Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id BAA02057; Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:31:35 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 01:31:35 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Message-Id: <199608160531.BAA02057@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V16 #415 TELECOM Digest Fri, 16 Aug 96 01:31:00 EDT Volume 16 : Issue 415 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson LATAs: Numbers and "Names" (Mark J. Cuccia) Numbering Chaos in the UK (Peter Judge) Pulse Metering on D-channel (ISDN) (Florian Damas) Looking for English/French Telecommunications Dictionary (Florian Damas) Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico (Michael Wengler) Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge (Michael Wengler) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 12:56:34 -0700 From: Mark J. Cuccia Subject: LATAs: Numbers and "Names" [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This was published in the Digest a few months ago, however Mark has since made some changes. PAT] I have made some modifications to this, including some additions (details) and fine-tuning. Thanx! Mark. --------------- While inTRA-LATA competition (particularly being able to choose a primary 1+/0+ default toll carrier for inTRA-LATA) and even *local* competition is becoming more available, as well as the local carriers being able to offer toll inTER-LATA, the concept of "LATA's" might become meaningless or obsolete in the near future, But presently, LATA's still do exist. LATA's (ocal ccess ransport reas) were "created" in the early to mid 1980's as part of the divestiture (breakup) of the one corporate Bell System and the MFJ (odification of inal udgement). As mentioned below, there was an "initial" LATA scheme, but there were some changes to this just at the time of divestiture and the beginnings of "Equal Access" services. I am interested in what the original LATA scheme really was intended to be, including the LATA codes. I mention below *some* of the original intended LATA's and how they were actually changed when LATA's "officially" took effect in January 1984. If anyone has a list of the 1982/83 LATA's and the associated "LATA Codes", I'd be interested in some of these original but later modified LATA situations. LATA codes are three digit codes assigned to each LATA or LATA-Like territory. I don't know who did the original numbering scheme (AT&T/Bell? DOJ? USITA? NECA? FCC? or a combination of them?), nor do I know who maintains the LATA numbering for any slight modifications which might be necessary (Bellcore? FCC? ATIS or their forums? etc). The LATA codes are used for "administrative" and "organizational" purposes. They are not really intended to be network routing or switching codes (but what a particular interexchange carrier does *within its own network* for routing and switching is really its own business), but used to organize listings of NPA-NXX codes of a particular carrier or switching entity as well as for billing functions, such as division of toll revenues. LATA codes are indicated in such materials as: -tariffs filed with the FCC by AT&T and other toll carriers, -Bellcore TRA products, -NECA products, etc. The listing below has been compiled from various sources, particularly from tariff filings. So any additions, corrections, further details will be appreciated! --------------------------------------------- LATA Names and Service Regions by LATA Number: Within "Bell" LATA's, there can be and are independent telco central offices and even independent telco operator/toll/tandem switches and regions. (there are 164 total "Bell" Latas) Within an "independent" LATA, there can be and some do have central offices of other (usually smaller) independents. LATA's can and most do cross state/NPA lines-- sometimes in rather large chunks; sometimes just 'zigzagging' about a state/NPA boundary. There are even cross-state situations where one LATA contains central offices of an adjacent state served by a *different* Regional Bell Company (i.e. Some Bell South LATA's can extend into portions of TX and AR, and include central offices