bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Ron Bannon) (01/04/90)
F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use ====================================== The following message was posted on the Prodigy Computer Club Bulletin Board. It comes from Sam Katon of Staten Is., NY. Thanks Sam! * * * A new regulation that the FCC is quietly working on will directly affect you as the user of a modem. The FCC proposes that users of modems pay extra charges for use of the public telephone net- work which carries their data. In addition, computer network services such as Prodigy, Compuserv, Tymnet, and Telenet would also be charged up to $6.00 per hour per user for the use of the public telephone network. This charge would most likely be passed on to the users (you). What should you do? First, take the time to download this text file and the letter herein (if you haven't already captured it) and post it on three BBSs which aren't already carrying it. Second, send three copies of the following letter to the addresses provided here. It is important to act now. The bureaucrats already have it in their heads that modem users should subsidize the phone company. Let's stand up and make it clear that we won't accept any government restriction of any type on the free exchange of ideas and information. * * * A D D R E S S E E S : Chairman of the FCC 1919 M Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 Chairman, Senate Communications Subcommittee SH-227 Hart Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Chairman, House Telecommunications Subcommittee B-331 Rayburn Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Sir: Please allow me to express my displeasure with the FCC proposal which would authorize a surcharge for use of modems on the tele- phone network. This regulation is nothing more than an attempt to restrict the free exchange of ideas and information. end of letter * * * I don't yet have any more informantion on this matter. If you have any info at all, please give me a call and post a message. It is imperative that we have complete information. Let's rally and make sure that the gov't never places undue and unfair restrictions on this grass-roots, user contolled, inter- active form of mass communication! Dave Ferreira The Jungle BBS 117 Osceola Ave. Middlesex, NJ 08846 (201) 805-9819 Ron Bannon bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Is George Bush a traitor? Read "October Surprise" by Honegger. Send for details. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
lemay@lorelei.Sun.COM (Laura Lemay) (01/04/90)
In article <Jan.3.19.59.57.1990.3325@galaxy.rutgers.edu> bannon@andromeda (Ron Bannon) writes: > > F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use > ====================================== > > The following message was posted on the > Prodigy Computer Club Bulletin Board. > It comes from Sam Katon of Staten Is., > NY. Thanks Sam! [more deleted] After this was posted to the local sun network and it had been harshed on a bit, this appeared a few minutes ago. Questions comments flames should be directed to the author of the enclosed message, not to me. (his .sig is at the bottom, just before mine.) Thanx, Laura. Subject: Re: Modems Message-ID: <7014@newstop.EBay.Sun.COM> Date: 3 Jan 90 23:56:05 GMT Lines: 78 **************************** Hold the phone everyone (pun intended) I just recieved the following mail...Looks like this is a hoax Rand **************************** >From hattrup_ja@juliet.enet.dec.com Wed Jan 3 15:42:22 1990 To: rand@sun.com Well, save your envelopes, stamps, and forwarding activity. The FCC chairman and Congressional Committee chairman WILL NOT be levying modem charges....don't really know how they could enforce it anyhow. If you forwarded this, please try to help squash it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Modem story bogus - bad case of "gullibility virus" - sorry Subj: RE: Modem Charges... Forget it... This is Fred's reply in Telecom Digest to the Bogus Fidonet FCC/Modem story. >From: "Fred R. Goldstein" <goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com> Subject: Re: FCC & Modem charges Date: 26 Dec 89 15:39:32 GMT Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA In article <2403@accuvax.nwu.edu>, levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org (Ken Levitt) writes... >This article is reposted from Fidonet and may be of interest to >Telecom readers. > From: Jack Lohman > To: All > Subj: FCC PROBLEMS >MOBILIZE! >========= >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. ... Cripes. This again. It's becoming the new Chain Letter. It popped up in comp.unix.wizards last month and I think I had it squashed there, but alas, this moderated group has allowed it to surface. Here's the poop. When the new FCC chair Alf Sykes was being confirmed, he was grilled on this topic by Congressman Markey, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the FCC. Sykes was made to swear on a stack of bibles, so to speak, that this "enhanced service provider" (not modem, btw, though the two often overlap) surcharge was dead. Markey made clear that a congressional LAW preventing it was being put on the back burner only out of courtesy to Sykes. If Sykes hadn't been so docile, the law would have been passed; Congress doesn't like this crap any more than we do! And Markey does have power over Sykes to hit him where it hurts in case he is lying: His subcommittee oversees the FCC's budget and appropriations. In government, that's everything. I do have a copy of the appropriate Congressional Record article (Nov. 6, 1989) quoting Markey on this, and Markey's press release on the subject. So I'm not rumormongering. Someone on Fidonet is. Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com voice: +1 508 486 7388 I'm not strange. You are. ********************************************************* Laura Lemay lemay@eng.sun.com Redhead. Drummer. Geek.
