streeter@athena.cs.uga.edu (Tom Streeter) (01/18/91)
There has been lots of talk around the College of Journalism about how in the world CNN kept a phone line open during the bombing last night. News reports mention a "four wire line." Could anyone enlighten me? We've tried to pump some of our sources at CNN but have not gotten anything. Tom Streeter streeter@athena.cs.uga.edu [Moderator's Note: CNN is to be commended for *excellent* coverage in the Gulf -- far better than any of the other networks. They have a very elaborate setup involving a hardwired link to a transmitter which in turn beams a signal to the United States. It costs a small fortune: I've heard estimates of $15,000 - $20,000 per month for the link itself, and more depending on the amount of usage. Perhaps someone will post a more technical description of 'four wire' service. PAT]
bill@toto.info.com (Bill Cerny) (01/20/91)
streeter@athena.cs.uga.edu (Tom Streeter) writes: >News reports mention a "four wire line." Could anyone enlighten me? Terrestial 4W line? Nah; rather a Marisat terminal (country code 873). Unfold an antenna on the roof, drop a lead over the ledge to your hotel room, plug in and talk to anyone in the U.S. for $4.00/min. This was quite obvious to me; but the Iraqis figured it out after eight hours. ;-) Bill Cerny bill@toto.info.com | attmail: !denwa!bill | Wham, bam, T-LAM!
KLUB@maristb.bitnet (Richard Budd) (01/21/91)
Tom Streeter <streeter@athena.cs.uga.edu>writes in TELECOM Digest V11 # 47: >There has been lots of talk around the College of Journalism about how >in the world CNN kept a phone line open during the bombing last night. >News reports mention a "four wire line." Could anyone enlighten me? and the Moderator commented: >[Moderator's Note: CNN is to be commended for *excellent* coverage in >the Gulf -- far better than any of the other networks. They have a >very elaborate setup involving a hardwired link to a transmitter which >in turn beams a signal to the United States. It costs a small fortune: >I've heard estimates of $15,000 - $20,000 per month for the link >itself, and more depending on the amount of usage. Perhaps someone >will post a more technical description of 'four wire' service. PAT] I cannot provide a technical description of their service, but I believe I caught a quick glimpse of it Thursday (1/17) night while watching CNN. While CNN was playing back B. Shaw, J. Holliman, and P. Arnett's bomb by bomb account of the beginning of the raid on Baghdad, CNN flashed a picture of their reporters standing in front of a box with a minature satellite dish sticking out from the upper front of it. CNN showed the picture for only five seconds so I could not examine it more in detail, but it appears to be the four-wire system mentioned by the Moderator. In fairness to the other networks, when Baghdad was hit on Wednesday night (Thursday morning Iraqi time), Iraqi security immediately herded journalists into the basement of the hotel where the latter were staying The security officers missed the CNN crew, who had hidden in their hotel room when the bombing started. The cost of telecommunications equipment and of continuous coverage of the Iraqi conflict was cited by {TV Guide} two weeks ago as the reason TV coverage of future hostilities would likely be dramatically reduced. It sounds like, from what I read in TELECOM Digest that the process is already beginning with the major networks obligated to receive information about the war from CNN. I may go as far to say that commercial television may go the way of radio, with a TV network (proba- bly CBS) becoming all news and other networks becoming more geared to certain profitable audiences. (This may not be directly a telecom issue but it demonstrates telecom's effect on what we will see on TV.) Incidentially, my news from the Persian Gulf has come exclusively from CNN and BBC World Services on short-wave. I almost never watch TV otherwise. MY {TV Guide} subscription comes from an incident four years ago when in a single month I had to ask somebody who Willard Scott and PeeWee Herman were. An embarrasing moment. Richard Budd | E-Mail: IBMers - rcbudd@rhqvm19.ibm VM Systems Programmer | All Others - klub@maristb.bitnet IBM - Sterling Forest | Phone: (914) 578-3746 | All disclaimers apply