TELECOM Digest     Wed, 5 Oct 94 11:32:00 CDT    Volume 14 : Issue 388
 
Inside This Issue:                          Editor: Patrick A. Townson
 
     Communications In/After a Disaster (Kevin Jessup)
     Free E-Mag Covers Wireless, ATM, Frame Relay, SMDS, FDDI (David 
S. Lewis)
     Correction: 310 Overlay Details (Greg Monti)
     networkMCI Wants to do Local Dial Tone (Greg Monti)
     Re: Card Call Ripoffs; Calling China Cheap (Laurence Chiu)
     TAPISDK/ATVSP.TSP Problem (Douglas H. Quebbeman)
     Re: Recommendations For Answering Machines? (Al Varney)
     Re: Okay, So I Want to Start My Own Local Telco ... How? (Al 
Varney)
     Re: NYNEX to Stop Charging For Touch-Tone! (Wes Leatherock)
     Re: Fax DID Technologies - What is E&M (Garry Gruenke)
     Re: True Voice ... True Difference? (Henry Wertz)
     Re: True Voice ... True Difference? (Ken Krechmer)
     Re: British Telecom Caller-ID (Ed Ellers)
     Re: Questions on Using GPS Time Codes For Network Timing (Ed 
Ellers)
 
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
From: kevin.jessup@mail.mei.com (Kevin Jessup)
Subject: Communications In/After a Disaster
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 11:24:13 GMT
Organization: marquette electronics, inc
 
 
I'm interested in your experiences and opinions regarding emergency
telecommunications employed in the event of a disaster.  Disasters
such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornados, even riots.  I'd
like any info/opinions you have regarding the survivability of the
commercial telecommunications infrastructure after such events and any
experience you have on how fast service was restored after the event.
 
I'm aware of the importance of amateur radio when all access to
commercial telecomm fails.  I won't discount the occaissional ;-)
usefullness of Citizens Band either.  What I am looking for is your
experiences using cell phones or even internet services such as
Internet Relay Chat after a disaster hits.
 
I have both cellular phones and VHF/UHF amateur radio for my use.
Having lived in Wisconsin all my life, I have only experienced a
"small" tornado.  I'm looking for opinions from those who have had to
deal with a more wide-spread event.
 
How robust is the cell phone infrastructure?  In a very localized
disaster (tornado) you can still probably hit more than one cell site
(with your cell phone) even if one or two towers (receive sites) are
wiped out.  Also, assume here that local land-line communication is
dead or overloaded.  In that case, does having a cell phone make any
difference (the cell sites eventually access the land-lines anyway)?
I also understand that cell phones are auto- matically given
alternating priority (via the Access Overload Class value burned into
every cell phone) in the event of system overload.  Did you experience
this priority switching?  Were you able to access during certain hours
but but others?
 
How important and responsive were local government emergency services
to your IMMEDIATE emergency COMMUNICATIONS needs?  If you utilized an
amateur radio operator's help (perhaps via an Amateur Radio Emergency
Services station), do you feel it served your purpose (provided help
or relayed the message) in a timely fashion?  Had you NOT used it or
used an alternative method, would/did help have arrived (or would the
message have been delivered) any faster (or at all)?
 
What about evolving commercial telecomm?  Cell sites will shrink in
size and power requirements as technology advances.  The Steinbrecher
mini-cell fits in a large trunk and costs 1/10th a conventional sell
site.  This make battery/generator back-up more feasible.  Will
commercial telecomm do that?  The mini-cell also encourages more
densely packed cells resulting in better coverage and redundancy.
 
Looking into the future, are there any opinions on the ambitious (some
much more so than others) LEOS (Low Earth Orbitting Satellite)
projects and their promise of hand-held coverage immune to local
disasters?  How dependent will the various LEOS be on ground stations?
How many ground stations are actually required?
 
Finally, amateur radio usually (only?) provides text (files and
keyboard-to- keyboard) and voice (even if via Morse code)
communication.  If multimedia services were available via amateur
radio (high-speed file transfer, fax) would you have used them?  Note
that "business related" traffic is NOT legal via amateur radio.  Only
personal ("Hi honey.  We're just fine.") and emergency ("She's trapped
and has a broken leg!"  or "The dam is about to burst!") traffic is
allowed.
 
