TELECOM Digest Tue, 27 Sep 94 14:28:00 CDT Volume 14 : Issue 378 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Reselling From the Ground Up (Jeff Bornstein) Programming an AT&T ISDN 7506 API (Alex Cena) V.34 from ITU-T (Tannil Lam) 919/910 DA Problem (Scott D. Fybush) Becoming an Internet Access Provider (Jeffrey Graham) PBXs and NANP (Stephen Polinsky) Motorola Digital Cellular Phones (Brian Totty) Modem Pool in Neighboring Telco Exchange (Dave Morschhauser) Please Help Our Reaseach! (wanglad@admin.ci.seattle.wa.us) Cordless Phone Security (boonkang@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca) Call Forward to Rotary (Dave Morschhauser) AT&T's Project in Saudi Arabia (husama@ee.ubc.ca) Universities with Telecoms and Multimedia Management Studies (James Wilson) NetworkMCI Business (Stephen Goodman) Information Wanted on Telegroup Inc. (David S. Neiger) 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 America On Line. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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 edited, published and compilation-copyrighted by Patrick Townson of Skokie, Illinois USA. You can reach us by postal mail, fax or phone at: 9457-D Niles Center Road Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 708-329-0571 Fax: 708-329-0572 ** 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. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Tcomdemand@aol.com Date: Tue, 27 Sep 94 13:07:57 EDT Subject: Telecom Reselling From the Ground Up The following is the first in a series of articles that will appear in DLD Digest written by Jeff Bornstein, President of Telecommunications On Demand, a Long Distance Brokerage Service that matches up telecommunications agents with qualified resellers and long distance carriers. ------------------- The relationship between a Long Distance Marketer (LM) and Service Provider (SP) is not sacrosanct. As a matter of fact, if LM's continue to allow themselves to be solely driven by price and commission, in an attempt to provide the "Ultimate deal to the end-user," then they are setting themselves up to earn more industry battle scars (see: "The Joy of Selling AT&T SDN - circa 1989-1992"). If you are a serious LM, with the ability and wherewithal to produce a MINIMUM of $25K of annual long distance billings, then you should consider a DIRECT DEAL with a SP. Incidently, I DO NOT consider large marketing companies with tons of agents, disgruntled and otherwise, to necessarily be SP's. In an attempt to weed-out "Service Provider Wannabees," TOD reccomends that you find out the following (actually this is most of the screening process that we utilize to protect our Marketing Clients): (1) HISTORY: How long has the SP been in business? (2) D&B REPORT (THE NARRATIVE TYPE REPORT): Any pending or successful lawsuits against SP? (3) Ask for Financial Statements. Make certain that the SP DOES NOT plan on "factoring" your accounts. (4) Is SP a member of TRA? If not, why not! (5) Is SP Certified and Tariffed? Does SP do its own billing? (6) Does SP pay commissions on billing? (7) Does SP have Facilities/Carrier Status? If not, does SP have a DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH A CARRIER? (this is essential!!) (8) Does SP have a "Backroom"? - Does SP provide Agent/ Dealer support as well as End-User support? PLAN ON PERSONALLY VISITING THE PROVIDER (Why not... It's only your hard-earned commissions at stake!) (9) Does SP provide quality, UP-TO-DATE (relevant) Marketing Materials? (10) Does SP provide tracking and bill analysis software? (11) Ask to see actual LEC, Provisioning, Status, Aging, and Commission Reports. Can you communicate electron- ically with SP? Does SPs customers go on-line in a timely fashion? Next week I will provide more specific tips on how to secure a safe deal with an SP. I want to make it clear that most SP's are reliable. I also feel that for many modest producing LM's there is nothing wrong in contracting with REPUTABLE Marketing Firm that represents a SP. However, I reccomend even more due diligence and EXTREME CAUTION when preceeding. Did you ever hear the tale of woe from a so-called Provider ... "I can't pay you, because the guy above me didn't pay me." Remember, the further you are from your commissions, the more you are at risk! Best of luck, Jeff Bornstein If you would like more Information on "TODs" BROKERAGE SERVICE feel free to contact TELECOMMUNICATIONS ON DEMAND, INC., Suite 7, Orwigsburg, PA 17961; (800) 754-4411; FAX (717) 366-1827 internet: tcomdemand@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Sep 94 13:12:46 EST From: Alex Cena Subject: Programming an AT&T ISDN 7506 API This is a follow up on a question I posted requesting help on programming my AT&T ISDN 7506 station set at home. Many of you were kind enough to forward some advice. But here is the short answer. It seems the amount of end-user programming is dependent on the type of switch at your local central office. Some people are lucky enough to be connected to a central office with the latest switching technology. In that case, its a matter of calling your phone rep to have your phone set