[fa.telecom] TELECOM Digest V3 #127

Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (12/27/83)

TELECOM Digest           Tuesday, 27 Dec 1983     Volume 3 : Issue 127

Today's Topics:
                   Describing how to commit toll-fraud
                                 the law
                        UC long-distance network
         Pseudo foreign exchange service in the Balto-Wash area
               reply to you can't expect 1200 baud service
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Date: 24 Dec 1983 1833-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Describing how to commit toll-fraud

Whether it's constitutional or not, there are laws on the books which 
make it a felony to possess or disseminate plans or schemes to commit 
interstate toll fraud.

Two examples come to mind: A Ham magazine (I've forgotten the name, 
having been too lazy to learn the code, I never became a ham, but I 
think it was QSL or 73) published schematics of a blue box many years 
ago.  They agreed to remove all copies of that issue from the 
newstands and the charges were dropped.

Some of you may remember 8BBS.  A few years ago this system was shut 
down by the FBI, who seized the disks as evidence.  Whether the SYSOP 
was ever charged with a crime or whether the disks were just used as 
evidence in the cases involving the users of the system I don't know, 
but the SYSOP did lose his job.

You're right that simply violating the telephone company's tarrifs is 
not a crime, it's only a breach of contract.  But any device or scheme
for obtaining telephone service which deprives the telephone company 
of their lawful charges is not just a violation of the tarrifs; it is 
fraud and is illegal.

I know of one particularly disgusting case of someone who was using 
someone elses INWATS and OUTWATS lines.  The telephone company was 
getting its money for the use of the lines, and the company wasn't 
overly concerned about the situation, but the telephone company 
pursuaded the U.S. District attorney to bring charges against the 
person on five counts of interstate toll fraud, because the telephone 
company had not gotten the lawful charge, the price of an regular toll
call from the point or origin to the destination.

The person was convicted and given a suspended sentence, but he lost 
his job.

(I personally think he had a lousy lawyer.)

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

Date: Sat, 24 Dec 83 20:30:37 PST
From: Theodore N. Vail <vail@UCLA-CS>
Subject: the law

Some comments on the comments on my last communication:
-------
        I'm not certain Mr.  Vail is aware, but he is rather
        fortunate to still have his flat-rate FX service for
        $48.00 per month.
------- I was neither complaining nor boasting, just stating what the
current costs are in a specific case, well known to me.  As I noted,
if General and Pacific have their way, the rates will skyrocket.
There are some interesting schemes involving call-forwarding, etc.
which may limit the excessive costs, at least to modem users who only
call a few different numbers.
-------
        [I'm sorry to disagree with you, but toll fraud is
        indeed a federal crime, like failing to pay taxes.
        --JSol]
------- We don't disagree.  Fraud is a crime.  I was referring to
publishing specs on blue boxes, methods of disguising them, etc., as
well as to what are often called "illegal extensions", etc.

ted vail

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Date: Sun, 25 Dec 83 23:45:00 PST
From: Theodore N. Vail <vail@UCLA-CS>
Subject: UC long-distance network

The UC system is planning to purchase it's own long-distance network.
It has prepared a 185 page RFP (request for proposal) for the system.
It was issued in October, 1983 and vendor responses, necessarily quite
lengthy, are due in March, 1984.  As it is probably a typical example 
of long-distance networks being prepared by large organizations, I'm 
enclosing a few excerpts, mostly from the "Executive Summary".

"The University of California which is comprised of nine campuses 
(Berkeley, Davids, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San 
Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz) and three physically separate
medical centers (Sacramento, Irvine and San Diego) plans to implement 
an intercampus telecommunications network which will accommodate 
voice, data and video traffic.

"This network will utilize digital microwave, satellite technology, 
and/or other broad band technologies as well as a digital tandem 
switch function for purposes of voice and low speed data network 
management and control.  No specific technology is presumed or 
preferred, but for purposes of describing the University's 
specifications a terrestrial microwave system is assumed to link the 
Northern campuses and the Southern campuses.  A satellite backbone is 
assumed to connect the two regional systems.  Tandem switches in this 
model provide the voice and low speed data switching functions.  The 
network will also be capable of supporting digitized video 
transmission.  Campuses will be connected to the intercampus network 
either by utilization of campus owned switching facilities or by the 
Telco central office or centrex currently serving that campus..."

