180 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
180 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
============================================================================
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THE SYNDICATE REPORT
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Bell Information Transmittal No.06
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Released Sept. 28 1986
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Featuring:
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Vanity Numbers (mgbt v1n6 8\28)
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Long-Distance Data Transmission Statistics (mgbt v1n6 8\28)
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ISDN- A Primer (cmptv avg 8\30)
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Information on Fiber Optics (cptv avg 8\31)
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Deregulation Interview: Tri-Co's Jim Blair V.P. (mgnet 9\5)
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Written by The Sensei
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============================================================================
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The Syndicate Report is stictly Bell orientated information. Without some
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background, reading in this material could cause a problem to understand.
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============================================================================
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VANITY NUMBERS:
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Vanity telephone numbers will be marketed in some parts of the country,
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according to the Wall Street Journal. Like vanity license plates, they will
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be names, nicknames or a special combination or letters and numbers...In
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another article, the Wall Street Journal reports that "big businesses generate
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more than half of all revenue from long-distance calls." It did not say
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howbig "big" is.
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============================================================================
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LONG-DISTANCE DATA TRANSMISSION STATISTICS:
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In a test of data-transmission quality of six leading long-distance
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carriers, Data Communications and the Center for Communications Management
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Information, Ramsey, N.J., found AT&T rated best in eight, MCI best in six
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and GTE Sprint in one. AT&T was fastest in setting up a call; MCI had the
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lowest in error rate...Venture Development Corp., Natick, Mass., forecasts
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annual growth of 23.5 percent in modem shipments through 1991...VSAT stands
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for "Very Small Aperature Terminal," an emerging technology for receiving
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signals from high-powered satillites in the KU-Band of frequencies. AT&T
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has proposed VSAT-based data service for business customers. VSATs also will
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use for satellite-to-home television broadcasting.
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============================================================================
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ISDN- A PRIMER:
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Integrated Services Digital Network, ISDN for short, is the emerging
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network concept that will change the way we commuicate both on the job and at
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home. ISDN has become a popular topic in trade and industry publications as
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manufacturers, end users, BOC's and numberous other entities grapple with the
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evolution of the network. Still, for people not involved on a day-to-day
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basis, the what, why, how and when of ISDN in unfamiliar. The following is
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a non-technical description of the ISDN concept and how it will serve the
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needs of and information processing society.
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ISDN Definition: The concept of ISDN first emerged in the European
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community and is not spreading globally, primarily to the United States and
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Japan at this time. The international communications standards bodies have
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defined an ISDN as "a network, in general evolving from the existing telephony
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digital network, that provides end-to-end digitial connectivity to support a
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wide range of services, including voice and non-voice services, to which
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users have access by a limited set of standard multipupose user-to-network
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interfaces".
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The major factor which characterizes an ISDN is the ability to use a
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single commuication channel for all forms of information transfer regardless
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of the source or original form of that information. It will be universally
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accessible by a wide assortment of devices, machines, and terminals.
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Picture this on ISDN: Junior is in his room, talking on the phone and
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playing a computer game -- with an opponent on another phone miles away. Mean-
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while, Mom is talking to her office getting ready to send a 50-page document
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over the wires. And Dad checks stock quotations displayed on a TV screen
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connected to a phone line.
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All of those different uses for the telephone -- voice, data, video --
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would be possible on just one telephone line if Integrated Services Digitial
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Network becomes a way of life.
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(ISDN- A Primer will continue in the next transmittal as more
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information is gathered.)
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============================================================================
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INFORMATION ON FIBER OPTICS:
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Fiber Optics technology is enjoying wide acceptance in the telecom.
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industry and is fast becoming the preferred transmission medium for new
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installations. This is due, in part, to the advantages fiber has over other
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methods and also to a decrease in the cost of fiber optics cable and system
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components.
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Fiber Optics was first commercially produced in 1979. Since the, the
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technology has matured and many improvements in capabilities and performace
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have been realized.
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The advantages of fiber optics over other transmission media include:
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Superior bandwidth capability that is still increasing.
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Resistance to temperature variation, rediation, and corrosion.
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Immunity to electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.
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Lower attenuation than metallic facilites, thus increasing the transmission
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distance without repeaters.
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Extremely secure -- almost impossible to tap without detection.
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============================================================================
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DEREGULATION INTERVIEW: TRI-CO'S JIM BLAIR V.P.:
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Interview done during a CB Interview, system unknown.
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The questions will be asked by "SYND" and the response by "BLAIR" himself.
