Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (12/10/83)
TELECOM Digest Saturday, 10 Dec 1983 Volume 3 : Issue 116
Today's Topics:
DIAL-IT (900) numbers and misc.
MCI & Hawaii
Re: 900 numbers -- political uses / technology used?
California PUC; spectrum auction
porn phone
taping phone conversations
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From: vortex!lauren at RAND-UNIX
Date: Thursday, 8-Dec-83 19:18:10-PST
Subject: DIAL-IT (900) numbers and misc.
The DIAL-IT (900) network was fully described in an issue of BSTJ
(Bell System Technical Journal) within the last couple of years. I'd
point to the exact issue, but my collection isn't handy,
unfortunately. Essentially, the 900 network operates through regional
concentrators tied into the ESS/CCIS network, which prevents large
numbers of calls from simultaneously saturating the "primary" DDD
network. In fact, the poll numbers are usually even easier to handle
than the more elaborate taped messages -- most polls terminate in a
very short recording that simply tells you that your vote was counted,
and that's all. Holding time for such calls is very short.
I see no reason why people shouldn't pay to have their vote registered
via such systems, but frankly, I also consider such polls to be
useless or perhaps even dangerous. They are useless, of course, since
there is no control over the sample, and this renders the poll
statistically meaningless. Who bothers to call? People with 50 cents
to toss away? Who calls more than once? Are there organized "flood
the poll" campaigns? The polls can be dangerous if people in "power"
believe them. So far most of these dialin polls have exhibited
distinct conservative trends, often showing figures totally opposite
to more scientific, statistically valid polls taken at approximately
the same time. If people BELIEVE the "instant" polls and make
decisions based on their inaccurate data, we could have some real
problems on our hands.
---
The concept of bidding for spectrum space has been raised many times
before. It has some definite validity, but could well result in very
unbalanced spectrum usage -- even worse than we see today. Instead of
certain parts of the spectrum happening to be unused as we have now,
would we see large organizations buy up large segments of spectrum and
then CONTINUE to keep them unused -- thus locking out potential new
uses for that space? I'm sure there are many entities which would
like to have a nice chunk of spectrum tucked away for a "rainy day".
Another problem -- would you REALLY like to see, say, the Public
Broadcasting Service bidding against the religious mania networks?
The latter have BIG BUCKS -- it's truly amazing -- and I'm sure that
many local television stations would be vulnerable to outbidding by
special interest groups out to "save" the masses.
These are just a couple of simple examples -- the actual situation is
very complex. I'm not saying that bidding wouldn't work in certain
segments of spectrum allocation, but extreme care would have to be
used. Frankly, given the current behavior pattern of the Commission,
the last thing I'd expect to see is "extreme care".
--Lauren--
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Date: Fri, 9 Dec 83 00:40:43 pst
From: cunningh@Nosc (Robert P. Cunningham)
Subject: MCI & Hawaii
I spoke too soon by when I said that MCI is not available here in
Hawaii. This evening I went to a shopping center...and saw an MCI
booth, offering a free phone call to the mainland there and then to
everyone who signed up with MCI on the spot. They're here.
Bob Cunningham, Dept. of Oceanography, Univ. of Hawaii
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Date: 09 Dec 83 00:01:55 PST (Fri)
Subject: Re: 900 numbers -- political uses / technology used?
From: Jerry Sweet <jsweet%UCI@USC-ECL>
I don't see how one could use such a scheme for voting unless there
were some mechanisms installed to insure "one person, one vote" -- and
it is unclear to me how one could do that without incurring a Big
Brother syndrome. Because of this problem (not to mention the
"instantaneous emotional register" problem), it should be clear that
the error margin for polls conducted with the 900 number is
potentially rather large as the public becomes more sophisticated in
use of the technology.
--Jerry
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Date: 9 December 1983 09:22 EST
From: "Marvin A. Sirbu, Jr." <SIRBU @ MIT-MC>
Subject: California PUC; spectrum auction
There is a connection between the two stories sent to the last digest
by Ted Vail regarding developments in California. It is precisely the
10% tax on long distance which provides the incentive for large
organizations like UC to bypass the regular phone system and set up a
private network. That's why access charges have been proposed as an
alternative to the tax.
*******
Regarding auctioning spectrum: the idea has been raised many times. A
revision to the Communications Act proposed in 1978 by Congressman Van
Deerlin would have levied "spectrum fees" on all users of spectrum;
the bill never got out of committee.
Other writings on the subject include a paper by Douglas Webbink put
out by the FCC's Office of Plans and Policies in 1980, a PhD
dissertation by Charles Jackson of MIT in 1974, and a book by a
professor at Hofstra called "The Invisible Resource" published in the
early 70's.
Simply allowing holders of spectrum licenses to sell them to the
highest bidder -- even for different uses -- would eliminate the
problem of some bands being highly congested and others being little
used, although the windfall would be reaped by the original license
holder rather than by the Treasury. Recently the Commission has been
moving towards easing restrictions on license sales, and less
subdivision of the spectrum based on uses.
To give evyeryone an equal chance at capturing that windfall, the
Congress recently authorized some spectrum licenses to be awarded by
lottery rather than by the FCC trying to decide who was the "better"
applicant. The technique will be used for allocating cellular mobile
licenses in the smaller cities.
Marvin Sirbu
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Date: Fri 9 Dec 83 09:48:52-EST
From: Marvin Sirbu <SIRBU@MIT-XX.ARPA>
Subject: porn phone
According to an article in this morning's Globe (p.5 ): " The
telephone sex provisions in the new law authorize the FCC to impose
civil fines, and the attorney general to seek criminal penalties
against any person or firm operating a phone service judged to be
`obscene or indecent' if it is available to anyone under 18 years of
age. Operators of such a commercial service would face penalties of
up to $50,000 and imprisonment for up to six months.
The provision, written primarily by Rep. Thomas J. Bliley (R-Va.),
resulted from a dispute over a phone sex service operated by the New
York publisher of High Society, a magazine that features pictures of
nude women."
So much for one of New York Telephone's biggest 900 money makers.
This is the first instance of a restriction of a type previously
applied only to publishers being applied to a common carrier.
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Date: 9 December 1983 09:53 EST
From: "Marvin A. Sirbu, Jr." <SIRBU @ MIT-MC>
Subject: taping phone conversations
For years it has been illegal under FCC imposed tariffs for either
party to tape a telephone conversation without having a "beeper" on
the line which signals the other party that the conversation is being
taped. Of course the wide availability of microphones that facilitate
recording off the phone from an ordinary tape recorder have made the
rule unenforceable.
In a recent action the FCC has proposed to do away with the rule
altogether. Better, they argue, to put people on notice that they
will not be warned if their conversation is being taped than to lull
them into a false sense of security by having an unenforceable rule.
Commentary:
I think the rule should be retained. Maybe it is unenforceable, but I
think the FCC should be on record as saying that they believe that
taping without mutual consent is a violoation of privacy. There is a
moral suasion value in having the rule on the books which would be
lost if the rule is dropped.
Marvin Sirbu
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End of TELECOM Digest
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