A Beginner's Guide to the Internet/INTERNET.ISO/text/telediag/tc13-086.txt

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TELECOM Digest     Sat, 13 Feb 93 11:34:00 CST    Volume 13 : Issue 86

Index To This Issue:                     Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

    N.E.T. and the Phantom Phone Exchange (Tom Arnold)
    150th Anniversary of FAX (Bill St.Arnaud/com-priv via J. Philip Miller)
    Book Review "America Calling" (Jim Haynes)
    ADSL Asymetrical Digital Subscriber Line/Request For Info (Ed Pimentel)
    Canadian Telecom Conference in April (Nigel Allen)
    AT&T Conversant System (Justin Leavens)
    New Zealand Telephone Public System (Pete Lancashire)
    Completion Rates For Calling Centers (Steve Brack)
    AT&T Automated Access To Operator Services (Alan Toscano)
    ZyXEL Modem Voice/Fax Software Wanted (Russell Nelson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Tom Arnold)
Subject: N.E.T. and the Phantom Phone Exchange
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Tom Arnold)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1993 23:04:15 GMT


Perhaps one of the TELECOM readers can shed light on the recent weird
behavior up here in New England Telephone land on the part of exchange
264 in the 508 area code (Eastern to Mid-Massachusetts.)

This exchange serves two Digital Equipment Corporation engineering
facilities in Boxborough.  It no doubt serves other things as well.
All told, there are on the order of 800 lines in both buildings.
Yesterday (Wed., Feb 10,) around noon I was trying to dial into my
building's modem lines from my home in Brighton (Boston,) in the 617
area code, and I was getting a relentless busy indication from my
modem (Scholar.)  I put a phone on the line and tried several numbers
that way.  Each one returned fast busy, both modem lines, the main
desk, voicemail, etc.  All this was from my business line, so I also
tried it from my home line (served by a different exchange,) with the
same results.

So I called the N.E.T. operator and described the problem.  She tried
it, and also couldn't get through.  At first she just said that the
'circuits were busy' -- and I told her that the problem was persistent
and unusual. Then she asked me if I was sure about the number, because
her console indicated that the exchange (264) was not a valid
exchange(!) She also asked me if I had ever called the number before.
We have used these numbers since 1986, and I told her that. I provided
her with the town, street address, and name of the facility, but she
still said that the numbers were invalid. So I asked to log a problem
report, whereon she switched me to the repair service, where I more or
less repeated the previous conversation.

I then asked, if I dialed an invalid exchange, shouldn't I get a SIT
message of some sort?  She said no, not always; sometimes an invalid
number returns fast busy.  This suprised me, but phones are more of a
hobby for me than a profession.  Does anyone know if this is true, and
if so, under what circumstances?

She didn't seem convinced when I rang off, but I assume that the
problem log really happened.  I then phoned DEC's main number in
Maynard, Mass, and talked with the operator there.  She agreed that
the numbers I tried were the correct ones.  She then switched me to
DEC's internal telecom help desk. I described the problem to the
fellow there, and told him that I thought that telecom into those two
buildings was completely down.  Mercifully, he took my problem report
seriously, and assigned it a problem incident number right away.

As it turned out, at 5 PM, the foreign exchange line in Watertown
opens for inward access, and I was able to get to the numbers in
question using DEC's internal telephone network.  Thus, the problem
was not in DEC's phone switch for that area, nor in DEC-leased trunk
lines feeding it.  At 10:30 this morning (nearly 24 hours later,) I
again tried dialing voicemail at my building, but still got that old
fast busy.  We also got a flurry of Email from the telecom people
telling us that N.E.T. had been notified. This, naturally, inspired
great confidence in me ... the problem was finally cleared sometime
this afternoon.

The fellow from DEC telecom called me back to let me know that the
problem was fixed.  It appears DEC telecom has more weight with N.E.T.
than simple customers. And the DEC telecom folk certainly deserve
kudos for a quick and professional response. The problem turned out to
be in the routing tables in the switch at the central office,
presumably the one serving the buildings in question.

But, how could such an error occur?  Can a technician really delete a
whole exchange from a telephone switch by accident without realizing
it?  Could the routing algorithm in use (I have no idea what kind of
switch N.E.T. is using for the 264 exchange,) somehow drop 800 lines
by mistake?  If so, wouldn't this be a serious and scary software
problem?  If it was a hardware problem, wouldn't something wrong
enough to bring down an exchange (or a reasonable hunk of it) cause
lots of alarms which would be noticed by alert telco employees?

And, since I gave the original operator the name, street address,
etc., of my building, is there any reason why they couldn't look up
the main number for the building on their console, and at least see
that the number wasn't mistaken?

