TELECOM Digest Tue, 4 Jan 94 03:52:00 CST Volume 14 : Issue 3
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
GDC V.FAST Modem Bulletin (Seng-Poh Lee)
US Digital Cellular Standard (Weiyun Yu)
Landlines Pay Airtime To Call Some Cellular Phones (John C. Fowler)
CFP - ACM SIGCOMM'94 (Patrick Dowd)
Cellular System in Guangzhou, Mainland China? (Laurence Chiu)
Ludwig's Book on Viruses Forbidden in France (Jean-Bernard Condat)
ISDN Cards for IBM PCs (Arie Markus)
GSM-Phones From London (Sami Vainionpaa)
GTE vs. Cellular One (Michael Judson)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Seng-Poh Lee)
Subject: GDC V.FAST Modem Bulletin
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 1994 17:31:32 EST
Organization: General DataComm Ind. Inc., Middlebury, CT
What follows is a bulletin from General DataComm regarding the
availability of our V.FAST modem.
For LITERATURE ONLY, please call 1-800-777-4005 (outside the US, call
(203) 792-0542).
For TECHNICAL or PRODUCT questions, you may either fax your queries to
(203) 758-9129, or send e-mail to
[email protected]. Please include a
daytime phone number.
Please mention that you heard about it in TELECOM Digest.
----------------------------------------------------
General DataComm, Inc. 1579 Straits Turnpike. , Middlebury, CT 06762-1299
INTERNET BULLETIN
GDC ANNOUNCES V.FAST MODEM AVAILABILITY
Middlebury, CT, December 30 -- General DataComm has just announced
immediate availability of their new V.F 28.8 Series modems. These
modems operate at full duplex speeds of 28.8 Kbps (Kilobits per
second) in each direction, with compressed file speeds exceeding four
times that rate. Currently shipping V.F 28.8 models are the DeskTop
standalone modem and SpectraComm 7" high density rackmount version for
central site installations. The DataComm V.F 28.8 standard rackmount
model will be available in January. These modems are guaranteed to
meet the new V.34 ITU-T recommendations as soon as it is ratified.
Units purchased now will be upgraded, free, over the phone line.
With 2- and 4-wire, synchronous and asynchronous, dial up and leased
line operations, these may be considered universal modems. Containing
the ITU-T V.21, V.22, V.22bis, V.32, V.32bis, V.34 and Bell 212A and
103 modulations and V.42/V.42bis error detection and correction with
data compression, this modem covers speeds from 300 bps to 28.8 Kbps,
with effective throughput up to 128 Kbps with data compression.
V.fast - V.fastest!
Currently there are few actual 28.8 Kbps modems in the market.
Testing the DeskTop V.F 28.8 Series against two of these has shown GDC
the clear winner in the speed race. From random, incompressible
files, to data base and graphics files so common in LAN and
multi-media applications, GDC bests the competition by as much as
100%. With over twice the speed in many applications, using lines
that are typical of over 50% of the U.S. dial-up network, the results
clearly indicate GDC modems provide the best high-speed solution.
These tests are currently being confirmed by an independent testing
laboratory.
Speed Saves
For modem users, this means that with graphics and database file
transfers, they will be cutting their phone bill in half using GDC's
modems over the other V.fast solutions, and saving significantly more
over V.32bis or slower modems. Companies and individuals looking for
high speed modems to meet their applications requirements, are
sensitive to these cost issues. Buying the wrong modem could cost
many times the price of the unit. In fact, it may be shown that, even
if you were given a competitive modem at no cost, it would pay to
purchase a GDC unit.
The GDC V.F 28,8 Series may also be equipped with high speed
interfaces - both ITU-T V.35, ITU-T V.24/V.28/ISO2593 and EIA/TIA
530-A, ITU-T V.10/V.11/V.24/ISO 2110 are available for international
and domestic use. This is very important, since these interfaces may
be required to actually achieve the inherent speeds available using
these new modems. With approvals already received for more than 30
countries, and more on the way, the GDC V.F 28.8 should be considered
the international modem of choice for multi-national concerns.
FLASH Flash
All GDC V.F 28.8 Series modems are currently shipping with FLASH
memory, allowing feature enhancements to the modems to be implemented
by upgrading the software electronically, rather than swapping PROM
chips. This means that obsolescence is a thing of the past, and users
will be able to keep their modems up-to-date by making a phone call
and downloading code for:
- invoking new features
- implementing code enhancements
- insuring compatibility with the V.34 standard
- establishing connectivity with new software communication
packages and other devices.
