TELECOM Digest Sat, 12 Feb 94 21:06:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 77 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Vice President Gore Questions Current Key Escrow Policy! (Monty Solomon) VTech 9 "Tropez" and Sony SPP-ER1 900 MHz Phones (Rob Lingelbach) AT&T's Dragon 900Mhz Phone (Alex Cena) The President's Call to Russia (Nevin Liber) New List on Computer/Telephone Problems/Bugs/Viruses/Dangers (P. Robinson) Telecommunication Market in Japan (Jean-Michel Planche) Questions About Voice Mail (Stan Schwartz) What is This Number? (Carlene Lanham) OVF 94 Call For Papers (Frank Belland) 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: Sat, 12 Feb 1994 19:40:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Vice President Gore Questions Current Key Escrow Policy! Excerpt from RISKS DIGEST 15.51 Date: 10 Feb 1994 17:55:25 -0600 From: mech@eff.org (Stanton McCandlish) Subject: FLASH: Vice President Gore Questions Current Key Escrow Policy! National Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee met today in Washington at the Old Executive Office Building. In comments made after a question and answer period, Vice President Al Gore said that key escrow policy announced last Friday (4 Feb 1994) had serious flaws and that he hope the issue of who holds the keys and under what terms would be given more serious, careful consideration. Gore made it clear that some amount of control of cryptography technology was necessary for national security. However, the key escrow policies announced by the Departments of Justice, Commerce & State, and the NSA, were "low level decisions" that got out before thorough analysis. In a conversation with Mitchell Kapor, Esther Dyson, and Mike Nelson (of the White House Staff), Gore said that he would prefer that the keys be held by some part of the Judiciary branch, or perhaps even by trusted, private escrow agents. He made it clear that he believed that the escrow agents named in last Friday's announcement (National Institute of Standards & Technology and the Treasure Department) were no appropriate key holders. Mike Nelson also indicated that there was real interest in a software-based escrow system instead of the hardware-based SKIPJACK standard. Those of us who heard Gore were quite surprised. His remarks suggest that the key escrow policies to date do not have full support of the White House. Still, Gore was quite firm in asserting that some control of encryption technology is essential to national security. "Encryption and codebreaking have determined the outcome of world wars. He stated (incorrectly) that most our industrialized allies place must stricter controls in encryption that the US does. In fact, almost all COCOM countries allow the export of DES-based products, though some do not allow DES to be imported. The whole question of encryption was raised when Mitchell Kapor told the Vice President that over half of the Advisory Council members had serious reservations about the current Clipper/Skipjack policies. Gore and Kapor agreed that the Advisory Council should be used to have a serious dialogue about encryption policy. Given Gore's departure from the current Clipper proposals, there might actually be something to talk about. ========== NOTE: This DOES NOT mean that Clipper is going away. Part of stopping Clipper is to lift export controls on encryption and enable US companies to start producing products that enable all of us to protect our privacy with strong encryption. I urge you to write to Rep. Cantwell today at cantwell@eff.org. In the Subject header of your message, type "I support HR 3627." In the body of your message, express your reasons for supporting the bill. EFF will deliver printouts of all letters to Rep. Cantwell. With a strong showing of support from the Net community, Rep. Cantwell can tell her colleagues on Capitol Hill that encryption is not only an industry concern, but also a grassroots issue. *Again: remember to put "I support HR 3627" in your Subject header.