of Southwestern Bell as well as some small local independent telcos- Likewise, some Southwestern Bell LATA's can extend into portions of LA, TN, and include central offices of Bell South as well as some small local independent telcos) Also, there are some individual LATA's which are geographically discontiguous, split into two parts by another LATA. LATA's are grouped by Regional Bell company as follows: 1NX NYNEX 2NX Bell Atlantic 3NX Ameritech 4NX Bell South 5NX Southwestern Bell 6NX US West 7NX Pacific Telesis 8NX "offshore" and "international" Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virign Islands; also includes 'pseudo' LATA's for Canada, other Caribbean, etc) 9NX "independents" -- LATA's and Lata-like regions of: Cincinnati Bell, Southern New England (Bell), large "independent" telco regions This listing represents the Bell, "offshore" and "independent" LATA's of the US (including AK, HI, PR, USVI, etc) as finalized around 1984/85. There were some modifications made to the "initial" LATA scheme as submitted in 1982/83. Originally, there were to be only 161 "Bell" LATA's. After further negotiations betweem AT&T and DOJ/Greene, there were changes to some of LATA boundary lines origianally drawn up. In the complete list, most "Bell" LATA's are identified by consecutive even numbers. But there are some "skipped" even numbers, as well as some "odd" numbers for the LATA code. The following summarizes which even numbers were skipped and which odd number codes were probably added: (start off with 161 "Bell" LATA's) Delete the following four: #372 (part of IL - east St.Louis area?) #622 (part of MN - Brainerd MN?) #642 (part of SD? NE?) #662 (part of UT? NM?) Add the following seven: #133 Poughkeepsie NY #325 Akron OH #477 Huntsville AL #521 Westphalia MO (was to be LATA #959 Jefferson City & Columbia MO) #570 Hearne TX (was to be an indep.LATA 9NX Bryan TX) #635 Cedar Rapids IA #721 Pahrump NV (was to be an indep.LATA 9NX Las Vegas NV) (end up with 164 "Bell" LATA's) There were also to have been some other "independent" LATA's using "9NX" codes such as: (9NX) Ashland KY (GTE) -absorbed into existing #466 Winchester KY #955 Dothan AL (GTE) -absorbed into existing #478 Montgomery AL #959 Jefferson City MO (United) & Columbia MO (GTE) -transformed into NEW #521 Westphalia MO (9NX) Bryan TX (GTE) -transformed into NEW #570 Hearne TX (9NX) Las Vegas NV (Centel) -tranformed into NEW #721 Pahrump NV Some of the above "deleted" independent LATA's had their boundaries redrawn to become a "Bell" LATA, by adding some Bell central offices of an adjacent "initial/existing" Bell LATA. Others were just completely absorbed into an intial/existing adjacent "Bell" LATA. There were also some additional "independent" LATA's added in 1984/85. 1NX - NYNEX (12 total) =========== 120 Maine 122 New Hampshire 124 Vermont 126 western MA 128 eastern MA 130 Rhode Island 132 New York City METRO (also includes the exchanges of the towns in southwestern CT handled by NYNEX- Byram and Greenwich, but not SNET's 'Old Greenwich' exchange; also includes Long Island and portions of counties just north of Bronx NYCity) 133 Poughkeepsie NY (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*) 134 Albany NY 136 Syracuse NY 138 Binghampton NY 140 Buffalo NY 2NX - Bell Atlantic (19 total) =================== 220 Atlantic Coastal area (NJ) 222 Delaware Valley area (NJ) 224 northern NJ area 226 Capital PA 228 Philadelphia PA (includes entire state of Delaware) 230 Altoona PA 232 northeastern PA 234 Pittsburgh PA 236 Washington DC METRO (includes MD and VA suburbs) 238 Baltimore MD 240 Hagerstown MD 242 Salisbury MD 244 Roanoke VA (discontiguous LATA; split by LATA #932) 246 Culpepper VA 248 Richmond VA 250 Lynchburg VA 252 Norfolk VA 254 Charleston WV 256 Clarksburg WV 3NX - Ameritech (29 total) =============== 320 Cleveland OH 322 Youngstown OH 324 Columbus OH 325 Akron OH (*added to 'original' 1982/83 sheme*) 326 Toledo OH 328 Dayton OH 330 Evansville IN 332 South Bend IN 334 Auburn-Huntington IN 336 Indianapolis IN 338 Bloomington IN 340 Detroit MI 342 upper peninsula MI (incl. part of northwest WI) 344 Saginaw MI 346 Lansing MI 348 Grand