Many of today's modems are based on modified V.32bis chip sets
incorporating proprietary modulation firmware which cannot be upgraded
to V.34 when the standard is ratified. Phrases like "V.fast
technology", "V.32terbo", "V.fast Class" are commonly used to infer
compliance with the V.fast recommendations. This may not, in fact,
become a reality when the standard becomes available.
GDC guarantees its modems can be upgraded to the V.34 standard via
download. Competitive modems still have to physically update the
hardware as well as the software when upgrading products. Loss of the
use of the modem while transporting it to and from the manufacturer
for upgrade, disruption of service while the service technician
replaces the chip and tests it, and the costs of providing services
during these times are typical costs associated with other modem
updates for your prospect. "These costs are avoided using the new GDC
software upgrade technology. With GDC, a phone call does it all."
says Dick Drake, Director of Marketing for Transmission Products.
In January, GDC will begin compliance testing with the proposed V.34
standard, insuring GDC will be ready to implement the changes
necessary when the standard is ratified. In addition, there are a
number of new features already in the works. These include: Automatic
Dial Restoral (ADR) for backup of leased lines with dial circuits;
Password and Security Callback; V.25bis serial dialing (sync and
async); and Remote Configuration of modems from other locations.
How Upgrades Work
There are two characteristics built into the V.F 28.8 that allow
upgrades to be achieved over the phone line. First is the ability of
the hardware, in this case a universal communications platform, to
change it's functionality based on the resident software provided.
The second characteristic is the ability to download the
modem-defining software by connecting to the GDC Bulletin Board (BBS).
The new software containing the desired features and operational
characteristics -- the modem personality -- for the upgrade are then
loaded down to the internal FLASH memory of the V.F 28.8 modem.
Since the modem has the capability of storing up to four custom
configurations, along with four fixed pre-defined profiles, and up to
ten customer-defined phone numbers, these are also saved so the
customer retains all unique operational parameters during this upgrade
process.
Safety Concerns
In addition to the approved modem standards, many modem customers are
concerned with safety issues. The V.F 28.8 Series has passed UL
safety tests for lightning protection (UL1459) and for flammability
(UL94V0). And heat is not an issue. With less than six watts of
power consumption, our V.fast modems produce much less heat than our
competitors with 12 watts, or more. This translates into greater
safety, reliability, and savings for the customer.
Digital Impact
In some cases, users may wish to use the new V.F 28.8 modems as a
substitute for, or backup of, digital circuits. With effective
throughput speeds exceeding 100 Kbps, applications abound:
1. The V.F 28.8 Series is ideally suited for backup of Switched 56
Kbps analog or 64 Kbps digital leased lines using the dial-up network.
Speeds are now compatible with many LAN-to-LAN applications. This
insures both reliability and cost efficiencies.
2. Many managers are taking a hard look at the costs of upgrading to
an all-digital network. Some of the benefits they see by staying with
high-speed modems are:
a. Modems fit in existing networks, and can be incrementally
added as required versus installing a whole new digital system.
b. Modems provide the only universal connectivity worldwide.
c. Installation, training and support are all minimized
with modems versus having to retrain, re-equip, and
re-educate the department when switching to new technology.
d. Modem technology is inherently more cost effective.
e. Most MIS managers are more "comfortable" with modem
technology, and the GDC V.F 28.8 Series may be changed
into a managed modem with minimum network disruption with
a simple download. Equipment obsolescence is virtually
eliminated.
3. Generic applications, using modems as just another design element,
are appearing from non-traditional sources. Applications
from medical (CAT scan data transfer), to multi-media (training
and manual field updates) are appearing daily. Many of these,
due to larger file sizes, require higher speeds and universal
transport - ideal for the GDC V.F 28.8 Series modems.
4. Most large users have occasion to work overseas. Many are
multi-national. The GDC V.F 28.8 Series is currently
homologated (approved for use) in thirty countries. In most
cases, GDC is the only game in town (and country). "It would
be a shame for a user to get new V.fast modems for his U.S.
offices and then find out that his overseas offices, where he
spends big communications bucks, can't use all the available
speed because they implemented a proprietary system with a
modem not approved in this country." said Drake.
