Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id NAA16175; Sun, 20 Apr 1997 13:41:19 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 20 Apr 1997 13:41:19 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <199704201741.NAA16175@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V17 #96 TELECOM Digest Sun, 20 Apr 97 13:40:00 EDT Volume 17 : Issue 96 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson UCLA Short Course: "Project Management Principles and Practice" (B. Goodin) UCLA Short Course: "The Engineer in Transition to Management" (B. Goodin) BellSouth/Florida Recognizes 6 Millionth Access Line (Mike King) Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing in Dallas (Tad Cook) Seattle Telephone Museum Open House (Joseph Singer) Announcement: NPA-NXX Data For 2Q97 (John Cropper) Telecom Conference and Exhibition (Darren Beyer) Radio Call-in Contest Regulations (Steve Summit) Book Review: "The Internet by E-Mail" by Shirky (Rob Slade) Need Help With COCOT Programming (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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: * subscriptions@telecom-digest.org * 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: 847-727-5427 Fax: 773-539-4630 ** Article submission address: editor@telecom-digest.org ** Our archives are available for your review/research. The URL is: http://telecom-digest.org (WWW/http only!) They can also be accessed using anonymous ftp: ftp hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives (or use our mirror site: ftp ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) A third method is the Telecom Email Information Service: Send a note to archives@telecom-digest.org 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Bill Goodin Subject: UCLA Short Course: "Project Management Principles and Practice" Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 18:08:00 -0700 On July 8-11, 1997, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "Project Management Principles and Practice", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The instructor is Arnold M. Ruskin, PhD, PE, PMP, Partner, Claremont Consulting Group and Technical Manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Each participant receives the text, "What Every Engineer Should Know About Project Management", 2nd Edition, Arnold M. Ruskin and W. Eugene Estes, 1995, and extensive course notes. For technical program and project managers and personnel, functional managers whose staff participate in programs and projects, and executives to whom program or project managers report. Corporate personnel increasingly work on "one-time" assignments called programs or projects. These efforts require particular approaches, methods, and systems for their planning, execution, and control. The purpose of this course is to develop insight into the special characteristics of programs and projects and the tools and techniques needed to manage them. Specific objectives for the course are: o to understand the nature of program and project management o to understand the importance of end-item focus, careful planning, appropriate control, open and timely communication, and interproject coordination and prioritization o to gain an appreciation of project planning, control, and other useful tools o to understand alternative organizational structures, elements of leadership, and ways of maximizing personal and project effectiveness. Specific topics include: Nature of projects, Group exercise: anatomy of a project, Duties of the project manager, Project planning techniques, Measuring cost, schedule, and technical performance, Project control techniques, Implementing planning and control techniques, Project organizations and staffing, Project management in multiproject and matrix environments, Fiedler's contingency model of team effectiveness, Team-building, Project startup meetings, Case study: integrated project management, Risk management, Project management exercise: complex project decision-making. Prerequisite: Firsthand involvement in or responsibility for programs or projects or some portion thereof. UCLA Extension has presented this highly successful short course since 1982. The course fee is $1295, which includes the text and course materials. These course materials are for participants only, and are not for sale. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: (310) 825-1047 (310) 206-2815 fax mhenness@unex.ucla.edu http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses/ This course may also be presented on-site at company locations. ------------------------------ From: Bill Goodin Subject: UCLA Short Course: "The Engineer in Transition to Management" Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 18:16:00 -0700 On July 9-11, 1997, UCLA Extension will present the short course, "The Engineer in Transition to Management", on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. The instructor is Ronald G. Read, MSEE, PE, Director of Process Development World Wide, ITT Cannon. This course addresses the common pitfalls facing the engineer moving into management. It provides