From telecom-request@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Thu May 4 20:49:14 1995 by 1995 20:49:14 -0400 telecomlist-outbound; Thu, 4 May 1995 17:50:10 -0500 1995 17:50:07 -0500 To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu TELECOM Digest Thu, 4 May 95 17:50:00 CDT Volume 15 : Issue 223 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson The Quality of TELECOM Digest (James E. Bellaire) Re: RBOC IP Legislation Scaring Local ISPs? (Tim Gorman) Re: International Telephone Number Length - Maximum Allowed (Richard Cox) Re: International Telephone Number Length - Maximum Allowed (E. Rohwedder) Re: Cross-Border Local Calls (Mark J. Cuccia) Detroit, MI, USA to Winsor, ON, CA Calls (James E. Bellaire) Re: Detect/Prevent Third-Party Calls (Alex Madarasz) Re: New Country Code 380 For Ukraine (Tor-Einar Jarnbjo) Cell Phones vs Pacemakers (Michael J. Kuras) Advice Needed About Answering Service (Brian D. Petro) Book Review: "Computer and Communications Security" by Cooper (Rob Slade) Looking For Information on a Mux/De-Mux Device (Russell Ochocki) What's R2 Signalling on Switch? (Yee-Lee Shyong) Job Posting: Telephone Network Design Engineer (Jorge D. Salinger) 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 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: 500-677-1616 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. For a copy of a helpful file explaining how to use the information service, just ask. ************************************************************************ * * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from the * * International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland * * under the aegis of its Telecom Information Exchange Services (TIES) * * project. Views expressed herein should not be construed as represent- * * ing views of the ITU. * ************************************************************************ * Additionally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe we are coming to a point in TELECOM Digest's evolution, along with the evolution of the Internet and Usenet, that there is too much information available at too little cost. New users are swarming onto the net with a cheap commercial connection or a university supplied educational connection without understanding the history of the forums they invade. Reading all the way back to beginning with Volume 1, I sense that the friendly exchange of information between peers is changing to a information on demand environment. There are far more blank requests for any information or any statistics or any facts available and far less real problems or complaints. I worked in a college computer lab this past year and watched frustrated students not find information on the internet. Then, reading one of those 'Internet How To" books the read that they should post to a newsgroup. My college doesn't have a news server so they can't do that (yet) but a lot of the references I've pulled up in Veronica and other searches are to QUESTIONS and not ANSWERS. I enjoy reading the 'How to' books and would suggest every new user be required to read one or two. John Levine (a TD regular) has written the 'Internet fo Dummies' series, which includes instructions to check the FAQ before posting. I wish more people were listening. There are also other information search techniques than posting to usenet. Like calling the local business office of the phone company or visiting a good library. BTW: The number one question in the labs is how to find a friend's internet address. I always quote Mr. Levine, "CALL OR WRITE THE FRIEND AND ASK." The Internet is not a replacement for other research, it is a suppliment. Pat, if you do continue to publish student requests and answers PLEASE make the subject count. Add the word "question" or some other phrase to let people know that the answer is not in that posting. I've seen too many answer looking subjects that just point to a question. Summary for students: Before logging onto the Internet - CHECK LOCAL SOURCES. Before posting to any group - READ THE FAQ. Before writing your post - READ THE BACK ISSUES. Before doing any of the above - READ A GOOD 'HOW TO' BOOK. Thank you for your bandwidth ..... James E. Bellaire (JEB6) bellaire@tk.com Twin Kings Communications - Sturgis, MI ------------------------------ jsun@shore.net (jason t. adams) writes in TELECOM Digest V15 #216: >> Is this concern over potential competition from telcos to local >> internet service providers warranted? > The telcos not only have economies of scale, but they don't have to > pay extra for leased line connections to internet sources, etc. They > OWN the lines. That makes me think that it would be very easy (with a > little software investment) to provide slightly cheaper access. I feel I need to correct this perception that since the telco "owns" facilities that their use is "free" and they don't have to "pay extra" to use them. They are most certainly not free. They represent a capital investment by shareholders and therefore a return on the investment MUST be earned at a minimum. In fact, if shareholder investment is to not be diluted, these facilities must contribute at exactly the same level as those sold "externally". It is, therefore, imperative that all costs including "contribution" associated with these facilities