* [For more info on the Cantwell bill, see Stanton's contribution in RISKS-15.47. I have deleted a lengthy repetition here. There is as yet no response from Stanton on Jon Leech's question in RISKS-15.50 on the address cantwell@eff.org. It is presumably NOT Cantwell's. PGN] Daniel J. Weitzner, Senior Staff Counsel 202-347-5400 (v) Stanton McCandlish Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G St, NW Suite 950 East Washington, DC 20001 202-393-5509 (f) ------------------------------ From: rob@xyzoom.info.com (Rob Lingelbach) Subject: VTech 9 "Tropez" and Sony SPP-ER1 900 MHz Phones Organization: Altruistic Intentions, Hollywood, CA Date: Sun, 13 Feb 1994 00:42:42 GMT Last night I brought home a VTech "Tropez" 900 Mhz cordless phone, and I was very disappointed with the sound quality. A constant hiss and limited frequency response made my older Sony 49 Mhz cordless sound great (which it really isn't, compared to other 49 Mhz phones). When I went back to the store the salesman talked me into the new Sony SPP-ER1 900 Mhz model, which was 299$ (compared to 187$ for the VTech). I brought it home, and the sound quality is even worse than the VTech! Has anyone else experienced this with 900 Mhz phones -- are they just "not there" yet for sound quality? Is it that the 900 Mhz channel isn't wide enough for corded-phone sound quality? Or is it just that the two models I had were defective (doubt the VTech was, but maybe the Sony was). I am reluctant to try another 900 Mhz phone until someone tells me the sound quality is as good or better than a good 49 Mhz phone. Rob Lingelbach KB6CUN 2660 Hollyridge Dr LA CA 90068 213 464 6266 (voice) rob@xyzoom.info.com robl@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 94 14:34:26 EST From: Alex Cena Subject: AT&T's Dragon 900Mhz Phone Forwarded FYI with a reply: Subject: Re: AT&T's Dragon 900Mhz phone Author: Nathan at NYERSMTP Date: 2/11/94 9:01 PM > I'm going to buy a Spread Spectrum 900 Mhz phone and your posting caught my > eye. > Do you have any technical details on how the Dragon implements Frequency > Hopping Spread Spectrum(the Escort 900Mhz phone uses Direct Sequence > Spread Spectrum)? I don't have the specs. I believe many 900Mhz phones that use direct sequence incorporate technology under license from a San Jose, CA-based company called Cylink. > Is the Dragon the much rumored AT&T 9530? The Model number on my phone is "9530." > Any availability dates or price? The 9530 made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the base was placed on top of the Hilton and the handset was used up to seven miles away line of sight. I do not know the price since it was given to me as a present, but I suspect it is competitive with other 900 Mhz phones. > How long does the battery last in standby mode? I don't know. Alex M. Cena, Lehman Brothers, acena@lehman.com ------------------------------ From: nevin@cs.arizona.edu (Nevin Liber) Subject: The President's Call to Russia Date: 12 Feb 1994 02:55:18 -0700 Organization: University of Arizona CS Department, Tucson AZ Does anyone know what the "telephone technical difficulties" were on President Clinton's recent attempt to contact Yeltsin? Here's a thought: maybe the Russians are waiting for us to adopt Clipper. :-) Nevin ":-)" Liber nevin@cs.arizona.edu (602) 293-2799 +++ (520) after 3/95 office: (602) 621-1685 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 1994 13:38:11 EST From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: New List on Computer/Telephone Problems/Bugs/Viruses/Dangers Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA This is to announce the creation of a list for the public disclosure of bugs, system problems, viruses, and any other conditions in a computer system that people should be aware of so they can fix the problem. It is also appropriate to report security holes, dangerous conditions in PBXs, cellular and wire telephone systems, and other computer- controlled devices. Also reports of things such as default accounts and passwords on systems that should be changed, etc. The focus will be on reporting clear descriptions of problems including how to generate them. The idea being that this will alert people to the nature of certain problems that they might be unaware of. Reproducing these conditions lets others know what is being done, and can allow people to post solutions on how to block them. The purpose in creating this list is that currently, the only means currently available for reporting discovered security holes in computer systems and possibly other areas is via the Computer Emergency Research Team (CERT) out of Carnegie Mellon University. The problem with CERT reporting is that the reports generally tend to be done in secrecy, and it fails to let system administrators and others know about what is happening so that these things can be fixed. In short, CERT acts like a black hole and takes too long to publicize problems