I've found no shortage of articles on the importance of amateur radio
in an emergency situation in the amateur radio related publications
(QST, 73, Amateur Radio, etc).  I agree with them.  However they are
seldom self- critical.  On the other hand, consumer publications such
as Mobile Office now regularly carry stories on how cell-phones and
cell-phone-based fax and data modems did the job after disasters.
Just how much of this is hype and how much is true?  All serious
commentary is welcome.  I also would enjoy reading your speculations
on the future.
 
Thanks.  This really isn't a survey.  Just looking for opinions and
hoping to stimulate a little discussion. :-) No flame-wars please.
 
 
kevin.jessup@mail.mei.com     Marquette Electronics, Inc.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA     N9SQB, ARRL, Amateur Radio
 
------------------------------
 
From: callewis@netcom.com (David Scott Lewis)
Subject: Free E-Mag Covers Wireless, ATM, Frame Relay, SMDS, FDDI
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 11:39:10 GMT
 
 
The long-awaited (and long overdue) second part of Issue 940425 will
be transmitted over the next several days.
 
As a reminder, the HOTT (Hot Off The Tree) Internet-based e-magazine
is a FREE, monthly (10/year) update on the latest in VR, telepresence
& intelligent user interfaces; AI & "intelligent" agent-oriented
software; interactive multimedia & game development; wireless
communications & PCS; mobile, portable & handheld computing devices;
neural, fuzzy & genetic systems; nanotechnology, bio/microsensors &
molecular electronics; voice I/O & handwriting recognition; HDTV &
I-TV; ATM, frame relay & FDDI; visual programming, object-oriented
databases & client/server application development; fractals, wavelets
& quadtree data structures for image & signal processing; ULSI
circuits & megacells; optical computing & erasable optical disks; PC
telephony & PC TV; animats & micro/telerobotics; and, other
bleeding-edge technologies.
 
For a FREE subscription, send a request TODAY to listserv@ucsd.edu .
The "Subject" line is ignored; leave it blank or type in whatever
you'd like.  In the body of the message, input: SUBSCRIBE HOTT-LIST .
Do NOT include first or last names following "SUBSCRIBE HOTT-LIST";
this is a quirk of the UCSD listserv software.  You will receive
subscription confirmation from the UCSD host site.
 
Disclaimer:  Please note that although the mailing list is currently
maintained at UCSD, there are no official ties between HOTT and the
University of California.
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
 
**********************************************************************
***
* SPECIAL: A FULL-TEXT TUTORIAL ON GENETIC & EVOLUTIONARY PROGRAMMING     
*
*   (see item [Z], the last article in Part 2)                            
*
**********************************************************************
***
 
   VIRTUAL REALITY
 
   IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications: Special Issue on VR
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   [1]  Virtual reality (introduction to the special issue)
   [2]  What are virtual environments?
   [3]  Human factors in the design of an immersive display
   [4]  Teaching your system to share (PC-based VR)
   [5]  Resource file: Other contacts from the CG&A special issue
 
   [6]  Visualization and analysis using virtual reality
   [7]  Virtual reality as it really is
   [8]  Inching closer to reality (emerging markets profile)
   [9]  Engineers develop real-world apps for VR (medical 
applications)
 
   MOBILE & WIRELESS COMPUTING
 
**********************************************************************
***
* SPECIAL: TEXT OF SPEECH PRESENTED AT MOBILE '94 BY THE PRESIDENT & 
CEO  *
*   OF PHILIPS SEMICONDUCTORS                                             
*
*   (see item [X], the second to last article in Part 2)                  
*
**********************************************************************
***
 
   [10] No computer is an island (data transfer for road warriors)
   [11] A special report from The (London) Financial Times on PDAs
   [12] The wireless office
   [13] The cost of wireless data
   [14] Computing out of bounds (tools for the fully-armed road 
warrior)
   [15] Better batteries
 
   INTERACTIVE TV
 
   [16] The interactive TV crusade
   [17] Real-time OS, services drive TV decoders
 
   NEURAL NETWORKS & SEVENTH GENERATION COMPUTING
                     ^^^^^^^
   [18] IBM writes plan for neural networks (handwriting recognition 
app)
   [19] Neural networks tackle manufacturing
   [20] Heaven in a chip (computing, circa 2020)
 
   INFOBAHN
   (hmmm, in Part 1 this section was titled "Information 
Superhighway")
 
   [21] Curtain's rising on a third generation of on-line services
   [22] A protest song -- '90s style (music on the 'Net)
 
   SPEECH RECOGNITION
 
   [23] Conversations with my PC
   [24] Say the word! (home automation apps)
 
   NANOTECHNOLOGY & MICROELECTROMECHANCIAL SYSTEMS (MEMS)
 
   IEEE Engrng in Medicine & Biology: Special Issue on Molecular 
Electronics
   
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^
   [25] Molecular electronics: Science and technology for the future
   [26] Resource file: Other contacts from the EMB special issue
 
   [27] Mirror, mirror (microscopic mirrors & MEMS for HDTV)
 
   COMPANY PROFILE
 
   [28] A juicy new Apple?
 
