ce50d/fees-meant-update-911-system-get-diverted-other-uses _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ***** Moderator's Note ***** Water is wet? Who knew? Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <24df21f9-82ee-4344-9437-0c82a7386000@googlegroups.com> Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2016 13:10:18 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Undersea cables then and now CBS News reported that it's been exactly 150 years since the first trans-Atlantic cable began ushering in global communications. And now, in another milestone, tech giants are hanging up on traditional companies to phone in their own revolution under the sea, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Albert. The article describes operations aboard the cable laying ship, Global Sentinel, operated by TE Connectivity SubCom. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History helped string together an exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary to the first permanent trans-Atlantic cable and the man who assembled the financial, political and technical prowess to make it happen - entrepreneur Cyrus Field. They have samples of the early cables from the 1850s. for full article please see: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/transatlantic-cable-150-years-new-installment-undersea-te-connectivity-subcom-global-communications/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <9261693B-DE6E-459B-A721-18D37C7775F0@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2016 23:52:03 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Your phone's on lockdown. Enjoy the show. Yondr, a lockable pouch, holds fans' cellphones during a performance, making it impossible to take photographs, shoot videos or send text messages. The comedian Dave Chappelle used to hate when fans would pull out smartphones during his act, record the performance and then post it on YouTube and social media before the show had even ended. To him, the fans seemed more interested in getting the perfect shot than in appreciating his stand-up routine. But in late 2015, Mr. Chappelle discovered a technology called Yondr. Fans are required to place their cellphones into Yondr's form-fitting lockable pouch when entering the show, and a disk mechanism unlocks it on the way out. Fans keep the pouch with them, but it is impossible for them to snap pictures, shoot videos or send text messages during the performance while the pouch is locked. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/technology/your-phones-on-lockdown-enjoy-the-show.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20161018224504.GA14667@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2016 18:45:04 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon's miserable customer service is about to get worse Consumer Tech Radar By Bill Snyder Verizon Wireless plans to shutter call centers in five U.S. states and reduce staff in 1,700 of its retail stores, a move that will surely affect the company's already poor customer service. Verizon Wireless isn't exactly known for great customer service - just ask the thousands of customers who say the company recently overbilled them. Now Verizon's customer support will very likely get worse. The company plans to close call centers in five states, a move that will affect 3,200 jobs, or about 2 percent of Verizon's workforce. http://www.cio.com/article/3131057/consumer-electronics/verizons-miserable-customer-service-is-about-to-get-worse.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to email me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Wed, 19 Oct 2016