the skills and knowledge to make this transition effectively. While most courses focus on the "content" of a particular subject area, this course presents effective management techniques or "processes" for engineers moving into management. These processes deal with how to improve the logic used in analyzing data you must deal with every day as a manager. For example, a machine design course would show you how to design equipment. It wouldn't normally focus on the logic of how to "process" or analyze the data needed to resolve an issue with the machine design such as equipment failure. This course offers methods by which data on management issues can be systematically and quickly analyzed. These issues include solving problems, decision making, planning, and identifying and prioritizing key concerns. The course also addresses the "core content skills" needed to manage effectively in which engineers are never trained. These leadership and teaming skills include understanding effective leadership behaviors. The course is aimed at increasing awareness and skill level in motivating, using effective management styles, communication and interpersonal skills, teaching/coaching/mentoring, goal setting, delegating effectively, time management, team building, and personal growth. The course fee is $1195, which includes extensive course materials. These materials are for participants only, and are not for sale. For additional information and a complete course description, please contact Marcus Hennessy at: (310) 825-1047 (310) 206 -2815 fax mhenness@unex.ucla.edu http://www.unex.ucla.edu/shortcourses/ This course may also be presented on-site at company locations. ------------------------------ From: Mike King Subject: BellSouth/Florida Recognizes 6 Millionth Access Line Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 22:29:37 PDT ----- Forwarded Message ----- Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 11:13:35 -0400 (EDT) From: BellSouth Subject: BellSouth/Florida Recognizes 6 Millionth Access Line BellSouth/Florida Recognizes 6 Millionth Access Line MIAMI-- Record pace of access line growth not likely to continue. For the Bell System to reach its first million customers in Florida, it took 76 years. Southern Bell was incorporated in December of 1879 and its first exchange debuted on May 24, 1880 in Jacksonville. The one millionth access line in service was reached in February of 1955. Since then communication services has become a critical element of our daily lives. Helped by technology and reasonable pricing, access line growth has reflected an upwards trend. "For the convenience and enhancement it has to your quality of life, the telephone still stands as one of the best buys offered in our society," said BellSouth Spokesman Spero Canton. In April 1997 BellSouth/Florida celebrated installation of its 6 millionth access line in service with Dr. Jay Cohen and his family. The order for Dr. Cohen, an obstetrician who lives in Weston, Fla. in southwest Broward County, may mark the end of an era of record growth for access lines in BellSouth's Florida service territory. Since November of 1981, BellSouth has been adding another million access lines in service at an accelerated pace but competition will make slow that growth considerably. "We're facing competition on every level in the telecommunications industry. With more than 100 new Alternate Local Exchange Companies providing local service throughout Florida, our future access line growth will be considerably curtailed," said Canton. On the positive side, BellSouth plans on growing new businesses in the next decade, with markets in which the company was previously not allowed to compete. Although local access line growth will decline, new services in long distance, cable television and Internet access services will create new markets and new possibilities for the future. "Our growth has always been linked closely with the economic development of the state and the sophisticated nature of our customers. Florida customers have traditionally demanded a high level of service and access to the latest technology available. We've been successful in meeting those demands on a continuous basis and will continue to involve the customer in determining the types of products and services we'll be offering in the future. That philosophy will set us apart," said Canton. Florida Date Time Needed 1 Million FEB 1955 76 Years 2 Million SEP 1973 18 Years 3 Million NOV 1981 8 Years 4 Million JAN 1988 7 Years 5 Million AUG 1993 5 Years 6 Million MAR 1997 4 Years NOTE: For more information about BellSouth, visit the BellSouth Web page at http://www.bellsouth.com. Also, BellSouth news releases dating back one year are available by fax at no charge by calling 1-800-758-5804, ext. 095650. ---------- Mike King * Oakland, CA, USA * mk@wco.com ------------------------------ Subject: Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing in Dallas Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 15:51:40 PDT From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) Mandatory 10-Digit Dialing Starts Saturday in Dallas The