comp.dcom.telecom Google Group

Telecommunications digest. (Moderated)

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] In article , Out of curiosity: Suppose you could hold your personal cellphone up to a panel on such a board (or stick it into a small slot on the board, next to a given listing), and the board would set up a call directly from it, to the relevant hotel or service? (Or _from_ them, to your cellphone?)

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] There was also First National City "Everything Card" way back when. Back when I worked retail, we had a "Floor Limit", usually $25. Above that you had to phone in and get an Auth Code. Below that you checked the book for a stolen card. Back then they would even give a merchant the customer's address and phone number if you requested it.

Re: Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? [telecom] The Definitive iPhone SIM Card Test - Will Answer All Your SIM Questions [link]

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] That would be a good question to ask the local LEC.

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] Again, C.O. based hotline service would prevent that.

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] tlvp wrote: I believe such panels are at many airports. Even they would be better off with C.O. based hotline service.

Re: [telecom] Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? I've read many complaints online that T-Mobile checks the handset's serial number to determine what type of phone you are using to see if you "should" be paying more. In particular, my understanding is that if I were to acquire an unlocked Android phone and swap in the T-Mobile SIM from my current WM-based smartphone, T-Mobile would soon cut off my data service because

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] Shuttles I never heard of that, but given the technology involved it certainly seems possible. However, in the days of the older simpler technology the lines were probably rotary-pulse and a tone pad wouldn't work. (Yes, I know some lines supported Touch Tone even if the subscriber didn't pay for it, but that was hit or miss, and by the time that was

Re: After BlackBerry, India now wants Google, Skype, & VPN data [telecom] Yeah, that's gonna work. Pft. *

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] I don't recall the original discussion. But for our younger readers, today Visa and Mastercard* credit cards are commonplace, accepted virtually anywhere and almost everyone has one. This is a relatively recent situation. It wasn't that long ago that only people with solid credit--having a good job for several years and living in one place

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] ***** Moderator's Note ***** One of the things I've observed living in San Francisco where we have lots of tourists is how many people immediately cash out their travelers' checks once they arrive in town. Well, the trouble with theft is not going to happen on the plane or ship; it's going to happen in the hotel room, in the wallet, etc. So, a lot of people

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] In article , I additionally suggest using the ATM while the attached bank is open. While in Norway many years ago I was using my U.S.-based ATM card when the ATM froze for several minutes, then rebooted, then retained my card. (Probably because the ATM doesn't know whether the customer has

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] I'm not sure that the Internet or any other modern advance in technology has made or allowed people to be more dishonest. I remember as a kid, pre-Internet, pre-computer, that dads lied about their kids' Little League runs, moms lied about the chores their kids did around the house to earn scouting merit badges, etc.

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] Same at numerous highway "rest stops". In the Good Old Days I've heard it was possible, if you timed it just right, to lift the handset, tap a button in a way to just get you a dial tone but without the associated dialing (sometime Touch Tone, sometimes pulse). Supposedly, the stories went, you then had an unrestricted

Re: Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? [telecom] < free phone, just used it for talking and texting, paid my bill on time, and the carrier & I just left each other alone. Then something happened. I traveled abroad. I'm considering trading in my Pantech C530 for a smart phone. But before I take the plunge I want run some

Re: [telecom] Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? I believe the FCC requires that, for whatever phones *can* be so unlocked. I believe it starts from when you acquired the locked phone. Speaking not for AT&T WS but from my T-Mobile experience: yes; and yes. I suspect not -- I've done the analogous thing with two compatible handsets and a T-Mobile SIM without raising even a mumble from T-Mobile. One handset

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] And Bill Horne added True. But trying to cash a Swiss France T/C at a Swiss bank or post office will bring you up against a fee as high as 10% for the privilege, as will trying to cash a Chinese Yuan T/C at a Chinese bank or PO, or ... ; whereas using an ATM/debit card at an ATM will trigger, at worst, a

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] 1. When you buy Traveler's checks denominated in the target country currency, the not-so-great exchange rate takes place at the time of purchase. 2. No, you still need to show your passport when you cash them.

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] On Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:30:45 -0400, Lisa or Jeff wrote: Certainly each arrival terminal at JFK and LAG has such an autodialing phone as part of its Ground Services kiosk, with local hotels and Airport Shuttles as the primary beneficiaries of the autodialer. Cheers, -- tlvp

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] I can the understand the telephone set being simpler since it doesn't have to handle coins, but the set still must be rugged to be vandal resistant. I don't understand why the tariff would be considerably less expensive because it's still a wire pair like any other phone line and service by the switch.

