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TELECOM Digest     Tue, 1 Feb 94 14:55:00 CST    Volume 14 : Issue 57

Inside This Issue:                         Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    The IIA "Free" Internet Account (Paul Robinson)
    Modems For 3002 Circuits Wanted (Javier Henderson)
    Re: INTERNET Connections: What's Involved? (Gordon Torrie)
    Re: INTERNET Connections: What's Involved? (John R. Levine)
    Increasing Cordless Range? (Bill Leeke)
    Re: Snail Mail Newsgroup (Nigel Allen)
    Re: How Can I Get Around a Pair Shortage Problem? (Carl Oppedahl)
    Re: Multi-line BBS's (John DuBois)
    Re: Telephone Nunbers in France ([e-mail])
    Re: International Dialback Long Distance Calling (Carl Moore)
    Re: International Dialback Long Distance Calling ([e-mail])
    Re: Unmetered Local Service (Steve Cogorno)
    Re: Phone Line Simulator Wanted (Lars Poulsen)
    Re: Landlines Pay Airtime To Call Some Cellular Phones (Kriston J. Rehberg)
    Re: Case History of a Phone Rip-Off (Part 1) (Carl Oppedahl)

TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 1 Feb 1994 13:00:36 EST
From: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <[e-mail]>
Subject: The IIA "Free" Internet Account
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA


Awhile back there was talk here of a "free" account from the IIA
(International Internet Association).  One of the comments was that
they required a credit card for people outside the local area who
might use their 800 number so the company could bill them at 25c a
minute.

I personally coined the term for this: "The Nevada Plan".  That's
where a company provides a service in which they pay for the service
via charges based on telephone calls into the service.  A talk line in
Nevada started this in which you dialed a specific 702 number and were
connected.  The kicker was that you had to call long distance via
AT&T.  AT&T gave them the 2c/minute fee for the connection.

At least one other company has ticked off a similar deal with Sprint
and with MCI for another service.

For those of you going to one of the various convetions who would like
to be able to contact your home computer, there is already a full
internet service which is accessible as real "Nevada Plan" service --
all it costs is a call over AT&T to the provider's number -- and
doesn't have additional charges larded onto it the way this 800 number
thingy does.  (They assess the charges via the credit card supplied to
them.)

The service is called Speedway, and the number -- which has to be
called via AT&T -- is (10288) 1-503-520-2222.  I have no connection
with that company other than as someone who has used their service.

The provider of speedway offers shell access to a Unix system, and
includes full internet connectivity, including E-Mail, almost all
national newsgroups, and the usual internet tools including whois,
ping, nslookup, etc. The company also offers slip connections, and
will act as a DNS receiver for DNS forwarded mail for those wanting
their own domain name.  All at no cost above the AT&T 12c a minute
rates at night or higher during days.

At my own request, they have added a gateway for outgoing SMTP mail,
which is accessed via the command SMTP at the login: prompt.  This is
quite useful for a system that has an incoming mail gateway that wants
a means to post mail which is possibly less expensive.

Since the rate per minute is whatever AT&T charges -- which is
probably less than 25c a minute except during daylight prime time and
may be less if you have a calling plan -- this option is a suitable
alternative to using IIAs overpriced "free" service (unless you happen
to be in the local area of their service).


Paul Robinson - [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Modems for 3002 circuits
Date: 1 Feb 94 09:13:06 PST
Organization: Medical Laboratory Network; Ventura, CA


Can anyone recommend a pair of modems, in the 9600bps range, that will
work on 3002 circuits?


Thanks,

Javier Henderson    [e-mail]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: INTERNET Connections: What's Involved?
From: [e-mail] (Gordon Torrie)
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 1994 14:22:24 -0500
Organization: Torrie Communications Services


[e-mail] (J. Guitard) writes:

> I would like some info on what's involved in connecting to the
> Internet. At first I thought the only way to connect was through a T1
> line, but now I hear you can connect with a 9600 baud line. Someone
> told me they were connected through their local internet provider. Who
> are these local internet providers? What are the costs for these
> lines and monthly fees, etc?  Email me or post here.

There is a file called the Public Dialup Internet List (PDIAL) that
lists Internet service providers, the local calling areas each serves,
the services they offer and outlines their rates.  It lists many
providers in North America and a few that are eleswhere in the world.
Look for PDIAL015.ZIP on a local BBS.


Gord Torrie

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 20:32 EST
From: [e-mail] (John R Levine)
Subject: Re: INTERNET Connections: What's Involved?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Cambridge, Mass.


> I would like some info on what's involved in connecting to the
> Internet.