General DataComm, Inc. is a leading provider of multimedia networks
and telecommunications equipment worldwide. Based in Connecticut, GDC
serves corporate customers and telephone operating companies throughout
the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.
------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Weiyun Yu)
Subject: US Digital Cellular Standard
Organization: Information Services, Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 1994 00:35:12 GMT
It has come to my attention that the digital cellular standards
adopted by US carriers are not going to be compatible with what we
have adopted in Australia, GSM. I am interested in finding out a bit
more about the US systems but cant find any FAQ on the subject.
My specific questions are:
1. What are the pro and cons of the US standards vs GSM.
2. Is there going to be some degree of compability encorporated into
the 2 standards so that international roaming could be achieved.
3. What is the future of digital cellular? Is there going to be a third
standard that can be used world wide?
Does anyone know the answers?
Dr Weiyun Yu "Why Me?" | Internet:
[email protected]
Dept of Surgery, Uni of Sydney, Australia | Voice: 61+2-692-3851
Personal opinions only... | Fax: 61+2-692-4887
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 94 00:02 EST
From: John C. Fowler <
[email protected]>
Subject: Landlines Pay Airtime To Call Some Cellular Phones
The following is from an interesting insert in my December telephone bill.
<begin quoted document>
A SPECIAL NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN COLORADO:
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 1994, YOU WILL BE BILLED FOR CALLS YOU MAKE TO
CERTAIN CELLULAR TELEPHONE NUMBERS.
If the cellular phone you are calling begins with 1 + 579, you will be
billed for the cellular airtime charges and also any long distance
charges associated with the call when applicable.
Like most other 1+ calls, there will be a charge for placing calls to
these cellular 1+ numbers. The cost of the call will depend upon the
cellular customer you call. (The charges for these calls are deter-
mined by the cellular carriers, not by U.S. West.)
If there are any questions about cellular airtime charges that appear
on your bill, to the above prefix, please call the Customer Inquiry
Center at 1-800-USW-BILL.
<end quoted document>
A couple of comments: Colorado is one of those states where any
non-local call requires that a 1 be dialed before the number.
Currently, 1 + 7D can be used, but 1 + NPA + 7D will need to be used
after February 27, 1994.
Also, the use of the 579 prefix may not apply to other states. For
example, my mother, who lives in Dixon, New Mexico, has a regular
phone number on the 579 prefix there.
I wonder what kinds of people will be using "caller-pays" cellular
service.
John C. Fowler,
[email protected]
------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Patrick Dowd)
Subject: CFP - ACM SIGCOMM'94
Reply-To:
[email protected]
Organization: State University of New York at Buffalo
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 1994 14:46:32 GMT
Call for Papers
ACM SIGCOMM'94 CONFERENCE
Communications Architectures, Protocols and Applications
University College London
London, UK
August 31 to September 2, 1994
(Tutorials and Workshop, August 30)
An international forum on communication network applications and
technologies, architectures, protocols, and algorithms.
Authors are invited to submit full papers concerned with both theory
and practice. The areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
-- Analysis and design of computer network architectures and
algorithms,
-- Innovative results in local area networks,
-- Mixed-media networks,
-- High-speed networks, routing and addressing, support for mobile
hosts,
-- Resource sharing in distributed systems,
-- Network management,
-- Distributed operating systems and databases,
-- Protocol specification, verification, and analysis.
A single-track, highly selective conference where successful
submissions typically report results firmly substantiated by
experiment, implementation, simulation, or mathematical analysis.
Papers must be less than 20 double-spaced pages long, have an abstract
of 100-150 words, and be original material that has not been
previously published or be currently under review with another
conference or journal.
In addition to its high quality technical program, SIGCOMM '94 will
offer tutorials by noted instructors such as Paul Green and Van
Jacobson (tentative), and a workshop on distributed systems led by
Derek McAuley.
Important Dates:
Paper submissions: 1 February 1994
Tutorial proposals: 1 March 1994
Notification of acceptance: 2 May 1994
Camera ready papers due: 9 June 1994
All submitted papers will be judged based on their quality and
relevance through double-blind reviewing where the identities of the
authors are withheld from the reviewers. Authors names should not
appear on the paper. A cover letter is required that identifies the
paper title and lists the name, affiliation, telephone number, email,
and fax number of all authors.
Authors of accepted papers need to sign an ACM copyright release form.
