TELECOM@Usc-Eclb (10/29/82)
TELECOM AM Digest Friday, 29 October 1982 Volume 2 : Issue 128
Today's Topics: Dialing Ones Home NPA
Re: Electronic Mail Service
Cermatek Automatic Call Processing Unit (ACPU)
GTE/Telenet 617vs617
More On Op. Codes
Query - Local Area Data Sets
"Equal Access" to competitve Inter-Exchange Carriers
PBX Inquir
TWX History
NY Telephone Selling Phones
2nd Area Code Planned For New York City
Daemon Dialer
[I was on vacation last week, so no TELECOM digests were published]
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Date: 13 Oct 1982 0739-EDT
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Dialing one's home NPA
Home NPA can usually be dialed in Georgia and North Carolina; it seems
to depend on the local dial administration folks. To do it right does
require extra translation (Ga and NC sent calls to your own C.O. out to
the toll machine and back, which is kind of wasteful). It is not
perceived that the extra translation is worth allowing both ways to
work. Telco mentality is simply "there shouldn't be two ways to do
anything."
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Date: 13 Oct 1982 1248-MDT
From: Walt <Haas at UTAH-20>
Subject: Re: Electronic Mail Service
Telenet offers a service called Telemail which has a similar effect -
ie. they provided the computer that stores your mail, and you dial into
your local Telenet PAD (of which there are a whole lot), connect to this
computer and read or send mail. I've never used the service myself.
-- Walt Haas
HAAS@UTAH-20
...harpo!utah-cs!haas
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Date: 14 Oct 1982 0830-EDT
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Cermatek Automatic Call Processing Unit (ACPU)
The new Cermatek ACPU chip, CH1820, appears at first glance to be a
really nice new product. Closer inspection, however, shows that it has
at least two major deficiencies which make it unusable for its designed
purpose. It would be nice if manufacturers of products which would use
the CH1820 would recognize these deficiencies and prevail upon Cermatek
to redesign the chip.
The first major deficiency will prevent the ACPU from processing calls
correctly under many circumstances. The chip claims to incorporate a
feature enabling it to determine whether the line to which it is
attached accepts DTMF (Tone-Dial) signals. The description of the
"feature" follows:
After dial tone detection, an automatic selection
process of DTMF or Pulse dialing is begun. The
first digit to be dialed is dialed via DTMF tones.
The ACPU then monitors the telephone line to see
if dial tone has been broken. If dial tone is absent
the local TELCO switching system accepts DTMF tones.
In this case the balance of the number is dialed using
DTMF. If dial tone remains, DTMF is not supported by
the local TELCO, and the CH1820 responds by backing up
and dialing the complete number using pulse dialing.
There are two flaws in this algorithm. The first, and most obvious, is
in the case of CENTREX and PBX systems, where the first digit is used as
an access code (e.g. 9 for outside). Using the above algorithm, the
CH1820 would dial 9, discover that dial tone has not been broken, and
back up and dial the 9 again. The call would be sent to an incorrect
number.
The second flaw is less obvious. In modern, electronic switching
systems, the number being dialed is often buffered until the switching
system's CPU is ready to process the digit. In busy central offices,
there is often a substantial delay after the first digit is dialed
before dial tone is removed. Additional digits may be dialed in this
time, but the CH1820 would make the error of backing up, causing the
call to go to an incorrect number.
The second major deficiency in the chip is in the call progress tone
detection algorithm. The detection of ringing versus busy is not very
easy. The algorithm the CH1820 uses is inadequate. The following
description of the tone detection appears in the preliminary data sheet:
Dial tone is recognized as constant energy in the
frequency band of 300 to 700 Hz.
Busy tone is recognized as 200 to 700 ms of energy in
the dial tone band followed by a minimum of 200 ms of
non-dial tone band energy or silence.
Ringback [audible ring] tone is recognized as 700 ms
or more of dial tone band energy followed by 200 ms
or more of non-dial tone band energy or silence.