A good source is Susan Estrada's "Connecting to the Internet",
O'Reilly, ISBN 1-56592-061-9.  It describes the various ways to hook
up, pros and cons, and has a lot of providers listed, in the U.S.,
Canada, and elsewhere.

For a general introduction to the Internet, including a fair amount of
discussion of how you hook up using a PC or a Mac, try "The Internet
for Dummies", IDG Books, ISDN 1-56884-024-1.  I think it's one of the
most superb books ever written in the English language, but since I
wrote it, I may be biased.


Regards,

John Levine, [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Bill Leeke)
Subject: Increasing Cordless Range
Date: 1 Feb 1994 17:31:33 GMT
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston IL USA


I would like to increase the range of my cordless phone. Does anyone
know if there is an easy way to do this? i.e. clip/screw a few
resistors ...

Would it be possible to put a linear amp on the base? Could you also
increase the gain of the base antenna?

Any suggestions welcome.

BTW: Im only interested in the technical aspects of doing this.


[e-mail]


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Remember that whatever you do, you also
need to increase th handset's range accordingly. It is pointless to have
the base be able to talk for a mile if the handset is not strong enough
to get back to it. Remember also that the more distance you are able to
cover with your cordless, the more others will be able to get back to
your dialtone also, especially if you have an older style cordless.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 1994 02:28:04 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Nigel Allen)
Subject: Re: Snail Mail Newsgroup
Organization: The National Capital FreeNet, Ottawa, Canada
Reply-To: [e-mail]


In a previous article, [e-mail] (Nigel Roberts) says:

> Some time ago there was an announcement of a mailing list or newsgroup
> (I can't remember which) which covered the topic of the world's postal
> services (a.k.a `snail mail').

The newsgroup is named alt.snail-mail, and has had some lively
discussions recently about postal operations and policies.  Most of
the messages deal with the U.S. Postal Service, but private courier
companies and the postal administrations of other countries have also
been discussed.

Stamp collectors will find rec.collecting.stamps more interesting.


Nigel Allen     [e-mail]


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks also to Peter Weiss for the same
answer.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: How Can I Get Around a Pair Shortage Problem?
Date: 31 Jan 1994 12:26:24 -0500
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> Barry Lustig <[e-mail]> writes:

> A friend of mine lives in a coop apartment in New York City.  He has a
> run of four wire non-twisted pair running from the demarc in the
> basement to his apartment.  He would like to be able to run more than
> two phone circuits to his apartment (modem, fax, phone, etc), but the
> coop won't let him run any additional wire.  Is there anyway to get
> more that two phone circuits running over the four wires?

Or perhaps BRI ISDN on one of the pairs and normal loop-start on the
other ...

Or perhaps BRI ISDN twice -- once on each of two pairs.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW    Oppedahl & Larson (patent lawyers)
Yorktown Heights, NY   voice 212-777-1330

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (John DuBois)
Subject: Re: Multi-line BBS's
Organization: The Armory
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 1994 04:14:38 GMT


In article <[e-mail]>, Fred R. Goldstein
<[e-mail]> wrote:

> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
> (Dannie Gregoire) writes:

>> I'll direct this question to you if possible, as you are the true
>> phone system guru.  I asked it in the newsgroup a couple of months
>> back with no useful response.  I would like to know how some of these
>> bulletin boards have 60-100 lines running into them (eg EXEC-PC).  Do
>> they simply have that many individual lines run or is there a nifty
>> service that the TELCO offers through a PBX?  I apologize if this is
>> a stupid question, but it is one that has baffled me, and I gotta know
>> the answer.  Thanks for any help ...

     As a data point ... the systems here currently have 12 data
lines.  All but one (our ISDN line for IP connectivity) are analog
lines, and cost $8.50/mo.  ($3 of that for undesired "network access
for interstate calling" which I'm told I can't skip), since they're
measured rate, which makes sense for our purposes since they're dialin
only.  Pac Bell just pulls another five-pair cable each time we run
out, and wires it up to another six-position network interface, which
now are arranged in a nice row along the outside of the house.

     When we had used up the third set of lines (we have five voice
lines too), I expected them to pull out the five-pair cables and
replace them with a 25-pair cable, but they somehow managed to get not
just one but (for a change) two more five-pair cables through the
conduit.  I doubt we'll need more than 25 pairs, so I don't get to see
what they'd do next :)

     The data lines are connected to a motley assortment of modems
which are on multiport boards.


