TELECOM Digest     Tue, 17 Jan 95 19:26:00 CST    Volume 15 : Issue 39

Inside This Issue:                          Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Call For Papers: JMLICS (Mehmet Orgun)
    Re: How to Keep Track of Calls on Busy (Caller ID on Busy)? 
(Seymour Dupa)
    Re: Prepaid Telephone Debit Cards (P1854)
    Re: Would You Believe More Rain on the Way? (Ted Hadley)
    Re: 10-XXX Codes (Lizanne Hurst)
    Re: Looking up Addresses and Phone Number From Just Names (Tony 
Waddell)
    Re: Cellular Phone Pricing Question (Andrew Laurence)
    Re: Anyone Have Experience With LDDS/Metromedia? (Paul Beker)
    Re: Anyone Have Experience With LDDS/Metromedia? (Dave Rand)
    Re: How Can I Encrypt a T-1? (Barton F. Bruce)
    Re: Bellcore Standards Question (Bill Mayhew)
    Re: Atlanta Airport's Pay Phones Reject 1-800 Numbers Randomly 
(John Rice)
    Re: Atlanta Airport's Pay Phones Reject 1-800 Numbers Randomly (B
Thompson)
    Where Can I Buy Telephones (franci.visnovic@uni-mb.si)

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

Date: Wed, 18 Jan 95 10:41:38 +1100
From: mehmet@macadam.mpce.mq.edu.au (Mehmet Orgun)
Subject: Call For Papers: JMLICS


                              Call for Papers

          The Journal of Methods of Logic in Computer Science
    Special Issue:  Formal Methods in Logic for Responsive Systems

A responsive computing system is one which responds to internal
programs or external inputs in a timely, dependable and predictable
manner.  These systems are a hybrid of real-time, distributed, secure,
safety-critical, and fault-tolerant systems.  In such a system, any
failure can cause catastrophes ranging from financial loss and loss of
privacy to physical damage and loss of life.  Thus, it is important to
ensure that the system is not only correct, but remains correct at run
time, under abnormal circumstances.

The major difficulty facing designers is the complexity inherent in
responsive computing systems.  In practice, informal approaches are
often used which can result in latent failures, under-specified
systems, or inconsistencies.  One way to counteract these problems is
to bring the idea of rigor and formalism from traditional systems
engineering fields into the development of software through the use of
formal methods.  Formal methods of logic, in particular, can be used
to rigorously synthesize, specify, verify, debug, and model responsive
computing systems.  However, formal methods of logic are usually
dismissed as the domain of academicians and viewed as irrelevant or
not applicable to the design and implementation of large-scale
software projects due to their mathematical complexity.

To bring these two opposing camps together, work that emphasizes and
reinforces the point that formal methods can, and should, be used in
the practical construction of high quality, reliable distributed
software is of interest.  This special issue will bring together
papers in the following areas that support the use of formal methods
of logic in the construction of responsive computing systems:

o Formal Specification/Verification/Refinement Techniques  
o Requirements Specification
o Assertional Reasoning and Executable Assertions          
o Model Checking
o Testing and Debugging (Predicate Detection)              
o Tool Support
o Formal Semantics of Concurrency/Recovery                 
o Compositional Proof Systems
o Distributed Systems Security                             
o Experience Reports

Papers should, ideally, emphasize results that can be applied to the
construction of actual responsive computing systems (although, work is
in no way solely limited to experience reports).  Please submit six
copies of your manuscript to the guest editor by June 1, 1995:


Bruce McMillin
Computer Science Department                   (516)-632-8334 (FAX)
State University of New York at Stony Brook   (516)-632-8218 (Office)
Room 1420 Computer Science Building           (516)-632-8471 
(Secretary)
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4400 USA                e-
mail(bruce@cs.sunysb.edu)

Instructions for submitting papers: Papers should not exceed 30 double
spaced pages.  Papers should not have been previously published, nor
currently submitted elsewhere for publication.  Papers should include
a title page containing title, authors' names and affiliations, postal
and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and Fax numbers.  Papers
should include a 300 word abstract and 5-10 keywords and be written in
the IEEE Transactions style.  Each paper will be peer-reviewed by at
least three referees.  [Note: If you are willing to referee papers for
this special issue, please send a note with your research interest to
the guest editor.]

