From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!telecom Newsgroups: fa.telecom Title: TELECOM Digest V2 #59 Article-I.D.: ucbvax.7166 Posted: Wed May 12 18:43:55 1982 Received: Thu May 13 03:47:28 1982 >From JSOL@USC-ECLB Wed May 12 18:40:20 1982 TELECOM AM Digest Thursday, 13 May 1982 Volume 2 : Issue 59 Today's Topics: Phone Bill Place Names Mobil Phones Via Satellite Direct-Dialed Credit Card Calls Disconnected Phones And Centrexes Split of 714/619 Area Codes Vadic 345x Modems ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 10 May 1982 1913-PDT (Monday) From: lauren at UCLA-Security (Lauren Weinstein) Subject: phone bill place names / Satellites via mobile Well. At least in AT&T service areas (and probably in all others as well) there is a standard list of place names and other information for every prefix in the DDD network. You can get all this information, and much more, on a standard reel of magtape from AT&T. The tape has records for every area code/prefix, the associated vertical and horizontal coordinates (used to calculate toll charges via a rather simple algorithm [based on mileage, time of day, etc.]), the rate center city/state name, and a number of other rather useful items. The tape is designed to be used in association with programs which analyze locally recorded call data from large PBX's (such as Dimensions) which can optionally (via a gadget called an SMDR) feed ascii call data to a customer's own local computer. The operating companies use the same basic data to generate customer statements (bills). This tape (and the accompanying documentation) cost about $80 when I last had to deal with them a couple of years ago. --- The reported demo of a 2 meter mobile radio being used to access a satellite is almost certainly misleading. I don't believe that the satellite mentioned was geosynchronous -- so the stuff about the signal going 23,000 miles would not have been true. In fact, it is unlikely that a 20 watt 2 meter (146 MHz) signal, coming off a simple whip antenna, has much chance of reaching geosynchronous orbit! On the other hand, there HAVE been demonstrations of HAND HELD radios, with very low power (less than 5 watts) operating at frequencies around 1GHz, that can reach such satellites. They had to use a rather strange helical antenna about 4 feet long, but it did work. My guess is that for the 2 meter demonstration, they were using an old non-synchronous satellite, and waited until it was overhead for the demo. That would be more in line with the capabilities of the euquipment reportedly used. --Lauren-- ------------------------------ Date: 11 May 82 08:48:45 EDT (Tue) From: Steve BellovinSubject: direct-dialed credit card calls The new system is supposed to be available state-wide in North Carolina by the end of June, according to Southern Bell. On in-state calls, there will be a discount of $.40 for entering the credit card number yourself. ------------------------------ Date: 11 May 82 10:26:34 EDT (Tue) From: Steve Bellovin Subject: Disconnected phones and Centrexes For assorted reasons, the Powers in the department here yanked out one of the phones serving my building. Callers are not told what the new number is, merely that the old one has been disconnected. The University's Utilities people claim that that can't be done on a Centrex. Comments? (I don't know what model Centrex it is, but I'm pretty certain it's genuine Bell. Southern Bell installed a brand-new ESS last year to serve the entire town, so I assume that we have state- of-the-art equipment.) --Steve ------------------------------ Date: 12 May 1982 1107-PDT Sender: GEOFF at SRI-CSL Subject: 714/619? From: the tty of Geoffrey S. Goodfellow Reply-To: Geoff at SRI-CSL I just got my new '82 phone book (for Palo Alto) and it had a blurb on its front cover as follows: IMPORTANT NOTICE On November 5, 1982, the 714 area code will be divided and the new 619 area code introduced. Before calling out of your area, check the area code pages of your customer guide in the white pages diectory. --- I thought it was the 213 area code which was running out of numbers as was going to be divied, but here it says the 714 area code is the one that is being divied?? anyone know how the division will be done, etc.? ------------------------------ Date: 12 May 82 09:48:18 EDT (Wed) From: Steve Bellovin Full-Name: Steve Bellovin Subject: Vadic 345x modems There have been repeated reports of reliability and infant-mortality problems with these modems. Has this situation gotten any better of late? ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest ********************** -------