Or is all this yet another ominous sign of the rotting of our once
glorious phone system??

Inquiring minds want to know!


Peace,

tom arnold    (no, *another* tom arnold)
Digital Equipment Corporation   |   [e-mail]  -or-
Boxborough Technology Center    |   [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: There are lots of kinks a regular customer cannot
get cleared short of lodging several reports and working their way up
to an assistant to the Chairman ... sad but true. *No one* taking the
complaints will listen. I am sorry to say the people you spoke with at
telco probably put you down as some sort of crank caller and let it go
at that. That's the way they operate. Consider the latest screwup here
in Chicago to catch my eye: Remote Activation/Deactivation of the Call
Forwarding feature is accomplished by dialing 312-274-9923 for lines
in the Rogers Park CO. (Caution, kiddies, this number is *closely*
watched; calling number captured, the whole bit.) It answers, you
punch in the number to be forwarded (or upon which to cancel
forwarding), your personal PIN, *72 and the number to which calls are
to be forwarded, or *73 to cancel forwarding. If forwarding, the
number you forward to is read back to you for confirmation and you
confirm it or enter the correct number.  A great way to get around the
old, old problem of having to return to the phone in question in order
to turn off the call forwarding or turn it on, right?  It would be,
*if it worked*.

For some time now, the number has been busied out from coin phones in
the Rogers Park CO. Coin phones elsewhere can reach it, as can regular
lines. From a Rogers Park coin phone you can zero plus it to your
calling card (with the usual surcharge, of course) or the operator can
connect you; neither of which function (operator services or calling
card) is out of Rogers (the operators are out of the Irving CO I
think). Telling Repair Service about this is like talking to a parrot.
This has been this way for at least a month, but it has not interested
me that much. Maybe next week I will call the office of the Chairman
and raise a stink. Repair even had the audacity one day to ask if I
was talking about Bell payphones or private ones.  Do they think I
would be that stupid?  To answer your question, sure they can lose
whole offices at one time. You've seen it happen!  PAT]

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

From: [e-mail] (J. Philip Miller)
Subject: 150th Anniversary of FAX
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1993 18:59:56 -0600 (CST)


Although there is a semi-ad at the end of this posting, it presents
some interesting information for readers of the Digest.  I suspect few
others are also subscribed to com-priv.

 -phil

 Forwarded message:
 From: [e-mail] (Bill St. Arnaud)
 Subject: 150th Anniversary of FAX
 Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 14:31:05 EST



150th Anniversary of FAX
========================

Yes, believe it or not, 1993 is the 150th anniversary of FAX!  FAX is
even older than the telephone and is probably the oldest telecomm-
unications technology after the telegraph.

The original FAX machine was invented by a Scottish physicist
Alexander Bain in 1843. Incredibly, Bain had to use jaw bones and
heather in his experiments to build the first FAX machine!

Although Bain's machine was sound in principle, we don't know if it
actually worked in practice.  It wasn't until 1861, when a Frenchman
named Caselli, built the first FAX network from Paris to Lyons, that
FAX became a working communications tool.

Caselli's FAX machines were seven feet tall and used gigantic pendulums
to synchronize the horizontal scan line transmission, a far cry from
today's all digital FAX machines.

However, Caselli's FAX machines so alarmed the US Postmaster General,
that in his report to Congress in 1872, he made this prescient
statement:

" ...the probable amplification of the facsimile system of Caselli, by
which an exact copy of anything that can be drawn or written my be

instantaneously made to appear at a distance of hundreds of miles from
the original; and the countless other applications of electricity to
the *transmission of intelligence* yet to be made, --- must sooner or
later most seriously interfere with the transportation of letters by
the slower means of the post."

For more information on the past, present and future of FAX there is
an excellent article in this month's issue of {New Scientist} by Tim
Hunkin.  Mr. Hunkin has built a replica of Bain's first FAX machine
which is now on display at the British Science Museum.  Mr. Hunkin
will also be talking about the past and future of FAX on the
television show "The Secret Life of Machines" on the Discovery
Channel, Tuesday night, February 23 at 9:30 PM EST.

VISION 2000, is a Communications Canada and industry initiative to
accelerate and foster the development of personal communications in
Canada.  VISION 2000, in association with its consortium members, is
developing "Future FAX" as a key personal communications technology.
Video FAX, multimedia FAX, voice FAX, e-mail FAX, wireless FAX, and
personal communicators are key FAX technologies that will
revolutionize the way we will communicate with each other in the next
decade.

