TELECOM Digest     Thu, 26 May 94 12:18:00 CDT    Volume 14 : Issue 252

Inside This Issue:                           Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Eleven Montrealers Arrested in Telephone Fraud (Peter M. Weiss)
    Book Review: "Riding the Internet Highway" by Fisher (Rob Slade)
    Message Waiting Problem on OPX in CA (Barton F. Bruce)
    Nice Job, if You Can Get it! (Gerry Brown)
    Tellabs Information Request (Leroy Casterline)
    Flames For ISD? (Joe Jarrett)
    Looking for FEC Decoder (Harry Smith)
    What's a 1A3B? (Stan Schwartz)
    SIGNIDR V Preliminary Meeting Announcement (Manette B. Lazear)
    Paper on International Callbacks (Douglas Mckeen)

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

Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 05:36:37 EDT
From: "Peter M. Weiss" <PMW1@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
Subject: Eleven Montrealers Arrested in Telephone Fraud
Organization: Penn State University


Original received From: Melvin Klassen <KLASSEN@UVVM>
 
A Canadian Press story:
 
MONTREAL - Eleven people have been arrested in connection with an
alleged scheme to defraud the phone systems of British Columbia,
Alberta, and Edmonton of about $700,000.
 
RCMP said the operation was run out of Montreal -- the eleven arrested
are all Montrealers -- and it offered illegal cut-rate long-distance
telephone service to overseas clients.
 
Once a client got interested, an agent would contact a cohort in
Edmonton, who could reroute the call anywhere in the world.  The
client had no indication that it wa an illegal operation.
 
RCMP Corporal Dominique Delage said the mechanism used for conference-
calls make long-distance fraud easy for people who charge the calls to 
companies that exist only on paper.
 
Four men were arrested April 19 in Edmonton, and charged with theft,
fraud, and conspiracy.  The seven people arrested Thursday in Montreal
were released, but are to be charged soon.
 
                         ----------------- 

Mel's subtitle: "RCMP reach out and touch someone" :-)

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: RCMP = Royal Canadian Mounted Police,
essentially the Canadian federal police force and equivilent to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation in the USA.  PAT]

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

Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 14:42:28 MDT
From: Rob Slade <roberts@decus.ca>
Subject: Book Review: "Riding the Internet Highway" by Fisher


BKRIDINT.RVW  940204
 
New Riders Publishing
201 W. 103rd Street
Indianapolis, IN  46290
phyllis@prenhall.com 
70621.2737@CompuServe.COM Alan Apt
Beth Mullen-Hespe beth_hespe@prenhall.com
"Riding the Internet Highway", Fisher, 1993, 1-56205-192-X, U$16.95/C$21.95
slf@netcom.com
 
Fisher shows admirable restraint in limiting the scope of this book.
Where others try to produce "complete" documentation for the "whole"
Internet, Fisher flatly states (correctly) that this is impossible.
Where others try to take you "from the modem up," Fisher suggests you
get some basic experience with local bulletin boards.  The intent is
to give desktop (PC and Mac) users some basic grounding in Internet
functions and tools.  As such, the book is much less imposing than
most of the others of this ilk.  (Cheaper, too.)
 
The emphasis on the micro computer is followed through in the material
covered.  Like a number of other guides, some very basic UNIX
background is given.  It is clear, though, that the expectation is
that the UNIX box is not on your desk, but a remote system on which
you have an account.  When discussing ftp, readers are reminded that
they still need to download from the local host to their own desktop.
 
Although I appreciate the limitation of the information contained
herein, at times things are kept just slightly too terse.  The very
important tip about not sending subscription and signoff requests to
the mailing list, itself, is here but the material isn't completely
explicit about what *is* the correct procedure.  Readers are told that
ftp.misc.sri.com has a list of mailing lists; they aren't told the
file name or directory.  (Ironically, thirty-three pages later an ftp
screen is used from that very directory -- although it doesn't list the
interest-groups file.)  One other regrettable shortcoming is the
limited discussion of mail servers.  Although Fisher obviously feels
local service providers are the answer, for many users online
commercial service vendors may be the only realistic answer, and these
are often limited to email access.
 
Some topics may appear fragmented, since the book is organized by
application rather than function.  Finger and whois are discussed
under "Finding Information" rather than under email.  Fisher's
discussion of the distinctives of Usenet is very good -- but news
*could* be discussed alongside mailing lists.
 
For the majority of new users, however, this is a good, basic
introduction.  What shortcomings there are in specific information can
be quickly filled in once a user has gotten onto the net.  The very
personal style here probably more than makes up for any other lacks --
the Internet is primarily other people, not technologies.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994   BKRIDINT.RVW  940204. Distribution
permitted in TELECOM Digest and associated newsgroups/mailing lists.