at the CO for three appearances. It took myself, my Bell Atlantic sales rep, AT&T and a Bell Atlantic CO engineer more than an hour to program my phone for three appearances. Everytime changes were made at the CO, I had to reprogram my phone. After numerous tries, we finally were able to make it work. I am not looking forward to the day I am ready to hook up a digital modem to this thing. I have to hand it to my sales rep Dennis Fitzgerald though for getting all those people on a conference call to settle this thing once and for all. Now if they can only make my conference call button work. BTW, I was informed by the AT&T rep that the user's manual costs an extra $90!!! Can you believe it? No wonder most people refer to ISDN as I still don't know! AT&T even had to show me how to program my speakerphone. If they would give me the darn manual for free, I may not have to tie up their people so much. Alex M. Cena, Lehman Brothers, acena@lehman.com ------------------------------ From: tannil@tcl.com.hk (Tannil Lam) Subject: V.34 From ITU-T Date: 26 Sep 1994 21:37:02 GMT Organization: Internet OnLine HONGKONG Ltd. Please advice the newest status of V.34 from ITU-T. I hope to know whether V.34 has been official approved for modem manufacturers to produce their V.34 products or not. Thanks for all the attention. Best regards, Tannil Lam [TCL Technology Limited] (Hong Kong) [Email:info@tcl.com.hk] [TEL:+852 891 3281] ZyXELNET 17:31/0 [FAX:+852 891 6335] FIDO - 6:700/13 ------------------------------ From: fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush) Subject: 919/910 DA Problem Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 02:11:39 GMT I don't know if this is how Southern Bell did it for previous splits, but... I had to get a number in Winston-Salem NC today, and without remembering clearly whether it fell on the 910 or the 919 side of the split, I dialed 1-919-555-1212 and asked for the number. DA read off a seven digit number, didn't mention anything about it being in 910, so I dialed 1-919-XXX-XXXX only to get the "Area code you are calling has been changed" recording. So I redialed with 1-910-XXX-XXXX and all was fine. Buuutttt .... Couldn't/shouldn't Southern Bell either: a) modify the DA to read off "910-XXX-XXXX" as appropriate? or b) flag the DA operator to mention to the customer that the number is now in 910? They must have some way of knowing that I dialed 919-555-1212, even if 919 and 910 DA are the same bureau. Scott Fybush - fybush@world.std.com ------------------------------ From: aspgd21!dtcjsg1%cmxb001.gteds.com@uunet.uu.net (Jeffrey Graham) Subject: Becoming an Internet Access Provider Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 15:11:58 GMT Organization: GTE Data Services Hello everyone: I want to become an internet access provider, providing dialup slip and ppp access to 32 concurrent users at 28.8. What do you think is the best way for my unix host to be permanently connected to the internet? Do you think ISDN BRI would be enough? I guess I need options (T-1,ISDN BRI,ISDN PRI,ATM,etc) and pros/cons as an answer. Thanks, Jeff ------------------------------ From: tele_steph@ohio.gov (Stephen Polinsky) Subject: PBXs and NANP Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 11:20:40 -0600 Organization: OARnet Regarding PBX upgrades for the new NANP, if, when a user dials "9", and pulls tone from the CO, why would someone need to upgrade a PBX at all. The user would simply dial the digits directly into the CO, right? Are there PBXs that hold the digits until dialing is complete, and then outpulse them to the CO? I thought that this would only happen if the PBX is using some sort of alternate routing algorithm. Thanks for any help, Stephen Polinsky tele_steph@ohio.gov ------------------------------ From: bri@sea-monkey.engr.sgi.com (Brian Totty) Subject: Motorola Digital Cellular Phones Organization: Silicon Graphics, Mountain View, CA Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 01:43:32 GMT I've never had a cellular phone before, but am strongly considering getting one, especially now that digital services coming on line. Cellular One is apparently running a promotion, at least in the Bay Area of California, offering $50/month discount for six months ($300 off) if you buy a digital phone and join their service. My question relates to what phone to get. I really like the ultra-lightweight Motorola flip phones, and I also like the "vibracall" silent ringer. I have been told that Motorola does not have such a digital phone currently available, but it shoudl be released relatively soon as the "Micro TAC deluxe" digital phone. At this point, I'm totally confused at what digital flip phones Motorola currently makes, how they relate to their analog brethren, and what features they provide. Cellular phone sales still seems pretty anarchic -- I'm having trouble finding a single store selling a wide variety of cell phones & services, where I can browse, and otherwise enlighten myself. In the absence, would some kind soul be willing to post about what my choices are for digital phones (especially the Motorola phones), as well as any info on when lightweight "vibracall" phones might be available? I would very much appreciate it! ------------------------------ From: dmorschh@ecn.uiowa.edu Subject: Modem Pool in Neighboring Telco Exchange Date: 27 Sep 1994 12:26:56 GMT Organization: InterWorks Inc. Does anyone have any advice on the most efficient way to establish a multiple line modem pool in a neighboring telco exchange (approx. 