   SPECIAL FULL-TEXT REPORTS
 
   [X]  Text of speech presented at Mobile '94 by the President & CEO 
of
        Philips Semiconductors
   [Z]  Tutorial on genetic & evolutionary programming
 
 
David Scott Lewis
Editor-in-Chief and Book & Video Review Editor
IEEE Engineering Management Review
(the world's largest circulation "high tech" management journal)
Internet address: d.s.lewis@ieee.org      Tel: +1 714 662 7037
USPS mailing address: POB 18438 / IRVINE CA 92713-8438  USA
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 10:35:08 EDT
From: Greg Monti <GMONTI@npr.org>
Subject: Correction: 310 Overlay Details
 
 
After a piece I wrote appeared in the Digest saying that the 562 area
code overlay would be restricted to existing California area 310
appeared, I received a very helpful message and fax from Marc O'Krent
<marc@telcon.com> or <marc@ttc.info.com> of Marina Del Rey, CA.
 
A 13-page fax from Pacific Bell to Marc tells a complicated tale.  The
new 562 code was once intended to be for wireless services only, which
would migrate from the existing 310, 213 and 818 area codes.  The
change now is that 562 will also be used to relieve number exhaustion
for landline phones in the 310 area and may be used to relieve
landline NXX exhaustion elsewhere.
 
The 310 landline overflow to 562 is *in addition to*, not instead of,
wireless users from 213 and 818.  Any kind of user from 213 and 818,
not just wireless ones, may also end up in 562 someday.
 
Phase I of the change, beginning 2 Sept 1995, has 562 being used to
implement new NXX codes of tandem users that would otherwise have
been in 310.  I assume a "tandem" user is one who connects to the
landline telephone network via trunk-side, rather than line-side
interconnection.  I suspect that cellular, beeper, PCS and large
corporations are typical tandem users.  In Phase I, no existing
numbers would be changed.
 
Phase II will include all services from both tandem and end-office
switches in the 310 land area.  During phase II, there may be a
third step: enlarging the overlay to include "all services" in the
818 and 213 areas.  Thus 562 could be used to relieve up to three
other area codes, which should hold the LA basin until 2000.
 
A note in the Pacific Bell copy also notes that 619 will likely split
within five years.
 
 
Greg Monti, Tech Mgr, FISPO, Distribution Division
National Public Radio          Phone:    +1 202 414-3343
635 Massachusetts Av NW        Fax:      +1 202 414-3036
Washington, DC  20001-3753     Internet: gmonti@npr.org
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 18:32:33 EDT
From: Greg Monti <GMONTI@npr.org>
Subject: networkMCI Wants to do Local Dial Tone
 
 
According to a story on page C1 of the October 4, 1994, {Washington
Post}, and in other media, MCI's local service division, networkMCI,
has applied for franchises to provide local dial tone service in
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington state, Michigan and Illinois.
networkMCI intends to serve mainly businesses, although they applied
for the residential market in Michigan as well.
 
MCI would provide dial tone, directory assistance, call waiting, call
forwarding and 911 emergency, among others.  MCI already has such
authority in two states, New York and Massachusetts.
 
An MCI spokesman said that the company is applying for regulatory
authority state by state since the telecom bill did not pass in
Congress this year.
 
MCI has requested that all involved states require the Bell Operating
Companies serving them to provide number portability so customrs can
change local phone companies and keep their numbers.  The article
notes that the biggest issue still unresolved is how much MCI and the
other local company will charge each other to transport (local) calls
between companies.
 