Vancouver      ROBERTS@decus.ca   
Institute for  Robert_Slade@sfu.ca
Research into  rslade@cue.bc.ca   
User           p1@CyberStore.ca   
Security       Canada V7K 2G6     

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

From: Barton.Bruce@camb.com
Subject: Message Waiting Problem on OPX in CA
Organization: Digital Equipment Computer Users Society
Date: 25 May 94 23:30:09 -0400


A site in CA has a problem getting the message waiting lamp to light
at an off premise location three miles away.

I am in Mass and so can only guess what is happening and have suggested 
some tests that may help pinpoint what is happening, but any help is
most welcome.

The PBX is a big Fugitsu with an OPX station card using 48VDC for talk
battery, so loop supervision over that range should be no problem.

The message waiting lamp signal is on the station line where it leaves
the PBX site, but does not light the lamp at the remote station.  The
phone at the remote site does have the lamp flash during ringing, so
it seems to be a working traditional neon lamp across T and R.

I am assuming that PACBEL is running the line through something akin
to a traditional dial-long-line (DLL) unit that lets them reinsert
talk battery and is really necessary when working any distance from a
PBX with 24VDC station battery. PACBEL probably just does this on all
OPX lines to 'protect' themselves. This is all in the same town
(Sebastopol).

I am assuming that at that distance they are NOT doing a full four
wire transmission system with FXO and FXS ends which could extend the
station to any place even thousands of miles away.

Any such equipment will immediately eliminate the message waiting
signal.

I am also assuming that breaking the loop at the PBX or reversing T
and R there will propably not result in any differance in the on hook
open circuit voltage seen at the station end -- further proving there
is a DLL unit or equiv in between.

Is there an alternate service that can be ordered that is just copper
wires that PACBELL officially tolerates OPX stations on? USOC code or
other incantation for it?

Does one have to resort to ordering LADD type copper lines for
'short-haul' line driver modems and then using them otherwise? Are
such copper only circuits readily available in CA? Is a four wire version
only a tad more or is it exactly twice. i.e. could a second such circuit
be ordered for peanuts more since only a single pair is really needed.

Does PACBELL put those "RUDE" protectors/filters on LADD circuits that
preclude DDS (or even faster:-) ) 'abuse' and that also preclude
normal station battery let alone superimposed ringing and message
waiting battery?

There are plenty of 'cute' ways to repeat the message waiting signal
given enough $s and possibly another circuit in parallel, but what is
needed here is the right magic incantation to get an appropriate
circuit from them that lets the message waiting light on the OPX line
work the way it is supposed to.

Does PACBELL have a consultant liason / out of state vendor type
contact group with a competant staff? EMAIL if posting it is a bad
idea.


TIA,

Barton

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

Date: 26 May 94 03:17 GMT
From: BROWN.GERRY@AppleLink.Apple.COM (Gerry Brown Assoc, Gerry Brown,PAS)
Subject: Nice Job, if You Can Get it!


This could be retitiled, How can I ever thank them..
 
This afternoon, my home telephone went south.  Anyone who called in
got one ring followed by a fast busy.  I called the local (Pac Bell)
operator who forwarded me to PacBell service after confirming my
problem.  Service reminded me that they would have to charge me if it
was internal wiring.  I agreed to wait to report the problem until
AFTER I had tested their side of the line.  PacBell supplies each
house with an external box that has a modular jack.  To test it all
one has to do is plug a phone into the external jack.  If it works,
the problem is internal -- my fault.  If it doesn't, the problem is
outside PacBell's fault.
 
While reporting the problem, the service tech told me that effective
June 1, 1994, PacBell will be charging for a service call WHETHER THE
PROBLEM IS INSIDE OR OUTSIDE.  The only way around the charge is to
subscribe to their Wire Service Plan.
 
Not a bad scam, heh!  I pay for service no matter who is at fault.
The PacBell repair service claimed that the California PUC forced them
to implement this plan.  Boy am I glad that the telephone industry has
been deregulated.  Imagine what we would have to pay if that hadn't
happened.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would double check the source on
this. Do you mean to tell me that if there is a problem in the CO
that *you* are going to have to pay for the repair?  If the problem
is on the pole in the alley behind your house *you* will have to pay?
Gimme a break.  PAT]

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

Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 21:59:53 -0600
From: Leroy Casterline <casterli@csn.org>
Subject: Tellabs Information Request


Salutations, telecom netlanders!

Not long ago, I requested information from this group on loop-start
<-> ground-start converters.  My thanks to all who responded.