Notification of acceptance will be sent by September 1, 1995; final
versions will be due by October 15, 1995.  The special issue will be
published in the 2nd Quarter 1996.

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

From: grumpy@en.com (Seymour Dupa)
Subject: Re: How to Keep Track of Calls on Busy (Caller ID on Busy)?
Date: 17 Jan 1995 12:16:57 -0500
Organization: Exchange Network Services, Inc.


Steve Cogorno (cogorno@netcom.com) wrote:

> Ask your phone company for an analysis.  They will do it, but maybe
> not for for a residential customer, and it may not be free. 

  I would think the phone company would be *happy* to do that report
for you.  This is the way the phone company can show their multi-line
customers how many calls they are missing and take their order for 
more
lines.

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

From: p1854@aol.com (P1854)
Subject: Re: Prepaid Telephone Debit Cards
Date: 17 Jan 1995 13:20:36 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Reply-To: p1854@aol.com (P1854)


Peter Pappas in Tampa 813-288-3253 is looking for prepaid cards for
friend in Mass who wants to use for school financing. Any leads would
be appreciated.

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

Date: Tue, 17 Jan 95 10:35:31 PST
From: tedh@cylink.COM (Ted Hadley)
Subject: Re: Would You Believe More Rain on the Way?


Pat,

> Well, good luck and my best regards, folks. It seems like the people
> in California spend all summer burning the place down, then spend
> all winter enduring mud slides and flooding.

Thanks, but you forgot the earthquakes! :)

I live near San Jose, and yes, we have had lots of rain. But there
have been no real problems in the majority of the areas. Mudslides in
the mountain passes and flooding where the cities left flood control
work unfinished in the last few years and highway flooding where the
routine maintenance wasn't. The only real problems were in Marin
County along the Russian River and in Sacramento.


Ted Hadley    tedh@cylink.com

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

From: lh00@Lehigh.EDU (Lizanne Hurst)
Subject: Re: 10-XXX Codes
Date: 17 Jan 1995 15:20:24 -0500
Organization: Lehigh University


Thanks for posting this information.  However, I think one key point
requires clarification.

> According to a law that was passed in 1990, all aggregators must
> unblock their switches so that a caller can reach their long 
distance
> carrier of choice. What this required so that you wouldn't get stuck
> paying for the cost of the calls was that your switch had to pass
> through and differentiate calls that started with either 10-XXX-1 or
> calls that started with 10-XXX-0.

If you're referring to the Telephone Operator Consumer Services
Improvement Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-435), aggregators (hospitals,
hotels, universities) are required to unblock only 10-XXX-0 calls,
*not* 10-XXX-1 calls.

All the rest of your remarks are pretty much in line with the Act as I
remember it.  Additional information is available in the FCC's Report
and Order, FCC 91-214.

As a side note, ACUTA (the Association of College and University
Telecommunications Administrators) lobbied unsuccessfully to overturn
universities' classification as aggregators.  An aggregator, as
defined in this case, is an entity which provides service for the
public and/or transient users; ACUTA challenged the assumption that
student users are "transient."


Lizanne Hurst        Office of Telecommunications
Lehigh University    (610) 758-5014

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

From: Tony Waddell <aawadde@pb1.PacBell.COM>
Subject: Re: Looking up Addresses and Phone Number From Just Names
Date: 17 Jan 1995 16:47:11 GMT
Organization: Pacific Bell


> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't know how many you think is a
> 'bunch', but unless it is really a lot, and you plan to do this on
> a frequent basis, why don't you ask the telco serving the local 
calling
> area for a copy of their directory.  Most telcos will send it free 
of
> charge, or they may get some small handling/postage fee. Then you 
would
> sit there and look them up. After you have found all you can, then 
call
> AC-555-1212 for the (hopefully) few remaining names.    PAT]

I'm not sure if this is PACBELL policy only, or whether it's fairly
consistent across the country, but I wanted a phone book from my home
town, Davenport, Iowa. I was quoted a charge in excess of $50!  And
its not even a very thick book. Naturally, I declined.