One of the most widely used PBXs in the industry, the Rolm MCBX,
provides an audible ring of 500 ms on calls dialed into the switch from
the outside. Calls to modems (or other devices) in this PBX would fail.
Avoid products incorporating the CH1820 until a new version is available
which corrects these deficiencies.
______________________________
Date: 14 Oct 1982 10:56:08-EDT
From: dee at CCA-UNIX (Donald Eastlake)
To: telecom at rutgers
Subject: GTE/Telenet 617vs617
Telenet vs GTE: It may depend on what type of connection you have with
Telenet but I would dispute Lauren's claim that Telenet has not
detriorated under GTE. When Telenet was its own thing, the people
working for it at least had some idea what was going on and you could
generally find someone responsible. Now they are trying to do the
service end of things increasingly with random GTE people and
dispatching them through general complex GTE channels such that you have
to talk to 3 or 4 people, none of whom seems to be willing to take much
responsibility or be very definite. They also have taken to doing cute
things like reloading the software into our TP with no notice and
throwing away the old version such that we were without service for 4
days.
617vs617: Re: Frankston's remarks, I am equally annoyed that you can't
simply always dial 1 in front of numbers within 617 if you are within
617. I suppose the claim is that people want to know if they are
dialing a "toll" call and want to minimize the number of digits but no
one seems to care about the wasted effort in having to look up whether
or not you have to dial 1 or more likely randomly try to wrong thing
first and then the other. If I go to the effort of making a telephone
call, I really don't care if its local or not though I suppose it might
make some difference if it was overseas. In any case, it would be nice
to be able to dial what ever prefix is required to effectively declare
that I don't care if its a "toll" call or not.
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Date: 18 Oct 82 8:05:47-EDT (Mon)
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@BRL>
cc: cmoore at BRL
Subject: op. codes, 209 area
There are several prefixes in 209 area whose operator codes start with
916 (different area in SAME state). These include 555 (dir. asst.),
although its V&H coor- dinates match those of Fresno.
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Date: 14 Oct 82 15:52:58-EDT (Thu)
From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@BRL>
cc: cmoore at BRL
Subject: more on op. codes
I presently don't know why any prefixes would have operator code from a
non-bordering state or province. Earlier, I noted a few Maine prefixes
whose op. codes start with 617 (eastern Mass. area code), and I have
since found these combinations:
Maine, op. code starting with 802 (Vermont)
Idaho, op. code starting with 303 (Colorado)
I wonder what I'll find for op. codes in New Hampshire
and Wyoming, the states "skipped over" above.
----------
Note (not by me) about 1 + your own area code + 7 digit number for
automatic, transportable dialer makes me wonder how complex the changes
would be to accomodate such a thing. I do see how it is a nuisance
without "+ your own area code" being possible when you and the number
you call are in same area. This is in addition to other notes about
one's own area code. I wrote about DC area and NYC, and someone else
wrote that it's the best solution to toll calls within same area code
when "area code" prefixes and 1+ DDD are in same area (no such areas at
least for now).
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Date: Thursday, 14 October 1982 15:55-EDT
Sender: KLOTZ at MIT-OZ
From: Leigh L. Klotz <KLOTZ at MIT-MC>
To: jsol at MIT-OZ
Subject:Help?
Being a telephone expert, do you know anything about "Local Area Data
Sets"? They're 9600 and greater "modems" for direct connection. I have
a 4-wire connection to BBN from Terrapin and one of these critters, but
not two. The phone company has stalled for 3 months, and I just found
out today that they don't have any more and have to buy them. I talked
to the guy who designed it and he referred me to Codex, who sells them
to the phone company. They can get me a pair in 4 weeks, but that
doesn't help me today when I need it (or three months ago...).
Do you know anybody who has a pair or one they aren't using that I could
borrow or least or rent for 4 weeks?
Thanks,
Leigh.
