Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id XAA07065; Thu, 26 Feb 1998 23:24:35 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 23:24:35 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <199802270424.XAA07065@massis.lcs.mit.edu> To: ptownson Subject: TELECOM Digest V18 #32 TELECOM Digest Thu, 26 Feb 98 23:24:00 EST Volume 18 : Issue 32 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Administrivia: Getting Back on Schedule (TELECOM Digest Editor) Telecom Update (Canada) #121, February 23, 1998 (Angus TeleManagement) Area Codes Boom Blasted (Tad Cook) SNET: The Baby That Wasn't a 'Baby Bell' (oldbear@arctos.com) Update on LincMad's Telecom Pages (Linc Madison) Last Laugh: Just a Normal Installation (oldbear@arctos.com) 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@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 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. * ************************************************************************* In addition, a gift from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert has enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 23:02:19 EST From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: Administrivia: Getting Back on Schedule A lot of the mail received over the past couple weeks will unfortunatly not be used in the Digest ... I am going to clear out several hundred waiting messages tonight and ask that we start over from the beginning. Also, list maintainence requests got pretty much out of control and I am asking that if you wrote me to be added or deleted from the mailing list over the past two/thre weeks -- or merely to change your address, etc -- that you write me again. I am pretty much writing off February as a lost month this year and perhaps with the support of all the fine readers here, March and the remainder of the year will be much better. Thanks very much for your support, advice and assistance over the past two weeks. I read every single piece of mail received about the system crash and thank each of you for writing, even if I did not send a personal reply. PAT ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 11:20:14 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #121, February 23, 1998 ************************************************************ * * * TELECOM UPDATE * * Angus TeleManagement's Weekly Telecom Newsbulletin * * http://www.angustel.ca * * Number 121: February 23, 1998 * * * * Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by * * generous financial support from: * * * * Bell Canada ................. http://www.bell.ca/ * * City Dial Network Services .. http://www.citydial.com/ * * Computer Talk Technology .... http://icescape.com/ * * fONOROLA .................... http://www.fonorola.com/ * * Lucent Technologies ......... http://www.lucent.com/ * * * ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** AT&T Says Canada Violates World Telecom Pact ** Videotron Seeks Partner for Telecom Venture ** Teleglobe Wins Quebec Wireless Cable License ** BC Tel Gets OK for Wireless Local Service ** Canadian Numbering Administrator Sought ** Call-Net Budgets $100 Million for Local Service ** Fee Set for Satellite Capacity Requests ** CadVision Tries MetroNet ** ITU Agrees on Standard for 56K Modems ** Saskatchewan to Allow Local Resale April 1 ** Northern Telephone Proposes Rate Restructuring ** TMI Sells MSAT Capacity to U.S. Distributors ** McKenna to Chair AlphaNet Board ** Rogers Sells Stake in Cogeco ** Davidson to Head Cantel Ontario Region ** U.S. Wireless Broadband Auction Begins ** Payphone Association Meets ** ITAC, CCIB Propose E-Commerce Conference ** Angus Dortmans New Address ** Last Chance for Telemanagement Bonus Offer ============================================================ AT&T SAYS CANADA VIOLATES WORLD TELECOM PACT: AT&T Corp. says that Canada is violating the world telecom trade agreement by prohibiting the routing of international calls through the U.S. AT&T wants the U.S. government to complain to the World Trade Organization. (See Telecom Update #118) VIDEOTRON SEEKS PARTNER FOR TELECOM VENTURE: Groupe Videotron says it is looking for a partner to help launch local service in Quebec. The company denied rumors of a possible takeover by Telus. TELEGLOBE WINS QUEBEC WIRELESS CABLE LICENSE: The CRTC has given a broadcasting license to Look Tele, 50% owned by Teleglobe, for MDS (Wireless Cable) in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa-Hull, and surrounding regions. (See Telecom Update #94) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/bcasting/decision/1998/d9855_0.txt BC TEL GETS OK FOR WIRELESS LOCAL SERVICE: CRTC Telecom Order 98-144 approves BC Tel's proposal to use wireless technology to provide local service, following a successful six-month trial at Hot Springs Cove. (See Telecom Update #89) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98144_0.txt CANADIAN NUMBERING ADMINISTRATOR SOUGHT: The corporation formed to choose a Canadian telephone numbering administrator will issue an RFP March 4. To receive a copy, write Jacques Sarrazin, 3414795 Canada Inc, Room 710, 160 Elgin St., Ottawa ON K1J 3G4 by March 2. CALL-NET BUDGETS $100 MILLION FOR LOCAL SERVICE: Call-Net, the owner of Sprint Canada, says it will spend $100 Million to launch local service in 1998. Call-Net reports a $2.7 Million loss for the fourth quarter and a $16.3 profit for all of 1997; 1997 revenues were up 29%. FEE SET FOR SATELLITE CAPACITY REQUESTS: CRTC Telecom Order 98-186 sets a refundable fee of $10,000 per RF channel for applicants for Telesat satellite capacity; Telesat must give the Commission its list of applicants every three months. In most other respects, the Order sustains existing rules. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/order/1998/o98186_0.txt CADVISION TRIES METRONET: CadVision, a Calgary-based Internet Service Provider, is testing 100 local telephone lines provided by MetroNet to one of its dial-up modem pools. ITU AGREES ON STANDARD FOR 56K MODEMS: The International Telecommunication Union agreed February 6 on a standard, called V.90, for 56 Kbps modems. SASKATCHEWAN TO ALLOW LOCAL RESALE APRIL 1: The Saskatchewan government says that on April 1 it will permit resale of SaskTel's tariffed local services, including Centrex. NORTHERN TELEPHONE PROPOSES RATE RESTRUCTURING: Telecom Public Notice 98-2 asks for comment on Northern Telephone's proposal that its Northeast Ontario customers pay uniform local rates of $17.45 (residential) and $38.65 (business). The increases will pay for network modernization. Comments are due April 9. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/telecom/notice/1998/p982_0.txt TMI SELLS MSAT CAPACITY TO U.S. DISTRIBUTORS: TMI Communications will sell satellite capacity to two California-based companies, Cue Network and Skysite Communications. (See Telecom Update #111) MCKENNA TO CHAIR ALPHANET BOARD: Frank McKenna, former Premier of New Brunswick, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Toronto-based AlphaNet Telecom, which provides hotel fax and international voice-over-frame-relay services. ROGERS SELLS STAKE IN COGECO: Rogers Communications has sold its shares of Cogeco Cable for $27 Million. DAVIDSON TO HEAD CANTEL ONTARIO REGION: Rogers Cantel has appointed Dekkers Davidson as President of its Ontario region. U.S. WIRELESS BROADBAND AUCTION BEGINS: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has received high bids totaling US$192 Billion in the first round of bidding for licenses for LMDS, the wireless broadband service called LMCS in Canada. PAYPHONE ASSOCIATION MEETS: The founding meeting of the Canadian Independent Payphone Association will be held in Toronto, March 5. Contact Cameron Stuart at ipm@interlog.com ITAC, CCIB PROPOSE E-COMMERCE CONFERENCE: The Information Technology Association of Canada and the Canadian Council for International Business are proposing an international private sector conference on electronic commerce just before the OECD Ministerial Meeting in Ottawa in October. Those interested in such a meeting should contact Bill Munson by February 27 (bmunson@itac.ca). ANGUS DORTMANS NEW ADDRESS: Angus Dortmans' telecom management consulting practice now shares offices with Angus TeleManagement at 8 Old Kingston Rd., Ajax, ON L1T 2Z7. Tel: 905-686-5050 ext 300 (Toronto region) or 1-800-263-4415 ext 300; fax 905-686-2655. http://www.angustel.ca/angdort/ad.html LAST CHANCE FOR TELEMANAGEMENT BONUS OFFER: Until February 27, new subscribers to Telemanagement will receive a free copy of "Front-Line Telecom Management in the 1990s," the newly published collection of columns by Henry Dortmans, President of Angus Dortmans. ** To subscribe to Telemanagement, call 1-800-263-4415 ext 225 or go to http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm-sub.html ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week. Point your browser to www.angustel.ca and then select TELECOM UPDATE from the Main Menu. 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message should contain only the two words: subscribe update To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to majordomo@angustel.ca. The text of the message should say only: unsubscribe update [Your e-mail address] =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER: All contents copyright 1998 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 225. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ============================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Area Codes Boom Blasted Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 17:29:28 PST From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) Area codes boom blasted Critics say industry is causing artificial shortage of numbers Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON -- The costly and disruptive nationwide explosion of area codes has long been blamed on popular gadgets like fax machines and wireless phones, but critics are now charging that the shortage of telephone numbers is largely artificial. Regulators in nearly a half-dozen states are moving to impose moratoriums on new area codes out of concern that the burgeoning telephone industry is warehousing a vast reservoir of numbers instead of giving them to new customers. Poor management of telephone numbers, coupled with a refusal by the telephone industry to invest in new technology, is driving a need for more new area codes than are necessary, they say. The repeated changes of area codes have inconvenienced tens of millions of American consumers and saddled business with huge costs, triggering a growing consumer backlash that has caught federal regulators by surprise. "Telephone number assignment policies are broken and antiquated and reflect the old Ma Bell monopoly when there was only one phone company serving a geographic area," said John Hanger, a Pennsylvania public utilities commissioner. "The current system is lunacy. It has to end." The telephone industry denies it has created an artificial shortage, arguing that it does not have the technology to avoid creating new area codes. Critics say the technology exists, but the phone companies find it cheaper to create area codes than to invest in more sophisticated switching equipment. Each area code change costs companies as much as $40 million, according to one Pennsylvania estimate. Consumers are forced to reprogram their computers and home burglar alarms, as well as notify friends and relatives. Over the past three years, the number of U.S. area codes has surged