until lots of places get hit because they didn't know about it. Some people feel that reports should not be publicized because potential reports might become available to "the bad guys." Well, the truth of the matter is that "the bad guys" trade their discoveries around all the time; the current use of secrecy is only hurting "the good guys" who want to protect their systems. This list has just been created, and pending creation of an automated processor will be temporarily moderated since my current equipment does not yet tell me what address the message is sent to. This will be changed in the next two weeks. There will, however, be two addresses. The general list will be: PROBLEMS@TDR.COM which is used to post a report to the list. To subscribe to the list, use: PROBLEMS-REQUEST@TDR.COM Currently, both addresses are moderated. This will change shortly as I upgrade the software on my system. Persons wishing to make a report but not be identified should state so in the text of their message. In the future, they will do so by using the -request address which will come to me directly. Persons wanting to receive this service by facsimile should contact me for details. All messages requesting subscriptions or posting information will be acknowledged. Please pass this announcement around. It is my intent to set this up such that people can publicly report known bugs, viruses and problems in clear detail so everyone knows about them and can encourage much faster response to these problems than is currently available. It may even embarass some manufacturers into making fixes sooner when their errors are glaringly exposed in public. Paul Robinson - Paul@TDR.COM ------------------------------ From: jmp@apysoft.oleane.com Subject: Telecommunication Market in Japan Date: 12 Feb 1994 21:20:21 GMT Organization: OleANe Ceane Networks Hello, We are looking for some information about who are the first ten type one carriers in Japan (i.e. in term of infrastructure)? Who are the firstten type two carriers (i.e. in term of services)? Who are the first five manufacturers or services providers for PBX, terminals, voice telecommunications equipment; shares in data transmissions (X25, frame relay, etc.? Please, can you reply directly by e-mail (jmp@oleane.net)? I will summarize if there is collective interest. Jean-Michel Planche Email: jmp@oleane.net OLEANE - Groupe Apysoft Tel: (33-1) 43.28.32.32 Internet IP/UUCP en France WWW: http://www.oleane.net/ ------------------------------ From: stans@panix.com (Stan Schwartz) Subject: Questions About Voice Mail Date: 12 Feb 1994 23:22:59 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC My Panasonic answering machine is about to expire, and I am considering using the CO-based Voice Mail service provided by NYNEX (Call Answering). It seems, though, the last time I played with it, it didn't work the way I thought it should, and the way systems from other RBOCs (Bell Atlantic NJ) are working. I'm in a 5ESS exchange (516-694), and since the reps at NYNEX don't seem to have a clear understanding of my questions, I thought someone here would: - I have call waiting on the line. If I don't answer the second line, the call DOES NOT get forwarded to the mail box (it just rings at the caller's end); - If I "busy-out" the line (*70 or off-hook), since I have call waiting and the software is looking for call-waiting first, any incoming calls will get a busy; In short, the way the NYNEX reps explain this, since I have call waiting on the line, the only time a call is forwarded to the mailbox is if the phone is on hook and I don't answer. This doesn't sound kosher to me, since I've seen the way other systems work. Does anyone else find this a bit strange? Thanks! Stan ------------------------------ From: cl@nde.unl.edu (carlene lanham) Subject: What is This Number? Date: 12 Feb 1994 05:38:21 GMT Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln Reply-To: mark.hagler@lambada.oit.unc.edu In our local phone exchange, we have a number (848-2259) which, when dialed, never ever rings, but gives you a tone. And, it's never busy. We have six phone lines, and I tried calling it once and holding the call, and dialing it on another line, and I got six simultaneous connections to this tone number. What is it? And, I've heard that some exchanges have a number that you call and it will repeat back to you your own phone number. Does anyone know anything about this number? What might it be? Thanks. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I assume you know enough about modem and fax tones to have detirmined that the number is not part of a rotary with at least six modems or faxes which are answering calls. That being the case, it is probably some sort of local test number. Maybe someone from the local telco (they read this Digest) will respond with specifics. Yes, there are numbers such as what you described which when dialed will read back the number you are calling from, but most telcos keep these quite secret and change them on a regular basis, mainly to keep unauthorized users from finding out what they are. There is no single standard for these and other test numbers; they vary from one exchange to the next and occassionally someone sends in a compilation of them from all over the USA, but it is rarely up to date or very accurate. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Openview_forum@dmewrk1.orl.mmc.com Subject: OVF 94 call for papers Date: Thu, 10 Feb 94 11:31:20 PDT Organization: IPL InterNetNews site C A L L F O R P A P E R S Orlando Fl Peabody Hotel 8-12 August 1994 The Second OpenView Forum User/Developers conference on Integrated Network and Systems Management (OVF '94) will be held from August 8-12, 1994 in Orlando Fl, USA, at the Peabody Hotel. The OpenView Forum 1994 conference on Integrated Network and Systems Management using the OpenView Framework will build on the successes of OVF 93 conference as the central technical exchange forum for the research, standards, development, systems integrator, vendor and user community for OpenView network and systems management frameworks. The OpenView Forum community exemplifies the increasing interest in overall Enterprise management solutions across all types of networks, supporting enterprise communication systems, distributed computing systems, database management system, automated Operation systems, facilities management systems, help desk management systems and client/server application management. Authors are invited to submit unpublished papers, as well as proposals for tutorials, panel discussions, vendor/user/developer demonstrations, or birds-of-a-feather sessions (informal discussion groups), in the following areas: - User requirements, expectations and analysis for integrated network and Systems management; - Standards issues; - Telecommunications management; - Fault, configuration, accounting, performance, security management; - Help desk; - Service level management; - Proactive network management; - Management protocols and protocol management; - Desktop management; - Software distribution; - Database management systems using SNMP/ONC RPC/DCE RPC; - Distributed systems management; - Information interpretation: AI techniques, rule-based analysis; - Distributed network management between Windows and Unix platforms; - Management applications; - User interface (enhanced graphics for network node device management); - User interface for event management for various network protocols (SNA, TCP/IP, DECNET, NOVELL, APPLE, etc); - Common network repository for configuration, performance, and trouble ticket management; - Automated network management for configuration, performance, and trouble ticket management; - Trials, case studies experiences: solutions, limitations and challenges on HOSTMIB, DTMF, Software distribution, DBMS and Email monitoring, Client/Server Application alert/abort/re-start monitoring, RMON, Automated operations, etc; - Product strategies and different vendor approaches for the OpenView Framework; - Open topics relating to the OpenView Framework. Please submit six copies of complete papers in English to the address listed below. The cover page should include paper title, brief abstract, list of key-words, author(s) full name(s), affiliation(s) and complete address(es), telephone number(s) and electronic mail address(es). All submissions will be carefully reviewed by our Program Committee and returned to the author(s) with comments to incorporate any suggested revisions. The authors of accepted papers will receive the suggested modifications made by the reviewer(s) for inclusion in the widely distributed, hard-bound Conference Proceedings. The final camera-ready copy should be no longer than twelve single-spaced pages. Final papers arriving too late will be will not be published, and may be removed from the conference presentation. The authors of accepted papers must guarantee that their paper will be presented at the