TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 Jan 94 11:22:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 47 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson NPA Readiness for 1995 (Gregory P. Monti) The IIA Revealed: Another Nevada Plan (Brock Meeks COM-PRIV via L Poulsen) Telecommuting Summary (Koos de Heer) Internet Business Users Group (Strangelove Press) MCI Offers Earthquake Assistance (Dan L. Dale) Wiretapping Problem (Joel Disini) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 07:13:05 EST From: Gregory P. Monti Subject: NPA Readiness for 1995 North America's Countdown to NPA Interchangeability in 1995: NPA State Toll Prov calls within NPA Ready dialed for as 1/95? Notes -- ----- ------ ----- ----- 201 NJ 7 yes 202 DC not app yes there are no toll calls within 202; 915 & 976 premium calls are 7D 203 CT 1+7 no 204 MB 1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 205 AL 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 1990 206 WA 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1991, mandatory 1992 207 ME 7 yes 7D announced 1992 208 ID 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 209 CA 7 yes 210 TX 1+10 yes has always been 1+10D toll 212 NY not app yes there are no toll calls within 212; 540 & 976 premium services are 7D 213 CA 7 yes has always been 7D for toll 214 TX 1+10 yes 215 PA 7 yes "no 1" campaign ran in 1992, when 1+7D eliminated 216 OH 1+7 no 217 IL 1+7 no 218 MN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93, mandatory late 1994 219 IN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 8/93 301 MD 1+10 yes 915 & 976 premium calls are 7D 302 DE 1+10 yes 1+10D permitted 4/1/94, mandatory 1/7/95 303 CO 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993, mandatory 2/27/94 304 WV 1+7 no 305 FL 1+10 yes 1+10D announced early 93 306 SK 1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 307 WY 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 308 NE 1+10 yes 1+10D announced for all US West states 12/93 309 IL 1+7 no 310 CA 7 yes 312 IL not app yes there are no toll calls within 312 313 MI 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 (was to be 7D) 314 MO 1+7 no 315 NY 1+7 no 316 KS 1+7 no 317 IN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 8/93, mandatory 12/1/93 318 LA 1+7 no 319 IA 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93 all US West states 334 AL 1+10 yes New code; Starts January 15, 1995 360 WA 1+10 yes New code; starts 1/95 401 RI 1+10 yes 7D announced 1992, but 1+10D announced 1/94, to become mandatory 402 NE 1+10 yes 1+10D announced for all US West states 12/93; how about for non-US West portions (Lincoln)? 403 AB,NT,YT1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 404 GA 1+10 yes 1+10D implemented 1989 405 OK 1+7 no 406 MT 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 407 FL 1+10 yes 1+10D announced early 93 408 CA 7 no inter-NPA calls are 10D, must change to 1+10D 409 TX 1+7 no 410 MD 1+10 yes 915 & 976 premium calls are 7D 412 PA 1+7 no not sure if 7D announced 9/93 413 MA 1+10 yes Mass DPU ordered 1+10D in 10/93 (was to be 7D) 414 WI 1+7 no 415 CA 7 yes has always been 7D toll 416 ON 1+10 yes there are no toll calls within 416; premium services are dialed 1 416 976-XXXX 417 MO 1+7 no 418 QC 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 419 OH 1+7 no 501 AR 1+7 no 502 KY 1+7 no 503 OR 1+10 yes 1+10D announced mid 1992 504 LA 1+7 no 505 NM 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 506 NB 1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 507 MN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93, mandatory late 1994 508 MA 1+10 yes Mass DPU ordered 1+10D in 10/93 (was to be 7D) 509 WA 1+10 yes 1+10D permitted 5/15/94, mandatory 9/17/94 510 CA 7 yes has always been 7D for toll 512 TX 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1991 513 OH 1+7 no 514 QC 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 515 IA 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 516 NY 7 no inter-NPA calls are 10D, must change to 1+10D; 1+10D inter-NPA posted on pay phones, but not mandatory; 540 & 976 premium services are 7D 517 MI 1+7 no 518 NY 1+7 no 519 ON 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 520 AZ 1+10 yes new code, starts 1/95 601 MS 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 12/93 602 AZ 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 1990 603 NH 7 yes 7D announced 1992 604 BC,NT,AK1+10 yes 1+10D intra-NPA toll to be mandatory 9/94; Hyder, AK, is in 604 per previous postings here 605 SD 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93 606 KY 1+7 no 607 NY 1+7 no 608 WI 1+7 