For a copy of our free report on FUTURE FAX, please call or FAX, Bill
St. Arnaud, VISION 2000, Voice: +1 613.567.2000 or +1 613.238.8912,
Fax: [phone]

Special thanks to George Pajari of FAXIMUM Software for researching
the quotation from the US PostMaster General.


Bill St. Arnaud       Internet: [e-mail]
VISION 2000 INC.      X.400: C=CA; A=TELECOM.CANADA;
203-294 Albert St.    O=VISION2000; DDA:ID=V2K.EMS
Ottawa CANADA         Voice: [phone]
K1P 6E6               Fax:   [phone]

VISION 2000 INC:  A Department of Communications and industry initiative to
foster and accelerate the development of personal communications in Canada.

                             ---------

     J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067
     Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110
      [e-mail] - [phone] [362-2694(FAX)]

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

From: [e-mail] (Jim Haynes)
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 16:38:38 -0800
Subject: Book Review "America Calling"


"America Calling: A Social History of the Telephone to 1940" is the
complete title of the book.

In {Science} magazine Vol 259, 29 Jan 1993, page 699 is a review of
the above book.  The author of the book is Claude S. Fischer of U. C.
Berkeley.  (University of California Press, 1992, xvi, 424 pp. illus.
$25).  The author of the review is Glenn Porter, Hagley Museum and
Library, Wilmington, DE.  It's quite a long review, and has some nice
old pictures.

"Fischer is interested in what uses ordinary people made of the new
technology of telephony.  Who called whom, for what purposes, and
what difference did it make in their lives?" says the reviewer.
"The book explicitly omits the business use of the telephone.

  ...

The author freely mixes bits of data, theory, and speculations from
many places and time periods.  This is not a book notable for its
analytical or methodological rigor.  Here social science meets
journalism, and the dress is casual.  The results are often
fascinating and sometimes surprising, if not altogether satisfying."

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

Subject: ADSL Asymetrical Digital Subscriber Line/Request For Info
From: [e-mail] (Ed pimentel)
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 17:47:20 EST
Organization: Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]


I would like to know more about ASDL, its format, its capabilities,
and how it may be incorporated in other ONLINE SERVICES such video on
demand. Can it be interface to EIA/TIA562?  BTW, please also supply
more info on the EIA/TIA 562 interface that use 64k baud over regular
tel lines.

Are there any APIs, SDKs, Toolkits that allow one to develop apps such
as distant learning use all of the above?


[e-mail] (Ed pimentel)
gatech!kd4nc!vdbsan!willard!edimg   emory!uumind!willard!edimg
Willard's House BBS, Atlanta, GA -- [phone]

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

From: Nigel Allen <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1993 19:00:00 -0500
Subject: Canadian Telecom Conference in April
Organization: Echo Beach


National Conference on the Future of Telecom in Canada,
Toronto, April 1 and 2, 1993

The University of Toronto's Institute for Policy Analysis is
sponsoring the National Conference on the Future of Telecommunications
in Canada, in Toronto at the Four Seasons Hotel on April 1 and 2,
1993.  Registration is $749.00 (Canadian funds, including GST) before
March 15 and $802.50 (Canadian funds, including GST) after that date
or at the door.

For more information, contact:

 Ms. Erin Parfitt,
 Institute for Policy Analysis,
 University of Toronto,
 140 St. George Street, Suite 325,
 Toronto, Ontario, Canada  M5S 1A1
 telephone [phone],
 fax [phone].

No e-mail address is given. (Say that you heard about the conference
through the TELECOM Digest.)

The speakers and organizers are among the most influential
telecommunications policy in Canada, including Hudson Janisch, a law
professor at the University of Toronto and W.T. Stansbury, a professor
at the University of British Columbia. Session titles include:
Efficient Pricing of Telecommunications Services and the Ways to Get
There; Necessary Changes in the Regulatory Structure and Processes to
Promote Network Efficiency and Universal Service at Affordable Rates
(with the top regulatory lawyers at Bell Canada and Unitel
Communications Inc.); New Federal Telecommunications Legislation and
Federal-Provincial Arrangements; Entry and Foreign Ownership in Canada
and Opportunities in Foreign Markets; Changing Public Policy and
Telecommunications in Canada (a dinner speech by Bud Sherman,
vice-chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission, Can Large Contribution Payments Be Maintained in Light of
the CRTC's Competition Decision?, Emerging Competition in Local
Networks and the Implications for Interconnection Rules; and Managing
the Transition to Competitive Telecommunications Markets: The U.S.
Experience (a luncheon speech by Richard Wiley, a U.S. lawyer who I
think was once chair of the Federal Communications Commission).


