TELECOM Digest Wed, 29 Dec 93 10:15:00 CST Volume 13 : Issue 841 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: How are Telephone Calling Cards Verified? (Chris Labatt-Simon) Re: 500 Channel Cable Television (Brad Hicks) Re: 500 Channel Cable Television (Mitch Wagner) Re: Privacy and Caller ID/Auto Callback? (Charles Reichley) Re: Privacy and Caller ID/Auto Callback? (Mitch Wagner) Re: Automatic Call Distributor Information Wanted (Russell E. Sorber) Re: Telix and Busy Signals (Jeffery Foy) Re: Is UK IDDD Changing 4/94? (David Woolley) NPA Questions (Bill Hofmann) International Dedicated Connections (Patrick Nta) Argentine Phone Companies (Telecomm,Telephonic) (Charles Reichley) Re: Guatemala Calls Canada Looking For Love (Carl Moore) Digital Cordless Phones Question (mike%jim@wupost.wustl.edu) Editor's Comments on Communications/Computer Progress (H.A. Kippenhan Jr.) TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of public service systems and networks including Compuserve and GEnie. Subscriptions are available at no charge to qualified organizations and individual readers. Write and tell us how you qualify: * telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu * The Digest is compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson Associates of Skokie, Illinois USA. We provide telecom consultation services and long distance resale services including calling cards and 800 numbers. To reach us: Post Office Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690 or by phone at 708-329-0571 and fax at 708-329-0572. Email: ptownson@townson.com. ** Article submission address only: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu ** Our archives are located at lcs.mit.edu and are available by using anonymous ftp. The archives can also be accessed using our email information service. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. TELECOM Digest is gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom. It has no connection with the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.telecom.tech whose mailing list "Telecom-Tech Digest" shares archives resources at lcs.mit.edu for the convenience of users. Please *DO NOT* cross post articles between the groups. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: pribik@rpi.edu (Chris Labatt-Simon) Subject: Re: How Are Telephone Calling Cards Verified? Date: 29 Dec 1993 15:13:55 GMT Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, USA chris.farrar@cld9.com (Chris Farrar) writes: > For my current calling card, with a 519 area code number, running the > card number through software (on a PC) that will tell if a Visa or > MasterCard number is valid, has the card number come back as being a > valid MasterCard, even though it is several digits too short to be a > MC. Credit cards use the last digit of the full number as a check digit. I don't have the specs in front of me, but if I recall, they use a mod 10 translation with the summation equalling the check digit. I'm not sure if it's mod 10 or something else though. It's a fairly common practice for a lot of types of plastic. If the first digit of your calling card is a 5, and you ran it through a credit card authorization program, it would usually recognize it as a Mastercard. Hence, if the last digit uses the same checksum, then it would appear as a valid Mastercard, regardless of its length. Chris Labatt-Simon Internet: pribik@rpi.edu Design & Disaster Recovery Consulting CIS: 73542,2601 Albany, New York PHONE: (518) 495-5474 FAX: (518) 786-6539 Subscribe to the Lotus Notes Mailing List - e-mail me for info.... ------------------------------ From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU1=0205925@mhs.attmail.com Date: 28 Dec 93 21:17:28 GMT Subject: Re: 500 Channel Cable Television Several people have mentioned, in discussing the topic "500 Channel Cable Television," that what's wrong with this is the sheer difficulty of finding anything interesting. Most of them called for some kind of set-top computer that downloads listings and offers you multiple ways to search them. Whether you ever thought about it or not, those of us with satellite TV systems =already= have, in theory, roughly 400 to 500 channels of video available to us, of which maybe 190 or so carry free video (* see footnote), another 30 or so carry cable-TV type subscription-only channels, and the rest of which is either part-time rental ("feeds" for various purposes), private data channels, or just unused yet. In any case, at just about any time you turn on even a cheap C-band only system like mine, there's at least 150 channels available to "surf." Since this has been around for a while, you might think that the problem had been addressed. And it has: exactly that set-top computer and downloading service already exists, and it's called SuperGuide. Before you try to reinvent the wheel, go down to your local satellite TV dealer and ask to see a SuperGuide in use; it's not bad for current state of the art. That is to say, it'll show you what's on now, or let you search for programs alphabetically by name, or show you the schedule for a particular "channel." It also connects to the infrared port on your VCR to let you record events directly off of the on-screen menus of the SuperGuide. In other words, I've seen the 500-channel future with interactive on-line real-time "TV Guide" computer services that y'all are looking for ... and it's =old= technology. Unless there's good upstream communications, and maybe the "everybody's a publisher" open