159 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
159 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
The Teleputing Hotline
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The Worldwide Network Letter
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Volume 3 Number 97 -- December 11, 1990
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215 Winter Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317
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FAX: 404-378-0794 Phone: 404-373-7634
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MCI:409-8960 GEnie: nb.atl CompuServe: 76200,3025
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FAX STANDARD DISPUTE THREATENS GROWTH
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The fax business has grown exponentially in part because nearly
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every fax machine follows the same standard, called the Group III
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standard of the CCITT. But those days may be ending with a
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dispute before the CCITT over a new standard called Group IIIbis.
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Group IIIbis would let standard fax machines use compression
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techniques and digital lines to run at up to 64,000 bits/second.
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They would, in effect, gain the speed and resolution offered
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under Group IV, a new fax standard tested for such things as the
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transmission of medical pictures, but incompatible with Group
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III.
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France and Japan, both fax machine exporters, are fighting the
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Group IIIbis proposal. But if U.S. chip makers like Rockwell
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International design chips for Group IIIbis, the Japanese could
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be threatened with loss of the market unless they move toward it.
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The tale will be told next spring, when the acceptance of
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compression for Group III, along the lines of Group IV, is
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scheduled. If that goes through, fax could become far more
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capable, far more quickly, than previously imagined.
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MOSCOW: SPRINTNET PRICING, KGB SERVICES
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SprintNet USSR said its prices will be 20% lower than those of
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its competitors. Connections from Moscow to SprintNet computers
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in Europe will cost $24 per hour, $40 to the U.S. and Canada, $45
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elsewhere. Connections with non-Sprint computers will add time
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and traffic charges -- $10 per hour plus $10 per 64 kilobytes to
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Europe, $20/hour plus $20/kilosegment to the U.S., $24/hour and
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$24/kilosegment elsewhere. Installation of the local node is due
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by year-end, writes Kirill Tchashchin for Newsbytes.
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Alos, the Soviet KGB has secrets for sale to Soviet agencies
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working in the Western market. A Moscow KGB Division Press
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Officer said on Soviet TV state enterprises and Soviet-foreign
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ventures are already using the KGB to learn about their partners'
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credibility and keep other secrets. The KGB is now ready to offer
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the same service to others. If you're interested, call phone +7
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095 921-0762 in Moscow.
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NTT's SMALLEST PORTABLE PHONE: 230 grams
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NTT has developed the smallest portable telephone in the world,
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weighing only 230 grams. With a rechargeable battery, it can
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run for about 16 hours, or for 45 minutes of calling. The phone
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was developed with Matsushita, Mitsubishi and Fujitsu, all of
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which will market the phone with their own features under license
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from NTT.
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Usage fees for portable phones are still expensive in Japan.
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There's a basic charge of 19,000 yen ($150) per month. Despite
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this, the number of users has almost doubled in just six months.
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Competition among common carriers is expected to become intense
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next April when the NTT phone is sold.
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FIRST JAPAN-USSR JOINT VENTURE ON TELECOM EQUIPMENT
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Japan's Eiwa Trading (Tokyo) signed an agreement with Central
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Telegraph, a unit of Telecom Ministry in the USSR. The new
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company, Infatel will sell Japanese telecom equipment such as fax
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machines and telex machines in the USSR. Capital of the new firm
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will be 110,000,000 yen ($85,000), 60% owned by Central
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Telegraph, 40% by Eiwa Trading. Headquarters will be in Moscow,
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with a president chosen from Central Telegraph.
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MCI MAIL NOW DOES INVOICES
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MCI Mail announced MCI EDI 400, an electronic invoicing
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service under the X.400 message-handling standard. MCI EDI 400
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lets firms exchange invoices with just about anyone. Supply Tech,
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an EDI software supplier, will also enhance its STX12 PC-based
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software product for integration with MCI Mail. The deal is just
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another advance in global electronic invoicing. Infonet, 25%
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owned by MCI, is creating a global EDI network to compete with GE
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and other large players in the field. Business users of online
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services like EDI represent 80% of the total online market.
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IBM MOVES COMMUNICATIONS BASE TO LONDON
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IBM has decided to move the headquarters of its communications
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business to Europe. It's the first IBM product group to be based
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outside the U.S. The decision comes days after Big Blue was
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admitted to the prestigious JESSI program of the European
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Community, the first U.S. computer company allowed in. Another
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reason IBM chose Europe is to demonstrate its commitment to the
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OSI interoperability standard.
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VIP-FAXX SERVICE TURNS YOUR VOICE MESSAGE INTO A FAX
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A California start-up is offering faxes directly from telephones.
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Leave a voice message with a VIP-FAXX operator, and they'll type
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it and fax it to any number you request. The service is aimed at
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businessmen who need to break through voice mail systems.
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Broadcast services to multiple destinations are also available,
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as are confirmations and a database of phone numbers from U.S.
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legislatures, special interest groups and large businesses. The
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company will also store lists of fax numbers which can be called
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up with a list name. Each fax sent with the service costs $5.95,
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$9.95 for international faxes.
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PACIFIC BELL PROVIDING FULL ISDN SERVICE
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Pacific Bell became the first regional Bell company to offer full
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ISDN service, rolling it out in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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It's called the Integrated Services Digital Network Primary Rate
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Interface, or ISDN-PRI, and divides a 1.544 million bit/second
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line into 23 channels of 64,000 bit/second service and a separate
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signaling channel at the same speed. Businesses can use the
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capacity as they want, sharing it among phones, faxes, and data
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lines. The service will cost $1,500 for installation and $545
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monthly.
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ONLINE FACTOIDS
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AT&T delivered a new chip which will replace five chips and a set
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of relays in business PBX systems, making them smaller, less
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expensive and more reliable.
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BOSCH of Germany cancelled plans to buy half of Novatel, the
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Canadian cellular phone maker, from the government. Bosch was to
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pay C$100 million ($80 million).
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C.ITOH is importing a telemarketing system from Digital Systems
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of the U.S. Digital Systems modified its Voicelink system to
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handle local switches and the Japanese language.
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ERICSSON of Sweden consolidated its mobile and cordless phone
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operations in the Netherlands.
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MTC ELECTRONICS of Canada formed a joint venture to build a
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cellular phone system in China. MTC already has an exclusive
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license to export fax machines there.
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NASA claimed $12 million in phone service was stolen from it by
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computer hackers over two years, using a credit card and the
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Federal Telephone System. The same thing happened earlier at the
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Houston DEA office.
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CONTACT:
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AT&T, Richard Larris, +201-771-2826
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Digital Systems, Laura McCluer, +206-881-7544
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MCI Mail, Jane Levene, +914-934-6480
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MTC, Miko Leung, +604-278-8788
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Newsbytes, Wendy Woods, +415-550-7334
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Pacific Bell, Scott E. Smith, +415-542-0597
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SprintNet U.S.S.R., Vladimir Blokh, +7 095 292-4119
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Telus, Betty MacLennan, +403-530-3992
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VIP-FAXX, Joe Gagliano, +408-985-6631
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