be included in the price of any service that uses them. I think you will find that MOST of the telco's advantages ARE from economies of scale and from an ability to maintain high levels of utilization so that equipment is earning ALL of the time. Regarding the telco's: > In my opinion, though, I think they will do a bang-up job. Gee, I hope you are right! :-) ------------------------------ david@cs.uow.edu.au (David E A Wilson) said: > when you add the four digit carrier selection code plus the four digit > international access code to the twelve digit UK number the equipment > could not handle it. UK national numbers are (maximum) ten digits, (minimum) eight digits. Prefixed by 0044, that makes fourteen digits to dial. Even with a four digit prefix, no more than eighteen digits. If you had been in North America, you would have dialled 01144 for the UK and have a five (soon seven) digit prefix before that. North American callers will need to dial 22 digits when the new seven-digit prefixes arrive. > What is the maximum length for an international number (country code > plus area code + local number)? At the moment twelve digits (excluding local access and international prefices); this will change on 1/1/97 to sixteen digits. Many phone companies seem unaware of, and unprepared for, this international change. > Is there a list of how long each country's numbers are? There probably would be, if it didn't keep changing! No doubt PAT has something in the archives but by definition it cannot be completely up to date. Did *you* know all five digit numbers in Andorra had recently been prefixed with an "8", and the country code changed to +376? Neither did a lot of people! > Is it just the UK or are we going run into the same problem on other > calls The longest numbers are apparently in Germany: they now break the 12- digit rule, and therefore some people in the USA have difficulty reaching the longest numbers! (In practice these are nearly all on DDI PABX lines.) If you can handle German numbers you shouldn't have any other problems (except paying for the calls!) Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, PO Box 111, Penarth, South Glamorgan CF64 3YG Voice: 0956 700111; Fax: 0956 700110; VoiceMail: 0941 151515 e-mail address: richard@mandarin.com; PGP2.6 public key on request ------------------------------ One limitation that was discussed here in July '93 is that -- from the US at least -- an international call may not have more than 12 digits, e.g. dialing the following number in Germany: 011 +49 6131 XXX 4555 results after some time in a short beep and then a busy signal. On the other hand: 011 +49 6131 XXX 450 works just fine. An AT&T technician told me then that local U.S. exchanges only have the capacity to store 12-digit numbers (i.e. in my case +49 6131 XXX 455). This turns out to be an illegal phone number in Germany, which causes a congest signal to be sent back to the US (the beep), which then is turned into a busy signal here. If you have a 13 digit (including country code) phone number, you cannot be reached through direct dial from a local exchange in the United States!! (As I was told there are 13-digit numbers currently in Germany, Austria, and the Chech Republic.) Readers of the Digest had more to say about the international numbering scheme --- I just quote two of them: ITU-T (Formerly CCITT) Recommendation E.164 on telecommunications numbering specifies that the maximum length of an international number be 12 digits, consisting of a one, two, or three digit country code, and a national significant number of any length such that the length of the country code plus the national significant number not exeed 12 digits. [...] The CCITT (now ITU-TSS) has recommended an expansion of international numbers from 12 to 15 digits at what they call "Time T", defined as December 31, 1996. As of that date, all switches should be able to handle international numbers of up to 15 digits in length. Before that time, 12 is the maximum. [...] In most places outside North America the length isn't really a problem because calls are routed incrementally and, except in the fanciest new electronic exchanges, the whole number is never buffered in one place. Here in North America, we use 11 digit numbers as the Lord told us to [...] ------------------------------ I don't know if El Paso, TX, USA and Cd.Juarez, Chihuahua, MEXICO ever had cross-border LOCAL, however El Paso was able to DIAL across the Rio Grande for many years. It MIGHT have been possible for ANYONE with DDD access in the US/Canada to DIAL to Cd.Juarez even BEFORE we had IDDD dialing to Mexico (011/01+ 52 + eight digits). This was NOT done by using that special NPA 903 nor that 'patch' NPA of 70-6. Cd.Juarez has had a city code beginning with '1' for over at least 25 years. According to El Paso Area directories in the 1970's, El Paso and nearby Texas customers called Juarez by dialing 1+ (or 0+) 32 + the five digits (at that time) number of Juarez; Customers in nearby US state of New Mexico could dial Juarez by dialing 1+ (or 0+) 915 + 32 + the five digit number. There WAS (and still is) a TOLL. During this time period, there were NO assignments of any 915-32X central office codes to any other towns in the 915/southwest corner of Texas. These dialing instructions were discontinued at sometime in the 