TELECOM Digest     Fri, 14 Oct 94 15:49:00 CDT    Volume 14 : Issue
399
 
Inside This Issue:                           Editor: Patrick A. 
Townson
 
     Re: Testing 1-800-CALL-INFO (Mark Pulver)
     Re: MCI's 1-800-CALL-INFO (Carl Moore)
     Re: Calculating Cost of Cellular Call While Roaming (Andrew 
Laurence)
     Re: Calculating Cost of Cellular Call While Roaming (Paul Beker)
     Re: AT&T Easylink Information Wanted (Paul Robinson)
     Re: Class Use of Telephone (Alan Boritz)
     Re: Class Use of Telephone (Martin McCormick)
     Re: RI Installs Speed-Bumps For the Information Superhighway 
(Alan Boritz)
     Re: GSM SIM Card: Different? (Timo M. Ahomaki)
     Re: UDI vs RDI in ISDN (Chip Sharp)
     Re: MCI Employee Charged in $50 Million Calling Card Fraud (Haber-
Schaim)
     Re: MCI Employee Charged in $50 Million Calling Card Fraud (Tom 
Kunselman)
     Re: $50 Million in Quarters? (Stan Brown)
 
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
From: mpulver@netcom.com (Mark Pulver)
Subject: Re: Testing 1-800-CALL-INFO
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 17:47:51 GMT
 
 
Les Reeves wrote:
 
> As a test, I called and asked for the number of a Patrick Townson in
> Chicago, IL.  I figured this was a good test since Pat has moved in
> the past year and I wasn't even sure he was still in Chicago proper.
 
> After giving the operator Pat's name and city, and waiting about 45
> seconds, I was told that there were two listings, one non-published
> and one unlisted.  Hmmm.  I asked for another name and the operator
> informed me that I had used up my two searches.
 
This is a bit on the side of the topic, but I offer this as an example
of other way to get this information, (since Pat had added to this
message a query of how MCI is able to do this in the first place ...).
 
Compuserve has the PHONE*FILE databases online.  These are 
commercially
available databases that have more info on you than you would 
generally
like the public to have.  To play, do GO MET-4 from a CIS menu ...
Anyway ...
 
I fed PHONE*FILE a state of "IL" and a surname of "TOWNSON".  What I 
got
back was:
 
    Last Name: TOWNSON
 
    MARION G                  708/824-xxxx
    DES PLAINES, IL 60016
 
    ALLEN                     708/244-xxxx
    GURNEE, IL 60031
 
    M J                       708/675-xxxx
    SKOKIE, IL 60076
 
    CAROLE S                  312/664-xxxx
    CHICAGO, IL 60614
 
    DARRYL W AND KERMIT       312/221-xxxx
    CHICAGO, IL 60617
 
    HELEN                     309/444-xxxx
    WASHINGTON, IL 61571
 
    FRED W                    309/698-xxxx
    EAST PEORIA, IL 61611
 
 
I've delete the street addresses and the last four digits of these
folks phone numbers, but trust me, they're all there.
 
While this information is garnered from public records like mortage
documents, phone book listings, etc, it's the power of the search
engine that scares me.  With only knowing someone's state and last
name, you can have their full address, phone number, length of
residence and spouses name, (that data was not directly in this search
result, but it's available if you start from knowing the phone
number).
 
Oh ... another side, (bringing this back to the MCI CALL-INFO
issue ...), This search took me less than five minutes to do (shelled 
out
of my reader, telnet'd to CIS, did the query and blew out), and had a
CIS service surcharge of 50 cents.
 
