TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Jan 94 12:51:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 34 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Circa 1977 Rotary-Dial Trimline (Rev. Michael P. Deignan) Why the Rotary Phones? (Steve Kass) Book Review: "Basics Book of X.25" by Motorola (Rob Slade) Small Cellular Phones With Data Capability (James Cook) Article on the Net in the 1/7/94 Economist (Robert L. McMillin) Is .mil Going Away? (Network World via Robert L. McMillin) Long Distance Weather Calls? (Anthony E. Siegman) FAQ Not Quite Forgotten (David Leibold) Wanted: Mobile Cellular Speaker (Orator) (Robert J. Keller) Looks Like a Hacker (Clarence Dold) Modem With DTMF and MF Tones (Bob Erdman) PBX Features On LAN Hubs? (Kevin Tanner) Anyone Using Touch 1? (Arnold Robbins) New Area Code 360 in Washington State (Paul Cook) How Does Inmarsat Work? (Koos van den Hout) PBX Vendors With Isochronous Interface (George Nazi) Telephone System in China and in the US (Min Hu) Answering Machine Question (Tim White) Learning Experience (Thomas Hinders) Telephone Numbers in France (Richard Cox) 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. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: kd1hz@anomaly.sbs.com (Rev. Michael P. Deignan) Subject: Circa 1977 Rotary-Dial Trimline Date: 16 Jan 1994 14:39:49 GMT Organization: Small Business Systems, Inc., Esmond, RI 02917 I have just retired a circa-1977 rotary-dial "Bell System Property" Trimline phone from years of trusty service in our kitchen. (The pulse dial occasionally caused my modem to decide to pick up and answer the call in the midst of dialing a number -- quite annoying). Anyway, since I know there are folks here who collect these things, I thought I'd offer it up for sale. It works fine. The handset itself has a few minor cracks from years of dropping the handset on the kitchen floor. It could use a good dose of Fantastic or 409. Best offer takes it! Michael P. Deignan, KD1HZ Internet: kd1hz@anomaly.sbs.com UUCP: ...!uunet!anomaly!kd1hz AT&TNet: 401-273-4669 ------------------------------ From: skass@drunivac.drew.edu (Steve Kass) Subject: Why the Rotary Phones? Date: 16 Jan 94 10:58:15 EST Organization: Drew Univ Academic Computing In Volume 14, Issue 31, several contributors discuss the merits of NYTel's installing rotary phones to thwart drug dealers. Some writers were cynical of the move, pointing out that pocket tone dialers are widely available, but others suggested DMTF filters to prevent their use. NYTel _already_ has the capability to detect both keypad-generated and pocket-dialer generated tones and disconnect a call after some number of these tones. This "service" was in effect on many East Village telephones a year or two ago, and caused me to give up trying to use my voice mail from those phones. My experience is that NYTel is not forthcoming about how their phones are configured, so I'll offer a guess as to the real reason for rotary phones: If a phone has a keypad, the average customer expects to be able to use voicemail. At such a phone where tones don't work, (we've had this experience with COCOTs), s/he is likely to make several attempts, then call operators for credits or repair service to report problems. (I speak from experience. As a result of all this, I also had my calling card number stolen, having been asked to speak the number each time I asked for credit from a failed call.) Money is lost and ill will is generated. The AOSs don't care about this (and often don't provide access to operators or service personnel). But NYTel does care about this. The rotary phone says "Don't try to use voice mail from this phone." I suspect tone dialers won't work from these rotary phones, so some honest customers will still be frustrated, but fewer than before. Steve Kass/Math & CS/Drew U/Madison NJ/201-514-1187 skass@drew.drew.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 20:38:19 MDT From: Rob Slade Subject: Book Review: "Basics Book of X.25" by Motorola BKBSX25.RVW 931125 Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Kelly Ford, Promotion/Publicity Coordinator P.O. Box 520 26 Prince Andrew Place Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8 416-447-5101 fax: 416-443-0948 or Tiffany Moore, Publicity tiffanym@aw.com John Wait, Editor, Corporate and Professional Publishing johnw@aw.com 1 Jacob Way Reading, MA 01867-9984 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 5851 Guion Road Indianapolis, IN 46254 800-447-2226 "The Basics Book of X.25 Packet Switching", 0-201-56369-X In contrast to other of the "Basics" series, this one has no stated audience or objective. (It is also the first one I've seen that strongly pushes the Motorola Codex product line, even including a business reply card bound into the back of the book.) The coverage of X.25 is fairly detailed and reasonably complete. The conceptual description, however, is oddly lacking. While there is a description of the advantages of circuit reduncy in packet networks, there is no such discussion or illustration of the efficiency of network or link resources using packetization. A brief introduction to X.25 and packet networks. Useful for data communications people who need a "fast start" on the topic, and can pick up the pieces later. It won't, however, make life with Datapac any easier. Ceterum censeo Datapac delendam essc. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKBSX25.RVW 931125 Permission granted to distribute with unedited copies of the TELECOM Digest and associated mailing lists/newsgroups. DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 DECUS Symposium '94, Vancouver, BC, Mar 1-3, 1994, contact: rulag@decus.ca ------------------------------ From: jcook@netcom.com (James Cook) Subject: Small Cellular Phones With Data Capability Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 20:01:22 GMT I'm wondering if any of these small, flip style cell phones can accomodate data transfer from laptops? Ideally, just a direct means of connection the laptop modem to the cell. phone. Available? Pros and cons? TIA, James Cook Internet: jcook@netcom.com San Francisco Bay, California Compuserve: 76520,2727 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 08:27 PST From: rlm@helen.surfcty.com (Robert L. McMillin) Subject: Article on the Net in the 1/7/94 Economist The British magazine, {The Economist}, has an article in its 1/7/1994 double issue on the Internet. Mostly, it's about the explosion in private digital networks -- including the furious pace of the private expansion of the Net. Somehow, they managed to miss Netcom in all this; but there's good reading therein. Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 08:23 PST From: rlm@helen.surfcty.com (Robert L. McMillin) Subject: Is .mil Going Away? According to a headline article in the January 10, 1994 issue of {Network World}, in an attempt to reduce the exposure of military computers to viruses, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) wants to take many military computers off the Net. According to the article, the DISA wants to rename all .mil domain addresses and hide them behind a single firewall. This has met with quiet but widespread disapproval from miltary users who cherish their Internet freedom. Military network managers say the plan may be technically unfeasible, and that a better way to improve system security would be to force all Internet-connected .mil sites to have MX firewalls. According to the article, "Leaked Defense Department e-mail suggests DISA made its decision about disconnecting the DDN without informing the Pentagon, which is now in the awkward position of explaining DISA's actions." The future of the DISA plan is unclear at the moment. Robert L. McMillin | rlm@helen.surfcty.com | Netcom: rlm@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 17:59:25 PST From: Anthony E. Siegman Subject: Long Distance Weather Calls? Calling Directory Assistance at 1-617-555-1212 from my residence in AC 415 got me the number 936-1234 for telco (NYNEX) weather service in Boston. But then dialing 1-617-936-1234 repeatedly only gave me loud, intermittent, very scratchy static -- no ringing, no answer. When I called the long distance operator at 00 about this, her attempts got essentially the same result. She then went through an "inward long distance" operator in Boston, which did get me connected to the weather message. Anyone else encounter this same problem? Also, the local PacTel weather message is 936-1212; wouldn't it be handier if every LOC had the same number, so you could get the weather in any area code in the same way as you get Directory Assistance? (Maybe some AC's are so big one recording couldn't handle it?) P.S., Pat: Boston weather for next two days said daytime highs 8 to 12 F, nighttime lows -3 F, windchill factors -20 to -30 F; why am I even going there! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of the weather forecasts are now on 976 numbers such as the one for Chicago. I don't think you can get those at all since most telcos no longer connect with the 976 numbers of other telcos. I get my local area time and temperature along with a recorded advertisement from Centel by dialing 708-296-7666. And PS to you too: our temperature here has been sub-zero (like ten or more degrees below zero) for nearly two days. Why am I staying here? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 22:05:14 -0500 From: djcl@io.org Subject: FAQ Not Quite Forgotten Last month, I announced an intention to finally update the FAQ. A bit of updating has been achieved so far, but will still require a bit of time to finish off. This is just about the last chance to get any new or improved things for the next edition of the telecom FAQ. Send to djcl@io.org or dleibold1@attmail.com. David Leibold ... djcl@io.org [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: David Leibold has worked on this project for several years now along with help from other devoted Digest readers. Every year we get an updated FAQ as a result and we owe djcl and the others involved our thanks. Please contribute. PAT] ------------------------------ Reply-To: rjk@telcomlaw.win.net (Robert J. Keller) Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 20:14:16 Subject: Wanted: Mobile Cellular Speaker (Orator) From: rjk@telcomlaw.win.net (Robert J. Keller) A large computer hardware manufacturer is planning a conference in mid-February for its sales, marketing, and technical support personnel. They are seeking someone who could do a presentation on the future of computers in the wireless marketplace (e.g., cellular, PCS, etc.). If you qualify and are available, send me via e-mail a brief synopsis of your background