by 67 percent. The impact is especially huge in California, which by the end of this year will have more than doubled the 10 area codes it had in 1991. Yet, of the 1.5 billion possible phone numbers created by the existing 193 area codes nationwide, about half a billion are not actively used, estimates Lee Selwyn, a Boston consultant. Selwyn said there are enough surplus telephone numbers to eliminate more than 60 area codes. The telephone industry acknowledges that there are surplus telephone numbers, but has not disclosed its own estimates. The recent increase in area codes, many experts agree, is more a case of the proliferation of new phone companies than the fast-growing communications technologies traditionally blamed for the increase. There are 55 million cellular phones in operation and 45 million pagers, besides the 174 million residential and business phone lines, according to industry estimates. (Each business line, however, can support up to 24 telephones.) Every carrier licensed by the government to offer service in a state is entitled to order phone numbers. And in most instances, since there is no penalty for overestimating demand, they load up. As a result, phone competition can easily send the arithmetic of phone numbers off the charts. The problem starts with the technology of existing switching equipment, which requires that allotments of telephone numbers are made in batches of 10,000. But in many cases phone or paging companies do not have customers for that many numbers. The Pennsylvania Utility Commission, for instance, found that some local phone companies holding blocks of 10,000 numbers had given fewer than a half-dozen of those numbers to subscribers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 00:11:37 -0500 From: The Old Bear Subject: SNET: The Baby That Wasn't a 'Baby Bell' Pat: This article has been sitting on my desk for about a month. I had meant to send it along to the Digest earlier. {The Boston Globe} Business Section Wednesday, January 21, 1998 Page D1 Back to the Future: SNET Still Dominates Despite efforts to open market, competitors say Baby Bell still controls 99% of local phone lines by Joann Muller, Globe Staff For a glimpse into the future of telecommunications, one need look no further than neighboring Connecticut, which had a two-year jump on the rest of the nation in opening up its local phone markets to competition. The combination of a progressive regulatory environment and the unique independence of its dominant phone company, Southern New England Telecommunications Corp. ("SNET"), has made Connecticut a telecommunications pioneer and given it an image as one of the easiest places for newcomers to set up shop. Connecticut's Legislature was the first in the nation to open its market to local phone competition. That happened in 1994 -- two years before Congress passed a sweeping federal telecommunications law. Since then, more than 50 companies have applied to the state's Department of Public Utility Control for permission to offer local phone service. So far, 36 applications have been approved, although not all of those companies are actually selling phone service yet. But despite the flood of new competitors, SNET still controls 99 percent of the local phone lines in the state, prompting many rivals to complain that Connecticut's procompetitive image is overrated. "It all looks good on paper," said AT&T Corp. spokeswoman Susan Ramsey. "Yes, regulators in Connecticut were a step ahead of the nation, but the reality is, there's no more local competition here than anywhere else." AT&T, in fact, has stopped marketing its local phone service in Connecticut (and several other states), blaming SNET and other competitors for sabotaging the quality of its service. Several things are on the horizon that could jump-start phone competition in Connecticut, but legal challenges and technical problems have delayed those initiatives. Last summer, Connecticut's Department of Public Utility Control ordered what would be the nation's first statewide ballot for local telephone service. Every household and business in the state will be asked to choose a local carrier. If consumers don't choose, they will have a carrier selected for them. Industry analyst Anna-Maria Kovacs of Janney, Montgomery Scott Inc., a Philadelphia investment firm, expects SNET will lose about 10 percent of its 2.2 million local phone customers because of the balloting process. But the balloting, which was supposed to begin in March, has been postponed until early 1999 because of concerns that SNET doesn't yet have the technical systems in place to switch such a large volume of customers off its network and onto its rivals' networks. The statewide ballot is the DPUC's effort to provide a level playing field following its approval of SNET's plan to split into two entities -- a retail arm that will sell phone service to consumers, and a wholesale arm that will sell access to SNET's network. SNET, which has agreed to be purchased by SBC Communications Inc. of Texas, says the restructuring would give it more flexibility because only the wholesale arm would be subject to state pricing restrictions. The retail arm would be free to sell phone services at any price it sees fit. But AT&T and MCI Communications Corp. have sued state regulators in federal court in Hartford, saying the restructuring plan illegally frees SNET from government oversight. A decision on that case is expected any day. In their eyes, SNET is really the only company that has thrived under Connecticut's progressive telecom laws. In the three years since SNET was allowed to begin selling long-distance service in Connecticut, the New Haven-based phone company has quickly captured 40 percent of the long-distance market. With its local