Re: Time Warner Cable doubles fee to not list phone number [telecom] Heck, 411 calls aren't cheap--in our area they're $1.00 . But supposedly it includes national listings. The Philadelphia area Bell did not charge for unlisted numbers until relatively late (1980?). However, at the same time they put that charge in they eliminated the charge for one extra listing for a

Re: [telecom] Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? Sometimes. Some of their phones aren't even locked when you buy them. Yes. I've done it. In general no, but if you move your SIM that often you will probably find that the contact pads wear out and it starts going flaky on you. iPhones may be a special case, since AT&T has special plans for them. R's,

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] Not really. You can get them in major currencies like UK pounds, Euro, and Japanese yen, but you won't find them in Argentine pesos. Nope. You will also generally find that the rate you get when you buy TCs in anything other than your local currency is so poor that it negates any advantages. Personally, I haven't used them in a decade. ATM cards work better.

Broadband 2010: A Big Slowdown [telecom] Broadband 2010: A Big Slowdown by Aaron Smith, Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project August 11, 2010 After several consecutive years of modest but consistent growth, broadband adoption slowed dramatically in 2010. Two-thirds of American adults (66%) currently use a high-speed internet connection

Cell phones and American adults [telecom] Cell phones and American adults by Amanda Lenhart Pew Internet Sep 2, 2010 Texting by American adults has increased substantially over the past year, but still does not approach the magnitude of text messages exchanged by adolescents. Some 72% of adult cell phone users send and receive text messages now, up from 65% in September 2009. Fully 87%

Mobile Access 2010 [telecom] Mobile Access 2010 by Aaron Smith Pew Internet Jul 7, 2010 Cell phone and wireless laptop internet use have each grown more prevalent over the last year. Nearly half of all adults (47%) go online with a laptop using a Wi-Fi connection or mobile broadband card (up from the 39% who did so as of April 2009) while 40% of

Adults and Cell Phone Distractions [telecom] Adults and Cell Phone Distractions by Mary Madden, Lee Rainie Pew Internet Jun 18, 2010 One in four (27%) American adults say they have texted while driving, the same proportion as the number of driving age teens (26%) who say they have texted while driving. Fully 61% of adults say they have talked on their cell phones while

Your Own Hot Spot, and Cheap [telecom] Your Own Hot Spot, and Cheap By DAVID POGUE September 1, 2010 Someday, they'll build wireless Internet into every building, just the way they build in running water, heat and electricity today. Someday, we won't have to drive around town looking for a coffee shop when we need to check our e-mail.

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] I last used traveler's checks in 2001 during a trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was more trouble than it was worth. The hotel was the only place I could find where I could exchange them for cash and the rate they gave me wasn't very competitive. Also, for reasons I didn't understand, I was given checks in denominations of $20. That

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] Oh, that's for sure. Several years ago here in Silicon Valley, two high school kids at, IIRC, Atherton High School made 100% perfect phony California drivers' licenses using equipment they purchased on eBay. Even the holograms on the licenses appeared legitimate. The purpose? "Fake" IDs to purchase alcoholic beverages. A quick

Re: College - home communications today article [telecom] ed ... l Exactly. We could dial other dorm rooms by dialing "6" plus the 4-digit extension. Other campus numbers were reached in a similar fashion with a "4". Right about the time I left they created a special on-campus number: 6-0911 to reach the campus police. Previously it was necessary to dial their not-so-easy-to-remember

Re: College - home communications today article [telecom] I remember being loaned to the service office with GTE in West LA in July one year and having to go over thousands of service orders for UCLA dorms, I hated paperwork and having to deal with a building full of woman who did not want us there

Re: College - home communications today article [telecom] This takes me back to an old college prank that I pulled on my room mate in my dorm room. My room mate had a way to tell me if he had his girlfriend in the room. He put a little piece of tape on the door knob. The problem was, it was to the point that I couldn't go to my room without finding tape on the door. That included at night

China Demands Real Names From Mobile Phone Users [Telecom] Found on Slashdot today (1-SEP-2010): Starting this month, mobile carriers in China are requiring people who set up new mobile phone accounts to register with their real names as part of a new government measure to reduce anonymity among the country's 800 million mobile users. And within 3 years, the carriers must also register

College - home communications today article [telecom] An article in the Phila Inqr describes how college students today keep in touch with their families at home. see: [link] How times have changed. Back when I was in college, it was considered a nice new innovation for a student to get a telephone in his room--

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] They forge almost anything. The other day my wife went to the market and had about $5.00 worth of Internet coupons and the market no longer will take them since they got burned on forgeries, that is the fault of the markets employees the coupons all have an anti-copy lines on them.