Wild stuff ...
 
 
mpulver@netcom.com -or-        analog  analog  analog  and um, analog
mpulver@lante.com            Voyetra 8, Xpander, P5, MKS-70, other 
toys
 
 
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of those are very distant cousins 
of
mine I think. I know Carole is related distantly, with our common
ancestor being a g.g.g.grandparent in the early 1800's. I don't know
any of those people at all otherwise.  The last name spelled with 
/son/
is not that common; /send/ is a much more likely spelling. In my 
family
it was /send/ until the late 1800's, then the branch that came via my
g.g.grandfather went with /son/ for whatever reason. There is a person
named Patrick Townsend in Chicago presently -- in my old neighborhood
in fact -- I have no idea who he is other than seeing his name in the
phone book a few years ago. He was listed once in the phone book and
since then has been non-pub; I wonder why?  ... grin ... there is, or
was a few years ago, a Patrick Townson in Fruitland, Idaho. (?!?)  
PAT]
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 94 18:34:03 GMT
From: Carl Moore <cmoore@ARL.MIL>
Subject: Re: MCI's 1-800-CALL-INFO
 
 
OK, I tried it from a Bell Atlantic phone here in Maryland and got an
operator who said "1 800 CALL INFO, how would you like to bill your
call?".  So the phone I used was indeed noted as a pay phone.
 
 
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So was the one I tried here.   PAT]
 
------------------------------
 
From: laurence@netcom.com (Andrew Laurence)
Subject: Re: Calculating Cost of Cellular Call While Roaming
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 17:57:39 GMT
 
 
Sheldon W. Hoenig <hoenigs@gsimail.ddn.mil> writes:
 
> My daughter and my wife are going to travel to a number of colleges 
in
> the midwest in a few weeks so that my daughter can be interviewed 
for
> grad school.  When each interview is complete, my daughter wants to
> call my wife on the cellular telephone so that my wife can pick her
> up.  The cellular telephone has a 703 area-code telephone number.  
If
> the telephone is set for roaming in each city, what type of
> call -- local or long distance -- will be charged to the cellular
> telephone number and to my telephone credit card for the pay-phone
> call that my daughter will make?
 
The land-line to cellular call that your daughter makes will be billed
by the long-distance carrier as a call from that phone to the home
location of the cellular phone (area code 703).
 
The cellular phone company will then charge you airtime plus roaming
fees plus long-distance charges from area code 703 to the physical
location of the cellular phone.
 
Roaming fees vary widely, and you should pick up a copy of The 
Cellular
Travel Guide (a very thick $20 book) which shows maps, roaming fees, 
and
which cellular companies have roaming agreements with which other 
cellular
companies.
 
Some areas have a daily roaming charge which is tacked onto the first 
call
of that calendar day.
 
> I asked this question twice of my Cellular-1 supplier and I received 
two
> vastly different answers.
 
Interesting. What were the two answers?
 
 
Andrew Laurence               Oakland, California USA
laurence@netcom.com     Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7)
 
------------------------------
 
From: pbeker@netcom.com (Paul Beker)
Subject: Re: Calculating Cost of Cellular Call While Roaming
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 20:01:13 GMT
 
 
Hmmm.  Well, there are two vastly different ways to do this.
 
Method #1 (and costs):
 
  o Turn on "Follow Me Roaming" or "Nationwide Call Delivery" or
           whatever it's called by your cellular provider.  This is,
           typically, done by dialing *18 or *350 on your cellular 
phone
           once you're in the market where you want to be reached.
 
         o Your daughter will call your "home" cellular number from a
           payphone using a calling card;  then the network will 
forward
           the call to your location, and your cellular phone will 
ring.
 
         o Costs:  (approximate)
 
                Calling card surcharge: $0.85
                Call Card LD Loc -> 703: actual LD minutes used
                Cellular LD 703 -> Loc:  actual LD minutes used
                Roaming airtime:         $0.65 - $1.09 / minute
                "Daily roamer charge": $0 - $3 / day
 
Method #2 (and costs):
 
         o Get a copy of your cellular provider's Roaming Information
           Guide.  This book will list "Roamer Access Numbers" for 
every
           cellular system in North America, based on the Band your 
phone
           is homed in (A or B - you must know this info - your 
cellular
           provider should give you the info, where A="Wireline", and
           B="landline").  These roamer numbers are LOCAL calls from 
each
           market that they serve.  Also, calling a roamer access 
number
           directly will usually (not always) get you "home" airtime 
charges
           instead of "roamer" airtime charges.  This, of course, 
depends
           on the two cellular providers involved.
 