There are two lengthy sections covering Performance Specifications.  
As might be expected, the trivia is emphasized, while important data 
specifications are barely mentioned and rather naively.  For example, 
the description of the printer connection for obtaining accounting 
reports uses a lengthy paragraph to require both an RS 232C port, 
stating all the standard date rates from 1200 baud up, and a magnetic 
tape system which shall run at a "minimum of 125 inches per second at 
6250 bits per inch".  It doesn't, however state what actual 
information shall be transmitted at that rate, nor does it restrict 
nulls on the RS 232 connections, or limit inter-record gaps on the 
tape.  The only statement concerning error rates is for the required 
56 kbps digital circuits which shall "perform at an error rate no 
greater than a single bit, undetected error, among 10 to the 10th 
power bits transmitted".  There don't appear to be any limits to 
detected errors, nor are methods of measuring the undetected error 
given.  I am reminded of a sign posted by the system programmer in a 
computing lab I once used, which stated in large letters: "We have 
never recorded an undetected error".

Of course the real protection is given by the fact that when all 
specifications are considered, there are perhaps only half a dozen 
companies in the world which can come close to meeting them, and their
equipment is well known.  Bids are expected from NTI (Northern 
Telecom), which has the inside track because of its large UCLA 
installation, AT&T, Pacific Telesys, and possibly General Telephone 
and NEC.  There are potential dark horses, e.g. Rolm, as well as 
various European Companies.

Proposals are due in March, 1984 and the vendor is expected to be 
chosen by May, 1984.  I'm betting on NTI.

I do have the complete RFP and will attempt to answer Telecom Reader's
questions (within reason) about it, if any.

ted vail

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

Date: 26 Dec 1983 1351-EST
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Pseudo foreign exchange service in the Balto-Wash area

Don't be so quick to say good-bye to current services in the Baltimore
- Washington area.  As soon as C&P announced that the current 
"foreign-exchange" service would be terminated, it was taken to court.

It is being argued that "nothing has changed" so why should the rates 
change?

The Balto-Wash area is full of exceptions and special cases.  The 
primary method of providing "FX" service in the Balto-Wash area is by 
having an additional NXX in the local switching machine which is 
defined in the tariffs as having the same rate center as NXXs in the 
community which has the preferred calling area.

Thus, for a customer living in Columbia, Maryland, four service 
offerings exist: Columbia Service, which includes the local area and 
some of the DC suburbs, some of the Baltimore Suburbs, and downtown 
Baltimore, Ellicott city service, which drops the DC suburbs, picks up
more Baltimore suburbs and more points east of Baltimore, Laurel 
Service, which drops some of the Baltimore Suburbs but picks up 
Washington, and Bowie-Glendale service, which drops all of the 
Baltimore suburbs, is not even local to Columbia, and picks up the 
entire Washington Metro area.

Subscribers to these services pay a flat "mileage" charge (even though
no real mileage is involved) which is extremely low and then pay the 
local service charge as though they were really in the town their 
logical FX is in (which is based on the number of telephones which can
be reached as a local call).

All of these services are provided out of the two central offices 
located in the same building in Columbia!  All of these services are 
provided with specific NXXs which make the service two-way.  And the 
fact that two customers who happen to live next door to each other in 
the center of Columbia can choose to be long distance to each other is
quite bizarre.

Customers served by the same C&P machine in Columbia are actually in 
two different LATAs!  Currently, when they dial a long distance call 
the call does not even leave the machine.  But since they are in 
different LATAs, the service cannot be provided by C&P!

This is certainly a situation to watch!  I doubt that the Maryland PUC
(or the legislature, which has gotten involved in telecommunications 
in Maryland before, as well -- passing a law making directory 
assistance charges illegal) will let people in Columbia lose their DC 
service.

Columbia is sort of a "special" town, one of those model communities 
built during the early sixties, and the choice of Baltimore and 
Washington phone service was one of the issues involved in building 
the town.

Another, unrelated, case of bizarreness in the DC area no longer 
exists, but is interesting to recall.  About seven years ago, a friend
served by the downtown Alexandria machine, which was, at the time, No.
1 XBar, became envious of his many friends with Custom Calling Service
in ESS exchanges.  He started to investigate the cost of having FX 
service brought into his home.

The startling result was that due to two flukes, he was able to get 
service from downtown DC at a slightly lower price than local 
Alexandria service.  This was caused by (1) the presence of an 
especially low FX rate for points in Alexandria which had been put in 
primarily to serve government agencies at National Airport and (2) the
existence of a 25% local Alexandria tax on local service which did not
apply once he had the Washington service installed.  After he had the 
service for a few years, the preferential FX rate disappeared, and the
service was no longer economical.

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

Date: Saturday, 24 December 1983 16:14 est
From: Kovalcik@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA
Subject: reply to you can't expect 1200 baud service

I have this feeling that part of your problem may be the UDS modems. A
group at MIT bought several of them and has had lots of problems with 
noise and lines that they just didn't work on at all. We replaced one 
that didn't work at all with a Vadic 3400 series modem and it works 
just fine.  You get what you pay for.  We have been trying to sell 
them off and have had few interested parties and fewer takers.

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End of TELECOM Digest
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