Dallas Morning News Starting Saturday, calls between the 972 and 214 area codes require all 10 digits. Callers who forget to start their dialing with the 214 or 972 prefix will get either a wrong number or -- for 60 days -- a message reminding them to include the area code. There are no new charges for calls that have been free, but long-distance calls into the new 972 region will also require the new area code. Calls within the codes will still work with only seven digits. The Dallas area got its new area code last September. The new 972 region includes the extreme northern and southern parts of the city of Dallas and surrounding areas. Most of Dallas and small parts of western Mesquite and Garland kept the 214 area code. North Texas is one of about 55 U.S. regions receiving new area codes. The reasons? New technology that gobbles up phone lines and new phone companies that must be assigned their own blocks of numbers. The Fort Worth region is due for its own area code change in late May, and regulators are already planning more new codes in the Dallas area before 2000. "We know people are just getting used to the new codes, and we feel it's too bad we have to turn around and do it again," said Leslie Kjellstrand, spokeswoman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Apr 1997 09:01:44 -0700 From: Joseph Singer Subject: Seattle Telephone Museum Open House The Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum in Seattle, Washington which is a project of the Telephone Pioneers of America will have an open house on May 3, 1997 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This is an opportunity to see a really great museum on a Saturday. The museum is normally open on Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The third floor where the tour begins has a panel, step-by-step, #5 cross bar, radio and several PBXs. There is a first generation ESS office also. They are all working. There is also a picture phone display as well as other displays many of which were used in the exhibits that were used in the 1962 World's Fair which was held in Seattle. The second floor contains more exhibits with customer equipment and other things such as old pay phones including a British "call box." How to get there: located at 7000 East Marginal Way South. From I-5 take the Michigan St./Corson Ave. exit (exit 162) and head down Corson Ave. to the end where it intersects with East Marginal Way. The museum will be on your left in a US West building. Joseph Singer Seattle, Washington, USA mailto:dov@oz.net http://oz.net/~dov 460262@pager.mirabilis.com [ICQ pgr] PO Box 23135, Seattle, WA 98102 FAX +1 206 325 5862 ------------------------------ From: John Cropper Subject: Announcement: NPA-NXX Data For 2Q97 Date: Sun, 20 Apr 1997 10:56:10 -0400 Organization: lincs.net Reply-To: jcropper@NOSPAM.lincs.net The NPA-NXX utilization data for 2Q97 is now online at: http://www.lincs.net/areacode/npa-nxx.htm Some highlights... Big moves in some already-crowded NPAs. Of the top 20: CA - 5, PA - 3, TX & NJ - 2 ea. 34 NPAs with 75% or more usage, 5 NPAs @ 90%+ ! The top 20 NPAs have utilization of at least 80% Also included in the data are NXXs to be activated during the second quarter period (April 1 - mid June) of 1997. John Cropper, Webmaster voice: 888.NPA.NFO2 Legacy IS, Networking & Comm. Solutions 609.637.9434 P.O. Box 277 fax: 609.637.9430 Pennington, NJ 08534-0277 Unsolicited commercial e-mail is subject mailto:jcropper@lincs.net to a fee as outlined in the agreement at http://www.lincs.net/ http://www.lincs.net/spamoff.htm ------------------------------ From: rocket@inter-look.com (Darren Beyer) Subject: Telecom Conference and Exhibition Date: 19 Apr 1997 13:31:38 GMT Organization: Netcom International Insider announces Insider Europe '97, European Telecoms Resale Conference and Exhibition, coming May 13th - 15th to Paris, France. Sponsors include three major telecommunications industry associations. WHY ATTEND: * Two full days of Targeted Seminars on Competitive International Telecoms * Expert Speakers: Industry Insiders, PTTs, PTOs, Regulators, Noted Attorneys, * Researchers and Network Strategists * Practical Business Solutions * Profit Opportunities * Networking Opportunities * New Products & Services * One Free Issue of International Insider (US $33 value) WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: * Special Sessions on the WTO Agreement * Where the International Resale Market is Headed * What Strategies Guarantee Success in the European Telecoms Market * How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Entering a Newly Competitive Marketplace * How to Build a Global Customer Base * How the EU Telecoms Sector is Developing * Considerations for Doing Business in the EU * How to Transition from International Callback Provider to Global Carrier * How Internet Telephony Will Impact Telecoms Competition in Europe * How Industry Associations Can Assist Competitive Telecoms Companies * How to Capitalize on Emerging Technologies * What Direction Resellers and Carriers are Taking in Europe For more information on this event visit the Insider web site at: http://www.insider-online.com or e-mail: register@insider-online.