wew@naucse.UUCP (Bill Wilson) (01/10/90)
Please read the following announcement that was sent to me. It has
grave implications for all users of remote systems and modems!
Please read the following message forwarded from the Mac-Tonight BBS 313-9
95-8923 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I strongly urge you to respond to this as it wi
ll affect anybody who uses a modem. Thanks. Chris Khoury <3XMQGAA@CMUVM.BITNET>
Location>FCC Regulation level> 3
Posted at 12:44:27 AM 1/8/89
From: ricki ricardo #4 To: All
Subject>This is important!
Times read: 9
>From MEET:Nybblers Printed on Dec29/89
Item 323 11:40 Dec29/89 72 lines No responses
Todd A. Bakal
FCC moves to regulate modem usage
Grabbed from Info-Apple. Pass it around if you're concerned...
MOBILIZE!
Two years ago the FCC tried and (with your help and letters of
protest) failed to institute regulations that would impose
additional costs on modem users for data communications.
Now, they are at it again. A new regulation that the FCC is
quietly working on will directly affect you as the user of a
computer and modem. The FCC proposes that users of modems should
pay extra charges for use of the public telephone network which
carry their data. In addition, computer network services such as
CompuServ, Tymnet, & Telenet would also be charged as much as
$6.00 per hour per user for use of the public telephone network.
These charges would very likely be passed on to the subscribers.
The money is to be collected and given to the telephone company
in an effort to raise funds lost to deregulation.
Jim Eason of KGO newstalk radio (San Francisco, Ca) commented on
the proposal during his afternoon radio program during which, he
said he learned of the new regulation in an article in the New
York Times. Jim took the time to gather the addresses which are
given below.
Here's what you should do (NOW!):
1- Pass this information on. Find other BBS's that are not
carrying this information. Upload the ASCII text into a public
message on the BBS, and also upload the file itself so others can
easily get a copy to pass along.
2- Print out three copies of the letter which follows (or write
your own) and send a signed copy to each of the following:
Chairman of the FCC
1919 M Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Chairman, Senate Communication Subcommittee
SH-227 Hart Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Chairman, House Telecommunication Subcommittee
B-331 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Here's the suggested text of the letter to send:
Dear Sir,
Please allow me to express my displeasure with the FCC proposal
which would authorize a surcharge for the use of modems on the
telephone network. This regulation is nothing less than an
attempt to restrict the free exchange of information among the
growing number of computer users. Calls placed using modems
require no special telephone company equipment, and users of
modems pay the phone company for use of the network in the form
of a monthly bill. In short, a modem call is the same as a voice
call and therefore should not be subject to any additional
regulation.
Sincerely, [your name, address and signature]
It is important that you act now. The bureaucrats already have it
in their heads that modem users should subsidize the phone
company and are now listening to public comment. Please stand up
and make it clear that we will not stand for any government
restriction of the free exchage of information.
--
Let sleeping dragons lie........ | The Bit Chaser
----------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Wilson (Bitnet: ucc2wew@nauvm | wilson@nauvax)
Northern AZ Univ Flagstaff, AZ 86011goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) (01/11/90)
In article <1838@naucse.UUCP>, wew@naucse.UUCP (Bill Wilson) writes... > >Please read the following announcement that was sent to me. It has >grave implications for all users of remote systems and modems! This is about the 99th newsgroup to spread this rumor. IT IS FALSE. I corrected it over a month ago in comp.unix.wizards, two weeks ago in comp.dcom.telecom and others have posted corrections to many other conferences more recently, including rec.ham-radio last week. PLEASE STOP SPREADING THIS! The FCC has NO plans to re-awaken their aborted Enhanced Service Provider proposal; Congress won't let them anyway, and this useless rumormongering just makes network people look bad. Thanks, fred >Let sleeping dragons lie........ | The Bit Chaser yes, let's! --- Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com voice: +1 508 486 7388