Rapids MI 350 northeastern WI 352 northwestern WI 354 southwestern WI 356 southeastern WI 358 Chicago IL METRO (includes some WI and IN suburbs) 360 Rockford IL 362 Cairo IL 364 Sterling IL 366 Forrest IL 368 Peoria IL 370 Champaign IL (skipped 372, was to be IL east of St.Louis???, now part of #520) 374 Springfield IL 376 Quincy IL 4NX - Bell South (38 total) ================ (note within Florida, there are *also* "sub-LATA zones" as per state regulatory stipulations. They are known as "Equal Access Exchange Areas", EAEA's; this *also* happens in "independent" areas in Florida using '9NX' LATA codes) 420 Asheville NC 422 Charlotte NC 424 Greensboro NC 426 Raleigh NC 428 Wilmington NC 430 Greenville SC 432 Florence SC 434 Columbia SC 436 Charleston SC 438 Atlanta GA 440 Savannah GA 442 Augusta GA 444 Albany GA 446 Macon GA 448 Pensacola FL (448-13 WA-EA; 448-14 CR-EA; 448-15 FW-EA) 450 Panama City FL (450-09 PC-EA; 450-10 SJ-EA; 450-11 QC-EA; 450-12 MR-EA) 452 Jacksonville FL (452-04 CL-EA; 452-05 LO-EA) 454 Gainesville FL (454-02 NW-EA; 454-03 OL-EA) 456 Daytona Beach FL (456-01 PO-EA) 458 Orlando FL (458-06 OR-EA; 458-07 LB-EA; 458-08 WI-EA) 460 southeastern FL (460-17 GG-EA; 460-18 GR-EA) 462 Louisville KY 464 Owensboro KY 466 Winchester KY (includes GTE- Ashland KY, was to be own LATA) 468 Memphis TN 470 Nashville TN 472 Chattanooga TN 474 Knoxville TN 476 Birmingham AL 477 Huntsville AL (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*) 478 Montgomery AL (includes GTE- Dothan AL, was to be own LATA 955) 480 Mobile AL 482 Jackson MS (Incl.part of LA across the Miss.River from Natchez MS) 484 Biloxi/Gulfcoast area MS 486 Shreveport LA 488 Lafayette LA 490 New Orleans LA 492 Baton Rouge LA 5NX - Southwestern Bell (27 total) ======================= 520 St.Louis MO (also includes a rather sizeable portion of central IL Ameritech and independent central offices) 521 Westphalia MO (includes United- Jefferson City MO and GTE- Columbia MO, was to be its own LATA 959) (*LATA 521 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*) 522 Springfield MO 524 Kansas City MO/KS area (northwest MO, eastern KS) 526 Ft.Smith AR 528 Little Rock AR 530 Pine Bluff AR 532 Witchita KS 534 Topeka KS 536 Oklahoma City OK 538 Tulsa OK 540 El Paso TX 542 Midland TX 544 Lubbock TX 546 Amarillo TX 548 Witchita Falls TX 550 Abilene TX 552 Dallas TX 554 Longview TX 556 Waco TX 558 Austin TX 560 Houston TX 562 Beaumont TX 564 Corpus Christi TX 566 San Antonio TX 568 Brownsville TX 570 Hearne TX (incl. GTE- Bryan TX, was to be its own LATA) (*LATA 570 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*) 6NX - US West (27 total) ============= 620 Rochester MN (skipped 622, was to be Brainerd MN???, now part of #636) 624 Duluth MN 626 St.Cloud MN 628 Minneapolis-St.Paul MN 630 Sioux City IA 632 Des Moines IA 634 Davenport IA (incl. some of northwest IL indep/Ameritech) 635 Cedar Rapids IA (*added to 'original' 1982/83 scheme*) 636 Brainerd MN / Fargo ND (northwestern MN and eastern ND) 638 Bismark ND 640 South Dakota (skipped 642, was to be somewhere in SD??? NE???) 644 Omaha NE (incl. part of southwestern IA) 646 Grand Island NE 648 Great Falls MT 650 Billings MT 652 Idaho (southern) 654 Wyoming 656 Denver CO 658 Colorado Springs CO 660 Utah (skipped 662 southeast UT? northwest NM? now part of Navajo's #980/981?) 664 New Mexico 666 Phoenix AZ 668 Tucson AZ 670 Eugene OR 672 Portland OR (incl.part of southwestern WA) 674 Seattle WA 676 Spokane WA (includes part of central Idaho) 7NX - Pacific Telesis (12 total) ===================== 720 Reno NV 721 Pahrump NV (southern NV, including Sprint's Centel Las Vegas, was to be own LATA) (*LATA 721 was added to original 1982/83 scheme*) 722 San Francisco CA 724 Chico CA 726 Sacramento CA 728 Fresno CA 730 Los Angeles CA (extends into 'independent' southwestern AZ) 732 San Diego CA 734 Bakersfield CA 736 Monterey CA 738 Stockton CA 740 San Luis Obispo CA 8NX - "offshore & international" ================================ 820 Puerto Rico (ITT) 822 US Virgin Islands (ITT) 824 Bahamas (pseudo-LATA) (C&W) 826 Jamaica (pseudo-LATA) (C&W) 828 Dominican Republic (pseudo-LATA) (GTE/ITT) 830 "other