Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!eagle!mhuxt!mhuxi!mhuxa!houxm!ihnp4!we13!otuxa!ll1!sb1!burl!duke!unc!brl-bmd!TELECOM@usc-eclb From: TELECOM%usc-eclb@brl-bmd.UUCP Newsgroups: fa.telecom Subject: TELECOM Digest V3 #42 Message-ID: <603@brl-bmd.UUCP> Date: Thu, 21-Jul-83 01:28:57 EDT Article-I.D.: brl-bmd.603 Posted: Thu Jul 21 01:28:57 1983 Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jul-83 20:55:53 EDT Lines: 118 TELECOM AM Digest Thursday, 21 July 1983 Volume 3 : Issue 42 Today's Topics: Sprint - Owned by GTE 212/718 NYC Area Code Splitting Song, Battery Backup, Bell 212A Modems, GTE EAX Switching ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Jul 83 23:17:51 PDT From: jmrubin%Coral.CC@Berkeley Subject: Sprint I just saw a "Sprint" ad on TV, and noticed in the fine print that Sprint is now owned by GT&E. It was originally part of the Southern Pacific Railroad. ------------------------------ Date: 20 July 1983 12:51 edt From: TJMartin.ADL at MIT-MULTICS Subject: Re: Area Code Splitting >From the N.Y.Times of 7-20-83: ''...a handful of officials held a hasty news conference yesterday to oppose plans to split New York City into two telephone area codes. ''New York Telephone...says it is running out of 212 numbers because of all the specialized services...using telephone lines. ''Let these 'esoteric' services use the new code, Attorney General Robert Abrams said. ''"Exotic-service customers, who cause the problem, should bear the burden of converting to 718," Assemblyman Joseph Ferris of Brooklyn agreed. [Other officials included Brooklyn Borough Pres. Howard Golden and Queens Borough Pres. Donald Manes.] I don't know what kind of expert help the four gentlemen received while preparing their proposal, but is it feasible to split area codes by type of service, instead of geographic location? --Tom Martin/Arthur D. Little, Inc./Cambridge MA/ ------------------------------ Date: Tuesday, 19-Jul-83 20:19:26-PDT From: Lauren WeinsteinSubject: Song and Misc. Greetings. First of all, I'd like to thank CC.CLIVE for his kind comments regarding my "Bell System" lyrics. I must state firmly, however, that I refuse to give up my exciting (???) career as a computer/telecommunications consultant in exchange for the glamour of the music/lyrics biz. That is, I refuse to do so *unless* I'm offered a firm contract including video rights and plenty of groupies... The lyrics are really only intended for the enjoyment of individuals who truly understand the telecommunications industry. Thusly, I have a hunch that the average Public Utilities Commission would have difficulty appreciating them. Typically, these Commissions have very underdeveloped senses of humor, so I recommend against sending them a copy of the lyrics. Just as an aside, I had a very nice conversation with a California PUC staff member earlier this week regarding PacTel's recent filings. We talked almost an hour (on his "dime", too!) He was surprisingly open in discussing his feelings about the whole telecommunications "fiasco" now being played out, and promised to try keep me informed as to the goings on with the PacTel filings. The problem, of course, is that the actual Public Utility Commission members usually ignore the comments made by their own (sometimes quite knowledgeable) staff. ---- A few random points to cover... ---- 1) As has already been mentioned, virtually all telco CO's use battery backup for short duration power failures, and, indeed, most CO's other than the small unattended facilities also have at least one backup generator for use if the failure becomes prolonged. One point that wasn't mentioned is that most of the telco batteries are ALWAYS live on the circuit -- the DC power derived from the outside mains is continually float-charging the batteries which are in turn continually providing power to keep the office running. That's why the phones keep working, generally without even the slightest glitch, through most short duration power failures -- even currently open connections are usually not disturbed. 2) Bell 212A modems operate at 600 BAUD, using scrambled "dibit" phase-shift modulation (2 bits of information per baud). Indeed, the terms bits and bauds are thrown around rather sloppily, but normally it is pretty clear what is really meant. 3) Right -- EAX is General Telephone's version of ESS. GenTel's primary supply unit has always been their own "Automatic Electric Company", and they've thusly liked to work the word "Automatic" into GenTel product offerings. While ESS stands for "Electronic Switching System", EAX stands for "Electronic Automatic Exchange". Another similar case: Bell System uses the term PBX for "Private Branch Exchange". GenTel uses PABX, for "Private Automatic Branch Exchange". It's all in the name! Bye for now. --Lauren-- ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest ********************** -------