conference. A limited number of stipends are available only to students unable to obtain funding to attend the conference. Students whose papers are accepted and who will present the paper themselves are encouraged to apply if such assistance is needed. Requests for stipends should be addressed to Frank Belland, VP of Technical Operations, at the address below. PLEASE SEND COMPLETE PAPERS TO: Program Chair: Frank Belland OpenView Forum VP Technical Operations 313 Green Reed Road MP 802-OVF94 De bary Fl 32713 Email: fbelland@dmewrk1.orl.mmc.com Office: (407) 826-7299 Fax: (407) 826-7634 Papers should be submitted as soon as possible, for inclusion in our conference schedule. Proposals accepted starting: March 1, 1994 Deadline for Receipt of Papers: April 18, 1994 Notification of Acceptance Mailed: May 1, 1994 Final Camera Ready Papers Due: June 1, 1994 Suggestions for Tutorials, Panel Discussions, Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions, and additional Conference Topics should be submitted to: Special Events and Tutorials Chair: Paul Edmunds Duke Power Company - CS03D 401 S. College St. PO Box 1008 Charlotte, NC 28201-1008 Email: paul@hpnet2.dukepower.com Office: (704) 382-5758 Fax: (704) 382-0381 Deadline for Receipt of Proposals for Tutorials, April 18, 1994 Panel Discussions, Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions, April 18, 1994 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Cathy Lytle GTE Federal Systems Division 15000 Conference Center Drive Chantilly VA 22021 Email: lytle@eng.gtefsd.com Office: (703) 818-4322 Fax: (703) 818-5484. Paul Edmunds Duke Power Company - CS03D 401 S. College St. PO Box 1008 Charlotte, NC 28201-1008 Email: paul@hpnet2.dukepower.com Office: (704) 382-5758 Fax: (704) 382-0381 Frank Belland Martin Marietta Corporation 313 Green Reed Road MP 802-OVF94 De bary Fl 32713 Email: fbelland@dmewrk1.orl.mmc.com Office: (407) 826-7299 Fax: (407) 826-7634 Rick Sturm US West Advanced Technologies 4001 Discovery Drive Suite 190 Boulder, CO 80303 Email: sturm@advtech.uswest.com Office: (303) 541-6262 Fax: (303) 541-6250 ADVISORY BOARD: Greg Stephens Hewlett-Packard Company 5725 W. Las Positas Blvd. Pleasanton, CA 94588 CIS: 73125,1374 Email: greg@hpuplca.nsr.hp.com Office: (510)-460-1508 Fax: (209)-599-4729 Bob Natale American Computer 209 Perry Pkwy Gaithersburg MD 20877 Email: natale@acec.com Office: (301)-258-9850 Fax: (301)-921-0434 PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Members of the Organizing Committee and Advisory Board are also members of the Program Committee. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help with conference planning please call or email: Paul Edmunds Duke Power Company - CS03D 401 S. College St. PO Box 1008 Charlotte, NC 28201-1008 Email: paul@hpnet2.dukepower.com Office: (704) 382-5758 Fax: (704) 382-0381 VENDOR PROGRAM The Conference offers vendors/users/developers the opportunity to demonstrate their network management products during five days, in parallel to the conference. Vendors/users/developers interested in the opportunity to present products and/or future plans should contact: OpenView Forum Frank Belland Martin Marietta Corporation 313 Green Reed Road MP 802-OVF94 De bary Fl 32713 Email: fbelland@dmewrk1.orl.mmc.com Office: (407) 826-7299 Fax: (407) 826-7634 For information about OVF '94 or to indicate your interest in participating, please send this form to: OpenView Forum Frank Belland Martin Marietta Corporation 313 Green Reed Road MP 802-OVF94 De bary Fl 32713 Email: fbelland@dmewrk1.orl.mmc.com Office: (407) 826-7299 Fax: (407) 826-7634 Complete/Check items below: [ ] I am interested in attending. [ ] I intend to submit a paper. Provisional Title: ____________________________________________ [ ] I intend to submit a poster. Provisional Title: ____________________________________________ [ ] I plan to submit a tutorial proposal. Provisional Title: ____________________________________________ [ ] My company is interested in participating in the Vendor Program. Please send me more information regarding: [ ] Technical Program [ ] Tutorial Program [ ] Vendor Program [ ] Accommodation [ ] Other (Please Specify)__________________________________________ [ ] Membership in the OpenView Forum [ ] Volunteer activities for conferences Name: Address: City: Post/State: Zip Code: Country: Phone: Fax: Email Internet Addr: ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #77 *****************************