no 609 NJ 7 yes 1+7 disallowed beginning 9/93 per bill stuffer 610 PA 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 12/93 (was to be 7D) 612 MN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93, mandatory late 1994 613 ON 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 614 OH 1+7 no 615 TN 1+10 yes 1+10D posted on pay phones 9/93 616 MI 1+7 no 617 MA 1+10 yes Mass DPU ordered 1+10D in 10/93 (was to be 7D) 618 IL 1+7 no 619 CA 7 yes 7D toll announced 9/93 701 ND 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 12/93 702 NV 1+7 no 703 VA 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 1987 704 NC 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 1990 705 ON 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 706 GA 1+10 yes 1+10D announced mid 1992 707 CA 7 yes 7D announced 10/93 708 IL 7 yes has always been 7D toll 709 NF,NT 1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 712 IA 1+10 yes 1+10D announced for all US West states 12/93 713 TX 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 12/7/91 714 CA 7 yes 7D toll began in early 1980s 715 WI 1+7 no 716 NY 7 yes Rochester LATA, per Telecom Digest 787; how about the non-Rochester portion, still 1+7D? 717 PA 7 yes 7D announced 11/93 718 NY not app yes there are no toll calls within 718, 540 & 976 premium services are 7D 719 CO 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993, mandatory 2/27/94 801 UT 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 1993 all US West states 802 VT 7 yes 7D announced 1992 803 SC 1+10 yes 1+10D posted on pay phones 9/93 804 VA 1+7 no 805 CA 7 yes 806 TX 1+7 no 807 ON 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 808 HI 1+7 no 809 Caribb 1+7 no 810 MI 1+10 yes 812 IN 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 8/93 813 FL 1+10 yes 1+10D announced early 93 814 PA 1+7 no not sure if 7D announced 9/93 815 IL 1+7 no 816 MO 1+7 no 817 TX 1+7 no or is 1+10D currently mandatory? heard both 818 CA 7 yes has always been 7D toll 819 QC 1+10 yes 1+10D announced 10/93 901 TN 1+10 yes 1+10D posted on pay phones 9/93 902 NS,PE 1+10 yes 1+10D to be mandatory 9/94 903 TX 1+10 yes has always been 1+10D toll 904 FL 1+10 yes 1+10D announced early 93 905 ON 1+10 yes has always been 1+10D toll 906 MI 1+7 no 907 AK 1+7 no 908 NJ 7 yes has always been 7D toll 909 CA 7 yes 910 NC 1+10 yes 912 GA 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 8/92 913 KS 1+7 no 914 NY 7 no inter-NPA calls are 10D, must change to 1+10D; 540 & 976 premium services are 7D 915 TX 1+7 no 916 CA 7 yes 7D announced 9/93 917 NY not app yes there are no toll calls within 917; however, since all outbound calls from 917 are cellular, there is a premium airtime charge on all of them 918 OK 1+7 no 919 NC 1+10 yes 1+10D mandatory 1990 146 Total NANP NPAs 101 NPAs ready for 1995 45 NPAs not ready for 1995 22 ready NPAs using 7D solution so far 74 ready NPAs using 1+10D solution so far 5 ready NPAs not requiring a solution (no intra-NPA tolls) 3 non-ready NPAs using 7D but still 10D for inter-NPA 42 non-ready NPAs still using 1+7D Corrections are welcomed. Thanks to Bob Goudreau for suggesting the more detailed totals breakout. Greg Monti Arlington, Virginia, USA gmonti@cap.gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Jan 94 11:51:33 +0100 From: lars@eskimo.CPH.CMC.COM (Lars Poulsen) Subject: The IIA Revealed: Another Nevada Plan The following appeared on the COM-PRIV list (commercialization and Privatization of the Internet) today. It answers a lot of the questions that have been raised about the IIA. It turns out to be another Nevada plan -- financed by a telephone company. / Lars Poulsen Internet E-mail: lars@CMC.COM CMC Network Products Phone: (011-) +45-31 49 81 08 Hvidovre Strandvej 72 B Telefax: +45-31 49 83 08 DK-2650 Hvidovre, DENMARK Internets: designed and built while you wait From COM-PRIV: From: brock@well.sf.ca.us ("Brock N. Meeks") Subject: IIA Breaks Out Date: 26 Jan 1994 16:52:25 -0800 Message-ID: <199401270050.QAA23405@well.sf.ca.us> Jacking in from the "You Gotta See This to Believe It" Port: Money for Nothing and the Bits Are Free ======================================= Washington, DC -- Here's the deal: The Internet is being held hostage by a community of entrenched techno-elitists. That's the premise of the International Internet Association (IIA), a nonprofit group that promises to give "anyone on the planet free Internet access," according to IIA Executive Director Max Robbins. Robbins held a press conference here today to flesh out what has been the Net's biggest mystery for the past several weeks. When IIA first announced its plan to provide free