Caribbean islands" (pseudo-LATA) (C&W) (Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Cayman Is, Turks & Caicos Is, British West Indies from British Virgin Is to Grenada including Barbados) 832 Alaska (AT&T Alascom) 834 Hawaii (GTE) 836 Midway-Wake (also CNMI-Guam-Am.Samoa?) (GTE/RCA) 838 Mexico (pseudo-LATA) (Telemex/ITT) 840 "international/overseas" (pseudo-LATA) Canadian "pseudo" LATA's 850 Bell Canada- Quebec (BCE- Bell Canada Enterprises; this "LATA" also includes many of BCE-Telebec's local and toll switches, particularly in central/western PQ and the Iles-de-la- Madeline area in the Gulf of St.Lawrence, also Schefferville PQ on the PQ/NF(LB) border; also in this "LATA" are local central offices of a number of small indep.telcos in Quebec which home on a Bell Canada toll/tandem switch) 851 Bell Canada- Ontario (BCE- Bell Canada Enterprises; this "LATA" also includes: the ON Govt/Railways owned Ontario Northland Telecommunications local and toll office switches (which BCE-Northern Tel homes on) and BCE-Northern Telephone's local central offices, as well as the local central offices of a number of small independent telcos in Ontario which home on a Bell Canada toll/tandem switch, in particular: Thunder Bay Telecommunications and Manitoulin-Is.Tel/Amtelicom) 881 Edmonton AB (EdTel, now part of "Telus" Corp) 882 Prince Rupert City BC (municipally owned "independent") 883 GTE's Quebec Telephone (discontiguous- separated into two parts of Quebec, eastern and southern by some of Bell Canada's territory; this "LATA" also includes a number of small independent telcos in Quebec which home on a GTE-Quebec toll switch, in particular: Sogetel with about a dozen local offices in the southern PQ part of this "LATA"; BCE-Telebec's Fermont PQ local exchange on the PQ/NF(LB) border is in the eastern PQ part of this "LATA") 884 Alberta (except Edmonton) (AGT is part of "Telus" Corp) 885 Newfoundland (NewTel is partially owned by BCE) 886 GTE's British Columbia Telephone Co. 887 Prince Edward Island (Island Telephone, owned by MT&T of NS) 888 Manitoba (MTS) 889 Nova Scotia (MT&T- Maritime Tel & Tel, partially owned by BCE) 890 New Brunswick (NBTel is partially owned by BCE) 891 Saskatchewan (Saskatel) 892 "Northwestel" (owned by BCE) (northern BC, YT, NWT-incl.old Bell Canada in eastern/Arctic NWT) 9NX - "independent" LATA's (continental US) =========================================== 920 Connecticut (SNET) (two NYNEX exchanges in southwestern CT- Byram and Greenwich are NOT in this LATA- they are in NY City Metro, #132 but SNET's 'Old Greenwich' IS in this LATA; also a local independent, Woodbury (CT) Tel is in this LATA) 921 Fishers Island NY (Fishers Is Telephone Co) 922 Cincinnati OH METRO (Cincinnati Bell Telephone) (includes suburbs in OH, KY, IN; some nearby small independents are also in this LATA) 923 Lima-Mansfield OH (SPRINT-United) (discontiguous- separated into two sgmnts by LATA #324 Columbus OH, into Mansfield area in central OH and Lima area in western OH) 924 Erie PA (GTE) 927 Harrisonburg VA (GTE-Contel) 928 Charlottesville VA (SPRINT-Centel) 929 Edinburg VA (Shenandoah Telephone) 930 Epps Fork VA (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel) 932 Bluefield WV (Citizen's Telecom, southern WV; GTE, western VA) 937 Richmond IN (GTE) (incl. part of western OH) 938 Terre Haute IN (GTE) (incl. part of eastern IL) 939 Ft.Myers FL (SPRINT-United) (939-01 Avon Park EA; 939-02 Ft.Myers EA) 949 Fayetteville NC (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel) 951 Rocky Mount NC (SPRINT-United's Carolina Tel & Tel) 952 Tampa FL (GTE) 953 Talahassee FL (SPRINT-Centel) 956 Bristol TN/VA - Johnson City TN (SPRINT-United's Inter-Mountain Tel) (northeastern TN and extreme southwestern VA) 958 Lincoln NE (Lincoln Tel & Tel) 960 Coeur d'Alene ID (GTE)- north Idaho, parts of northeast WA 961 San Angelo TX (GTE) 963 Kalispell MT (Northwestern Telephone Co. of Montana) 973 Palm Springs CA (GTE) 974 Rochester NY (Frontier's Rochester Tel) 976 Mattoon IL (Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co) 977 Macomb/Galesburg IL (GTE) 978 Olney IL (GTE) 980 Navajo Communications of Arizona (northeastern