P/HUN Issue #4, Volume 2: Phile 11 of 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __________________________________ | | | P/HUN Telecom News/Advancements | | PART 2 | | By DareDevil | |_________________________________| March 3-5, 1989 PHONE LINES ARE SIMILAR: The USA's major long distance phone services aren't that different. A comparison of AT&T, MCI Communications Co. and Sprint Communications Co. in the March Data Communications magazine found, for instance: Calls placed over Sprint lines were slightly louder than those placed over AT&T or MCI lines. All the calls, however, could be heard clearly. (From the USA TODAY Money section.) SPRINT WAS MOST ACCURATE: A study by Data Communications magazine says AT&T connected its calls more quickly than other carriers. On average, it took 9.8 seconds to connect an AT&T call; 12.9 seconds for Sprint; 13.7 seconds for MCI. Also: Sprint had the fewest foulups. Only 2.3% of the calls on its lines failed to go through on the first try; 4.9% for AT&T; and 7.3% for MCI. CRITICAL FIRMS CALL SURVEY FAIR: When information was sent from one computer to another over phone lines during a study by Data Communications magazine, AT&T had the fewest glitches. Next best: Sprint, then MCI. The magazine placed 150-180 calls over the trio's phone lines between 4 cities last fall. Companies response: All had criticisms of the comparison but, overall, said results appeared to be fair. PHONE FIRM ELIMINATES CHEMICAL: AT&T says it's saving the ozone layer. The company says it has developed a way to eliminate the chemical CFC-113 from a process it uses to make electronic circuit boards. Scientists say the chemical may damage the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere, which protects people from dangerous ultraviolet rays from the sun. (From the USA TODAY Money section.) SERVICE STOPPED IN CANADA: Bell Canada has decided to end its 976 phone service in all of its service regions, Telecommunications magazine says. The firm said significant increases in cost and an anticipated decline in revenues as primary factors in making the decision. Bell Canada is the nation's largest telecommunications operating company. MCI FAX HAS SEVERAL FEATURES: MCI has moved fast on fax. Telecommunications magazine reports that MCI has become the first long-distance company in the USA to offer a dedicated network for domestic and international fax transmissions. Called MCI FAX, the service will include management information reports, customized dialing plans, credit card billing and other features. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 8, 1989 PACBELL TRUNK FEES SHOOT HIGHER: Costs on Pacific Bell's Assured PBX Trunk Line Service have jumped nearly 50%, according to Network World. The increase was made after the California Public Utilities Commission approved a PacBell plan to create a new trunk service and raise rates for what was once the only grade of service available. One firm with 2,000 trunks will pay about $96,000 more per year. BELL PUTS FIBER INTO LAUNCH: Southern Bell and Bell Communications Research engineers are working with NASA to prepare for a high definition TV taping and transmission of the launch of the space shuttle Discovery. Broadcasting magazine says Southern Bell and Bellcore are handling a live fiber-optic transmission of the launch. A temporary studio has been built at Kennedy Space Center. RATES WILL DROP IN ALABAMA: The Alabama State Public Service Commission said in Montgomery yesterday that phone rates will soon drop in the state. Ordered: South Central Bell must reduce rates by $9 million by April. Cuts: 25 cents off the monthly Touch-Tone service; the elimination of the Touch-Tone installation fee. SATELLITE FLIES FOR JAPAN: The next launch of Arianespace is scheduled for the end of March. Using the ELA 1 launch complex, an Ariane 2 launch vehicle will place into orbit the Swedish direct broadcasting and communications satellite TELE-X. The group last Saturday launched the first Japanese telecommunications satellite JCSAT 1 and the first European meteorological satellite MOP 1. OPTIONS ADDED TO VOICE LINE: VoiceCom Systems has added 3 new service options to its voice messaging product line, extended its worldwide communications network, and created a new business unit to develop and implement custom voice response applications. VoiceCom also introduced Guest Mailbox service, which allows VoiceCom customers to temporarily assign special voice mailboxes to their customers and vendors. MODEMS ARE SLEEK, SOPHISTICATED: Some modems are being marketed