80's - full international dialing instructions were required (011/01+ 52+). The 915-32X codes have since been assigned to Texas towns in the 915/southwest corner of Texas. Some other Texas phone books for Rio Grande areas DID (and probably still DO) have a section with listings for towns in nearby Mexico, but I don't ever remember DIAL instructions (If there WERE any instructions, it was to dial the operator). Whenever Mexico towns/listings are included in any California, Arizona, New-Mexico or Texas directories, there is either a copyright notice or a disclaimer which states 'Telefonos de Mexico, S.A.' Mark ------------------------------ In the past couple of weeks there was a discussion about calling between countries as a local call. Our Esteemed Moderator (I like to call him Pat) asked about Detroit to Windsor calls. The information I have (from the "Downriver Area White/Ywllow Pages" serving Southwestern Wayne County) shows local calls within Detroit and the communities to the south, with zone calls to the northern suburbs (now in NPA 810). Seven digit dialing within the area code with 1+NPA for Long Distance "calls that are not local or zone calls." Prices are given for LD calls within the LATA but the cost of local and zone calls are not shown. None of the Windsor, Ontario, Canada exchanges are listed as either local or zone in any of the Detroit areas shown. IF there is any local international calling it is not shown in this phone book. Looks like it's up to the IXCs to make the connections and set the rates. Windsor is not a suburb of Detroit. Its a very nice community with a completely different atmosphere, a New England feel compared to Detroit's city-of-crime feel. I feel safer walking downtown Chicago after midnight than visiting Detroit during the day. I can see why connecting calls would be international and not long distance. James E. Bellaire (JEB6) bellaire@tk.com Twin Kings Communications - Sturgis, MI ------------------------------ In article , white@sunmgc1.ericsson.se (Steven White) writes: >> I just had two AT&T long-distance calls charged to my number, and had to >> call AT&T to have them removed -- AT&T isn't my long-distance provider. >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You can prevent it from happening with a >> slight bit of inconvenience to yourself, but it may be worth it. Find >> out of your local telco offers 'billed number screening'. This is a Thanks to all the helpful folks who replied to my original post. My Bell Atlantic rep added FREE third-party and collect call blocking to my account while she was getting me a new unlisted and unpublished number. > Southern Bell in N.C. charges $10.25 for this change in service ... > How about requiring Ma Bell to reimburse AT&T for any future > fraudulent charges? Seems to me they are bordering on being an > accessory. I too would get mighty angry in the case where a local telco charges someone for a service which prevents "illegal" calls of this type -- it's kinda hard for me to be sympathetic about a practice which encourages (by omission of responsibility) these kind of fraudulent charges. Alex P. Madarasz, Jr. - Hughes Training, Inc. - alex@eagle.hd.hac.com ------------------------------ ·_ Clive D.W. Feather (clive@stdc.demon.co.uk) wrote: > Oops, almost forgot. Apart from the 31 cases I listed before, there are > eight territories with no international code that I know of: > Bouvet Island [Norway] > Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands [Norway] (others edited out here) As there are no permanent residents on the Bouvet Island, I don't beleive there are any need for a country-code there. I beleive the same applies to Jan Mayen, but numbers on Svalbard are put into the Norwegian number-scheme, and are +47 79 5x xx xx. Since calls to theese are treated and charged as regular domestic calls in Norway (about $0,12 per minute daytime from the mainland) it shouldn't be necessary to assign a country-code for Svalbard. Tor-Einar Jarnbjo, bjote@cs.tu-berlin.de ------------------------------ The Wireless Technology Group says studies show that in some cases cellular phones placed near the chest can cause pacemakers to recalibrate themselves or stop and restart. The advisory group warns that new digital pocketphones are of particular concern -- especially since their numbers are likely to proliferate once personal communications services are widespread. No such effects from the older analog cellular phones have been observed. A spokesman for Medtronic, a pacemaker supplier, says the company is advising patients with pacemakers to turn off their portable phones when the phone is in a shirt pocket, to hold the phone 10 to 12 inches from the chest when using it, and to hold the phone to the ear opposite the side where the pacemaker's implanted. (Wall Street Journal 4/28/95 B1) [...] EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.edu and in the body of the message type: subscribe edupage Ted Williams (assuming that your name is Ted Williams; if it isn't, substitute your own name). ...... michael j kuras mkuras@ccs.neu.edu ------------------------------ I am very seriously considering the idea of starting a business from my home selling voice-mail boxes. As I have never been in the business, I am looking for advice from someone who has. I am planning