Internet access, the group was assailed as being a scam. Adding fuel that speculation was the fact that in order to process your account application, the IIA required that you provide them with a credit card number (preferably your own). Oh yeah, there were also those other little niggling details that didn't add up, such as the IIA's address in D.C. really being a rented post office box and that their net domain -- IIA.ORG -- didn't seem to exist. Robbins, dressed in a rafish multi-colored cardigan sweater and IIA turtle-neck T-shirt, acknowledged that his organization made "some rookie mistakes" in the beginning. But he insisted all was above board. He said the credit card number was needed because the company providing the 800 number access to the IIA host computers needed it to bill people, at 20 cents per minute. "But we always told people that's what it was for," he said. "And we do have a direct dial in number so people don't have to use the 800 number if they don't want to," he said. The organization was swamped with applications, some 40,000 have flooded in since November, Robbins said. But only 16,000 have actually been given accounts. He says they're working on the backlog. But let's cut to the chase. Robbins is a young, idealistic do-gooder that thinks the Internet has been co-opted by its techie users and his mission is to set it free. He figures that if he provides free Internet access to "the great unwashed" of the world, the Net will be a better place. About the only thing this self proclaimed "Idaho farm boy" (with a Georgetown University degree) didn't say is that his efforts would eventually bring world peace. May the force be with you, Max. The organization, which hasn't yet set any standards or procedures for taking on members, as any normal association is want to do, is being underwritten, apparently, but the good will of IDT, an international call-back racket out of New Jersey. The IDT scheme is brilliant. The company offers international callers the ability to call into the U.S. (on an 800 number), whereby, the IDT computers call your number back and give you dialtone from the good ol' U.S. of A. Using that dial tone, you can then make calls to anywhere in the world, which (technically) look as they they've originated from the U.S. Begin to get the picture? The upshot is that if your company is located in Rangoon, you can bypass the outrageous long distance rates that Rangoon Telecom and Telegraph normally charges, instead getting rates more in line with AT&T. IDT, which has received its share of grief from several countries for taking hard currency straight from their pockets, is headed Howard Jonas. For all its talk of good will and free access, the IIA seems to be nothing more than a front-loaded, money making machine for Jonas. The guy is a sharp entrepreneur and he saw dollar signs in those free IIA accounts. By providing the 800 number (which most people still think is always a free call) he saw a way to generate millions of dollars from anxious users thinking they were getting "free" Internet accounts. You do the math: Figure 40,000 users (if the IIA grows no bigger than current applications) dialing in 10 hours a month. If they use the 800 number that whole time, IDT racks in a whopping $4.8 million PER MONTH in access fees alone. Free my ass. Just how much is Jonas tied into the organization? Well, IIA lists their administrative offices being headquarted at 294 State St., Hackensack, N.J. Funny thing, but that's the same address as Jonas' company. The IIA "public relations" person at the press conference, Steve Rowe, pulls in a paycheck from ... damn, you guessed it, IDT. And the boxes and wires that make up IIA's technology base have the same serial numbers listed in IDT's inventory data base and insurance papers. With all this free shit being given away, how does Robbins pay the rent? "I do some work for IDT," he said. "But we've had enough donations come in so that it basically pays my salary.," You have to admit, this kid Robbins is well meaning, if out to lunch, or maybe his idealism is just way out in front of his common sense. The group said it's supposed to have 501(c)3 status. Legally that makes them a charity. But in their press kit, under the "facilities" heading is an address for "Lobbying." Non-profits listed as 501(c)3 are expressly forbidden from lobbying, it makes the IRS nervous to think a charity would take money from my grandmother and then use it to take Congressmen to expensive lunches or send them to exotic resorts for speaking engagements. I pressed young Robbins on this apparent flaw: "Well, that's not really 'lobbying' in the pure