=========================================================================== NorthWestern Syndicate Presents: THE SYNDICATE REPORT Issue No. 3 Written by The Sensei =========================================================================== NOTE: The Syndicate Report is stictly Bell information, and without some background, could cause a problem to understand completely. =========================================================================== LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (CONTINUED INFO.): The Future -- Industry experts predict that the number of Local Area Networks will increase from 80,000 in 1986 to over 205,000 by the end of this decade. More than 2,000,000 devices will be connected by these LANs. If today's trend continues, computer networks will comprise the majority of LAN usage. The Local Area Networks arena is one of the most volatile in today's telecommunications industry. The major issues yet unresolved - transmission standards and interconnection, and the continued jockeying among players for dominance almost guarntees that LAN's wil be a topic of interest for the foreseeable future. =========================================================================== BUSINESS/RESIDENCE ACCOUNT TRACKING: Prior to Divesture, an AT&T system provided the operating companies with a customer-specific analysis tool. MARC, the Market Analysis of Revenue and Customers system, offered information on residential customer including local and long distance usage, telephone equipment and demographic character- istics. MARC was dicontinued at Devesture. The three US West IDCs are planning to replace MARC with a system that will provide users with information on customers' demographics (age, income, household size, etc.), psychographics (lifestyle and attitudes) and telecommunicatons usage. The system could be of use to product managers, forecasters and anyone with a need for customer-- specific information. The Business Residence Account Tracking system (BRAT) will consist of historical information developed by combining usage-sensitive data from CRIS, central office data (Customer, Touchtone, etc.) and questionnaire data from a sample of Bell customers. =========================================================================== INTRACALL: IntraCall is a new product from Bell offering customers a home intercom system. IntraCal is easy to use and customers will not have to add any equipment to put the product in use. A customer uses IntraCall by listening for a dial tone then dialing their own telephone number. When a busy signal is received the customer hangs up the telephone. All telephones on that line will ring back with a distinctive ring (two short rings). When at least two telephones are answered an intercom path is established. IntraCall is deactivated when all telephones have been hung up. IntraCall is currently available in specially equipped cental offices in the 5 NorthWestern Bell states. This feature will be more available in the near future. Most states Bell is charging 2.00 per month. The local business office will have information on availability of IntraCall by location. There are some features interactions to be aware of when using IntraCall: 1) It will to work while using Three-Way Calling. 2) It disables Call Waiting (the calling party will hear a busy signal.) 3) It will not work if Call Forwaring is activated. 4) It will not work with lines in a hunt group. 5) LMS charges do not apply to IntraCall. IntraCall advantages. Let's say you want to call a fellow hacker. IntraCall's special distinctive ring signals other hackers to pick up the phone nearest them. You can talk a phreak upstairs, a hacker downstairs, or a cracker in the garage, all at once if you like. Anywhere you have an extension phone an intercom. =========================================================================== POTS AND PANS DEVELOPMENTS: POTS is a telecommunications industry acronym meaning "Plain Old Tele- phone Service." It is now accompanied, N.W.Syndicate has learned recently, by PANS, which is "Pretty Advanced New Stuff."...Bell Laboratories patented a device that will enable a telephone customer to trace a nuisance call. To trace a call, a customer would dial a special code number that causes both the called and calling numbers to be transmitted to a local central office or police station. =========================================================================== QUESTIONS: If you come up with any questions on the articles in The Synicate Report, please contact me anyway possible. I will be happy to clear up and eliminate unwanted confusion. =========================================================================== This concludes this Issue No. 3 presented by: The Syndicate Report Copyright (C) July 30 1986 by The Sensei =========================================================================== Other System Operators may use this file as long as nothing is altered =========================================================================== [Mother Earth BBS]