and long-distance phone offerings, plus a growing presence in the cable TV, Internet, and wireless businesses, SNET has become the envy of the industry. "They are the model that all the Baby Bells want to be when they grow up," said Paul Kouroupas, vice president of regulatory and external affairs at Teleport Communications Group, which is being acquired by AT&T. The reason for SNET's success can be traced back to the company's unusual heritage. Founded in 1882, SNET has always been an independent company, although it was partially owned by the one-time monopoly AT&T. When the government-sanctioned breakup of "Ma Bell" occurred in 1984 -- creating a new generation of regional "Baby Bells" -- SNET remained independent. That unique status freed SNET from many of the regulatory restrictions that have kept other Bell phone companies from entering the long-distance market. Under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, for instance, Bell companies cannot sell long-distance service until they prove that their local phone markets are open to competition. So far, no Bell company has cleared that hurdle. SNET's success in selling long distance, coupled with the lack of progress competitors have had in prying open the local phone market, is proof that real competition won't occur until regulators force the hand of local phone companies, SNET's rivals contend. "Connecticut should serve as an excellent example as to why a local Bell company should not be allowed to offer long distance until it opens its local market to competition," Ramsey said. ------------------------------ From: Telecom@LincMad.NOSPAM (Linc Madison) Subject: Update on LincMad's Telecom Pages Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 02:39:54 -0800 Organization: LincMad Consulting; change NOSPAM to COM I have just completed a minor update on my website. * added information on a few upcoming splits * re-saved some of the graphics to ensure they use only "web-safe" colors * added the long-awaited page about "why not just go to 8-digit local numbers?" The map is still the one from late December, so it does not reflect the last revision of the 614/740 split (Ohio), nor the upcoming 805/661 split (California), 702/775 (Nevada), 504/225 (Louisiana), or 612/651 (Minnesota), nor the 305/786 and 813/727 overlays in Florida. With those caveats, though, the map is about as accurate as you can get on a Mercator projection. The URL is ** Do not send me unsolicited commercial e-mail spam of any kind ** Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * Telecom@LincMad-com URL:< http://www.lincmad.com > * North American Area Codes & Splits >> NOTE: if you autoreply, you must change "NOSPAM" to "com" << ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 21:00:10 -0500 From: The Old Bear Subject: Last Laugh: Just a Normal Installation Several years ago, NYNEX (now Bell Atlantic) commenced a major project of replacing overhead cables throughout my suburban Boston neighborhood. Most of the existing cable had been installed in the early 1950s and consisted of a lead outer sheath over a bundle of individual copper conductors separated by color-coded paper insulation. Over the years, acid rain, squirrels and New England weather had taken its toll. Increased demand had outstripped available wire pairs and everyone was complaining about loud hum and incessant service interruptions. The project started in 1992 and went on for two more summers. Finally at the end of the third summer, the old cable was taken out of service and we were cut over onto the new cable in October of 1995. In 1996, the old cable was removed from the poles. In typical public utility fashion, it somehow was decided to replace a number of aging wooden poles midway through this process -- after the new cable had been carefully hung from the old poles. As a result, about one in five poles in the neighborhood have been double poles, lashed together by baling wire and awaiting first the removal of the old lead cable (done in 1996) and then the day when the new cable would be shifted from the old pole (1997) and the old pole removed. Such as been the situation in front of my house for the past few years. Now let's fast forward to last Thursday. For almost three months, I have been waiting for Bell Atlantic to convert one of my POTS lines to ISDN. They finally gave me an install date, and at exactly 9:15AM, my teenage son (who was home from school during the February vacation week), answered the door to find a Bell Atlantic technical standing there, right on schedule. We showed him the network interface location and he got right to work. A few minutes later, he announced that he needed to do more work at the termination point for our cable which is about three blocks away. At 11:00AM he returned, to announce that the folks who were supposed to have provisioned the line had not done everything they were supposed to do and that it would take a little while longer while he got them to get their act together. He said not to worry, that he was reasonably certain that he'd have the installation completed before the end of the day. About a hour later, my son comes running into my office and announces that the phone company guys are back. "That's good," I respond. "But you don't understand, dad," he says. "They've got three trucks and a crane in front of the house and one of the guys is cutting down the telephone pole with a chain saw!" Obviously, just a coincidence of timing, but I must say that my son is now telling all his friend about how ISDN is installed. And, BTW, the Bell Atlantic folks, much to their credit, did get the ISDN line up and running properly by 2:00PM. Cheers, The Old Bear ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V18 #32 *****************************