 
Greg Monti, Tech Mgr, FISPO, Distribution Division
National Public Radio          Phone:    +1 202 414-3343
635 Massachusetts Av NW        Fax:      +1 202 414-3036
Washington, DC  20001-3753     Internet: gmonti@npr.org
 
------------------------------
 
From: lchiu@crl.com (Laurence Chiu)
Subject: Re: Card Call Ripoffs; Calling China Cheap
Date: 4 Oct 1994 19:20:53 -0700
Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access  (415) 705-6060  [login: 
guest]
 
 
In article <telecom14.377.4@eecs.nwu.edu>, Wm. Randolph Franklin
<wrf@ecse.rpi.edu> wrote:
 
> What is the best way to call China, particularly using a calling 
card?
> I've spent well over an hour talking to ATT, MCI, and Sprint.  Their
> rates are so close to each other, yet so byzantine, that they appear
 
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is no such thing as a cheap 
call
> to China. The rates are quite high, anytime day or night where 
calling
> cards are concerned, as well as with call-back schemes. I don't know
> why this is, other than perhaps the telecom administration in China 
and
> the carriers here have some difficulty in reaching mutually 
acceptable
 
I guess it depends upon what you mean cheap. At the moment via MCI and
using their International Friends and Family scheme I get a rate of
$0.73/minute during week days and $0.49/min during weekends. This is
to one number only but I could designate two others. One is enough for
me at the moment. This rate is good until Nov 6 when it changes to
$0.98 8pm-2pm and weekends and $1.35 otherwise to that number. At that
time I will switch back to AT&T who had pretty decent rates also.
 
Of course using a calling card might raise those rates somewhat.
 
 
Laurence Chiu               lchiu@crl.com
Walnut Creek, California    Tel (work) (510)412-4730

From: dougq@iglou.iglou.com (Douglas H. Quebbeman)
Subject: TAPISDK/ATVSP.TSP Problem
Organization: IgLou Internet Services
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 15:58:15 GMT
 
 
I have problems getting the MCI Voice driver going, as well as the
ATVSP.TSP driver. Comparing the source code of the version resource
for the TAPI Dialer driver (VERSION.RC) with the source for the
version resource for the Voice driver (SHIPVER.RC) shows some
differences that may be implicated. The version resource must be in an
acceptable format for the control panel thingie to load it.
 
Anybody licked this problem yet?
 
 
Douglas H. Quebbeman (dougq@iglou.com)
 
------------------------------
 
From: varney@usgp4.ih.att.com (Al Varney)
Subject: Re: Recommendations For Answering Machines?
Organization: AT&T Network Systems
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 04:36:02 GMT
 
 
In article <telecom14.377.10@eecs.nwu.edu>, Michael Rosen 
<mrosen@nyx10.
cs.du.edu> wrote:
 
> I'm considering buying an answering machine as opposed to paying a
> monthly fee to Bell Atlantic for their Answer Call voice mail 
system.
 
> I was looking at AT&T's digital answering machines today.  The only
> thing they don't have that I kind of like is the ability to skip the
> OGM.  I like that someone's machine has that when I'm calling so I 
can
> hit * and abort the message if I don't feel like waiting.  I'd like 
to
> extend that courtesy to people calling me (that is if they know it
> exists which not all do).
 
    But the AT&T digital machines DO HAVE the ability to skip the
OGM!!!!  The documentation is crummy, but the machine is NICE.  (I
have the combined phone/answering machine called the "1545".  The
machine-only digital version should have the same features....)
 
    Anyway, on the pages where the "Examples of Mailbox Use" are
described, you can do it TWO ways:
 
   1) Have the caller press "1" during the OGM.  It will abort the OGM
and give the caller a BEEP.  Record message normally.  (I tested this
ONE TIME, based on the use of 2, 3 and 4 for other mailboxes.  Test it
before you buy -- cause there's no reason to believe later versions
won't change the un-documented behavior.  And any such "1" should be
more than just a brief tap of the button -- hold it down for a 1/2
second or so.)
 
   2) Record an OGM for Mailbox 1, but none for boxes 2, 3 or 4.  Tell
your frequent callers to punch "2", "3" or "4" to interrupt your OGM
-- normally this would switch them to the OGM for mailbox 2, 3 or 4,
but since there isn't an OGM for those boxes, they just get a BEEP.
And you get a display that shows the number of messages in EACH
mailbox -- handy if you tell "4" to only one individual, for example.
 
> I do want a machine that has a time stamp and remote access.  The 
AT&T
> model I was looking at has voice prompting for the remote access.
 
> Is it worth the extra cost to go digital versus tape?
 