Another alternative might be available. Don't most telcos offer a 
listing 
service? I seem to recall that you can mail a list of names to the
business office and they will attempt to provide a phone number for
each name providing the number is published (I don't know if they'll
provide addresses), There was a charged for this, but I don't remember
it as being excessive.

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

From: laurence@netcom.com (Andrew Laurence)
Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Pricing Question
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 21:40:58 GMT


weave@hopi.dtcc.edu (Ken Weaverling) writes:

> In article <telecom15.10.9@eecs.nwu.edu>, John McGing 
<jmcging@access.
> digex.net> wrote:

>> Anyway, I have a couple of questions: Even including the $25.00 
year
>> to the employee association, the monthly base cost is $11.03 month 
vs
>> $24.95.  Over three years that's $167.00 x3 or over $500.00 in
>> savings.  Is this deal too good to be true?  The three year thing
>> doesn't worry me (we're NOT moving <g> and the car phone we have is 
a
>> real top drawer Motorola we can switch to a new car.).  Should it?

> One of the reasons for a three year contract may be due to the cell
> company planning on, or expecting, cell prices to drop in that 
period.
> If they do, and you are locked in for three years, they get to keep
> charging you under the older higher terms. For example, in some 
parts
> of the country, under certain plans, weekend local air time rates 
are
> FREE.

I have GTE Mobilnet, and when they lowered the rates on my plan by
$3.00 per month and allowed users to choose a peak/off-peak rate or
stick with the flat rate at their option, I received the discount and
was able to switch to peak/off-peak without extending my one-year
contract (which had about eight months to run at the time).

I DO have unlimited weekend calling, but I pay $15.00 per month for
the privilege.


Andrew Laurence                                   laurence@netcom.com
Certified NetWare Administrator (CNA)        Oakland, California, USA
CD-ROM Networking Consultant            Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8)
Phone: (510) 547-6647    Pager: (510) 308-1903    Fax: (510) 547-8002

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

From: pbeker@netcom.com (Paul Beker)
Subject: Re: Anyone Have Experience With LDDS/Metromedia?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 
guest)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 23:16:39 GMT


clukas@mr.net (chuck lukaszewski) writes:

> I received some information from LDDS/Metromedia yesterday about 
their
> long distance service. The rates seem entirely too good to be true,
> and I'm wondering if anyone here has experience (good or bad) that
> they would share.

I've been using LDDS/Metromedia quite a bit in the past few months, 
and am 
generally pleased with them.  The rates I have are actually through 
American 
Travel Network (a LDDS/Metromedia reseller). (800-477-9692)

o ATN/LDDS/Metromedia Calling Card:
    - 17.5c/minute anywhere in the USA, anytime.
    - No per-call surcharges, no minimum.

The quality of the connections on these calls occassionally seems
marginal, by 1990s standards, but in my opinion, well worth saving
upwards of a dollar per call.  Most of my calls are to check voice
mail, so ...

o ATN/LDDS/Metromedia "Dial 1" residential (?) LD service:
    The rate schedule is split, with the five area codes with most 
usage
    being on one schedule, and other calls on the other schedule:

                Five NPAs     Other NPAs
Day (8am-5pm)     17.5c          22.5c
Night (5pm-8am)   10.0c          12.5c

There is a minimum monthly usage of one hour.  The quality of the
calls seems, again, slightly below 'big three' standards, but
definitely acceptable.  Call setup time is slower (2-4 sec., I would
guess), and the actual ringing / busy tones sound horrible (! - dunno
why).  But once the connection is made, the calls sound fine.

One more thing to note: You are billed separately from your local
telco's bill.  In other words, I receive a bill each month that
contains only my calling card calls and my dial 1+ calls from home,
directly from LDDS/Metromedia.

My opinions only -- although this does look a lot like an ad for ATN,
it isn't ... I have no connection with them or LDDS/Metromedia
whatsoever.  (I only wish I had thought of the no-fee calling card
years ago.)