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Date: 16 October 1982 13:21-EDT
From: "Marvin A. Sirbu, Jr." <SIRBU at MIT-MC>
Subject: "Equal Access" to competitve Inter-Exchange Carriers
To: Telecom at USC-ECLB
The divestiture agreement calls for the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs)
to provide "equal access" to both AT&T Long Lines and the other
inter-exchange carriers (IECs)
The following is from a paper by Norwood G. Long, Director Loop
Planning, Bell Telephone Laboratories presented at a Workshop on Local
Access in St. Louis last month.
"When a telephone call is placed in the switched message network, the
user must specify the unique number of the called party by entering a
structured list of identifiers and geographical designators. For local
calls only central office (3 digit) and customer (4 digit) codes are
needed.... The next level in addressing is the area code, a 3 digit
code identifying a region with the second digit a "1" or a "0", such as
"201" for Northern new Jersey. Finally, the initial digit or digits may
have, in some locations, a specialized call-type identification
function; "1" can mean a toll call, "01" can mean international call,
etc.
"One way of allowing the user "equal access" in selecting among all
available inter-exchange carriers would be to add digits identifying the
selected carrier to the dialing code....
"The following example... shows one way in which the issues discussed
above might be approached. Since the issues are still under active
discussion by regulators, carriers, and others, it should not be
construed as a proposal.
"Numbering for message toll: 10XX + normal ten digit number, where "XX"
specifies the carrier. If 10XX is absent, call is carried by a carrier
preselected by the user.
"Access to all IEC's would be through an intermediate tandem switch,
unless traffic studies show wnough traffic to justify the cost of direct
end-office-IEC hub trunks. From an end office, trunks to both the
access tandem switch and an IEC hub would have 3 dB loss; access tandem
to IEC hub trunks would have 0 dB loss. Traffic blocking on a two link
end office to access tandem plus tandem to IEC hub call would be
adjusted to be the same as on a direct end office to IEC hub call."
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Date: 18 Oct 1982 1226-PDT
From: Jim Celoni S.J. <CSL.JLH.Celoni at SU-SCORE>
Subject: PBX inquiry
The University of Santa Clara is shopping for a 1200-line PBX for our
44-building campus and has received proposals from Northern Telecom
(SL-1 VLE Generic X11), CP National (Mitel SX-2000), American Bell (AT&T
D2000 FP8), InteCom (IBX), Rolm (LCBX Release 7), United Technologies
(Stromberg DBX 5000), and ComPath (Wescom 580L). Other companies
weren't interested in bidding (e.g. GTE, Anderson-Jacobson, Datapoint,
Harris, IBM).
Staying with the Centrex served from our #1 ESS CO (in Pacific Telephone
territory) is possible too, either month-to-month or under a forthcoming
tariff offering guaranteed rates for three years. (Centrex is about all
the operating companies will have for large customers after the split.)
Rumor has it that Rolm's developing a new incompatible MC68000-based
switch, Northern a new incompatible switch, that Bell's Antelope is not
a Dimension add-on (and will be out soon for smaller sizes and later for
ours), and that still-uninstalled switches (some from startup companies)
will outshine them all.
I'm not permitted to give prices or say which bidders are finalists or
how the terms they're offering us are different from their standard
ones, but I'd really appreciate your comments on the proposed systems,
on the rumors, on PBX vs. month-to-month vs. Centrex contract, etc..
I'll keep your reply between us if you want, and I'll summarize for
Telecom whatever of the rest is of general interest.
Many thanks.
--j
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Date: Fri Oct 22 1982 21:18:24 PDT
From: Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren@LBL-UNIX>
Subject: TWX history
Greetings. Can somebody tell me when the ASCII TWX network first began
to appear? When did the term "twix" first start to be used, and has it
ever been used outside of the U.S.? I am not concerned with the Baudot
telex network, which has been available domestically and internationally
for many years. (As an aside, I believe that use of the term "TWX" is
now being discouraged -- you're now supposed to call the ASCII service
"Telex II".) Any info would be appreciated. Thanks much.