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] I never thought to try that. The last time I used Travelers' checks (about 20 years ago) was in Italy. The banks and other money changing locations would not accept them unless you presented your passport. Italy has this thing where the hotel is (supposedly) required to take your passport at check-in to register with the police. After that they

Re: Time Warner Cable doubles fee to not list phone number [telecom] In article <4C7DBF7B.9040...@thadlabs.com >, As Tom Lehrer, or Mort Sahl, or somebody once pointed, you're mistaken on this point, because when they take your name out, it costs them a lot of money to move all the following names up by one. ***** Moderator's Note ***** Ma Bell used to say that non-listed numbers cost extra because they

Re: Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] The big issue these days are the fear of forgeries, thus many merchants won't take them internationally. Remember the good old days when most of us were reasonably honest?

AT&T Says Net Rules Must Allow 'Paid Prioritization' [telecom] " AT&T said Tuesday that any Net neutrality plan restricting " its ability to engage in 'paid prioritization' of network " traffic would be harmful and contrary to the fundamental " principles of the Internet. { [long] article continues at the following URL} <[link]>

After BlackBerry, India now wants Google, Skype, & VPN data [telecom] <[link]> A day after giving the maker of BlackBerry two months to open its data to authorities, Indian regulators have put all telecom firms on notice that they have "lawful access" to

iOS 4.1 Software Update [telecom] iOS 4.1 Software Update The iOS 4.1 Software Update is the first major update to iOS 4, bringing Game Center, new iTunes features, high dynamic range photography, and more to iPhone. [link]

Re: Time Warner Cable doubles fee to not list phone number [Telecom] The best part is further in the article where a California Assemblywoman tried to introduce legislation to outlaw the fee. But, the various and sundry telephone industry prediators descended like locust on Sacramento and squished it dead. The real point: "Let them eat cake." The politicos are beholden to the

Whatever happened to travelers' cheques (checks) [telecom] Bill Horne asked "whatever happened to travelers' cheques?" They're still around (in fact when my 89 year old dad came to the states in May he brought some with him.) The reason they're not so popular now is that if you use a bank check card/debit card generally you'll have easier access to local cash and you'll also get a much

Re: 911-only public phone [telecom] The real security and reliability comes from switch-based protocol rather than a auto-dialer in the telephone. The auto-dialer requires dial tone, which can be accessed through tampering with the telephone. The switch-based protocol never provides dial tone, thus only the intended destination can be reached.

[telecom] Where, oh where, will my next phone come from? I have long been an easy cell phone customer. I've always taken the free phone, just used it for talking and texting, paid my bill on time, and the carrier & I just left each other alone. Then something happened. I traveled abroad. I'm considering trading in my Pantech C530 for a smart phone. But before I take the plunge I want run some

Time Warner Cable doubles fee to not list phone number [Telecom] That monthly $1.99 fee for something the company isn't doing for customers is now one of the highest of its type in the telecom industry, and there appears to be nothing to justify it. Time for an update on one of my all-time favorite fees -- the fee that telecom companies charge to not provide you a service.

AT&T Misleads FCC about 'Paid Prioritization' on the Internet [telecom] AT&T Misleads FCC about 'Paid Prioritization' on the Internet FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jenn Ettinger, 202-265-1490 x 35 WASHINGTON - AT&T has filed a confusing and misleading letter with the FCC in an attempt to justify charging content companies for priority access to its Internet subscribers. In the letter, AT&T

EPIC Alert 17.17 [telecom] ============================== ============================== =========== E P I C A l e r t ============================== ============================== =========== Volume 17.17 August 31, 2010 ------------------------------ ------------------------------ -----------

EPIC Alert 17.16 [telecom] ============================== ============================== =========== E P I C A l e r t ============================== ============================== =========== Volume 17.16 August 16, 2010 ------------------------------ ------------------------------ -----------

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