Paul Beker - Atlanta, GA   pbeker@netcom.com

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

From: dlr@daver.bungi.com (Dave Rand)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 10:05:00 PST
Subject: Re: Anyone Have Experience With LDDS/Metromedia?


> I received some information from LDDS/Metromedia yesterday about 
their
> long distance service. The rates seem entirely too good to be true,
> and I'm wondering if anyone here has experience (good or bad) that
> they would share.

Their rates are very good.  *HOWEVER*

Be warned.  They quoted rates of 0.27/min inbound 800, 0.25/min
outbound switched to Canada for me.  As most of my call volume on 800
comes from Canada, this is a significant decrease from the normal
rates of 0.60-0.30.

Having read the fine print on the contract -- it claims that the
contract term is for service only, and does not guarantee rates -- I
added a notation on my contract that the Canada rates were to be as
quoted.  This was a *very* good idea.

First, LDDS slammed all nine of my telephone lines.  I switched them


back.  They slammed them again.  I switched them back.  They slammed
all but my primary outbound line, and I didn't notice for a month!
Around $250 or so in PIC charges, that month.  Moral -- make sure that
you have *all* your lines protected, as they *will* find out all your
phone numbers, even if you don't give them out.

Then the bill came. The calls are rated at 0.37/minute.  Customer
service says "too bad".  My salesman says "oops -- the rates went up
*the day after* we signed up, too bad.".  I said, "PUC, fraud,
bait-and-switch, contracted amount!"  Long discussions followed.  The
salesman wasn't allowed to change the contract, according to LDDS --
their problem, not mine, I pointed out to them.  As of now, we are
still fighting over credits, but they have agreed to give me the
contracted rate, for the contracted period (one year).

The dust has not settled.  Be careful out there in telecom-land!


Dave Rand    Internet: dlr@daver.bungi.com

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

From: Barton.Bruce@camb.com
Subject: Re: How Can I Encrypt a T-1?
Date: 15 Jan 95 22:54:43 -0500
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.


In article <telecom15.21.9@eecs.nwu.edu>, tedh@cylink.COM (Ted Hadley)
writes:

> In article <telecom15.7.13@eecs.nwu.edu> synchro@access1.digex.net
> (Steve) writes:

>> There is a company in California called Cylink.  They make several
>> different kinds of crypto gear for communications.  I'm unable to 
come
>> up with a telephone number for them at the moment.

> Telephone number is 408-735-5800.

Try 800 info for their 800 number.

The cylink guy posting should have at least tooted his horn about
their *EXCELENT* and *EXTENSIVE* collection of FAX-BACKable material
you can just get yourself -- no salesfolk needed.

They also make spread spectrum no-license needed radio links.

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

From: wtm@uhura.neoucom.edu (Bill Mayhew)
Subject: Re: Bellcore Standards Question
Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 19:50:36 GMT


I have some doucmentation from Wescom, who makes a lot of T1 eqipment
for telco applications.

There are two codes for zero.  The coding of the signal is mu-law 255.
There are 16 chords in the same with linear values in each chord.  The
coding is two's-complement.

As it is set up, the MSB is the sign.  That yields -0 and +0 as
equally valid codes of 01111111 and 11111111 respectively.  The code
codes are fed out of the bank as a PCM NRZ data stream.  A zero bit is
coded as no voltage shift in a bit time cell.  A one bit is coded as a
voltage level transition in either direction.

No more than seven zeros in a row are permitted, or an automatic on
insertion occurs to prevent the demodulator from losing lock on the
incoming bit stream.  This can result of one LSB resoultion on a
maximal signal.  Since low levels contain a lot of ones, there is no
loss of resolution on small signals due to forced ones.

Also, if you are using older D4 non ESF (extended superframe) 
equipment.  
A bit will be robbed every 6th frame for signalling.  The robbed bits
alternate between the A bit and B bit.