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Jim Blair is the Assistant Vice President -- Regulatory Affairs to Tri-Co.
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The Interview:
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SYND: Why is deregulation so critical to the success of US WEST, and what
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happens if you do not get it?
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BLAIR: With deregulation, we are talking about doing business on the same
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basis as any other American company does business.
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There are numerous problems with regulation. It's time-consuming
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and costly. We employ over 300 people and incure over $50 million in annual
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expense just to deal with being in a regulated environment. We encounter
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delays in many proposals we make to 14 defferent jurisdictions at the state
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level and one at the federal level. This is of great concern when our
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competitors don't have to operate under all the same rules.
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Regulation influences our decisions to enter and exit markets.
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Regulation, not the market, controls theprice of our products and it decides
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what types of businesses we are allowed to be in. This is totally opposite of
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today's competitive environment.
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So if we intend to compete, then it is critical we be deregulated.
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SYND: What is the significance of the Nebraska deregulation example?
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BLAIR: It is tremendous. Nebraska regulators and legislators believed that
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competition is here and if it's going to continue to develop, it must do so in
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a deregulated environment. And, in plain terms, it could be very good for that
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state's economy by attracting business and jobs.
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Our hat is off to Don Bliss, Nebraska's Chief Executive Office and
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Vice President-Regulatory and External Affairs, and his staff who initiated
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and achieved this historic change in the treatment of the industry.
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Nebraska is the most significant example of deregulation, yet. It
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sets an example for public policy makers all over the country. And I think
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other regulators are going to see the wisdom of deregulation as demonstrated
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by the Nebraska bill.
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SYND: What is Tri-Co doing to help with deregulation efforts?
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BLAIR: Tri-Co people are integrally involved with the IDCs and the Washington,
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D.C. office in developing strategies to support the strategic direction for
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deregulatory action.
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We've put in place a clearinghouse of information to share plans
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between the states so that there are no political surprises. In working
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with IDC teams, we've developed a system that outlines the preferred approach
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to deregulation in any given place at any given time.
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On federal level, U S WEST has been the most active in seeking
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deregulation. And we have had some successes. Our Tri-Co team was involved
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in preparing our CI III comments in concert with the Washington, D.C. office
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and with Open Network Architecture (a U S WEST innovation.)
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We are also deeply involved with Part X -- an accounting document that
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will establish procedures to account for regulated and deregulated organiza-
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tions within the same enterprise.
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Tri-Co Regulatory and Marketing groups also are in the process of
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working through implementation of deregulated billing and collection
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service for interexhange carriers. Ron James, Northwestern Bell Vice President
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--Communications Services and Advanced Information Markets, is heading this
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effort for the three IDC's.
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Incidentally, there are 11 states with deregulation bills in place in
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the country -- and eight of them are in U S WEST territory. It speaks very
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well for our actions to bo competitive.
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SYND: What issues have our critics singled out against deregulation?
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BLAIR: There are four issues our critics tend to use. The first is the issue
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of pricing. People fear we will dramatically raise our prices. To the
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contrary the market controls our prices.
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Second, there is concern for overcharging for certain services and
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underpricing others.
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Third, there's a concern about Universal Service. How will we continue
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service levels of more than 93 per cent of the population typical through-
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out America today?
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And fourth, there's a concern in the public policy environment about
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how new services are going to come to the marketplace to the benefit of all
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consumers without unfair cross-subsidy.
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SYND: And what about advantages for the consumer?
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BLAIR: The market will control service and price. New services will come to
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the market. Our basic business can be better protected because we will be
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encouraging and stimulating use of the network rather than holding it for
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internal purposes. Universal Service can be guarenteed simply because of its
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value. And Open Network Architecture (ONA) will simulate network usage and
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technical innovation.
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SYND: About the future -- what happens once we reach our goal, when Magnet
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gets deregulated?
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BLAIR: For the company, it will mean that we will have achieved economic
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freedom. We will be regulated by the marketplace. And we will have to spend
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that $50 million a year on regulation. Our customer will be better served.
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And out employees will find more opportunities in the workplace because our
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business position will be enhanced. And I'll be out of a job!
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============================================================================
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If there is any question to the information in this file, contact the
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author. Now can be found on the Private Sector 20 Meg, 3/1200 baud
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system at (201) 366-4431 (2600 Magazine Bulliten Board).
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============================================================================
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This concludes this transmittal No. 6 presented by:
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The Sensei - The Syndicate Report
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Released Sept. 28 1986
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============================================================================
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[Mother Earth BBS]
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