and qualifications as well as complete information on where/how you can be contacted. I will be collecting this information next week and passing it on to the manufacturer. FWIW, I am not financially involved in this, but am merely posting this feeler as a favor to a friend who works for the manufacturer and is charged with looking for this particular speaker. Thanks, Bob Keller CompuServe: 76100,3333 Internet: rjk@telcomlaw.win.net ------------------------------ From: dold@rahul.net (Clarence Dold) Subject: Looks Like a Hacker Organization: a2i network Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 20:12:23 GMT An "800" customer of mine called to complain that a lot of calls were on her bill from the same caller, but she tried calling the number back, and it was disconnected. I checked the SMS database, and there was no record found. I checked against a small run of telephone logs, and found a lot of calls from the same ANI, mostly into our 800-voicemail. Smells like a hacker ... Then I saw some not-so-malicious patterns. I called PacBell security, to track the ANI down. 510 893-0781 Cellular One Outbound Trunk Hmm ... How many ANI are like this? Does anyone have a table? V&H data only shows it as Oakland, CA, which is true. Clarence A Dold - dold@rahul.net - Milpitas (near San Jose) & Napa CA. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 11:58:23 -0500 From: Bob Erdman Subject: Modem With DTMF and MF Tones Has anyone ever heard of a device that can connect to an RS232 port to accept commands, and then use these commands to generate MF tones as well as DTMF tones? The application is to hook a PC up directly to a trunk to make calls, and then to control an end device with DTMF tones. Thanks in advance for any input. ------------------------------ From: kevin_tanner@wiltel.com Subject: PBX Features On LAN Hubs? Date: Fri, 14 Jan 94 08:06:48 PST Organization: WilTel Greetings all ... Does anyone out there know of any LAN hub manufacturers who are working on hubs which will eventually include PBX chip sets and/or PBX-like features? (The underlying LAN technology doesn't really matter to me at this point, whether it's ATM, Fast Ethernet, or something else.) With the much-talked-about and much-anticipated coming of CTI, it seems logical (at least to me) that LAN hubs should become even more intelligent by adding PBX-like features. Or, will all this great CTI we keep hearing about simply be a bridge between the data world (the LAN) and the voice world (the PBX), as with the Novell-AT&T concept? Any help and/or opinions on the subject will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Kevin D. Tanner WilTel, Inc. Telephone: (918) 588-5843 FAX: (918) 588-5616 E-mail: kevin_tanner@wiltel.com ------------------------------ From: arnold@cc.gatech.edu (Arnold Robbins) Subject: Anyone Using Touch 1? Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 16:51:16 GMT Greetings. We were recently solicited by a long distance company called "Touch 1". Their thing is that they (apparently dynamically) select amount ATT, Sprint, and MCI at the time of your call for the one with the lowest rates. We currently have MCI with "Friends and Family" and are pretty satisfied; there's a small group of people we call fairly often, in at least three different states. Is anyone using Touch 1, and would it really bring us savings over MCI? Please reply by email and I'll summarize -- I don't hang out in this newsgroup at the moment. Thanks! Arnold Robbins --- Continuing Education, College of Computing Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0280 Phone: +1 404 894 9214 (has voice mail) E-mail: arnold.robbins@cc.gatech.edu FAX: +1 404 853 9378 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jan 94 11:44 EST From: 0003991080@mcimail.com Subject: New Area Code 360 in Washington State I got a notice from Bellcore confirming the rumored split of area code 206 in Washington State. The new NPA is 360, and will cover all of the area that is currently within 206, but outside of the Seattle/Tacoma area. I have not yet seen a map that shows exactly where the boundary will lie, but scuttlebutt is that the northern boundary of 206 should be somewhere between the King/Snohomish county line and the city of Everett, and the southern boundary just south of Tacoma. The eastern boundary should enclose the suburbs of Seattle that are currently dialed toll-free from the city, but will not go all the way to the boundary with 509 at the crest of the Cascade mountains. The western boundary should be in Puget Sound, with islands that are currently within the Seattle toll-free dialing area (Vashon, Bainbridge) to remain in 206. The split happens on 1/15/95, with permissive dialing until 7/9/95. So far I have seen nothing about this in the local media, so maybe you heard it here first. Paul Cook 206-881-7000 Proctor & Associates MCI Mail 399-1080 15050 NE 36th St. fax: 206-885-3282 Redmond, WA 98052-5378 3991080@mcimail.com ------------------------------ From: koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl (Koos van den Hout) Subject: How Does Inmarsat Work? Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 21:34:00 GMT Organization: HIN / BBS Koos z'n Doos While making some remarks about Inmarsat, I suddenly realized myself one thing: I don't know how Inmarsat works. So, is there anybody out there who can tell me? I'd like to know if it's digital or analog, how base stations are verified, how the satelite 'rings' the base station and stuff like that. I'm also curious about the security of the whole system (both the 'listening in to calls' security and the 'making calls at the expense of another user' part). Grtx. Koos van den Hout ----------------------------------------------- Sysop Datacomm, networking, E-mail... BBS Koos z'n Doos (+31-3402-56619 2400) Inter-: koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl (+31-3402-36647 14400 v32b v42b MNP5) net : koos@hacktic.nl| PGP key by finger | Fido: Sysop @ 2:500/101 Or : koos@hut.nl | koos@hacktic.nl | Give us a call !! ------------------------------ From: george_nazi@wiltel.com (George Nazi) Subject: PBX Vendors With Isochronous Interface Date: 15 Jan 1994 16:27:13 GMT Organization: WilTel, Tulsa, Okla. Reply-To: george_nazi@wiltel.com I would to know/contact the PBX vendors that are working on Isochronous interfaces. I am looking at applications where voice and data is over the same line. Thanks, George Nazi WilTel george_nazi@wiltel.com Telecom. Engineer, Network Development P.O.Box 21348, M.D. 25-5 Tulsa, OK 74121 phone: (918) 588-5400 fax: (918) 588-5616 ------------------------------ From: Min Hu Subject: Telephone System in China and in the US Date: Sat, 16 Jan 94 1:44:15 EST Hi, A question, if the telephone system in US is compatible with the telephone system in China. Or put it in the other way, will the PBX or Central Office in US will work in China? Specificially, will GTD-4600 work in China? Thanks in advance. MIN ------------------------------ From: ao936@yfn.ysu.edu (Tim White) Subject: Answering Machine Question Date: 16 Jan 1994 16:15:54 GMT Organization: Youngstown State/Youngstown Free-Net We have a customer working out of a remote RSS which is hosted from a #1 ESS. This customer's answering machine will not operate (answer the call) from this office. I have taken the machine to another office and it works fine. This RSS has sealing current which uses 130 VDC on the ring and 70 VDC on the tip. When we remove the sealing current from the office we have 70 VDC over 20 VDC. I know that other customers have answering machines in this office area and are having no problems. Does anyone have any ideas on why this one won't work and what we could do to make it work? ------------------------------ Date: 16 Jan 1994 11:12:16 EDT From: Hinders, Thomas Subject: Learning Experience I moved from Wash DC (Silver Spring MD) to Phila (Sanatoga PA). I recently "discovered" an interesting quirk ... as it applies to my use/charges for telephone service. When I lived in DC, ALL +1 (ie LD) calls were billed to my ATT LD account. If I dialed Baltimore from Silver Spring, it was billed to my ATT LS account. I don't recall (I checked some old C&P bills) any C&P toll charges. I was surprised on a recent Bell of PA bill to find all my +1 302 (DE) calls charged to to my Bell of PA account rather than to my ATT LD account ... at a higher toll rate. Contact with Bell of PA and ATT confirmed that unless I specify ATT access code, the intra-Bell of PA call will be placed (ie AC 610 to AC 302), and charged as a Bell of PA toll charge. This moves (no pun ...) me to ask which is cheaper -- a +1 302 call via Bell of PA or ATT (using Reach-Out-America). Add to the equation the fact that most of my calls from my home are toll calls (the local joke here is all calls beyond your next-store- neighbor's are toll calls) and my Bell of PA bill is about 30% higher than my C&P bill ... excluding the LD toll charges (ie to AC 302). Life (as it applies to Telephone service) was truely simpler before Judge Greene. Tom Hinders/Soft-Switch +1 610 640 7487 (v/vm) +1 610 640 7511 (f) Internet: thinder@SSW.COM X.400: C=US A=Telemail P=Softswitch S=Hinders G=Thomas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jan 94 22:15 GMT From: Richard Cox Subject: Telephone Nunbers in France Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk etm@email.teaser.com (Erik Thomas Mueller) said: >> By the way, note that the current numbering plan in France is scheduled >> to be replaced in 1995 by the uniform NPA + 8D where NPA = >> 1 Ile-de-France (Paris, ...) >> 2 Northeast France >> 3 Southeast France >> 4 Southwest France >> 5 Northwest France We had heard rumours that this plan had been shelved due to public opinion, but there again it might just have been a vociferous user group ... It is said that the user group wanted a unified nine-digit numbering scheme. Oddly enough, France has roughly the same number of telephones as the UK; but the UK is about to change from a 10 digit scheme to an 11 digit scheme. I somehow doubt if the North West France zone will be given code "5"; because that would entail callers dialling 05 to call NW France. At the moment 05 is the French toll-free code, the equivalent of 1-800 and 0800, which they call "numberos verts" - green numbers. The French 05 will, I am told, in due course change to 0800. A separate code (06?) has been allocated for mobiles. Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF Voice: +44 956 700111 Fax: +44 956 700110 VoiceMail: +44 941 151515 E-mail address: richard@mandarin.com - PGP2.3 public key available on request ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #34 *****************************