on targeting the residential market. I live in a town of 40,000. I would only be charging $5/month for a basic service box. My major competition would be our local telephone company who charges $6.5/month. My question is this: Would there be enough interest in voice-mail from residential clients to keep my business profitable? It seems to me that it would be fairly easy to add 100+ customers/year to my service, but I would like the opinion of someone "in the business." Please E-mail any responses. Thanks in advance, Brian Petro ------------------------------ BKCPCMSC.RVW 950320 "Computer & Communications Security", James Arlin Cooper, 1989, 0-07- 012926-6 %A James Arlin Cooper %C 2600 Tenth St., Berkeley, CA 94710 %D 1989 %G 0-07-012926-6 %I McGraw-Hill Communications Series %O 510-548-2805 800-227-0900 lkissing@osborne.mhs.compuserve.com %P 411 %T "Computer & Communications Security" This is a textbook for a security course. It has a good breadth of coverage in theoretical areas. There are problems and ethical dilemmae at the end of each chapter. The bibliographic references are a bit dated. The author is obviously unused to practical security considerations: social engineering is never mentioned. An engineering background shows through: there is a lot of math, including a theoretical basis for "doppler" detection of intruders (motion). The coverage of "hackers" and software threats indicates a heavy influence from the popular press and no real understanding of the issues. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKCPCMSC.RVW 950320. Distribution permitted in TELECOM Digest and associated publications. Rob Slade's book reviews are a regular feature in the Digest. Vancouver ROBERTS@decus.ca Institute for Robert_Slade@sfu.ca Research into Rob.Slade@f733.n153.z1/ User .fidonet.org Security Canada V7K 2G6 ------------------------------ I'm looking for a device that will multiplex many phone lines into a smaller number of lines. For example, Northern Telecomm's Northstar 616 allows you to have 6 incoming phone lines and have up to 16 stations in your place of business. But, you can only have at most 6 incoming calls at once. Is there a similar device that given the 6/16 line split you could have all 16 local stations in use at the same time? Russell Ochocki Gate West Communications rdo@gatewest.mb.ca 204-663-2931 ------------------------------ Originally, I only heard about TR-008 or TR-303 for signaling specification between Digital Loop Carrier(DLC) and Local Digital Switch (LDS). But somebody tols me that R2 signaling is also popular on LDS. Can someone out there tell me what it is? Where I can find this document describibg R2? Who published that material? Best regards, Apollo Shyong ------------------------------ POSITION POSTING DATE: 5/4/95 POSITION: Telephone Network Design Engineer REPORTS TO: Director of Digital Services Networking LOCATION: Coudersport, PA RESPOND TO: Maria Bliss 5 West Third Street Coudersport, PA 16915 Requisition #CC5189 DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Design and implement telephone network systems and services over broadband cable plants. 2. Evaluate customer and company needs and design telephone network systems and services to meet those needs. 3. Perform research, analysis and interviews necessary to select appropriate trends, technologies, and vendors. 4. Plan and implement systems and services according to customer time frames. 5. Perform installation and testing of systems services and coordinate such installation and testing processes with customers, vendors, and subordinates. 6. Provide training to customers, subordinates and local personnel when required on the use, troubleshooting and repair of telephone network systems and services as applicable. 7. Assure the proper completion of projects on a timely and effective basis. 8. Inform the Director of Digital Services Networking of progress and problems as necessary. 9. In the role of supervisor, direct, evaluate and motivate subordinates. 10. Perform other related duties and tasks as assigned or as become evident. EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED: 1. A Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or computer science, or the equivalent in other education/experience, is required. A Master's degree in a related field is preferred. 2. Must have at least 3 years of experience in design of telephone network systems. 3. Proven knowledge of POTS and ISDN telephone network architectures, PBX systems and multiplexing and channelizing techniques is required. 4. Experience in the design of CATV systems and SONET and ATM networks is desired. 5. Must be a skilled technical writer. 6. Must be able to keep a regular schedule of daylight business hours and accept extended schedules that result form travel. Must be able to travel extensively by automobile and/or airplane to attend the company's business. 7. Bending, reaching, lifting up to 25 lbs., and climbing of step ladders up to 8 feet in height is required. NOTE: Successful applicant must pass drug/alcohol test, physical examination, and criminal record check. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled. "ADELPHIA IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER" ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V15 #223 ******************************