         o When your daughter needs to call you, she will use the 
payphone
           to dial the roamer access number (a local call - $0.25).
 
         o When the access number answers, she will hear either a 
second
           dial tone, or a series of beeps.  Either way, your daughter 
should
           then dial the full 10-digit "real" cellular number of your
           phone (703-XXX-XXXX).  Assuming your phone is on, the call 
should
           go through normally.
 
         o Costs:  (approximate)
 
                Local call - payphone: $0.25
                Airtime (see above):     $0.18 - $1.09 / minute
                "Daily roamer charge": $0 - $3 / day
 
Good luck!
 
 
Paul Beker   pbeker@netcom.com
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 22:34:34 EST
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA
From: Paul Robinson <PAUL@tdr.com>
Subject: Re: AT&T Easylink Information Wanted
 
 
> Does anyone know what exactly AT&T Easylink is and what
> services it offers.  Apparently it is some kind of commercial
> service available in Kenya.  Is it something like the Internet?
 
TELECOM Digest Editor noted in reply:
 
> AT&T Easylink is one of the older email services here in the USA...
> Is AT&T still operating Easylink as a stand-alone product in some
> parts of the world?  I guess there are countries where Telex is
> still the primary way of doing email.
 
AT&T Easylink is still operational in the U.S.  If you want a standard
telex number of either seven digits or a 710 number, you use Easylink.
One reason for having it is the Western Union Datagram service where
you can allow people to call an 800 number in the U.S. and send a
collect telex to you.  It is useful for accepting written 
instructions.
 
Easylink isn't cheap either.  It's US $25 a month plus any 
transmissions.
Datagram Service is an additional $50 a month in minimum transmission
charges.
 
One thing it does provide which if you need it for large volumes is
cheaper than any other way is a means to have E-Mail delivered to a 
fax
machine.  AT&T Easylink will allow you to dial up their computer and
download your messages, or at no extra charge, will send messages to a
fax machine.
 
There can be additional reasons for continuing to keep telex service.  
In
some places, outgoing international telephone calls are very expensive
while international telex service is relatively cheap; in the U.S. 
it's
the exact opposite.  So, what some people do is set up an incoming 
telex
number in the U.S. for that party to send messages to.  They then fax
responses back to them.  I helped one party test this by offering to 
let
their correspondent send me a telex and I would forward it to their
E-Mail address.  It worked, and it convinced them to obtain an 
account.
 
For persons in the U.S. who want the ability to receive telexes, a 
much
cheaper alternative is MCI Mail.  For a $30 a year subscription fee, 
the
user gets a mailbox that has both an Internet account, can send 
facsimiles
and can send and receive telexes.
 
For example, I have the additional Internet address 
0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM
By changing the '000' to 650, this becomes my telex number: 6505066432
There is no charge to receive messages, and telex rates are about the
same with all carriers.  MCI will charge for messages forwarded to a 
fax
machine which makes it inappropriate if the account is heavy volume
traffic; for light traffic it may be considerably cheaper than AT&T.
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: Re: Class Use of Telephone
From: drharry!aboritz@uunet.uu.net (Alan Boritz)
Reply-To: uunet!drharry!aboritz@uunet.uu.net (Alan Boritz)
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 94 08:13:54 EST
Organization: Harry's Place - Mahwah NJ - +1 201 934 0861
 
 
stuart.whitmore@uninova.com (Stuart Whitmore) writes:
 
> One of my professors brought into class one of
> those conference telephones like you find in the Hello Direct 
catalog
> (in fact, that might be where he got it, I don't know), and the 
whole
> class made a call to a retired person who could speak as an 
authority
> on the class topic.
 