platform model that the EFF is pushing for, all that the telco and cable TV "information superhighway" types are bringing to the table is a new transmission medium, and =maybe= (if we're lucky) higher video resolution. * Footnote: of the 190 or so channels of "free" video on the satellites, probably 50 of them are religious, probably another 50 are shop-at-home not counting the 10 or so that are non-stop infomercials, probably another 25 are used part-time for minor sports broadcasts, and probably another 25 or so are some form or other of (subsidized) educational channel. There's a "free" "adult variety" channel that is, in effect, a non-stop ad for the owners' 900 "hot chat" lines, a "free" music video channel where they constantly run across the bottom the 900 number for requesting the video of your choice, and another "free" music video channel that at least once during each video shrinks it down about 66% and uses the rest of the screen to advertise that you can buy the music and/or the video from them by calling their 800 number. The rest are merely "regular" programming -- that is to say, advertiser supported. Even with 500+ channels of video bandwidth, There (still) Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. I Have Seen The Future ... and it's mostly televangelism, sports, infomercials, and 900 numbers. (*sigh* *grin*) I brought all of this up not to divert TELECOM Digest into a discussion of satellite TV, just to give you a glimpse of what the 500-channel future might (does) look like. For further discussion of the satellite TV angle on all of this, see rec.video.satellite or it's unmoderated mailing list equivalent, homesat at listserv@vm1.nodak.edu, or see section 8 of forum CEFORUM on Compu$erve. J. Brad Hicks Internet: mc!Brad_Hicks@mhs.attmail.com X.400: c=US admd=ATTMail prmd=MasterCard sn=Hicks gn=Brad [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The televangelism aspect is a very interesting one. I can remember years and years ago -- the 1950's in particular -- when there were no specifically 'religious' radio stations with the exception of WMBI out of Chicago at Moody Bible and maybe one or two others; HCJB in Quito, Ecuador comes to mind if you include shortwave stuff. In that era, FM was very new and not that many people had FM radios so everything was on AM. But the AM stations were absolutely loaded with radio preachers every Sunday all day and all night. WLS (890 AM in Chicago) in those days 40 years ago carried nothing but pre-recorded religious programs from about 5 AM Sunday morning through 1 AM Monday morning when they signed off the air. One after the other, usually thirty minutes in length but a few of 15 minutes; now and again one had a full hour. The old WCFL (1000 AM back then) was the same way. I guess those preachers, some of whom are familiar names today paid big dollars for WLS' clear channel and 50,000 watts of power. A woman evangelist by the name of Aimee Semple McPherson used to be on WLS every day of the week along with quite a few other radio stations in the 1930's and 1940's. She'd preach day after day against the evils of hard drink, the use of tobacco and marijuana and other things. WLS loved her; so did KOA in Denver and WWL out of Cincinnati. She brought them huge listening audiences all night long and she paid them top dollar from her own collection basket which was always running over. She never hesitated to remind the audience to send those love offerings to her (" ... send your letters and gifts to me, Aimee Semple McPherson, Pasadena, California, the United States of America ... that's all the address you need ..." and if you were listening to her in Canada, well, there was a post office box in Toronto for you to write to. Her main 'competitor' was a fellow named Father Coughlin. He was on every radio station day after day also with the message that whatever was wrong in the world was the fault of 'the communists'. He had books and pamphlets that he had written which would explain it all in detail if you would write him and request your free copy. Of course your free-will gift had better be enclosed when you wrote him. Like Aimee, the good Father got his mail via Pasadena, California (where his name on the envelope was the only address you needed) and he also had a box in Toronto. Apparently people ordered his pamphlets and books; he was the Rush Limbaugh of his time; Aimee even quoted him occassionally in her broadcasts. How the technology has changed! But alas, even though the speakers have changed and the level of sophis- tication on the part of the producers of religious shows has increased greatly, the hucksterism is still there. WLS changed formats to hard rock music in 1961 and all the preachers were dropped at one time; WLS bought out their contracts as part of the format change. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Dec 93 1:44:48 EST From: wagner@ost.com (Mitch Wagner) Subject: Re: 500 Channel Cable Television Organization: Open Systems Today padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > Several people have suggested that they might be able to edit out > everything except what is wanted. I doubt that the companies will > offer this since they are interested in selling *more* so will have to > tell you about things you did not select. The carriers will not have an inducement to sell you those editors, but I'm sure that third parties will do so. mitch w. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 14:07:48 EST From: Charles Reichley I think that supposedly intelligent people (doctors, lawyers, social > workers, and their employers) should find their OWN solution to that > issue and not burden the public-switched-telephone-network, and the > rest of us, with their problems ... I don't have a problem with that in the case of doctors and lawyers, who often make scads of money -- or at least a sufficient amount to foot the bill for a second phone line. What is the cost of a second phone line, anyway? -- $50/mo. and maybe a few hundred dollars install charge, right? However, social workers make teeny-tiny little salaries, and that $50/mo. is a big deal for them. Clearly, if we as a nation decide we need CallerID, then we also need to provide for exceptions where the public might be better served by NOT having it. mitch w. ------------------------------ From: sorbrrse@rtsg.mot.com (Russell E. Sorber) Subject: Re: Automatic Call Distributor Information Wanted Date: 28 Dec 93 23:01:28 GMT Organization: Motorola Cellulsr Infrastructure Group Alex Cena writes: > On Wed, 08 Dec 1993 15:47:43 EST Jason Demarte > wrote: >> I have recently been reading about the sytem called Automatic Call >> Distributor (ACD) and am wondering who are the major dealers for each >> version of ACD: integrated ACD and stand-alone ACD. If anyone has >> some any information on this please post me a response, thanks. > You should call Aspect Telecom for some information. Rockwell Switching Systems is also very big in ACD equipment. Rockwell has much (if not most) of the airline reservation system market as well as ACD equipment in several large Wall Street brokerage houses. Rockwell Switching has a office in Downers Grove Il. and does at least some sales/marketing out of that office also. Call Directory Assistance for the number (area 708) Russ Sorber Software Contractor - Opinions are mine, Not Motorolas! Motorola, Cellular Division Arlington Hts., IL (708) 632-4047 ------------------------------ From: jfoy@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Jeffery Foy) Subject: Telix and Busy Signals Date: 28 Dec 1993 23:50:44 GMT Organization: University of Washington In a message on 12-28-93, ericw@seanews.akita.com wrote the following: > Okay, I just set up a new PC Logic 14.4kbps Internal Fax/Modem for a > friend, and set-up deltaComm's Telix v3.21 for it. PC Logic? Doesn't ring a bell here ... > I CANNOT get Telix to recognize a busy signal. I am already using > ATX4V1 to no avail (sp?). You sure it's Telix that isn't recognizing the busy? Go into terminal mode in Telix and dial a number that's busy. If you don't get any response (i.e. the word BUSY) then it's the modem not Telix. If, OTOH, the BUSY is displayed, check Telix's modem response strings. You might have to manually put the word BUSY in one of the fields. > Any suggestions (besides TRY x PROGRAM and BUY x BRAND MODEM) e-mailed to > me would be most appreciated. Well, you SHOULD try other stuff just as a matter of course. But I don't think I'll tell you which other stuff to try. 's best to try on your own. :) Jeffery Foy -- jfoy@glia.biostr.washington.edu mantis@racer.eskimo.com or jeffery.foy@racer.eskimo.com ------------------------------ From: david@djwhome.demon.co.uk (David Woolley) Subject: Re: Is UK IDDD Changing 4/94? Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 17:34:46 GMT In article mzmijews@mgzcs.demon.co.uk writes: > From Oftel Consultative Document June 93: > The codes that will *not* change at NCC are the existing codes for > non-geographic services, ie: My understanding (from {BT Engineering Journal}) is that the only reason that the non-geographic numbers are not changing is that they would conflict with the old geographic numbers. The intention is that, once a quarantine period has expired on the old numbers, the non-geographic numbers will be rationalised. This does not necessarily mean that firm decisions have been made about these numbers. (The first digit will be used to classify numbers (one for geographic land based numbers).) David Woolley, London, England david@djwhome.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ From: wdh@netcom.com (Bill Hofmann) Subject: NPA Questions Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 16:30:19 PST In reviewing the various sources (telecom postings, discussions with LECs, etc), I'm left with a few questions that folks out there may be able to help with: 1. Does any state publish 1 + NPA+ 7d AND 0 + 7d instructions? I have here that Delaware still does (302). Carl Moore's note in "history" yhat 213 does is incorrect. 2. BESIDES dialing Fort Worth to Dallas (817 to 214) and other towns in that corridor, are there any other localities which REQUIRE 10 digit dialing across NPA boundaries (for non-toll calls, I guess)? FYI, 510 allows 1+510 dialing, I haven't checked other Bay Area area codes. Bill Hofmann wdh@netcom.COM Fresh Software and Instructional Design +1 510 524 0852 ------------------------------ From: pnta@warren.med (Patrick Nta) Subject: International Dedicated Connections Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 13:58:20 -0400 Organization: Harvard Medical School I am looking for telecom companies that offer 56kbs/64kbs or X.25 data connections to Nigeria. Or cheap satellite links. AT&T, Sprint and MCI only offer Analog (voice grade) connections. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 15:03:36 EST From: Charles Reichley Subject: Argentine Phone Companies (Telecomm, Telephonic) Reply-To: CREICHLEY@vnet.IBM.COM Organization: IBM Federal Systems Company (for now)- Manassas, VA USA Does anybody have any interesting information about the two Argentine phone companies? Like how they decided how to break the country into two parts, what state of modernization have they achieved, etc.? Charles W. Reichley, Loral/FSC???, Manassas, Va. Reminder: This post has nothing to do with IBM or its subsidiaries ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Dec 93 15:30:04 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Guatemala Calls Canada Looking For Love Actually, wasn't that Hightstown, NJ which had the numbers (advertised overseas) for horoscopes etc.? That is in the 609 area, not 201. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You could be right. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mike%jim@wupost.wustl.edu (Mike S.) Subject: Digital Cordless Phones Question Organization: BITS, St. Louis, MO Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 21:24:05 GMT Message-ID: <1993Dec28.212405.24529%jim@wupost.wustl.edu> I am doing a bit of late Christmas shopping for myself, and have decided on a 900Mhz digital cordless phone. The models I have heard about and seen locally are the usual Tropez/Vtech ($200-$250) models, the AT&T 9100 ($250), and Uniden EXP9100 ($350). The Uniden claims to use spread spectrum transmission so I picked one up under a 30 day trial period. Sound is, as usual, "almost corded quality", and uniform throughout my house. I haven't had time to any serious range tests yet and I have never hit the almost-out-of-range beeps around the house. The manual says they are using MSK modulation. I did search the 903-925 MHz band with the trusty scanner and as expected couldn't find anything intelligble. The scanner did however seem to lock up on a few frequencies that seemed to be dependant on the phone being active, which I wouldn't think possible if they were really using what I think of as spread spectrum. Has anyone had the opportunity to do any testing on this model, even a comparison of the above models and the Cobra/RS/CM units? The Uniden and AT&T to my ears are roughly comparable in sound quality, the Uniden has a few additional features and a lighted keypad. Mike mike%jim@wupost.wustl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1993 16:10:18 CST From: H.A. Kippenhan Jr. Subject: Your Comments on Communications/Computer Progress Hi: On 25 Dec 1993 18:26:24 GMT, Robert McMillan wrote: >> A feature I used to do occassionally was called "Ten Years Ago in >> the Digest" and perhaps a few readers would enjoy some of the >> comments from the readers who were on our list back then during the >> final days of the old Bell System and the first few days of the 'new >> way' of doing things. PAT] > Yes, it can be interesting to go back in the archives. I remember > seeing a note from the Moderator at the time, Jon Solomon, saying > something to the effect that now that AT&T's breaking up, we can't > have any political commentary in the Digest because of the AUP for the > various nets. He also said the Net was about to convert from NP to > the newfangled TCP/IP ... amazing how much technical progress there's > been in the Internet in such a short period of time. TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response: > Yes, the changes in network technology have been occurring at a > exponential rate. It took how many thousands of years to invent the > telephone and learn to control electricity for our convenience? Then > in the next hundred years ... wow! Computers were 'invented' in the > late 1940's and early 1950's ... 25-30 years later 'home computers' > first began to make an appearance in the late 1970's. Now 15 years > later, more computational resources sit on the desk in my office than > existed at Harvard University in 1960. Several years passed between > the 110/300 baud modem and the 1200 baud modem. After a couple years > 2400 baud became available, and then 9600 and 14.4 came through almost > immediately thereafter. The {Chicago Tribune} in an editorial comment > in 1900 commenting on 'all the tremendous inventions of the past > century' (meaning 1801-1900) asked, "how long will it be before we > run out of things to invent ...". It boggles my mind to think of what > kinds of things we will have at our disposal twenty years from now. > That is, unless we 'run out of things to invent'... :) PAT] It's probably safe to say that technology is advancing at a greater than exponential rate. One of the things that is often overlooked is that there are more scientists alive [and hopefully working - 8-)] today than the total in mankind's history to date. It's no wonder that things are changing so fast. We want to be careful about 'run(ning) out of things to invent'. There was a proposal just shortly after the Civil War to close the U.S. Patent Office because everything that could possibly be invented had been thought of. No criticism here (I assume that 'run(ning) out of things to invent' was a -in-cheek remark). Just my $0.02 worth. Best regards, H.A. Kippenhan Jr. Internet: Kippenhan@FNDCD.FNAL.GOV National HEPnet Management HEPnet/NSI DECnet: FNDCD::KIPPENHAN Fermi National Accelerator Lab. BITnet: Kippenhan@FNDCD.BITNET P.O. Box 500 MS: FCC-3E/368 Telephone: (708) 840-8068 Batavia, Illinois 60510 FAX: (708) 840-8463 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #841 ****************************** ****************************************************************************** Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253