John DuBois     [e-mail]      KC6QKZ

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Mark)
Subject: Re: Telephone Nunbers in France
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: MCIL
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 1994 15:07:37 GMT


In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
writes:

> [e-mail] (Erik Thomas Mueller) said:

>>>  By the way, note that the current numbering plan in France is scheduled
>>>  to be replaced in 1995 by the uniform NPA + 8D where NPA =
>>>      1 Ile-de-France (Paris, ...)
>>>      2 Northeast France
>>>      3 Southeast France
>>>      4 Southwest France
>>>      5 Northwest France

> Oddly enough, France has roughly the same number of telephones as the
> UK; but the UK is about to change from a 10 digit scheme to an 11
> digit scheme.  I somehow doubt if the North West France zone will be
> given code "5"; because that would entail callers dialling 05 to call
> NW France.  At the moment 05 is the French toll-free code, the
> equivalent of 1-800 and 0800, which they call "numberos verts" - green
> numbers.  The French 05 will, I am told, in due course change to 0800.
> A separate code (06?) has been allocated for mobiles.

Speaking about adding a digit, is there any plan in the USA to add a
digit when the system runs out of valid area codes? Or will they buy
time by changing the N0X N1X requirement?


Mark


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We *have* run out of area codes and 'they'
have abandoned the N0X/N1X requirement. New area codes will be almost any
three digit number.  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 01 Feb 94 01:14:41 EST
From: Carl Moore <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: International Dialback Long Distance Calling


Who'd use 011 to call INTO country code 1?  Try +1 (instead of 011-1
or 1) in front of the 719 area code.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (D.C.)
Subject: Re: International Dialback Long Distance Calling
Date: 01 Feb 1994 13:02:32 -0500
Organization: UMIACS, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742


I once saw somebody selling this type of dialback equipment on the
Usenet.  Does anybody have the information? Can you point to me where
I can find such an equipment?

Thanks.

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Cogorno)
Subject: Re: Unmetered Local Service
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 1994 11:42:18 PST


> Correct me if I am wrong but local call costs are very usage
> insensitive (the costs of running a local telephone exchange will be
> virtually the same if we are calling all the time or if we never use
> our telephones).

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are costs involved with the
> common equipment and the amount of it in place which to large extent
> detirmined by how much the phone is used. Even so, why shouldn't
> telco get paid for the value of the service?   PAT]

THe telco SHOULD get paid for the value of its service -- via the
monthly service charge.


Steve   [e-mail]
#608 Merrill * 200 McLaughlin Drive * Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1015

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Lars Poulsen)
Subject: Re: Phone Line Simulator Wanted
Organization: CMC Network Products, Copenhagen DENMARK
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 19:20:13 GMT


[e-mail] (David Jones) writes:

>> I am in need of a phone line simulator.  It will be used to verify the
>> functionality of modems for a large computing network.

In article <[e-mail]> Proctor & Associates
<[e-mail]> writes:

> Any of the Proctor Telephone Demonstrators will do this.  There are
> three models, from two to four lines, and the newest one will also do
> Caller ID and CENTREX emulation.

In the last couple of years, I have been using various such devices,
ranging from simple ringdown boxes to small PBXes, for exactly this
application. I have found a great variety in the quality of these
units.  Here are some issues:

(1) Some ringdown boxes burn out, if they have to supply dial tone to
    both sides at once. I experienced this problem with some very
    inexpensive (USD 106 at Graybar!!) ringdowns. That made them
    unusable for my purpose, but they would work fine for one-way
    ringdown applications, and could indeed be strapped for one-way.

(2) The TelTone TLS-3, considered by my colleagues in the voice-mail
    industry to be the Cadillac of line simulators has shown many
    problems on my bench: Weak ring signals (won't reliably trigger my
    ZyXEL modems), lots of glare (because it is slow to recognize a
    hangup; like many Centrex lines I have seen). This can sometimes
    be a nuisance when stress testing two-way dial-on-demand routers.
    (I wonder how the Proctor units compare in this respect.)

(3) The Panasonics KX-T308 and 616 series have been great for this
    application, but they have a limited number of talk paths. For
    example, the 308 allows four simultaneous calls, the 616 allows
    8, I think. So if you are using any trunk side connections, you
    may experience blocking on local calls. This is not well
    documented. (Actually, I think you can have blocking even if you
    don't have trunkside connections. I've moved away from the lab
    with the KX-T's - anyone care to test and report ?)