AZ) 981 Navajo Communications of Utah (southeastern UT) 999 (default "LATA" code for NPA's 500, 800, 900, etc) MARK J. CUCCIA PHONE/WRITE/WIRE: HOME: (USA) Tel: CHestnut 1-2497 WORK: mcuccia@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu |4710 Wright Road| (+1-504-241-2497) Tel:UNiversity 5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New Orleans 28 |fwds on no-answr to Fax:UNiversity 5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 17:58:54 +0100 From: Peter Judge Subject: Numbering Chaos in the UK Dear Patrick, Here is a story, from another publication which I edit, which might be of interest to TELECOM Digest readers. << from Telecoms Newsline, a news service sponsored by Hewlett-Packard >> ------------------------------ Oh no! It's PhoneDay again! =========================== UK telephone subscribers are to face further upheaval in the national numbering scheme by the end of the decade, says Oftel. Despite the extra digit 1 added to most area codes on the so-called PhoneDay barely 16 months ago, codes in London, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Southampton and Belfast will all have to change to meet demand for numbers. If the proposals go through, London will have its third code change in ten years. Oftel's Director General Don Cruickshank - who inherited a shambles on the numbering front - did the only thing possible in the circumstances, confessing; "Our ability to forecast the increase in demand for numbers hasn't been too good." On a more robust note, he added, "The UK is in the forefront of the information revolution because we have one of the world's most competitive and dynamic markets in telecoms networks and services. If we are to maintain our leading position and its rewards, our numbering scheme must keep pace." For London, the proposals would mean a new code, 020 (and possibly 022), followed by eight digit numbers consisting of the existing phone number, preceded by a 7 or 8. The proposals also aim to iron out inconsistencies involving mobile phones, premium rate numbers and other 'special' tariffs. Mr Cruickshank said that between 25 and 30 other areas are running out of numbers and would need action in the next 15 or 20 years. Oftel has been reported as predicting that these changes, taken together will be the last - though similar things were said about PhoneDay. They should last for thirty years, reported Radio 4's Today programme, by which time everyone will use portable numbers and Internet addresses. TN particularly enjoyed the pithy views expressed by Mr Derek Broom of Northampton on 7 August in a letter to the Financial Times: "BT's PhoneDay swept the problem under the mat, and the industry regulator, Oftel, is again lifting a carpet bulging with effluvium. "Eleven digits imply an ultimate address potential of 99 billion," says Mr Broom. "Where have all the numbers gone?" He blames holdovers from the electromechanical Strowger system (such as the initial zero in UK numbers), and from BT's monopoly. His interesting suggestion is an Internet-style agency to register numbers to subscribers and hold directory information, paid for by enquiry and registration fees. "Although Oftel has now taken responsibility for numbering,", he says, "it has neither the resource nor the scope to tackle this fundamental problem." ------------------------------ (c) Hewlett-Packard. Telecoms Newsline is a free independent news service cvering the UK telecoms market, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. Editor: Peter Judge Contributor: Annie Turner To subscribe, send a message to hp@globalnews.com, with the word 'subscribe' in the subject or the body of the message. ------------------------------ From: Florian <104665.1403@compuserve.com> Subject: Pulse Metering on D-channel (ISDN) Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:05:50 -0400 Organization: CyberGate, Inc. Reply-To: 104665.1403@compuserve.com What are the solutions for pulse metering using the D-channel? Are there any specifications/recommendations available on the subject for the US and the European market? Florian Damas mailto:104665.1403@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: Florian <104665.1403@compuserve.com> Subject: Looking for English/French Telecommunications Dictionary Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 15:01:54 -0400 Organization: CyberGate, Inc. Reply-To: 104665.1403@compuserve.com Are there any good telecommunications dictionaries on the Web in English with the translations of the terms in French? Florian Damas mailto:104665.1403@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: Michael Wengler Subject: Re: Calling Card Rates to Mexico Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:24:06 -0700 Organization: QUALCOMM, Inc. Yosef Rabinowitz wrote: > I have a customer who rents office space in a standard business > center. The landlord has exclusivity on the phone lines and charges > AT&T's standard rates + 20%. Customer does a few thousand minutes to > Mexico zones 4 and 7. I cannot give 10XXX service since the landlord > has blocked it. I am looking for a calling card platform (pre-paid or > otherwise) that has rates to Mexico at 50 cents per minute or less. The VoiceNet International Travel Card has these rates to Mexico: Mexico band 1 $0.45 Mexico band 2 $0.51 Mexico band 3 $0.63 Mexico band 4 $0.71 Mexico band 5 $0.79 Card can be used from any US phone, requires making an 800 number call to access. This is a credit card, customer is billed after calls are made. Charge is 6-second increment with a 30-second minimum per call. No other charges apply (no signup, monthly, surcharge or anything. Just pay for minutes on the phone.) http://www.he.net/~wengler/VoiceNet for information, rates, and application form. Thanks, Mike ------------------------------ From: Michael Wengler Subject: Re: Wireless Satellite Communication - A Challenge Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:37:45 -0700 Organization: Qualcomm, Inc. William J. Halverson wrote: > Mark Rivers wrote: >> Marvin Demuth wrote: >>> WHAT WE NEED: >>> We need facilities, preferably involving satellite communication with >>> voice, fax and email capabilities, at low cost. I have seen figures >>> from $1.49 to $9.00 per minute on the Web for satellite service. We >>> need something better than this. We need to be spending our funds on > >SNIP< >> It can be done now but it is not inexpensive! > I suggest you check out what Iridium and Teledesyc [sic] have planned > for LEOS systems. Iridium [Motorola initiated] is designed to provide > voice comm, while Teledesyc [a Bill Gates venture] aims to provide > mobile videoconferencing via satellites. 1) Motorola's Iridium is not there yet. I *think* they are scheduled for commercial service in 1998, but a quick glance at their web pages didn't yield the date to me. 2) Teledesic is, I'm pretty sure, even further into the future. 3) Globalstar will also be up for commercial service in 1998 (I don't speak officially, I'm just trying to accurately present plans that have been made public in the past.) Some info on Globalstar can be found at http://www.qualcomm.com/IR/stockmtg/comm/P001.html and following pages. Mike Wengler NOT speaking officially for Qualcomm, but as a TELECOM Digest reader only. ------------------------------ 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: * ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.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: Post Office Box 4621 Skokie, IL USA 60076 Phone: 847-329-0571 Fax: 847-329-0572 ** Article submission address: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Our archives are located at mirror.lcs.mit.edu. The URL is: http://mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp: ftp mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note to tel-archives@mirror.lcs.mit.edu to receive a help file for using this method or write me and ask for a copy of the help file for the Telecom Archives. ************************************************************************* * 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. * ************************************************************************* Finally, 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. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V16 #415 ******************************