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 11:29:20 PDT From: scs@eskimo.com (Steve Summit) Reply-To: scs@eskimo.com Subject: Radio Call-In Contest Regulations Once upon a time I heard, I don't remember where, that radio stations operate under strict telco rules when they have those "the seventh caller wins a prize" contests. As I understand it, radio stations may operate such contests only in careful cooperation with the local telephone company. I've speculated that special contest numbers are used which are known to all of the switches in a metropolitan area, so that the load of returning busy signals to N-1 callers can be distributed among all of the CO's, rather than swamping the one switch attached to the contest line (and tying up lots of trunks). If this isn't a fiction of mine, I'm sure that some TELECOM Digest readers know of the details of such rules. I tried calling US West, but they referred me to the Public Utilities Commission, which hasn't returned my call. I tried calling my favorite local radio station, but they referred me to the FCC. I checked the FCC's web pages, but all I found was 47CFR73.1216 which contains one paragraph and two notes stating essentially that contests must be fair, and mentioning nothing about maintaining the stability of the network. I'd rather not spend hours on hold with civil servants at the FCC in Washington, because what I'm really after is examples of some individual telephone companies' actual operational policies, not some blanket FCC rule. Also, if there's anything to this, what enforcement powers does the telephone company have? If a radio station conducts an unauthorized contest, can the phone company cut off their service? Fine them? Get them hauled off to jail? [No, I'm not planning on conducting any unauthorized contests. I actually have a much more interesting reason for asking, which I'll relate another day.] Steve Summit scs@eskimo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 10:33:58 EST From: Rob Slade Subject: Book Review: "The Internet by E-Mail" by Shirky BKINTEML.RVW 961214 "The Internet by E-Mail", Clay Shirky, 1994, 1-56276-240-0, U$19.95/C$27.95 %A Clay Shirky clays@panix.com %C 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290 %D 1994 %G 1-56276-240-0 %I MacMillan Computer Publishing (MCP) %O U$19.95/C$27.95 http://www.mcp.com info@mcp.com %P 220 %T "The Internet by E-Mail" Getting closer. This book does provide descriptions and explicit directions on how to use a variety of Internet resources, all using only email. MIT's rtfm server gets extensive coverage. ftp by mail is discussed quite well, and mailing lists are explained thoroughly. Unfortunately, there are still areas missing. Access to gopher and the World Wide Web via email are not mentioned at all. Usenet gets a lot of space, but ultimately only those groups which are mirrors of mailing lists are part of the discussion. There is no reference to true mail-to-news gateways, which can be used to post to the broader range of newsgroups, nor of news-to-mail services which allow one to "read" news. There are a number of areas addressed in the book which get shortchanged in other titles. Compression and archiving is covered, although some common formats are missed. The (brief) section on viruses is *very* good: much better than in most general works. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996 BKINTEML.RVW 961214 roberts@decus.ca rslade@vcn.bc.ca slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca link to virus, book info at http://www.freenet.victoria.bc.ca/techrev/rms.html Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER) ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Need Help With COCOT Programming Date: Sun, 20 Apr 1997 01:00:00 EDT I was recently given -- free of charge! -- an old COCOT type payphone which had been in a building long abandoned and being torn down. The phone appears to have a lot of circuit boards inside it, and when I plug it in to a phone line I do get dial tone, however no matter what I dial all it says is 'that is not a valid number'. It appears to go off hook when I do so I hear my dial tone, then with my first key press it disconnects the phone line on its side and waits until I have finished dialing. It appears to interpret what I have dialed and then after making demand for money (but in my case all it ever says is 'that is not a valid number') it goes off hook to place the call. When I dial into it, the line (not the phone) rings about six times and the COCOT answers; the voice says simply, 'thank you', emits four or five tones, and hangs up. Assistance in programming would be greatly appreciated. If it can be only programmed by calling in (as opposed to being programmed from the keypad on the front) let me know that also. I may set this up on one of my home phone lines as a novelty if I can get it to work. Either email me here or fax me at 773-539-4630. Thanks, Patrick Townson ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V17 #96 *****************************