    IMHO, yes.  Very clean sound, no wear.  After 1 year, I've had to
RESET the system once after my kids briefly interrupted power (no
announcements or messages were lost due to power outage -- but it
happened when they were playing with the machine and the "new messages
waiting" indicator ended up stuck in an always-on state.
Messages/announcements are safeguarded with battery-backup, but the
state of the indicator must not be ...).  Other than that, it works
GREAT -- but I do need to get a longer handset cord.
 
 
Al Varney
 
------------------------------
 
From: varney@usgp2.ih.att.com (Al Varney)
Subject: Re: Okay, So I Want to Start My Own Local Telco ... How?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 16:07:53 GMT
 
 
In article <telecom14.381.12@eecs.nwu.edu>, Paul Robinson 
<PAUL@tdr.com>
wrote:
 
> Peter Rukavina <peter@crafts-council.pe.ca> wants to know how to set
> up a cooperative telephone company for a small group within a rural
> area.
 
> I can give him some ideas but if he's looking for something not very
> expensive he's going to have a problem.
 
> Average rule of thumb for a company deciding to put in its own PBX 
is
> US $1000 per line plus about US $4 a month per line to cover damage 
to
> equipment.
 
    IMHO, a PBX COULD BE a mistake, unless it is designed to support
real outside plant analog/digital loops.  One major difference between
a typical PBX and a typical CO switch is in the expectation of high
voltage/current spikes on lines.  Even "campus-wide" PBX applications
have to look at loop protection.  But rural areas really need it.
 
    REA has lots of information regarding this area, and "lists"
several CO switches it is willing to support with loan programs.  You
also need to think seriously about administrative/maintenance systems,
which might cost more than the switch -- billing, tracking outside
plant, repair orders, complaints, payroll, taxes, records, records,
records ...
 
 
Al Varney
 
------------------------------
 
From: Wes.Leatherock@f2001.n147.z1.fidonet.org (Wes Leatherock)
Date: 03 Oct 94 10:08:01 -0500
Subject: Re: NYNEX to Stop Charging For Touch-Tone!
Organization: FidoNet Nameserver/Gateway
 
 
Quoting roy@mchip00.med.nyu.edu (Roy Smith):
 
> There is an article in today's NYTimes saying that as one part of a
> complex NYNEX-PSC agreement, starting January 1st, 1995, NYNEX will 
no
> longer charge for touch-tone service.  I can't believe it, after 
only
> 27 years, they have finally come to the conclusion that touch-tone 
is
> not a premium service anymore.  Amazing.
 
         Rate design is a complex subject and Public Service 
Commissions,
being at least partly political bodies, try to set rates in the way
most palatable to customers, the great majority of whom are not big
customers but modest residential users.
 
> Am I the only person in the world who still doesn't have touch-tone,
> because I don't want to pay the extra $0.50/month, or whatever it 
is?
 
         According to which figures you want to use, between 20 and 25
per cent of all telephones in the United States are still rotary dial.
 
 
Wes Leatherock
wes.leatherock@oubbs.telecom.uoknor.edu
wes.leatherock@tranquil.torii.starship.com
 
------------------------------
 
From: garrenke@deepcove.com (Garry Gruenke)
Subject: Re: Fax DID Technologies - What is E&M
Date: 4 Oct 1994 15:12:16 -0600
Organization: DeepCove BBS
 
 
McRae, Stuart <STUART@SOFTSW.SSW.COM> writes:
 
> I am researching technologies to allow DID use with the Fax Modems 
we
> currently use for inbound fax routing. One solution I have founded
> uses an interface called "E&M" which is available on some PABXs. It
> appears to be some sort of variation of the DID protocol used for
> telco lines.
 
> Can someone explain what the E&M interface is, who defines it, where 
I
> can get the definition, and how it works?
 
> Also, our fax modems can support "DTMF" routing. Ascom in the UK
> recently announced a FaxRouter which uses a basic rate ISDN 
connection
> to the telco and an analog connection to two fax modems using DTMF.
> This allows us to use our current fax modems for inbound routing (or
> any other modems that support DTMF).
 
> Are there any other products which will do this? Do any PABXs have 
the
> capability to generate DTMF in this way? Are there any vendors 
offering
> other DID solutions (anywhere worldwide, PABX based or stand alone)
> which will connect to a fax modem supporting DTMF?
 
