---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20160201225346.GA5422@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 17:53:46 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Gopher to blame for Centurylink Outage A CenturyLink fiber cable was severed early Saturday morning in Sedgwick County, CO after a gopher chewed through the cable. This caused disruptions to voice and Internet service in Ovid and Julesburg. CenturyLink crews began searching for the severed cable Saturday morning and eventually found the cut in a field about four miles from Ovid. Crews had to cut through several feet of frozen ground to locate the severed cables before they could begin to splice the eight-strand cable and restore the services. Services effected included the county's 911 system, business credit/debit machines including those at the gas pumps, and ATM. Service was restored around 8:45 Sunday evening. http://www.julesburgadvocate.com/ci_29442636/gopher-blame-centurylink-outage -- Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20160201222735.GA5367@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 17:27:35 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: FCC greenlights further testing of LTE-U by Verizon & Qualcomm By Roger Fingas The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved additional testing of a cellular technology called LTE-U, controversial because it can operate over the same bands as Wi-Fi routers. Qualcomm will now be able to test LTE-U hardware at two Verizon facilities, Re/code reported. The firms are among those arguing that LTE-U can be more efficient than regular LTE and won't interfere with Wi-Fi. The FCC in fact invited the companies to demonstrate that position in their testing. The technology could also thereotically interfere with other devices using unlicensed spectrum, but Wi-Fi is the most serious issue, given its ubiquity. http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/02/01/fcc-greenlights-further-testing-of-lte-u-by-verizon-qualcomm -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <32339123-12d9-4671-92d4-4b9f12f294c5@googlegroups.com> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 11:39:11 -0800 (PST) From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> Subject: Google Fiber may be looking to add phone services By Brian Fung, Washington Post, January 29, 2016 Google Fiber is sending out invitations to an experimental telephone service for some of its high-speed Internet subscribers, according to two people who have received the invitation. The service, known as Google Fiber Phone, closely resembles another Google product, Google Voice. That application lets users link all of their various telephones, including landline and mobile devices, to a single phone number. Fiber Phone comes with Google Voice features, such as voicemail transcriptions and automatic call screening based on the time of day. https://www.washingtonpost.com -or- http://tinyurl.com/hcorrdt Neal McLain ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20160201223045.GA5387@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 17:30:45 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon Prepaid: 5 Things to Know Before You Sign Up by Craig Lloyd Verizon not only offers its main voice and data plans, but they also offer prepaid plans that can potentially be cheaper in the long run. If you're a customer for one of the big carriers in the US, it's likely that you're using their main voice and data plans, but if you're an individual (or even a couple) looking for a cheaper plan, prepaid plans can be the way to go. Unfortunately, Verizon and other big carriers rarely advertise their prepaid options, and usually push their main data plans when signing up new customers, which isn't too surprising, but users tend to miss out on a better deal. http://www.gottabemobile.com/2016/02/01/verizon-prepaid-5-things-to-know-before-you-sign-up/ -- Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20160201232136.GA5688@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 18:21:36 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T shuffles leadership to tie video, mobile services together Longtime executives Ralph de la Vega and John Stankey take on new duties as part of the shift. by Roger Cheng You're increasingly watching video on the go, with your phone taking over as the central source of entertainment. AT&T recognizes that, and has shaken up the responsibilities of its top lieutenants as it attempts to better tie together its video and mobile services. The Dallas telecommunications giant appointed longtime mobile head Ralph de la Vega vice chairman and put him in charge of the business and international parts of the company. John Stankey, who previously ran the DirecTV, Internet and TV units, will also take on the mobility business as CEO of the entertainment group. Both will continue to report to CEO Randall Stephenson. The announcement was made to employees Friday, the company confirmed. http://www.cnet.com/news/at-t-reshuffles-leadership-to-tie-video-mobile-services-together/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Tue, 02 Feb 2016