like sleek sports cars. General DataComm Industries is touting 2 new leased-line modems for 9,600-bit-per-second data communications as "the perfect balance of technology and style," CommunicationsWeek says. Also: The company says they include "sophisticated features" in "small, stylish enclosures." RADIO TELESCOPES LOOK IN SPACE: 112-foot-diameter and 210-foot-diameter radio telescopes in NASA's Deep Space Network will be used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence in space. Located in the Mojave Desert and Australia, the telescopes will survey the universe over a wide radio frequency range and spot-check bands up to 25,000 megahertz for some signal that indicates intelligence. RADIO WILL SEARCH SILENT VALLEY: NASA's radio network searching for intelligence in space will cover at least 10,000 times more frequencies than all previous surveys and be 300 times more sensitive. The search will hunt for signals from stars similar to Earth's sun, up to 80 light years from Earth. Of particular interest: The region from about 1,000 megahertz to 60,000 megahertz, the silent valley of frequencies. PHONE WILL KEEP HER IN TOUCH: A telephone and computer electronic mail service will keep Abigale K. Alling in touch with the world when she begins a 5-day experiment today in the Arizona desert. She will enter a 20-foot-high, 23-foot-square test module through an air lock and sever the umbilical cord with Earth. She will be cut off from everything except sunlight and communication links with the outside world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 9, 1989 AT&T MAKES LINK, CHIP FOR JAPAN: AT&T announced 2 products yesterday for Japan: A high-speed, fiber optic data link and an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) microchip. The microchip can work with a variety of microprocessors and other ISDN chips. It will more easily allow Japanese telephone users to have access to a digital network that can provide data, voice, and image transmission on one phone line. LINK WILL HAVE LAN, VIDEO USES: AT&T is developing the ODL 125-FC Lightwave Data Link to comply with Japan's industry standard for fiber-optic connectors, AT&T said yesterday. Comprised of a receiver and transmitter, it converts electrical signals to optical signals for fiber optic data transmission. Applications include fiber-optic, token-passing-ring Local Area Networks, and transmission of digitized video signals. NEW WATS JOINS THE MARKET: Advanced Telecommunications has announced a new long distance service, Standard PLUS WATS, designed for small business customers. Standard PLUS WATS will benefit the business caller whose monthly long distance bill exceeds $150, the company said. Standard PLUS features volume discounts up to 21%, 6-second incremental billing and free call detail. CARRIER GROUP GIVES SUPPORT: The Signaling System 7 from CCITT has won the support of the National Telecommunications Network. SS7 would let NTN provide Integrated Services Digital Network services, calling card services and advanced toll-free services, reports Network World. The 18,000-route mile network has customers in 175 cities. HUGHES OBTAINING NETWORK FIRM: Sytek Inc., a producer of local network equipment, is being bought by Hughes Aircraft for an estimated $50 million, Network World reports. The deal still needs SEC approval. Sytek products include broadband, fiber-optic and twisted-pair versions of Ethernet and token-ring networks. The acquisition has been discussed for months. TULSA METROLINK TO BE BOUGHT: Dallas-based Columbine Telenet has entered an agreement to purchase Tulsa MetroLink from Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, officials said yesterday. Tulsa MetroLink is a 110 mile digital fiber optic communications system founded in 1984 by PSO to provide for high speed data and voice transmission to meet internal communications needs. TULSA FIRM HAS LONGEST FIBER: Tulsa Metrolink, which is being purchased by Columbine Telenet, includes the longest single span of fiber in the USA - 1,944 feet across the Arkansas River. The network can carry more than 400 million bits of data each second and can handle 6,000 simultaneous voice conversations. Laser beams translate data or voice signals into on-off lights sent through glass fibers finer than human hair. CXR LINE TO CROSS INTO KOREA: CXR Telcom, worldwide supplier of systems for the communications markets, has signed a 3-year licensing agreement with Woojin Electronics and Telecommunications Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea. Under the agreement, subject to Korean government approval, Woojin will sell CXR's subscriber line test module to the Korean authority for use in its new line of digital switches. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 10-12, 1989 SPRINT SIGNS ATLANTIC DEAL: Cable & Wireless and US Sprint Thursday announced that US Sprint will acquire the USA end of the PTAT transatlantic fiber-optic cable system. Also: The 2 companies have formed an alliance to jointly develop advanced global telecommunication services. PTAT is the first privately built transatlantic fiber-optic cable. It will link the USA and Britain. (From the USA TODAY Money section.) SPRINT GETS HALF INTEREST: The alliance between US Sprint and Cable & Wireless will be named GLOBAL FON. Also: US Sprint has agreed to acquire the complete interest of the Washington-based Private Transatlantic Telecommunications Systems in the PTAT transatlantic cable system. The acquisition, which is subject to FCC approval, will give US Sprint a 50% interest in PTAT along with Cable and Wireless. NEW SERVICE OFFERS IVPN: Among the first services to be jointly developed by GLOBAL FON by Cable & Wireless and US Sprint will be an international virtual private network (IVPN) based on Sprint's VPN and a GLOBAL FONCARD based on Sprint's travel service, the FONCARD. The alliance will also develop international private line services offering customers a variety of enhanced features and capabilities. ARTEL SYSTEM TO SELL IN JAPAN: NKK Corp., one of Japan's largest industrial concerns with annual revenues of $8 billion, will be licensed to manufacture and sell Artel Communication's 100 Mbps fiber optic local area network system, FiberWay, in Japan, the companies said Thursday. Also: NKK becomes the authorized distributor for Artel's fiber optic video and graphics transmission system products. FLORIDA SITE PLUGGED INTO FIBER: The latest development in fiber optic technology is bringing fiber to the home, Southern Bell says. Heathrow, a mixed use development north of Orlando, Fla., is on the leading edge of fiber-to-the-home efforts. At Heathrow, residents will receive voice, data and video over the same fiber system. The system points to the day when optical fiber will be possible over all telephones. AREA SET FOR VOICE-ONLY FIBER: The first widespread appearance of optical fiber to the home will be traditional voice lines, Southern Bell says. The company will begin using fiber for voice-only delivery later this year in Governor's Island, north of Charlotte, N.C., and several other locations. Studies show that fiber systems to carry voice to the home will be more economical than copper by the early 1990s. FIBER IS GOING SINGLE-MODE: Southern Bell uses fiber systems that operate at up to 1.2 billion digital bits a second on a single fiber (the equivalent of more than 16,000 simultaneous voice conversations), the firm says. Since 1985, most of the optical fiber placed in Southern Bell has been single-mode, which has a thinner core than its multi-mode counterpart, keeping lightwaves traveling in a straight path. CHEVRON CHOOSES TELECOM SUPPLIER: Chevron Information Technology Co. (CITC) has selected Northern Telecom as its sole supplier of telecommunications equipment, company officials said Thursday. The $8.4 million dollar agreement was reached in association with PacTel Meridian Systems, which will provide the equipment and services to Chevron. Most of the PBXs will be located in California, Louisiana and Texas. SOFTWARE PROCESSES AND MONITORS: IBM has introduced 2 products to help customers better manage and use telecommunications facilities. At $90,000, Network Call Accounting can process call detail records from multiple voice switches. Expenses can be charged to a department or an extension. Voice Network Design is a software program that lets customers monitor the cost-effectiveness of transmission facilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 15, 1989 SEARS STICKS WITH SPRINT: US Sprint has signed a multi-million dollar communications services agreement with Sears Technology Services Inc., the corporate information organization of Sears, Roebuck and Co. The agreement extends and enhances an agreement previously reached between Sears and US Sprint in 1986 and makes STS one of US Sprint's largest users. 