The Proceedings will be published as a special issue of ACM SIGCOMM
Computer Communication Review. The program committee will also select
a few papers for possible publication in the IEEE/ACM Transactions on
Networking.
Submissions from North America should be sent to:
Craig Partridge
BBN
10 Moulton St
Cambridge MA 02138
All other submissions should be sent to:
Stephen Pink
Swedish Institute of Computer Science
Box 1263
S-164 28 Kista
Sweden
Five copies are required for paper submissions. Electronic submissions
(uuencoded, compressed postscript) should be sent to each program
chair. Authors should also e-mail the title, author names and abstract
of their paper to each program chair and identify any special
equipment that will be required during its presentation.
Due to the high number of anticipated submissions, authors are
encouraged to strictly adhere to the submission date.
Student Paper Award: Papers submitted by students will enter a
student-paper award contest. Among the accepted papers, a maximum of
four outstanding papers will be awarded full conference registration
and a travel grant of $500 US dollars. To be eligible the student
must be the sole author, or the first author and primary contributor.
A cover letter must identify the paper as a candidate for this
competition.
Mail and E-mail Addresses:
General Chair
Jon Crowcroft
Department of Computer Science
University College London
London WC1E 6BT United Kingdom
Phone: +44 71 380 7296
Fax: +44 71 387 1397
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Program Chairs
Stephen Pink (Program Chair)
Swedish Institute of Computer Science
Box 1263
S-164 28 Kista
Sweden
Phone: +46 8 752 1559
Fax: +46 8 751 7230
E-mail:
[email protected]
Craig Partridge (Program Co-Chair for North America)
BBN
10 Moulton St
Cambridge MA 02138
Phone: +1 415 326 4541
E-mail:
[email protected]
------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Laurence Chiu)
Subject: Cellular System in Guangzhou, Mainland China?
Date: 03 Jan 1994 10:22:36 -0800
Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access, California
Reply-To:
[email protected]
I plan to travel to mainland China in the near future. I am hoping to
be able to use a cellular phone in the area but from distant
recollection I think they use GSM. I don't know of any US provider
that uses GSM and hence would have no idea how to purchase a phone
that uses that standard. Does anybody have any ideas on how to get
one? Purchasing one in China would be exorbitant I would imagine.
An an aside I think Hong Kong uses AMPS and with the massive amount of
trade between Senzhen (sp?) -- the new economic zone in southern
China, I wonder what system they use there? How would one roam
between the two areas?
Laurence Chiu | Walnut Creek, California
Tel: 510-215-3730(wk) | Internet:
[email protected]
------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (cccf)
Subject: Ludwig's Book on Viruses Forbidden in France
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 94 9:25:34 EST
Translated in French language by Jean-Bernard Condat, Mark A. Ludwig's
book "The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses" is actually available
in all bookstores for 198 FF. The editor of this event is:
Addison-Wesley France (41 rue de Turbigo, 75003 paris, France; Phone:
+33 1 48879797, Fax: +33 1 48879799).
Monday Dec. 27th, Addison-Wesley France received a legal pursuit to
stop the diffusion of all issues of "Naissance d'un Virus"
immediately. The judgment became definitive on Dec. 30th at 11:00 at
the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris.
Followed the increadible text, piece of humor :-)
+++++++
ASSIGNATION EN REFERE D'HEURE EN HEURE
devant Monsieur le President du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris
L'an mil neuf cent quatre vingt treize et le VINGT SEPT DECEMBRE
A Dix Heures Cinquante Cinq minutes
A LA DEMANDE DE :
LA SOCIETE PRESSIMAGE
SARL au capital de 250 000 francs -
inscrite au RCS Paris B 332 127 828
dont le siege social est 19, rue Hegesippe-Moreau
75018 Paris
agissant poursuites et diligences de ses representants legaux
domicilies audit siege
Ayant pour avocat Maitre Eric ANDRIEU, avocat associ{ demeurant a 75017
Paris - 22, rue Fortuny - Toque R 047 - Tel: 47637426 - Telecopie: 42272675
J'AI
DONNE ASSIGNATION A :
1/ Monsieur Mark A. Ludwig
domicilie aux editions Addison-Wesley France
41 rue de Turbigo - 75003 Paris
2/ LES EDITIONS ADDISON-WESLEY FRANCE
prises en la personne de leurs dirigeants legaux domicilies audit
siege 41 rue de Turbigo - 75003 PARIS
3/ LES EDITIONS BORDAS
prises en la personne de leurs dirigeants legaux domicilies audit
siege 17 rue Remy Dumoncel - 75014 PARIS
D'avoir a comparaitre le TRENTE DECEMBRE 1993 a 11 HEURES a l'audience et
par devant Monsieur le President du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris,
tenant l'audience des referes au Palais de Justice de 4 boulevard du
Palais - 75001 PARIS
Vous devrez comparaitre a cette audience ou vous y faire representer
par un Avocat inscrit au Barreau. A defaut, vous vous exposeriez a ce
revues editees par Pressimage est, au-dela de leur contenu editorial,
la remise simultanee a titre de prime aux acheteurs des journaux de
disquettes informatiques pouvant etre utilisees sur les
micro-ordinateurs de chacun.