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It certainly sounds like a great idea
> for a presentation to a class; having authorities meet with the 
class
> via speakerphone.    PAT]
 
New York Telephone was pitching (though not very heavily) the enormous
speakerphone as a conference tool in the late sixties.  An FCC 
official
spoke, via a speakerphone device, at a conference, I attended about
ten years ago.  The speakerphone didn't seem to catch on until (it
seemed) the public had a greater awareness of ALL teleconference
possibilities.
 
 
aboritz%drharry@uunet.uu.net  or  uunet!drharry!aboritz
Harry's Place (drharry.UUCP) - Mahwah NJ USA - +1-201-934-0861
 
------------------------------
 
From: martin@datacomm.ucc.okstate.edu (Martin McCormick)
Subject: Re: Class Use of Telephone
Organization: Oklahoma State University  Stillwater, OK
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 1994 10:18:42 GMT
 
 
  In 1973 or 74, one of the Journalism and Broadcasting courses
I took at Oklahoma State University held a conference with a person in
Washington, D.C. who was able to discuss various issues concerning
mass communications laws and how they were changing.
 
  This is a very good way to use telecommunications and I seem
to recall that everything went nicely.  I was impressed with the
telephone which must have been fairly state of the art at the time.
It had two hand-held microphones which the instructors brought to
students when they wanted to ask a question and the system changed
cleanly from receive to transmit mode based on whether the audio was
coming from the microphones or the wire.  There was no feedback and
the transmit/receive function seemed to be an electronically-based
circuit rather than a relay.
 
  Today, O.S.U. is very involved in this sort of thing, but the
technology has evolved to video teleconferencing rather than just
audio.  We use various portions of a T1 line for educational

  While it is possible to set the CODECS to use anything from
64Kb/s to half of the T1 or about 750Kb/s, the best video comes from
the highest speeds.  The audio is delayed so that the sounds always
correspond to the picture.  The sound is fairly good, if a little
scratchy, and the picture is excellent as long as there is not a
tremendous amount of movement in it.
 
 
Martin McCormick WB5AGZ   Stillwater, OK
O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group
 
------------------------------
 
Subject: Re: RI Installs Speed-Bumps For the Information Superhighway
From: drharry!aboritz@uunet.uu.net (Alan Boritz)
Reply-To: uunet!drharry!aboritz@uunet.uu.net (Alan Boritz)
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 94 22:01:47 EST
Organization: Harry's Place - Mahwah NJ - +1 201 934 0861
 
 
Paul A. Lee </DD.ID=JES2CAOF.UEDCM09/@SMX.sprint.com> writes:
 
>> Here's the latest from our fine RI legislators:
 
>> ... only licensed telelcommunications contractors, licensed
>> telecommunications system technicians, and licensed 
telecommunications
>> system installers shall engage in, or design, install, alter, 
service, or
>> test telecommunication systems in the state of RI.
 
> I guess you have to be licensed to sell modems in computer stores 
now.
 
> Sounds like one of the following must have happened in Rhode Island:
 
>      1) The state government let a telecommunications equipment 
contract go
>          to the lowest bidder, who botched the job
>      2) A legislator had some phone installation work done, and the
installer
>          butchered some trim in the fine old house
>      3) An interconnect company that has the attention of an 
influential
>          legislator has been getting a lot of competition lately
>      4) The state sees explosive growth ahead in telecommunications 
and
wants
>          to control the direction and gain some revenue from 
licensing
 
Any one of your examples could have been a contributing factor, but
plain 'ole greed is probably the most contributory.  Here are the
annual license fees, from an application my boss handed to me today:
 
  Telecommunications System Contractor        $100*
  Telecommunications System Technician        $ 60
  Telecommunications System Limited Installer $ 30
  Telecommunications Apprentice               $ 20
 
The contractor's license is held by an officer of the contractor
corporation, however an additional "corporation" license is also
required (along with registration with the RI Secretary of the State,
and the Dept. of Finance).  Unfortunately, there is no information
available yet on exactly what it is or what the (inevitable) license
fee will be (they're sending me the law, so I'll have it shortly).
 