                    FX Station                    FX Office
cirucit           xmt      rcv      dir         xmt       rcv
                  A  B     A  B                 A  B      A  B
busy/tip grd               0         <-         0
idle/tip open              1         <-         1
busy/ring                      0     <-            0
idle/no ring                   1     <-            1

idle/loop open    0                  ->                   0
busy/loop closed  1                  ->                   1
busy/ring rnd         0              ->                       0
idle/ring open        1              ->                       1

                  0   1    1   1  g strt idle   1  1      0   1
                  1   1    0   1  g strt busy   0  1      1   1

ESF cahnnel banks code the PCM the same way, but use a technique 
called 
forced bipolar violation to code the signalling and other control bits
in the data stream and also remove the restriction of no more than
seven consecutive zeros.  The ESF signal is almost NRZ, but 
differentiates 
by coding two ones in a row of the *same* polarity when the offending 
00 
code would have occured.  The dobule ones alternate so that the DC
offset is still held to approximately zero (exclusive of any "sealing
current" that the trnasmission eqipment injects on the circuit).

You should se a lot of ones on an idle circuit.  The most significant
bit could be either zero or one.  I don't know if Belcore has a spec
on what should be done; my docs aren't that specific.  The LSB is
going to vary if you are on a D4 channel bank depending on the A and B
bits.  See the table above.


Bill Mayhew        NEOUCOM Computer Services Department
Rootstown, OH  44272-0095  USA      phone: 216-325-2511
wtm@uhura.neoucom.edu       amateur radio 146.58: N8WED

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

From: rice@ttd.teradyne.com (John Rice)
Subject: Re: Atlanta Airport's Pay Phones Reject 1-800 Numbers 
Randomly
Date: 17 Jan 95 14:45:54 CST
Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division


In article <telecom15.27.5@eecs.nwu.edu>, cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us
(gordon hlavenka) writes:

> Payphone owners receive no revenues from 800 calls.  Hence I'd 
imagine
> that they don't rate 800-access problems very high on their list of
> priorities.

Hotels are getting just as bad (or worse), especially the 'majors'. I
was in the Ohare Ramada last night and they wanted .50/call to call an
800 number or to call collect.


John Rice        K9IJ  
rice@ttd.teradyne.com  


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The Ohare Ramada?  Why didn't you call
and say hello?  Whenever Digest readers are in the Chicago area they
are invited to call, or meet as long as we plan it a little ahead.  
PAT]

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

From: thompson@robin.tezcat.com (Bob Thompson)
Subject: Re: Atlanta Airport's Pay Phones Reject 1-800 Numbers 
Randomly
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 08:31:34 GMT
Organization: Tezcat.COM, Chicago


In article <telecom15.25.4@eecs.nwu.edu> pbeker@netcom.com (Paul
Beker) writes:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You wonder what AT&T had to do to get 
the
> account?  Well I can tell you what Illinois Bell had to do to get 
the
> O'Hare Airport account a few years ago: when the newspapers exposed 
the
> city council members and Aviation Department employees who got the 
bribes
> and the IBT employees who paid the bribes, there was quite a stink 
for
> a short while, then everyone sort of forgot about it.  PAT]

Wasn't the epic airport struggle (some years back) the one at DFW 
between 
GenTel and AT&T.  This was of course in the 'old' telephone days. 
Anyone 
remember any details.  


/bob/ (in Chicago, yet)

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

Subject: Where Can I Buy Telephones?
From: franci.visnovic@uni-mb.si (Emilio)
Date: 17 Jan 95 18:27:11 +0200
Organization: University of Maribor, Slovenia


Hello,

Please, can someone give me a email address of a person which sells
telephones (Panasonic, Sony, AT&T).


Regards,

Franci!    email: franci.visnovic@uni-mb.si


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Here in the USA we are very accustomed
to seeing stores everywhere that sell phones. Any of the brand names
you mentioned above are for sale anywhere you go here. All the stores
have deals with one or more of the above, and quite a few others as
well. Perhaps one or more of the various dealer/distributor/retail 
sales
people reading this Digest will respond to you and assist you.   PAT]

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

End of TELECOM Digest V15 #39
*****************************

               