2/ Monsieur Mark A. Ludwig est unnfiance de la part de la clientele
de Pressimage qui peut craindre, en utilisant les disquettes editees par la
requerante, d'introduire un virus dans son propre systeme informatique.
Au surplus, la diffusion de l'ouvrage litigieux et de son annexe cree un
SOUS TOUTES RESERVES
Pieces versees aux debats:
- livre "Naissance d'un virus"
- justificatifs des activites de Pressimage.
--------------
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is quite interesting. Perhaps one
of our readers versed in French will translate the above for me, and
I'll run the English translation in a day or two. It is not that common
for books to be banned in the United States. Generally the only time a
book will be censored (or banned outright) in the USA is when the govern-
ment feels very threatened by it. Two which come to mind are "The CIA
and the Cult of Intelligence" and "The Politics of Heroin in Southeast
Asia". Both were written by former operatives of the Central Intelligence
Agency when George Bush was in charge of that agency. In both instances
the government convinced a court that publication/distribution of the
book would be quite harmful to the government's interests. When the books
were finally allowed to be published they contained large amounts of
blank space -- entire pages were completely blank in places -- as the
authors and publishers attempted to comply with the court order while
still printing *something*. When reading the books, I'd be on a page
and halfway through a paragraph; the printed text would stop and resume
perhaps an inch or two down the page with a note in the middle saying
the text originally planned to appear there was removed by court order.
In one section, the text stopped halfway down the page, and about a
dozen completely blank pages followed with the text resuming about two-
thirds of the way through the thirteenth page with the same notation
on each of the blank pages. The books were deliberatly published that
way with the gaping holes in the text throughout to show the public
the large amount of stuff the government had censored. I believe the
authors remain under government-imposed silence even today, over
two decades after the books were written.
Is there anyone in this room old enough to remember when {Ramparts
Magazine} published AT&T's calling card check-digit secrets back in the
middle 1960's? AT&T went to court at the time of publication and got
an order banning that issue of the magazine. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 94 15:12:39 IST
From: Arie Markus <
[email protected]>
Subject: ISDN Cards For IBM PCs
Hi,
I would like to know if there are any ISDN cards for the IBM PCs yet.
Please reply via direct mail as I am not subscribed. Any help would
be appreciated.
Arie Markus (VE3JLM/4X6JO)
------------------------------
Reply-To:
[email protected]
Subject: GSM-Phones From London
From:
[email protected] (Sami Vainionpaa)
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 94 03:14:00 +0200
Organization: Metropoli, Finland
Hi,
I live in Finland and I'm going to travel to London in the beginning
of next year and I found out that GSM-telephones are quite cheap there
(at least cheaper than in Finland) ;)
But I don't know where to buy it. So I would appreciate to get all
kinds of information (addresses, prices, tel. numbers, FAX-numbers,
etc.) I am interested in knowing if GSM-phones have EUR-certifications;
that proves they are European made.
Especially interested in marks like: Ascom Crystal,
Ericsson GH 197,
Nokia 1011.
------------------------------
From:
[email protected] (Michael Judson)
Subject: GTE vs. Cellular One
Date: 3 Jan 1994 23:47:43 -0800
Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest]
Does anybody have any comments regarding which cellular service is
better, GTE or Cellular One?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *Which* Cellular One and *which* GTE in
*which* market area? Judging from the site where you logged in, it is
likely you are referring to the Bay Area in California, but that might
not be your physical location. 'Cellular One' is a trademark name for
numerous carriers on the 'A' side; GTE has several telephone operating
companies. PAT]
------------------------------
End of TELECOM Digest V14 #3
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