Now I come to you once again requesting your assistance.  Tellabs
produces converters which appear to satisfy our need.  While I have
heard of Tellabs, I have no direct experience with them or their
products, and therefore solicit your input on the company and its
converters.  The converters we are considering are:

  Tellabs Model 6007 - 2 line, PBX-side converter
  Tellabs Modem 9006 - 4 line, CO-side converter

Thank you one and all!


Leroy

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

From: joejarre@netcom.com (Joe Jarrett)
Subject: Flames For ISD?
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
Date: Wed, 25 May 1994 21:49:57 GMT


I'm the Field Applications engineer for Information Storage Devices,
commonly known as "ISD".  ISD makes a series of chips that store audio
(speech, sounds, etc).  I've been told that we have taken some bad
press in one of the "telecom" newsgroups.

Did that happen here?  If so, if anyone has any copies of the threads
that ran then, I'd appreciate them being sent to me.  Otherwise, I
would be willing to discuss the subject either via Email or here in
the TELECOM Digest.


Thanks for your time.

Joe Jarrett, K5FOG     joejarre@netcom.com   
Information Storage Devices FAE   Austin, Texas 

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

From: hsmith@lmsc.lockheed.com (Harry Smith)
Subject: Looking For FEC Decoder
Organization: Lockheed
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 00:54:45 GMT


I have just picked up Sklar's book on digital communications. (It is a
great book.)  In the back it has code for doing Viterbi decoding on a
PC.  Does anyone know of an FTP site where I can find it in softcopy.
(I have typing several pages of some elses code.)

While I am at it, is this the correct location find information about
the different error correcting codes and what people are doing?  ( If
not, can you point me to the right place.)


Harry Smith     hsmith@lmsc.lockheed.com

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

From: stans@panix.com (Stan Schwartz)
Subject: What's a 1A3B?
Date: 26 May 1994 00:32:28 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC


Here in downstate NYNEXland if an exchange has not been "taken over"
by a pager or cellular company, you can dial the NNX and 9901 to find
out what kind of switch is in that C/O.  For example, dialing
(516)694-9901 will tell you that you have reached the Farmingdale 5ESS
test number, serving the following prefixes ... (you get the idea).

When dialing (516) 352-9901, however, I am told that I have reached
the Floral Park 1A3B, the only one of it's kind in Nassau County.  Now
I have heard of 5ESS's and DMS-100's, but what is a 1A3B, and why is
it such a distinction to have one?


Thanks!
 
Stan

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

Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:30:39 +0100
From: manette@mitre.org (Manette B. Lazear)
Subject: SIGNIDR V Preliminary Meeting Announcement


               SIGNIDR V Preliminary Meeting Announcement
Special Interest Group on Networked Information, Discovery, and Retrieval
(Previously SIGWAIS, Special Interest Group on Wide Area Information Server)

  The MITRE Corporation will sponsor the next meeting of the Special
Interest Group on Networked Information, Discovery, and Retrieval.
General topics of interest for this group are WAIS, gopher, World Wide
Web, and other information retrieval and discovery technologies.  We
are planning for an interesting and exciting meeting.  We look forward
to seeing you there.

  This meeting will focus in on three areas: 1. security including
firewall issues, 2. electronic publishing and copyright issues, and 3.
knowbots and other information discovery technologies.  IF YOU WOULD
BE INTERESTED IN MAKING A PRESENTATION IN ANY OF THESE AREAS, PLEASE
INDICATE THIS ON THE REGISTRATION FORM BELOW AND SEND IT TO US AT
"signidr@mitre.org".

Date:   Thursday, August 4, 1994

Time:   9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Place:  The MITRE Corporation
        7525 Colshire Drive
        McLean, VA  22102

Registration:
        PLEASE REGISTER EARLY TO ASSURE YOUR ATTENDANCE.
        Space is limited to 300 attendees.

        Complete registration form below and return by e-mail or fax:
             e-mail: signidr@mitre.org
             fax:    703/883-1397        (c/o Lorrayne Schaefer)

Fee:    None

Demos Welcome:
        If you have a demo you would like to share with your colleagues
        in our demo area, there is space to indicate this on the registration
        form; please let us know.  Demo selection will be coordinated based on
        space availability and focus of presentation.

Vendors Welcome:
        We would like to include vendor information and demos at this meeting.
        If you are a vendor and would like to participate please indicate this
        in the space provided on the registration form.  Selection will be
        coordinated based on space availability and focus of presentation.