The E&M interface uses some extra wires for signalling E (ear) M
(mouth).  There are several types of E&M interfaces, 2-wire and 4-wire
refer to the number of wires needed for the voice portion, with a
2-wire interface you would have 2 wires for transmit and recieve and 2
or 4 more wires for the E&M leads. With the 4-wire interface you would
have 2 wires for transmit and 2 wires for recieve and 2 or 4 more
wires for E&M leads. Type I E&M uses 1 wire for an E-lead and 1 wire
for an M-lead. Type II E&M uses 2 wires for E-leads and 2 wires for
M-leads. An incoming seizure is signalled by a ground on the E-lead
(Type I) or a short on the E-lead pair (Type II). An outbound seizure
is signalled by battery on the M-lead (Type I) or a short on the
M-lead pair ((Type II). There is more but this is the real meat of the
interface.
 
 
garry.gruenke@deepcove.com
 
------------------------------
 
From: Henry Wertz <Henry@chop.isca.uiowa.edu>
Subject: Re: True Voice ... True Difference?
Date: 4 Oct 1994 18:06:56 GMT
Organization: U of Iowa Panda System
Reply-To: Henry@chop.isca.uiowa.edu
 
 
In note <telecom14.376.17@eecs.nwu.edu>, 
bd80519@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.
edu (Paul R. Paradiso) writes:
 
> Hello.  Actually, at this point I would like to believe that there 
IS
> a difference.  The difference will probably be noticed in data
> communications such as Modems, Fax, etc. It is amazing at how fast
> the CPS rates can go up when the lines get clearer and clearer.  I
> have tested my modem on a line and when it picked up the line thru 
an
> "ATA" command, all I heard was static, but was perfectly fine for
> Voice.  Since modems and fax, etc. send their tones at such a higher
> speed today, they need as little blockage as possible.  Hopefully 
this
> will help, if not, I'm not surprised ...
 
      I doubt it ... the low frequencies have always been iffy, so 
most
equipment leaves that 300hz down alone. I don't think it'll make a
difference. In fact, it might cause a problem, since emphasizing one
particularchunk of frequencies is not what a modem counts on 8-).
 
------------------------------
 
From: krechmer@ix.netcom.com (Ken Krechmer)
Subject: Re: True Voice ... True Difference?
Date: 4 Oct 1994 22:09:56 GMT
Organization: Netcom
 
 
In <telecom14.372.7@eecs.nwu.edu> densaer@kaiwan.com (Rakesh Bharania)
writes:
 
> Several months ago, I called the True-Voice demo line when it first
> went up (I forgot where I got the number from), and I couldn't tell
> one whit of difference between the normal voice and the "enhanced"
> one.  Several days ago, I saw the Whitney Houston commercial and
> decided to try again (hey, the line was new .. maybe it wasn't fully
> working, right?)  Again, I couldn't tell the difference.  I even got
> my dad to call this up, and HE couldn't tell the difference.
 
> So is "True Voice" an actual technology or just a marketing move?
 
The specification released by AT&T is Technical Reference 50150 Issue
2.0 March 1994. It shows the base boost around 300 Hz and also a full
band gain boost of 4dB when level is below -17dBm0 for 1 second. If it
sounds better or not I leave to others to decide.
 
 
Ken Krechmer   Technical Editor
Communications Standards Review
e-mail: kkrechmer@attmail.com
 
------------------------------
 
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@delphi.com>
Subject: Re: British Telecom Caller ID
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 12:10:12 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
 
 
Martin Cook <cook@SHAGGY.gfms.bt.co.uk> writes:
 
> When a line is about to receive a call the polarity of the line is
> reversed prior to the ringing current being applied. If the customer
> has Caller Display additional messages are interspersed between the
> polarity reversal and the application of the ringing current.
 
Now that's definitely different from North American practice -- here
the CNID data burst is sent between the first and second rings.
 
 
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And typically, immediatly following the
first ring, with some dead space following the end of the transmission
and the start of the second ring.   PAT]
 
------------------------------
 
From: Ed Ellers <edellers@delphi.com>
Subject: Re: Questions on Using GPS Time Codes For Network Timing
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 12:16:32 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
 
 
Mike Foltz <foltzmik@sgate.com> writes:
 
> What makes GPS so special for being a timing reference?
 
Probably that it's the only time signal source at present that is
available nationwide (and worldwide) over a line-of-sight signal path;
other sources in various countries are either shortwave (like WWV, CHU
or JJY), long wave (like WWVB or WWVL, or the BBC's Radio 4 UK) or
even local medium wave AM stations (such as Cuba's Radio Reloj
network), and none provides 100% reliable 24-hour nationwide coverage.
 
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End of TELECOM Digest V14 #388
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