1515 miles away)? I would apprecieate any assistance regarding type of service to request from the telco, as well as additional info regarding how to support up to 8 14.4 kbps modems, or 8 28.8kbps modems. BTW, I have been lurking in this newsgroup for a couple of months; is there a faq which describes the different telco line categories and uses? Thanks, Dave Morschhauser morschha.d@connline.net ------------------------------ From: wanglad@admin.ci.seattle.wa.us Subject: Please Help Our Reaseach! Date: 27 Sep 1994 14:18:44 GMT Organization: NovX InterServ News Service Another intern and I got a project to research Voice/E-mail Integration. We are specifically looking for materials on products that can interface with Northern Telecom Meridian 1 telephone system, which is what we have. We were told to reaserch Northern Telecom's MSM and Visit, as well as Octel and Centigram. After several days reseach on Computer Select and local library's database, we couldn't find much on these products. Can anyone offer us some tips? Thanks very much! ------------------------------ Subject: Cordless Phone Security From: BOONKANG@bcsc02.gov.bc.ca Date: Tue, 27 Sep 94 10:26:32 PDT Organization: BC Systems Corporation I seem to have read somewhere about the risk of having someone dialing up on your phone line (and charging long distance calls on your phone account) when the handset is not sitting at the base-station cradle of your cordless phone. Can those experts on cordless phones provide me with an update on this issue? B.C. Systems Corp. ||PROFS: BCSC02(BOONKANG) 4000 Seymour Pl, W169BLUE ||INTERNET:BOONKANG@BCSC02.GOV.BC.CA Victoria,B.C. Canada V8X 4S8||IBMMAIL: CABCSTFS@IBMMAIL.COM 604 389-3991(V)389-3916(FAX)||*** Opinions are MINE solely * ------------------------------ From: dmorschh@ecn.uiowa.edu Subject: Call Forward to Rotary Date: 27 Sep 1994 10:15:53 GMT Organization: InterWorks Inc. Has anyone ever used call forwarding to forward calls into a multi-line rotary? Specifically, will the forwarded number continue to forward calls into the rotary until all the lines in the rotary are used up? Also, how long will a call forward remain in effect before it has to be reinitialized? Next question: Consider three exchanges A, B, and C. It is long distance from A to C, but not from A to B or B to C. A number in B is setup to forward all incoming calls to a number in C. If a caller from A dials the number in B, which is forwarded to C, who pays the long distance charges? Are there any long distance charges? Dave Morschhauser morschha.d@connline.net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In your example given, there are no long distance charges incurred. If your intent in forwarding calls in this fashion is to avoid toll charges, then your use of call- forwarding is illegal. If it is merely more convenient for party B to receive his calls at C and party A is generally unaware of this at the time he forwards to B, then it is not an illegal avoidance of toll charges. In some exchanges with older generics, the software is programmed so that A stops at B regardless of what B does. That is, a person dialing B direct does in fact forward to C, but a person dialing A is dumped on B no matter what B has chosen to do with calls sent directly to him. It all depends on how your switch is programmed. Take care in attempting to devise a scheme to reduce or eliminate toll charges through chain forwarding; it seldoms works out to your financial advantage since the cost of two local calls frequently exceeds the cost of a single 'long haul' call to the final destination. If A forwards to B, and B has several lines in rotary hunt, then calls to B via A will land on whichever line of B is available and next to receive calls. A does not have unlimited forwarding (to the extent of B's capabilities) however; often times the software in the switch is programmed to allow only one call through at a time with subsequent calls to A being returned busy. Often times telco has it set up so you must specifically purchase (or apply for) additional 'paths' if you want the ability to have more than one call at a time forwarded from A to B. Also bear in mind that where C is concerned, call-forwarding and hunt-on-busy are not compatible without a lot of tricking around. B needs to have call-forwarding on all his lines; else the first call sent from A will land on line one of B and get forwarded; subsequent calls from A (assuming A has more than one 'path' permitted to him) will get bumped up the line in B's hunt group and land on a line which does not have call-forwarding. In other words, call-forwarding is not a system feature based on B's main number. If B only has one path allowed to him and A is already using it, then subsequent calls to B from