Access: Free, on-site, parking at MITRE Corporation.  Driving directions to
        MITRE will appear in a later announcement.  Nearest Metro is
        West Falls Church (orange line) with approximately an $8 taxi ride
        (~7 minute) from Metro to MITRE.  Bus #3B marked "Tyson's Corner"
        also runs from West Falls Church Metro to the vicinity of MITRE.
        The fare is $1 and takes about 15 min. plus a short walk from the
        bus stop.

Airport:
        MITRE is approximately equi-distant from Washington National Airport
        and Washington Dulles Airport.  Travel time from the airports to
        MITRE is about 25 minutes and taxi cost is approximately $30.00.

Nearby Hotels:
        Best Western Tyson's Westpark   2 miles to MITRE
        8401 Westpark Drive
        McLean, VA 22102
        703/734-2800

        McLean Hilton at Tyson's Corner 1.5 miles to MITRE
        7920 Jones Branch Drive
        McLean, VA  22102
        703/847-5000

        Ritz-Carlton, Tyson's Corner     .5 miles to MITRE
        1700 Tyson's Blvd
        McLean, VA  22102
        703/506-4300

        Tyson's Corner Ramada   1 mile to MITRE
        7801 Leesburg Pike
        Falls Church, VA  22043
        703/893-1340

        Tyson's Corner Marriott 1 mile to MITRE
        8028 Leesburg Pike
        Vienna, VA 22182
        800/228-9290


          -------------Registration Form------------


                          SIGNIDR V Registration
                         Thursday, August 4, 1994
                             MITRE CORPORATION
                                McLean, VA


Name:___________________________________________________________________

Title:____________________________________________________________________

Affiliation:_____________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________________

        __________________________________________________________________

E-mail:___________________________________________________________________

Phone:_________________________________FAX:______________________________

Which previous SIGNIDR/SIGWAIS have you attended?  (Check all that apply.)
SIGWAIS I (USGS, Reston, VA)                       _________
SIGWAIS II (Library of Congress, Wash., DC)        _________
SIGNIDR III (Nat. Library of Med., Bethesda, MD)   _________
SIGNIDR IV (Dept. of Commerce, Wash., DC)          _________

Participant Information:
If you wish to participate through a presentation, demonstration, or vendor
display please complete the appropriate information area(s) below.  For
demos you must supply all equipment you will need, including workstations
and other hardware, software, etc.  Connections to the Internet will be
available.

PRESENTATION Title:_______________________________________________________

Brief Description:_________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

DEMO Name:________________________________________________________________

Demo Description:_________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

VENDOR Name:______________________________________________________________

Description of how you would like to participate:__________________________

 ___________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________


Manette B. Lazear
Digital Libraries Technologies
MITRE, 7525 Colshire Dr., McLean, VA  22102
Phone: 703/883-6728   FAX:703/883-3315
(manette@mitre.org)   MITRE Mail Stop: Z160

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

From: dmckeen@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca (Douglas Mckeen)
Subject: Paper on International Callbacks
Date: 26 May 1994 06:18:21 GMT
Organization: University of Alberta


I am taking an international marketing course at the University of
Alberta right now and I'm considering doing a paper on international
callback.  I am looking for information on callback services and any
problems/experiences that either customers or suppliers of callback
services have encountered.  I am still debating whether to pursue this
paper from a business plan perspective or from a research perspective.
Any input I receive will probably sway me one way or the other.

I am also looking to expand on some of the ideas I have already.  Such
as ...

-The name of the service - One name for all markets served or tailor
the name to suit the countries/customers served.

-Language problems - I only speak one language. Will my customers
require more?  If so, how do I solve this?

-Legal/Regulatory Issues (Possibly a whole paper on its own)

-What markets should I serve? There are a few possible target markets.

 1) Any customer wishing to connect from anyplace to any other place. (pretty
    broad)
 2) Canadian companies abroad wishing to call Canada or other countries.
 3) The many Americans struggling to call Cuba every day. (Canada doesn't have
    the embargo against Cuba)

-Strategic Business Alliance - Should I form some form of alliance
with "agents" in the foreign countries?  That is, to what degree
should I get involved?  I could try promoting the service from here
but it would be difficult.

-Other - Still very important are issues such as price, billing, what
countries to serve, costs, sales force, etc.

I mentioned mostly marketing or business issues above; however, I am
also interested in the technical and operational issues (these are
part of the product).  Any piece of information or insight you may
have will be greatly appreciated.  Also if you know of any
documentation/articles on the subject I would appreciate hearing about
them.

Thanks, in advance, for any info you send. If you would like to call
me, my phone number is (403) 483-8759 (5pm-11pm MST) or you can e-mail
me. :-)


Regards,

Doug McKeen   dmckeen@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca

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

End of TELECOM Digest V14 #252
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