sense of the word," he said. Turns out his idea of lobbying is what Apple likes to call "evangelism." Oh, did I mention that the "lobbying" office address is really home to the IIA lawyer? It is. So, does an organization like IIA do when demand outstrips supply? It goes begging. Literally. Only Robbins doesn't call it that. IIA has "place a bid for services" with U.S. telecommunications and service providers, he says. But when asked how he defined the word "bid," Robbins said: "Well, we asked them if they wanted to give us service." In other words, he wants companies to donate time or materials out of the goodness of their hearts. Robbins justifies this hat-in-hand procurement process by claiming that companies now making money off providing Internet service "have an obligation to give something back to the people." The world would be a better place, he said. Honest. In the meantime, Jonas is waiting in the wings, with some 16,000 and counting credit card numbers, listening to the sound of the "unwashed masses" dialing in, throwing money at his company's bottom line. It's all legal, all very shrewd. And Robbins? Hell, he has a good heart, some big dreams, and an impossible task. Write him, won't you: max@iia.org Or send a check ... if the charity status holds up, you can claim it on your taxes, right there under the heading: Donation to World Peace. Meeks out ... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Jan 1994 13:17:59 +0100 From: cvitoa!koos@relay.NL.net (Koos de Heer) Subject: Telecommuting Summary Recently I have had email discussions with a few people about telecommuting. A number of questions remained unanswered between us, so I am posting a summary of our discussions and the questions that we have. Anyone who is willing to contribute: please do so. Preferably by posting, but if you cannot post, email me and I will summarize in a future post. Special thanks to G. Trevor Foo (foo@buvax.barry.edu) for his contributions. Driving forces for the proliferation of telecommuting: Technology: For example, the advent of low priced desktop videoconferencing equipment and the recent movements in the U.S. for a national information infrastructure. The LINK Resourse, a telecommuting research firm, states that employees are spending an increasing amount of money on acquiring their own equuipment to telecommute. From 1991 to 1992, PCs sold to information workers have increased by 27%. Traffic problems: No need to elaborate: costs, time, environment ... Job mobility: Lifetime employment means moving once to the town of your employer and never having traffic problems again. Planning to switch jobs means living where you want to live, independent of where your job is located because after a few years you will have another job somewhere else anyway. Women's (and men's) lib: More flexibility in the daily schedule, for both partners, makes it easier to both have a career and children. Changing management culture: Output oriented management instead of process (attendance) oriented management. This is a requirement, telecommuting is not going to work well without it. Size of business that will especially adopt (and benefit from) telecommuting: Small organizations: - small businesses have a less formal organizational culture, less bureaucracy, than larger organizations. - innovation is easier and more common, new technologies are adopted faster. - they have less rigid operating procedures. Large organizations: - large businesses are changing management culture and desperately looking for ways to become more efficient. - another important condition for effective telecommuting is specialization: in a small organization, the workers tend to be less specialized. When someone has more different tasks, more contact with co-workers is needed. - large organisations are familiar with the use of elctronic links between co-workers, possibly to the extent that they will not know if a co-worker is at home or in the office. Numbers and growth: Present estimates of the size of the potential telecommuting work force range from 30% to 45% of the total work force in highly industrialized countries. This does not mean that 30% or 45% of the _work_ is telecommutable. Many of the workers will telecommute only part of the week. The portion of the total amount of work that could be considered telecommutable is probably less (does anyone have a hunch about a figure for this?). The present research seems to start from jobs and criteria as they are now, allowing for growth of telecommuting on the basis of growing acceptance of technologies and growing political concern. It would be useful to have a prediction of how other