20,000 SEARS SITES COVERED: A new agreement with Sears Technology Services will make US Sprint the primary carrier of interLATA long-distance services for Sears. Specific terms of the contract were not disclosed. However, officials of both companies said US Sprint would link approximately 20,000 Sears locations throughout the country. Most US Sprint products and services are covered under the agreement. DIGITAL SWITCHES GO TO CHINA: Ericsson has signed a general agreement with China for AXE digital switching equipment expected to lead to contracts worth $31 million in the first stage. The agreement was signed by Ericsson Australia with the Ningbo Post and Telecommunications Bureau and the Ningbo Telephone Co. Ericsson will supply 12 digital AXE switches, including local subscriber and trunk lines, to Ningbo. TELEPHONE AND TERMINAL LINKED: Digital Equipment and Northern Telecom yesterday unveiled new communications capabilities to integrate voice and data information resources at the desk top, linking the telephone and the terminal as a single tool. Featured: When a customer assistance representative answers the phone, pertinent information concerning the caller can be automatically displayed on the terminal. ELECTRICAL PROBLEM FOUND: A potential electrical glitch on the shuttle Discovery poses no danger to the crew but may force it to return a day early. The crew successfully launched a a $100 million Tracking and Data Relay Satellite into orbit Monday. The problem: High pressure in one of 3 fuel cells - used to produce electricity. NASA decides tomorrow when to end the mission. (From the USA TODAY News section.) CALLS MADE ON THE COMPUTER: An integrated message desk capability that automatically links message taking to electronic mail or voice store and forward mail is included in a new communications system from Digital Equipment and Northern Telecom. Also included: Computer screen dialing that enables a user to key in the name of the party to be called. It can be used for office communications, telemarketing and other calls. BELLATRIX JOINS THE FIELD: Bellatrix Corp., a publicly owned company, said yesterday it will enter the field of telecommunications through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bellatrix Communications Inc. It will offer turnkey 900 interactive data and information services, including connection and termination. Bellatrix expects the services to be operational in May. CHINA GETS 8,000 NEW LINES: Northern Telecom put into service yesterday its first DMS-100 digital switching system in the People's Republic of China. The system will provide 8,000 lines of telecommunications service to 3 cities in Jiangxi province, about 900 miles south of Beijing. Features such as direct dial services will now be available to local subscribers. LARGEST SYSTEM SERVES PINGXIANG: The main Northern Telecom system that opened yesterday in China consists of 6,000 telephone lines for subscribers in Pingxiang. The Pingxiang system is part of a $6 million contract announced in 1987 through which Northern Telecom will supply its DMS-100 and DMS-10, with a capacity of 10,000 lines, to the Jiangxi PTA for telecommunications services in 4 Chinese cities. PACTEL HEAD MADE A DIRECTOR: Sam Ginn, chairman and chief executive officer of Pacific Telesis Group, has been elected a director of Transamerica Corp., it was announced yesterday. Ginn, 51, has been chairman and chief executive officer of Pacific Telesis since April 1988. Previously he held the position of president and chief operating officer. Ginn began his business career in 1960 with AT&T. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 17-19, 1989 YELLOW PAGES ARE FOR NIGHT OWLS: Pacific Bell assembled a separate yellow page section of businesses open after 6 p.m. The first one, due out this month in San Jose, Calif., has 199 listings - everything from 24-hour salons to an all-night notary public. Officials say this is a first-of-its-kind listing to be included in telephone books in 29 California communities by May 1990. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 21, 1989 CORDLESS PHONES CALL POLICE: Some Cleveland, Ohio, residents with cordless phones are alarmed to find police at their doors asking, "What's the problem?" The problem: Cordless phones with weak batteries send out pulses that sometimes automatically dial the emergency number 911. (From the USA TODAY News section.) ALLTEL CLAIMS STAKE IN CELLULAR: ALLTEL Mobile Communications said yesterday that it has completed its purchase of Kansas Cellular Telephone Co.'s 40% interest in the Wichita, Kan., wireline cellular system. ALLTEL Mobile will be a limited partner in the Wichita SMSA partnership. Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems is the general partner and operator of the system. DIGITAL SYSTEM GOES VIA SW BELL: Southwestern Bell Telecom will distribute Northern Telecom's Meridian Norstar digital key system, company officials announced yesterday. Southwestern Bell Telecom will market the Meridian Norstar in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. Meridian Norstar is a small business communications system which offers voice and data communications capabilities. GTE AWARDS RADIO CONTRACT: Ericsson Radar Electronics of Sweden has received a $55 million contract from GTE Government Systems Corp. to deliver mobile microwave radios to the corporation's Mobile Subscriber Equipment Division in Taunton, Mass. Designated MF15, the 15 GHz down-the-hill radios have a transmission capacity of 256 - 4096 kbit/s. They were developed by Ericsson and Marconi Italiana. EXCHANGE TO CARRY ISDN CIRCUIT: Network Equipment Technologies Inc. said yesterday that its Integrated Digital Network Exchange has become the first product of its kind to be certified to carry an ISDN primary rate circuit (23B plus D) between 2 Northern Telecom Meridian SL-1 private branch exchanges. The announcement came after successful testing conducted recently by Northern Telecom at its facility in Santa Clara, Calif. COMSAT TO DEVELOP NETWORK: COMSAT Corp.'s Systems Division has been awarded a $16.9 million contract by the Turkish Postal Telephone and Telegraph agency to modernize U.S. military communications in the Mediterranean area. Designed and funded by the U.S. Defense Communications Agency, the 5-year program calls for COMSAT to perform systems engineering and integration for a new digital wideband satellite-based network. SYSTEM TO REPLACE TURKEY SITES: A new COMSAT system known as "DMIP I" (DCA Mediterranean Improvement Program Phase I) is the first of a series designed to improve Mediterranean area U.S. military communications over the next several years. Each of DMIP I's 6 Earth stations, located at major U.S. defense installations throughout Turkey, will eventually replace the antiquated troposcatter sites. RURAL WISCONSIN WILL GET TDS: Telephone and Data Systems Inc. says that as a result of FCC lotteries held this week it expects to have an interest in cellular systems serving 2 Rural Service Areas in Wisconsin. The systems will serve southwestern and central Wisconsin and the major state highways to the west and southwest of Madison, Wis. FIBER OPTICS HAVE MILITARY USE: The Communications Product Division of Microwave Modules and Devices and Codenoll Technology have announced an agreement to offer rugged and militarized versions of Codenoll's fiber optic Ethernet Local Area Network products for military/federal Tempest applications. It gives the firms rights to use and modify Codenoll's designs according to military standards. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 31-April 2, 1989 LINES ARE PICTURE PERFECT: Telephone lines are being used to send images from electronic still cameras to newspapers and companies. The camera captures images on a tiny computer disk instead of film. A transmitter sends the image over phone lines in 3 1/2 minutes or less. Once received, the image can be stored on a disk or printed on paper. (From the USA TODAY Money section.) FRENCH LINE GOES SILENT: In operation only 3 months, the TAT-8 trans-Atlantic fiber optic system reaching into France needed to be closed down last week for repairs. Suspected cause: Trawling lines in the Atlantic. During the restoration, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization carries the international traffic. TAT-8 is owned by AT&T, France Telecom and British Telecom. NYNEX SUPPORTS HIGH-SPEED DATA: NYNEX said Thursday that it supports proposed generic requirements for a new high-speed data communications service. Known as Switched Multimegabit Data Service, the system is scheduled to be available as early as 1991. SMDS will interconnect local area networks (LANs) by providing broadband transport across a metropolitan area using public, packet-switched networks. SYSTEM HAS POTENTIAL: Designed to make use of evolving metropolitan-area network standards and technology, the new Switched Multimegabit Data Service will provide customer voice commands or touchtone signals. When a user calls the TeleCenter, he or she is prompted to give a name and password. A voice entry feature searches its "user profile" records for a voice pattern matching that of the caller. If the caller is identified as an authorized user, the caller's stored templates are loaded, allowing the user to communicate with the voice mail system entirely by voice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------