There is only one telecommunications license per category (contractor,
technician, etc.), but there are four sub-categories that may be held
concurrently: Data, Video, Telephony, and Sound.  Applicants must
submit proof that they've completed three projects of each
sub-category for which they're requesting a license.  In addition, a
Contractor or Apprentice must submit proof that they've already had
three years experience in those sub-categories, and an apprentice must
submit a notarized letter from a RI licensed telecom contractor
stating that they are employed by that contractor.
 
The application also states that the employer or customer references
may be sent forms to attest to the truthfulness of all statements on
the application, and those forms must be notarized and returned before
action will be taken on the application, if requested.  It should be
easy to think up some really foolish scenarios with that provision,
especially when the applicant moves into the state of Rhode Island to
start a new job, and he can't get his former employer, or his former
employer's customers, to go to the trouble of filling out and
notarizing all those forms.
 
Another interesting note is that a technician can not be licensed
until AFTER the technician's EMPLOYER is licensed.  There are no
"freelance" technicians in this program, since a technician who works
for himself is a CONTRACTOR (read: higher license fee, registration
with the State for tax purposes, etc.).
 
> I would be interested in whether Rhode Island is promulgating a
> practice code or a set of standards for licensees, and whether state
> or commercial review or inspection will be required for designs and
> installations. Licensing only provides some indication of basic
> competence -- it does not provide a means of review and
> accountability.
 
I wouldn't expect too much in the way of quality inspection with this
program.  The person with which I spoke today at the Rhode Island
Dept. of Labor said that they basically take the applicant's word for
his qualifications (no examination is necessary until 1/13/95).  And
while there's lots of specifications on how to register, and the fees
to be paid, there's no information available on what circumstances (if
any) such a license can be revoked, or the enforcement activities that
will monitor compliance.
 
This licensing push really looks like an attempt to do away with all
cottage-industry telecom contractors and collect taxes and license
fees that they couldn't collect before.
 
 
aboritz%drharry@uunet.uu.net  or  uunet!drharry!aboritz
Harry's Place (drharry.UUCP) - Mahwah NJ USA - +1-201-934-0861
 
------------------------------
 
From: ahomaki@tne01.tele.nokia.fi (Timo M. Ahomaki)
Subject: Re: GSM SIM Card: Different?
Date: 14 Oct 94 08:34:42 EET
Organization: Nokia Telecommunications.
 
 
In article <telecom14.395.6@eecs.nwu.edu>, 100111.1007@compuserve.com 
writes:
 
>> Is this true? As I understand, with only one SIM card you can use 
any
>> GSM handphone in any country (of course as long as the countries 
have
>> roaming agreement).
 
> Well, yes and no: The SIM card exists in two physical formats: large
> (credit-card sized) and small (chip sized, 1cm x 1.5cm).  The 
Motorola
[snip]
 
The SIM chip itself is (or at least should be, otherwise your phone
does not fullfill the spec.) the same. There exists an adapter to
allow one to use the small SIM in a phone requiring the large variety.
This is simply a piece of plastic with a hole for the SIM in the right
place. If I were buying a SIM now, I would definitely take the small
one and then buy this adapter.
 
 
Timo Ahomaki, System Engineer
Nokia Cellular Systems        * Tel:   +358 0 5619 9800
System Concept Development    * Fax:   +358 0 5619 9826
P.O.Box 44, FIN-02601, Espoo  * Email: timo.ahomaki@ntc.nokia.com
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 94 09:51:22 EDT
From: hhs@teleoscom.com (Chip Sharp)
Subject: Re: UDI vs RDI in ISDN
 
 
> I'm not sure if RDI is actually supported anywhere.
 