whatever direction will first land on the main number, get returned busy due to the call being forwarded; start hunting for another line in B's group and park there instead lacking (on that second or subsequent line) call-forwarding instructions. People sometimes try to combine call-forwarding with call-waiting and hunt-on-busy on the same line (or group of lines) with unpredictable and curious results. PAT] ------------------------------ From: husama@ee.ubc.ca (husam) Subject: AT&T's Project in Saudi Arabia Date: 27 Sep 1994 06:37:36 GMT Organization: UBC Electical Engineering Hi, I have some questions about the deal AT@T signed with Saudi Arabia. Are they going to use ATM (asynchronous Transfere Mode) and B-ISDN there in Saudi Arabia? I would love to get the address of AT@T's office which operates this project. Please send email directly to husama@ee.ubc.ca. Thanks in advance, Husam :) ------------------------------ From: jkw@toshiba.dircon.co.uk (James Wilson) Subject: Universities with Telecoms and Multimedia Management Studies Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 14:43:05 Organization: Toshiba Corporation The President of Helsinki University would like to develop a new MBA concentration on "Telecommunications and Multimedia Management", and I would like to help him to obtain the contact telephone and fax numbers of all leading US and European Universities which are conducting research or offering undergraduate/graduate courses in these fields, especially Multimedia. Could any members of this forum please send details of universities and the courses offered or research undertaken to me by EMAIL? Messages can be sent directly to jkw@toshiba.dircon.co.uk or to 100074,3176@compuserve. Any help which you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Regards, James K Wilson Toshiba Europe Office ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 94 14:24:00 EST From: Stephen Goodman <0003945654@mcimail.com> Subject: NetworkMCI Business Mark Pettit Frank J. Walter MCI Business Markets 1-800-644-NEWS MCI LAUNCHES networkMCI BUSINESS First Software Package to Bring Power of Information Superhighway to the Desktop NEW YORK -- September 12, 1994 -- Delivering the promise of the Information Superhighway to the desktops of businesses nationwide, MCI today launched "networkMCI BUSINESS" -- a first-of-its-kind integrated information and communications software package. networkMCI BUSINESS is the nation's first single source package to contain e-mail and fax messaging, information services/automated news monitoring, document sharing and videoconferencing, online multimedia business catalogs and access to the Internet. A Windows-based package, networkMCI BUSINESS is easy-to-use and designed to help businesses of all sizes. networkMCI BUSINESS can be ordered today. "networkMCI BUSINESS is the breakthrough business tool of the '90s," said Gerald H. Taylor, president and chief operating officer of MCI Communications Corp. "It frees business people from information overload--allowing them to work together when they want, from where they want, whenever they want." Taylor added, "networkMCI BUSINESS is the first product to harness the powerful convergence of telecommunications, computers, information services and entertainment. The force of that convergence is making businesses more competitive. Now networkMCI BUSINESS delivers that power to the millions of non-technical users through their personal computers." networkMCI BUSINESS targets the burgeoning business PC market. The number of PCs in the U.S. now exceeds 75 million. Industry analysts estimate that the market for the overall convergence of telecommunications, computing, entertainment and information services represents a $1 trillion business opportunity. "With our first business software offering, MCI brings to this market our considerable communications expertise to set a new benchmark for helping businesses improve productivity," said Timothy F. Price, president of MCI Business Markets. Unique Features Packed into Single-Source 'Power' Tool While compelling as an integrated package, networkMCI BUSINESS is also a "power" tool because of its innovative components. Breaking new ground, networkMCI BUSINESS integrates e-mail, fax and a news information service, or intelligent agent, called infoMCI. "Business people don't have time to be information archaeologists, digging through cumbersome, expensive on-line databases. They need customized, relevant information. infoMCI delivers just that, twice a day along with breaking news as it happens," said Price. Another unique feature of networkMCI BUSINESS, marketplaceMCI, is an online multimedia catalog, allowing businesses of all sizes to market their goods and services electronically. "marketplaceMCI gives our customers a completely new arena where business people can distribute, browse for and purchase products and services without leaving their desks -- the electronic business-to-business mall has opened," said Price. The conferenceMCI application allows business people to work together, sharing ideas and images (also known as collaborative work) over regular analog phone