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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------ 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. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest *********************