The standards bodies (i.e., Committee T1 in the US) have been trying
to get rid of RDI as a choice for placing a call.  Instead, they will
require the user to use Unrestricted Digital Information rate adapted
to 56 kbit/s.
 
 
Hascall H. ("Chip") Sharp        Teleoscom Sr. Systems Engineer
2 Meridian Road                  Eatontown, NJ  07724  USA
voice:  +1 908 544 6424          fax:    +1 908 544 9890
email:   hhs@teleoscom.com
 
------------------------------
 
From: habersch@scunix1.harvard.edu (Oren Haber-Schaim)
Subject: Re: MCI Employee Charged in $50 Million Calling Card Fraud
Date: 11 Oct 94 22:51:05 GMT
Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
 
 
TELECOM Digest Editor noted:
 
> If convicted, 'Knightshadow' as he known to other phreaks and his
> co-conspirators face ten years in a federal penitentiary.
 
> It must be remembered that in the United States, our constitution
> requires a presumption of innocence on the part of Ivy James Lay and
> the other phreaks involved until their guilt is proven by the
> government in a court of law.
 
True, but of course the U.S Constitution does not bar citizens from
drawing their own conclusions as to what is most likely the truth.
 
 
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is correct, it does not. It merely
states the posture which must be taken by the government.   PAT]
 
------------------------------
 
From: Tom E Kunselman <tek@aix3090b.uky.edu>
Subject: Re: MCI Employee Charged in $50 Million Calling Card Fraud
Date: 14 Oct 1994 14:48:10 GMT
Organization: University of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences
 
 
awoolfso@uop.edu (Aaron Woolfson) writes:
 
> detection devices for just for saying this.  But I just do not see 
how
> it can possibly really be hurting MCI.
  ...
> Although I am not suggesting that it is not a big deal what 
happened,
> I just don't see how MCI can be running around and crying that they
> are losing all this money, when THEY REALLY AREN'T!  They are just
> not collecting nearly as much revenue as before.
 
I agree, that it isn't hurting MCI.  Who it is hurting is the MCI
consumers.  If people payed for the services they used, instead of
stealing them, then they share in the maintenance cost of the MCI
system.  The more people using a system that is not filled to
capacity, means that MCI could lower their charges to individuals and
still maintain the same amount of profit.
 
------------------------------
 
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 94 13:53:00 EDT
From: brown@ncoast.org (Stan Brown)
Subject: Re: $50 Million in Quarters?
Organization: nej tak!
 
 
In article <telecom14.390.9@eecs.nwu.edu> is written:
 
> Unfortunately the answer is simple -- the courts have repeatedly
> agreed with the service providers that *their customers* are
> responsible for the charges.  Thus there is no financial incentive
> (and some disincentives) for the providers to do anything.
 
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Padgett, what I do not understand and
> believe to be wrong about the court rulings you cite is the apparent
> conflict with federal regulations pertaining to fraud and misuse of
> credit cards generally. To the extent that telephone calling cards 
are
> credit cards -- and they are intended to allow you to pay 'later' --
> how can the user be held responsible for more than some minimal
> amount -- usually fifty dollars -- in damages?  Federal regulations
> pertaining to credit cards are quite clear that the card holder will
> not suffer as a result of fraud when the cardholder had nothing to
> do with it.    PAT]
 
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe PAT is confusing "credit cards" with
"bank credit cards".  The $50 rule that PAT cites applies to bank
cards but as far as I know it does not apply to T&E cards like
American Express or to other forms of credit cards like oil-company
and telephone credit cards; it also does not apply to bank debit
cards.
 
That's not to say that I agree with the anomaly; I don't.  But I'm
pretty sure it exists.
 
 
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems                    brown@Ncoast.ORG
Can't find FAQ lists?  ftp to 'rtfm.mit.edu' and look in /pub/usenet
(or email me >>> with valid reply-to address <<< for instructions).
I can also send "newbie" information on Usenet--just ask if you want 
it.
 
------------------------------
 
End of TELECOM Digest V14 #399
****************************
 

