Andy,
Having spent several years working with the phone company I realized
several things:
1st is that they were great at perpetuating some myths about their power
and capabilities.
2nd is that when there was one company, Ma Bell, these myths took on
substantial meaning to the consumer i.e. "The phone company will know if
I hook up more then one phone there for I'll have to pay them to do it"
these and other myths were not true!
3rd While it may be true that the company can "monitor" for line
integrity it is done by equipment that sends a signal and monitors the
return to give a sense of line quality. The term "monitor" implies that
they are actually listening and according to the law in Michigan at least
this is illegal even for the phone company.
While the original phone switching systems may have been designed for a 4
minute call most of those original switching centers have been upgraded
or replaced (with the exception of rural areas). As the replacement
began several years ago some sites were outfitted with fiber optic so
that process has already begun. I know that in my area of sunny Michigan
that when a strip mall is planned that fiber optic is planned for the
location and this is the first step to curbside fiber! Two years ago I
had a T1 line run to my home and had to wait until the planning for a
local drug store/strip mall was complete so that the fiber would be put
in. The phone company then ran hard line to the fiber hub which was
about 1/4 mile away. Had the builder for my subdivision planned ahead
and put fiber optic (and yes it's the builders responsibility to lay the
line not the phone companies) in when the service trenches were dug we
could have been one of the first to curbside fiber!
Despite all of this the phone company still does not have the right NOR
do they have the backing to charge us for toll or long distance calls
based on a call to the Internet! The call may originate with the local
carrier but travels across several networks and systems and if fees are
assessed they would have to be some what substantial! Every Internet
company that puts a network on the system PAYS for these lines and
services the cost to have the fiber hub put in my area was $38,000 that
expense was paid for by me and the builder of the strip mall. Then there
was the added expense of having the system run to the house (about
$4,600). Then of course the monthly access fees of $2,400 of which $638
went to the local phone company for the use of there wire and fiber optic
line from my home to the network hub in Pontiac (about a twenty mile
run). This is HOW and WHO pays for the upgrades to fiber and new
systems with the phone company! The desire to charge us all more for
Internet access is one based on GREED on the part of our local phone
carriers and nothing more! This nonsense of who will pay for the newer
technology is absurd, WE ARE!
Karl
----------
From: owner-rp-ml
Sent: Monday, March 01, 1999 9:27 PM
To: KDenton; rp-ml
Subject: Re: FW: Another Regulation?????
In a message dated 99-03-01 12:33:58 EST, KDenton@williams-int.com
writes:
<< There is no difference in a call to the Internet for several hours
and my wife calling her sister and talking for several hours! Not only
that, there is NO WAY for the phone company to distinguish between the
two! >> Actually it would be very easy to distinguish between voice
communications and data. The phone co has the right to listen in on any
or all of your conversations "to monitor quality" etc. The phone system
switching capacity was designed on the assumption that the average call
would last 4 minutes, not 4 hours. So now somebody is going to have to
pay for added capacity, or pray for fiber optic to the curb.
Hopefully this will drive the next phase fiber optic networks, which will
render the present phone/ cable companies obsolete. And who knows who
will privide that service.
Andy Scott
Lockheed Martin Aerospace
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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