lines. As an added option, MCI is marketing high-quality desktop videoconferencing equipment that works over high speed (ISDN) phone lines. Core Solution Plus Optional Features networkMCI BUSINESS provides the following features in a single, cost-effective core package: o infoMCI: A personalized business information service, infoMCI monitors more than 180 news sources and databases to deliver twice-daily, on-screen summaries of critical news items. MCI also provides instant "news flashes" of breaking news items during the day. Users define the information received by completing a personal profile of industry categories and concepts, which the user ranks in importance and revises as often as needed. o conferenceMCI: This point-to-point collaborative work tool includes the only document conferencing software that supports the industry standard (pending ratification) T.120. Two users in different locations can review and update the same document in real time. o e-mailMCI: Using the global MCI Mail network, e-mailMCI offers an easy-to-use Windows environment, tailored specifically for MCI. networkMCI BUSINESS/3 o faxMCI: This application allows businesses to send and receive faxes from a PC in any Windows application. faxMCI features include fax broadcast capability, an address book and scheduling options. o marketplaceMCI: A feature unique to networkMCI BUSINESS, this is a new multimedia on-line catalog and business purchasing service. It offers businesses a new way to distribute product information and facilitate on-line sales. MCI will offer a turnkey solution to companies that want to sell goods to the subscribers of marketplaceMCI or through custom-designed electronic kiosks. o internetMCI: With the click of a mouse, networkMCI BUSINESS allows quick and easy access to the world's largest and most powerful computer network. Pricing for the core networkMCI BUSINESS package is $100 for the software itself plus a $65 monthly charge that includes the daily infoMCI newsfeed. Existing and new MCI Preferred, Vision and Vnet customers will have a reduced monthly rate of $50. As an optional feature of networkMCI BUSINESS, MCI is marketing a high-quality desktop video conferencing system: o desktop video from MCI: This application allows two users to see each other, while they also see the document they're working on. The application works on industry standard technology. And desktop video from MCI is compatible with MCI's multipoint videoconferencing service called VideoNet. MCI will lease the desktop videoconferencing equipment under a three-year agreement for as low as $110 per month, including desktop video camera, speakerphone and video and audio boards. "We assembled the components of networkMCI BUSINESS based on ease-of-use and value in solving day-to-day business needs," said Price. "What's also important about networkMCI BUSINESS is its compatibility with industry, not proprietary, standards. Customers can use this package with common software packages, so their previous software investment is not lost." To assist in the development of networkMCI BUSINESS, MCI assembled a premier line-up of industry leaders, including PictureTel Corporation, ConnectSoft, DataBeam Corporation, Delrina Corporation, FYI Online, and Image Technology, Inc. (ITI). Customers have the option to have charges billed to their credit card or receive an invoice directly from MCI. Existing MCI Preferred, Vision or Vnet customers can also chose to include these charges on their monthly invoice. For more information or to purchase networkMCI BUSINESS, individuals may call 1-800-955-5195. With 1993 revenue of nearly $12 billion, MCI Communications Corporation is the one of the world's largest communications companies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., MCI has more than 65 offices in 58 countries and places. The company's Atlanta-based MCI Business Markets provides a wide range of communications and information services to America's businesses, including networkMCI BUSINESS, long distance voice, data and video services and consulting and outsourcing services. ------------------------------ From: neiger@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU (David S Neiger) Subject: Telegroup Inc. Date: 27 Sep 1994 23:19:09 +1000 Organization: University of Melbourne Hi, Recently I joined Telegroup Inc's Global Callback facility to cut the cost of my calls to the US from Oz. So far I am satisfied with the service however I am concerned that Telegroup has my VISA card number and an authority to debit my account. Has anyone any experience with dealing with Telegroup and confirm that: 1) They are a reputable company; 2) They are ligitimate (I would suspect so considering how much it must cost to set up a global callback system); 3) They are using Telegroup's service and have found them to be O.K. Any confirmations or horror stories would be greatly appreciated. Please mail and I will post a summary. David Neiger - Solicitor Law Office Technology Consultant NEIGER@ARIEL.UCS.UNIMELB.EDU.AU or NEIGER@VAXC.CC.MONASH.EDU.AU ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V14 #378 ****************************