Nigel Allen                [e-mail]
Canada Remote Systems - Toronto, Ontario
416-629-7000/629-7044

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

From: [e-mail] (Justin Leavens)
Subject: AT&T Conversant System
Date: 12 Feb 1993 12:09:05 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA


I've got a couple of AT&T reps trying to sell me on an AT&T Conversant
system, and I was curious to know if there's anyone out there who is
familiar with this kind of system or can offer any feedback on what
might be competing with it. Thanks in advance.


Justin Leavens   Microcomputer Specialist   University of Southern California

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

From: [e-mail] (Pete Lancashire)
Subject: New Zealand Telephone Public System
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 17:48:06 GMT


I'm considering moving to New Zealand and would like to 'talk' with
anyone who familiar with the current state of and future plan for the
public telephone system.

Or would the group like to 'hear' my questions and join in?


Pete Lancashire    [e-mail]


[Moderator's Note: Yes please, pass your questions along. We have
readers of the Digest in New Zealand.  PAT]


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

Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1993 13:32:38 -0500 (EST)
From: [e-mail] (Steve Brack)
Subject: Completion Rates For Calling Centers


I am currently working for a nonprofit organization that handles
fundraising for the University of Toledo.  One of our operations is an
annual "Phone-a-thon" campaign where we contact alumni to ask for
donations.  I have been trying to find some figures on what we should
be seeing in terms of:

    1) calls/person/hour
    2) Call completion rates
    3) Required trunk capacity

Some of the problems we've been having include a percieved lack of LD
trunkage ("Try your call again later" on LD calls), what my boss has
termed low throughput (20 calls/person/hour), and a low contact rate
(not home, busy, no answer, etc.)  If someone could e-mail me with
some idea of what numbers are considered average, and some suggestions
to alleviate the problems my supervisoor has brought to my attention,
I would be much obliged.

Note, however, that I have not been authorized to represent the
University in these matters, but that I am attempting to get some
information so that my supervisor can make a more informed decision.


Thank you.

Steve Brack    University of Toledo Foundation
Steven S. Brack    [e-mail]
Toledo, OH  43613-1605   [e-mail]
MY OWN OPINIONS   [e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: 12 Feb 93 20:41:05 GMT
Subject: AT&T Automated Access To Operator Services


AT&T has implemented a new 800 number for reaching its Automated
Access To Operator Services (AATOS) interface -- which is used to place
Calling Card calls and Operated Assisted calls from "blocked"
telephones. The new number is:

        1 800 321-0288, or, if you wish: 1 800 3210-ATT.

Previously, AATOS was accessable via prompts on 1 800 CALL-ATT, as
well as on 1 800 882-CARD. These prompts will no longer be available
as of April 1.

(For various reasons, including cost and trunking/traffic considera-
tions, AT&T would still prefer calls to be dialed 0+ or 10ATT-0+ when
possible.)

Disclaimer: I do not work for AT&T. I'm just a customer.


A Alan Toscano -- Houston, TX -- <[e-mail]>

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

Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1993 16:03:56 EST
From: Russell Nelson <[e-mail]>
Organization: Crynwr Software
Subject: ZyXEL Modem Voice/Fax Software Wanted


I'm willing to pay a bounty for a ZyXEL voice/fax program.  The bounty
is a ZyXEL 1496E+ (or cash equivalent).  The program must:

  o Be freely copyable with source and use the GNU General Public License.
  o Be written in C.
  o Run on Linux, MS-Windows, and/or DOS (in that order).
  o Support distinctive ringing.  Should answer voice on "RING", and
    FAX on "RING 1".
  o Preview FAXes on the screen.
  o Under MS-Windows, print FAXes to the current printer.
  o Under Linux or DOS, decode FAX format files into a NxM bitmap (I
    can add my own printer support).
  o Send FAXes (optimally from the output of Ghostscript, but text-only
    input is fine).
  o Play back a message when answering as voice.
  o Have an option on every playback message to chain to a selected message,
    or record a message.
  o Allow playback message or recording to be interruptible by a DTMF digit.
  o Chain to a selected playback message when a DTMF digit is received.
  o Be interruptible at the keyboard.
  o Play back recorded messages, either by DTMF commands or by
    keyboard commands.  Because the volume of the speaker playback is
    so low this should be done over the phone, not the internal speaker.

Perhaps this program would be useful to you also, and you'd like to
increase the bounty by some amount?  Please contact me if so.


russ <[e-mail]>
Crynwr Software     Crynwr Software sells packet driver support.
11 Grant St.        315-268-1925 Voice  |  LPF member - ask me about
Potsdam, NY 13676   315-268-9201 FAX    |  the harm software patents do.

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

End of TELECOM Digest V13 #86
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