factors may change. There are developments in society that will influence the telecommuting potential in the years to come: - Industrial jobs are decreasing in number as processes are automated. Jobs in commerce, automation, consultancy and other services are increasing. - Not only technology develops, but also people get more used to technology for communication. The need for personal meetings will never disappear, but become less over the years to come. We have not found a way to calculate a figure for the impact of these changes. Anyone have ideas on this? A thought: if there are figures for the penetration of email and fax and for the growth of internet, and if there are predictions for how those figures will develop in the future, would that information be useful to say something about the rate at which technology becomes accepted? Of course, that does not solve the equation yet, as there are more unknown variables. Like the necessary change in the culture and management style of organizations (output driven rather than process driven). As I said, any comments are appreciated. koos de heer - centrum voor informatieverwerking koos@cvi.ns.nl tel. ++31.30.924860 ------------------------------ From: mstrange@fonorola.net (Strangelove Press) Subject: Internet Business Users Group Date: Thu, 27 Jan 94 9:16:55 EST Internet Business Users Group; Sponsored by the publishers of THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL. The Internet Business User Group (I-BUG) will convene monthly in downtown Ottawa, Ontario for a 90 minute breakfast meeting. Each monthly breakfast meeting will feature a special guest speaker. I-BUG will provide a forum for business and government Internet users to network with professionals interested in the commercial Internet. WHERE: Meetings will be held at the Bay Street Bistro (160 Bay at Albert) WHEN: Tuesday, February 1, 1994 -- 8am, concluding no later than 9:30 am. GUEST SPEAKER Aneurin Bosley, Editor of THE INTERNET BUSINESS JOURNAL, will launch the Internet Business Users Group with a brief ten minute talk. COST: A buffet breakfast will be available for a mere $6.50, all taxes included. RSVP: Please indicate your intention to attend by e-mail to Mstrange@Fonorola.Net or tel: 613-565-0982 If you wish to be notified of future I-BUG meetings, please send contact information to Mstrange@Fonorola.Net. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Jan 94 09:07 EST From: Dan L. Dale <0005517538@mcimail.com> Subject: MCI Offers Earthquake Assistance The following release was issued today in California. In addition to the English version you see here, it will also be issued in Spanish. MCI OFFERS LONG DISTANCE HELP TO EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS WASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 1994 -- Concerned about the hardships its customers are facing as a result of the earthquake in the Los Angeles area, MCI has announced it will offer special payment options for earthquake victims. Those directly affected by the earthquake should call MCI toll-free, 1-800-444-1828, Monday through Thursday from 5am-9pm (PST), Friday from 5am-4pm (PST) and Saturday from 5am-2pm (PST). Callers from impacted areas are then connected to an MCI Financial Services Representative who will counsel them and provide payment advice to those families concerned about paying their MCI long distance bills. To help earthquake victims, MCI also has opened a Mobile Communications Center in San Fernando, CA. The mobile center, with 24 phones, allows victims of the earthquake who are without phone service to make long distance phone calls on MCI's network free of charge. MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the nation's second-largest long distance provider. ------------------------------ From: D1749@AppleLink.Apple.COM (Disini SW, Emmanuel Disini,CST) Subject: Wiretapping Problems Date: 27 Jan 1994 03:06:48 -0600 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway Greetings, I am a bit concerned that my phone could be tapped (I am located in Manila, where wire-tapping laws are not enforced all that well). Is there some way I can tell that my phone has been tapped? My guess is that there should be some drop in ambient voltage (on one of the RJ-11 leads- TIP? RING?) if a tap is placed on your phone. However if the wiretap is already in place and I look at the voltage after the tap has been installed, I would not be able to detect it, right? Pls cc your responses to d1749@applelink.apple.com, as I don't get this newsgroup. Thanks, Joel Disini ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #47 *****************************