Lars Poulsen                    Internet E-mail: [e-mail]
CMC Network Products            Phone: (011-) [phone]
Hvidovre Strandvej 72 B         Telefax:      [phone]
DK-2650 Hvidovre, DENMARK       Internets: designed and built while you wait

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Landlines Pay Airtime To Call Some Cellular Phones
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 94 14:07:28 EST
From: [e-mail]


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The 'New York pager scam' involved this
guy who took out a very expensive (to call) phone line on the 540 (?)
exchange in New York City. That exchange *only when calling from the
LATA (212/708/914/516?)* charges the callers in the same way that 900
or 976 service works elsewhere. This guy had a line which cost the calling
party something like $20-30 each time they dialed it and he sent page
messages to (apparently) thousands of pagers in the area asking them
to call him back on his expensive number ... they responded by the
thousands and he got a nice commission from telco -- just like you
would get if you ran a 900/976 service. The people who called got very
large charges on their phone bill, and the guy made a mint from it.  PAT]

NYNEX has created a new area code 917 for pager, cellular, and
"certain other services", in addition to their 212 and 718 numbers.
In an area where almost every tall office building has at least one
PBX with direct-dial extensions, NYC is a pure example of the
so-called "phone number shortage" myth.  They just keep adding NPA's.
If someone can explain how there could possibly be a phone number
shortage, especially with the elimination of both 1 + 7D and the
recent expansion of area code second-digit assignments please send me
E-mail or post here to the Digest.  I have always believed this to be
an urban legend, especially in light of the elimination of 1 + 7D in
the past ten years and the more recent second-digit area code allowance.

Back to the original thought of the post, I always thought that the
only pay exchanges in all of the NYC area codes was 976.  This has
nothing to do with 1-900, by the way.

By the way, I don't see area code 708 in NYC.  You probably meant 718
(Queens/Bronx/Bkln).


Kriston J. Rehberg                  Internet External :[e-mail]
Associate Programmer/Analyst        FSC Internal RSCS :V2ENA81 AT OWEGO
ENSCO, Incorporated                 FSC Internal AFS  :[e-mail]
Loral Federal Systems Co, Owego, NY Tel: [phone] :Tieline: 662-2180


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, that was a typographical error. I
meant to say 718, not 708.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Carl Oppedahl)
Subject: Re: Case History of a Phone Rip-Off (Part 1)
Date: 01 Feb 1994 10:29:35 -0500
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David L
Kindred ) writes:

> for a minute, she realized that she was the only person in the office,
> and that the lines couldn't be in use.  At this point she picks up the
> line, and "This is the Credit Union, may I help you?".  One of the
> people on the line mumbles something like "isn't so-and-so there?" and
> hangs up.  My mother then hung-up and was able to use the line to make
> her call.  The next day, she reported this event to NJ Bell.  A day or
> two after that, one of the phone lines went dead, and again NJ Bell
> was involved.

> As you might expect, the next phone bill was quadruple the normal.
> Most of the "mystery" calls were to Manilla (sp?), and a few to
> Panama.

> This is where things stand for the moment.  I'll report further on
> whether NJ Bell/AT&T give her a hassle about the bogus charges, and
> how long it takes to clear the "unexpected" connections.

[deletia]

> There have been numerous reports here about unscrupulous persons
> making their own connections to other people's phone lines.  The
> person (or persons) involved here seem to have known that the lines
> they "borrowed" were from a business, and what the normal working
> hours for the business were.  Only a few late nights led to the
> discovery of the problem before the first bill showed up.  Is there a
> way a small business can protect themselves from this, or do we all
> have to rely on the phone company straightening things out afterwards?

This is a problem, and is going to be more and more prevalent as the
years go on.  Indeed how can a telephone customer protect himself/herself?
Here in no particular order are a few thoughts.

1.  If you get ISDN you will virtually eliminate this problem.  The
ne'er-do-wells who tap onto phone lines these days use very
inexpensive conventional telephone equipment in their efforts, and
cannot accomplish anything with an ISDN line (other than generating
synch errors).  It will be many years (perhaps a decade) before
equipment to permit seamlessly connecting to an ISDN line becomes
commonly available.

2.  Before moving into a premises, do a security survey of the
incoming utilities.  Ideally the cable from telco passes underground,
directly into your building.  Ideally within your building the cable
then goes straight to a room that nobody gets into without a key
(ideally your key).  Etc. Etc.

3.  One bad situation is if your building is multi-tenant, and if the
telephone wiring is in places that lots of people can get at (some
public hallway in the basement, say).

4.  Another bad situation is if there is a connection box outdoors,
where anybody can get at it, with your non-ISDN dial tone ripe for the
plucking.  It is probably "locked" with a hex bolt that can only be
"unlocked" by people who have such rare tools as socket wrenches.

The key is to think about this *before* you move in.  It is generally
impossible to get the telephone company interested in the situation
once you are there.  "Yes, New Jersey Bell, that is *exactly* what I
want you to do!  Now get out here with that backhoe and put that line
underground right now!"

It is also generally impossible to get a landlord to do anything about
this *after* you move in.


Carl Oppedahl AA2KW   Oppedahl & Larson (patent lawyers)
Yorktown Heights, NY  voice 212-777-1330

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V14 #57
*****************************