6600pete@hub.UUCP (01/04/90)
From article <Jan.3.19.59.57.1990.3325@galaxy.rutgers.edu>, by bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Ron Bannon): > F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use > What should you do? > send three copies of the following letter to the addresses > provided here. If these FCC goons actually USED modems, there's no way they would ever consider such a silly regulation, for two reasons: 1) It wouldn't be in their agency's own best interest. 2) They would be DELUGED with e-mail! As it stands now, they rely on USPS. Anybody with an e-mail address for these jokers should post it immediately. Some enlightened soul with time on hir hands should probably volunteer to print and mail everything that comes in to hir e-mailbox. And rest assured that I have grabbed the file and will post it everywhere I log in. Everyone else should do the same. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pete Gontier | InterNet: 6600pete@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu, BitNet: 6600pete@ucsbuxa Editor, Macker | Online Macintosh Programming Journal; mail for subscription Hire this kid | Mac, DOS, C, Pascal, asm, excellent communication skills
dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) (01/04/90)
Sigh. Don't fly off the handle, folks. It appears that this is a false
alarm.
To quite from comp.dcom.telecom article <2412@accuvax.nwu.edu> submitted
by Fred R. Goldstein:
------ begin quote ------
Cripes. This again. It's becoming the new Chain Letter.
It popped up in comp.unix.wizards last month and I think I had it
squashed there, but alas, this moderated group has allowed it to
surface.
Here's the poop. When the new FCC chair Alf Sykes was being
confirmed, he was grilled on this topic by Congressman Markey, who
chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the FCC. Sykes was made
to swear on a stack of bibles, so to speak, that this "enhanced
service provider" (not modem, btw, though the two often overlap)
surcharge was dead. Markey made clear that a congressional LAW
preventing it was being put on the back burner only out of courtesy to
Sykes. If Sykes hadn't been so docile, the law would have been
passed; Congress doesn't like this crap any more than we do! And
Markey does have power over Sykes to hit him where it hurts in case he
is lying: His subcommittee oversees the FCC's budget and appropriations.
In government, that's everything.
I do have a copy of the appropriate Congressional Record article (Nov. 6,
1989) quoting Markey on this, and Markey's press release on the subject.
So I'm not rumormongering. Someone on Fidonet is.
Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com
or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com
voice: +1 508 486 7388
------ end quote ------
--
Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805
UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com
INTERNET: coherent!dplatt@ames.arpa, ...@uunet.uu.net
USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc. 3350 West Bayshore #205 Palo Alto CA 94303gwangung@milton.acs.washington.edu (Roger Tang) (01/04/90)
In article <3464@hub.UUCP> 6600pete@hub.UUCP writes: >From article <Jan.3.19.59.57.1990.3325@galaxy.rutgers.edu>, by bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Ron Bannon): > >> F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use > >> What should you do? First of all, make sure that this proposed "regulation" actually exists. Second, make sure that this is a current consideration, not something left over from past years. Best way to do that is to CALL the FCC and ASK them about the proposed regulation. ASK for a docket number---you will NOT be effective unless and until you get a docket number. 'Cause the latest word is that this is a false alarm. I ain't gonna believe that this is real until I see a current and up to date docket number. >And rest assured that I have grabbed the file and will post it everywhere I >log in. Everyone else should do the same. No, they shouldn;t. At lest, not until you have up to date and accurate information. Nothing worse than to fight your battles with incorrect, out of date information.
jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeremy G. Mereness) (01/09/90)
bannon@andromeda.rutgers.edu.rutgers.edu (Ron Bannon) writes: > F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use > ====================================== > > The following message was posted on the > Prodigy Computer Club Bulletin Board. > It comes from Sam Katon of Staten Is., > NY. Thanks Sam! > file and the letter herein (if you haven't > already captured it) and post it on three > BBSs which aren't already carrying it. I have no real objectione with the message of this post. However, the line above is extremely dangerous of acted upon within the internet, usenet, and other UNIX based newsfeeds. Posting to 3 additional private BBS's is one thing (annoying) but the above proposal is strictly forbidden on the inter-collegiate newsfeeds. It is called a chain letter. No matter what the good intentions, no message is so important that it must be distributed in this manner. It clogs the feeds, costs money and breaks the rules that keep operations smooth. Please, let's not have some overzealous users flood the networks with this post. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |Jeremy Mereness | Support | Disclaimer: | |jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (internet) | Free | The above represent my| |r746jm7e@cmccvb (Vax... bitnet) | Software | opinions, alone. | |a student at Carnegie Mellon U. | | Void where prohibited.| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
es2q+@andrew.cmu.edu (Erik Warren Selberg) (01/10/90)
this has caused quite a stir in the Fido echos, but as far as anyone knows someone saw an old bulletin from 2 years ago when the FCC was planning on doing this and started a panic.... I will check with Dave, though. #========##========##========##========##========##========##========##========## MegaloErik: Loosing contact with VICE 10... Welcome to Andrew! ## ARPA: es2q+@andrew.cmu.edu Fido: 129/107 BBS: Mac at Night (412) 268-8974 ## GEnie: E.SELBERG Delphi: LORDERIK CIS: 71470,2127 MacList: 6009/1 ##========##========##========##========##========##========##========##========# ...48 hours of continuous study have proven that Elvis is alive and teaching math at CMU.