--Lauren--
P.S. I started thinking about this while watching an old rerun of
"M*A*S*H"! Klinger ran into a room holding a slip of paper and said,
"I've got a twix here you're going to want to see..." Seems to me that
the usage is wrong both in space and time. TWX in *Korea* during the
Korean War? Telex, yes, but TWX? Looks like the writers blew it on
this one -- probably didn't realize there was any difference.
--LW--
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Date: 24 Oct 82 17:27:52 EDT (Sun)
From: floyd!cmcl2!edler@Berkeley
Subject: NY Tel. selling phones
New York Telephone is offering to sell currently installed telephones
to residence and business customers with single-line telephones. The
offer applies to Standard, Trimline, or Princess sets, dial or tone,
desk or wall. There is a 30 day limited warranty for electrical parts,
excluding cords. If you take them up on this, they will put it on your
bill, and if you are a residence customer they will bill you in six
installments if you like. The offer is good until December 31, 1982,
after which it will presumably change.
The price is $50 for either of my two standard desk touch-tone sets,
which I have had for less than a year. The current monthly charge that
I would save is $3.73, so it would take about 14 months to make my
money back.
Are other phone companies making similar offers? Is this a good deal?
Will the price go down after January 1, 1983? Will significantly better
phones be available soon for a better price?
Should I take them up on the offer?
Jan Edler cmcl2!edler (nyu)
pyuxll!jse (btl piscataway)
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Date: Wed 27-Oct-1982 16:48-EDT
From: Bill Russell <RUSSELL@NYU>
To: DORN.ACF1@NYU, Richard Kenner <KENNER@NYU>, TELECOM@USC-ECLB
Subject: 2nd Area Code for New York City Planned
>From the NY Times, Wed, October 27th, 1982, by The Assocciated Press
The New York Telephone Company said yesterday that it was considering
a second area code for New York City in 1984 to meet the growing demand
for and use of the telephone. The company ``is presently looking into
ways to increase the supply of phone numbers in New York City to meet
future needs,'' said a spokesman, John Quinn. Mr. Quinn said that
amoung the proposals being considered was ``a new area code covering
Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.'' He said the new area code would be
718, with Manhattan and the Bronx keeping 212. The 718 area code would
be considered a local call if dialed from in New York City. If the
plan, which requires approval by the State Public Service Commission, is
adopted, it would be implemented in mid-1984, he added. A second area
code would free up to 800 exchanges--the first three digits of a phone
number, Mr. Quinn said, double the amount now available. The
telephone company nearly two years ago began requiring the dialing of
the numeral ``1'' before all long-distance numbers from New York City,
but ``the several hundred'' exchanges it provided are being rapidly
``eaten up'' as a result of a growing technology and direct inward
dialing, Mr. Quinn said. He said all the exchanges provided by adding
``1'' would be used up by 1985. Direct inward dialing--dialing
without going through a central operator--``requires a large nunber of
code blocks,'' he said. More extensive use of beepers and mobile radio
systems, which will make car telephones much more accessible, also
reserves large blocks of numbers. The proposal for dual area codes is
currently being studied by San Diego and Los Angeles, two cities that
will implement the system before New York does, Mr. Quinn said. New
York City currently has more than six million phone numbers.
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Date: 29 October 1982 00:05 edt
From: Schauble.Multics at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: Daemon Dialer
I have been seen ads for this beast for a long time. It is a small box
that you plug into any extension outlet in your house. It then provides
speed calling services for all of the phones in your house. You pick up
the phone, dial the speed call code (touch only) and the daemon dials
the number for you.
I would very much like to know how this works, in detail. Seems to me
that if you do this, the CO will also receive the tones directed at the
daemon and attempt to respond to them. How is this avoided?
Paul
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End of TELECOM Digest
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