Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!usc!hacgate!gryphon!vector!telecom-gateway From: covert@covert.enet.dec.com (John R. Covert) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Description of the German cellular system Message-ID: Date: 19 Jun 89 09:38:00 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Lines: 403 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 204, message 1 of 1 Prospectus of the Radio Telephone Service of the German Bundespost (C-Netz) [Translated by John Covert] 1 General The German Bundespost is introducing a new generation of Radio Telephone Service -- the Radio Telephone Network C. Anyone can subscribe to this service for the transmission of information (voice, data, documents, etc.) Radio Telephones are, in accordance with the instructions of the Telecommunica- tions Regulations, subscriber instruments of the public telephone network. No right exists for the authorization or taking possession of a Radio Telephone. 1.1 Radio Telephone Connection A Radio Telephone Connection consists of a privately owned Radio Telephone, which, as a vehicular telephone or, in the future, also as a portable radio telephone, is connected without wires to the public telecommunications network. A radio telephone can make direct dialled connections to stations of the public domestic and international telephone network -- including other radio telephones -- and can also be reached from these stations. A Radio Telephone may only be installed in Land or Water vehicles (motor vehicles, rail vehicles, domestic ships). Thus usage in aircraft is excluded. The usage authorization is valid only in the service area of the German Bundes- post. Call Connections from and to Radio Telephones are established via Fixed Radio Stations of the German Bundespost. Each Fixed Radio Station serves a specific area, the Radio Cell. The range of a Fixed Radio Station depends on the local geographic conditions. In order to be able to conduct calls, the Radio Telephone must be located in the service area of a Fixed Radio Station. In valleys, behind tall buildings, in underpasses, etc., "Radio Shadows" can exist, which may occasionally cause interruption of calls. Gaps in service are unavoidable because of radio transmission technical reasons. The usage of a future portable radio telephone inside buildings will be more or less impaired depending on construction methods and location; this applies especially in basements and underground garages. 1.2 Authorization Card Each subscriber to the Radio Telephone Service receives an Authorization Card issued in his name and equipped with his telephone number. This Authorization Card, the size of a check-cashing card [same size as a credit card], enables the operation of the Radio Telephone. The Radio Telephone Number is not bound to the Radio Telephone, but to the Authorization Card. The resulting call charges are accumulated and billed based on this telephone number. Thus the Authorization Card is a credit card and is to be carefully preserved from loss. One can use one's own Authorization Card to make calls from someone else's Radio Telephone, charged to one's own account, for example, from a taxi. [In actual practice, taxis and rental car companies (at least AVIS) forbid the use of your own card, in order to collect triple the normal rates for usage.] One can become a subscriber even without owning a Radio Telephone. Such customers also receive an Authorization Card and can use this card to use other authorized and technically accepted Radio Telephones. The call charges, in this case, will be charged to the person possessing such a card. Shared use or exclusive use by others is permitted. This will be interesting for example for car rental agencies who can offer cars with radio telephones. In this case the car rental agency must also be a subscriber. The German Bundespost also issues Authorization Cards for measurement purposes to Radio Telephone Dealers, if these dealers are C-Netz subscribers. No calls can be made with Authorization Cards for measurement purposes. The service order form for your radio telephone is to be kept near your OWN telephone and must be presented in the case of any investigation. Should you lose your Authorization Card, please, in your own interests, report this immediately to the Telecommunications Office in Mannheim, telephone number (06 21) 10 51 00, giving your name, your address, the Authorization Card number and the Radio Telephone number. The Telecommunications Office in Mannheim will arrange to block your radio telephone connection as fast as possible, if you so request. There is a charge for this request. Then, please confirm your tele- phonic loss report in writing. The Telecommunications Office in Mannheim will then immediately send you a new Authorization card. Your radio telephone number will not be changed by this process. With the new card you can use your radio telephone without further ado. The use of your old card remains blocked. This procedure offers a great level of protection against unauthorized placing of telephone calls at your cost. 1.3 Nationwide Reachability Every operational powered-up radio telephone in the service area of the German Bundespost can be automatically reached by dialling the nationally uniform access code (01 61) [+49 161] and the succeeding individual seven digit radio telephone number without regard to the current location. You can observe the operational status of the radio telephone by the illumina- tion of a green light. The radio telephone should always be turned on, so that your are always reachable. 1.4 Protection against interception of calls The radio telephone system prevents the allocation of radio channels which are already occupied by other calls. Listening to calls with your own radio tele- phone is therefore not possible. These measures, however, offer no technical protection against the illegal interception of radio telephone traffic with special radio receivers, which is, in accordance with section 15 of the law concerning communications devices (even in the case of carelessness) and section 201 of the StGB, subject to legal penalties. As an additional security measure, your radio telephone disguises [does not encrypt] the radio transmissions. This offers protection against undesired interception of the calls. 1.5 Cell switching In the C-Netz, telephone calls are automatically transferred to the next fixed radio station when you leave the service area of the current fixed radio station as long as this is permitted by radio coverage. In general, a call can be conducted over a long distance without interruption. 1.6 Conference calls If the radio telephone is going to be used for a conference call, it is recom- mended to stop driving and to make the call from the stationary vehicle in order to avoid "Radio Shadows". Conference calls are to be booked through the telephone office, telephone number 010. 1.7 Flexible call length In the case of a heavy increase of traffic in a radio cell, the traffic capacity of the radio channels must be managed through a waiting queue technology in order to allow as many subscribers as possible the opportunity to at least make a short call. The otherwise unlimited call length becomes flexible, i.e. limited dependent on traffic conditions. The speaking subscriber receives a short notification tone and should then quickly terminate his call. 2 Overview Map and Service Gaps The locations of the fixed radio stations currently in service are indicated on the overview map. The covered areas are indicated by shading. Areas not covered are white. In the areas indicated as covered there will always exist, as a result of the physical transmission requirements more or less large and numerous "Radio Shadows" or Service Gaps (e.g. in valleys, behind free-standing buildings, in underpasses), which can interfere with or completely prevent the establishment or continuation of a call. As a rule it is not technically nor economically possible or reasonable to eliminate these service gaps. 3 How does one become a subscriber? 3.1 Purchase If you want to become the possesor of a radio telephone connection, you can purchase your radio telephone yourself. You obtain information about purchase, installation, use, and service of the apparatus from specialized dealers and service providers. You may only use radio telephones and accessories which have been authorized by the Bundespost; these carry a DPB-authorization number. 3.2 Service Order You request permission to operate a radio telephone or subscription to the radio telephone service without a telephone at the service order location for telecommunications apparatus responsible for your place of residence. This office issues your radio telephone number and arranges an entry in the telephone book. You will be issued a telephone number even if you do not have a radio telephone; this is necessary in order to produce your telephone bill. Forms for the service order request can be obtained at the service order location for telecommunications apparatus. You may place your radio telephone into service only AFTER the service order has been processed by the German Bundespost. The applicant must provide evidence of a place of residence or work within the service area of the German Bundespost. 3.3 Acceptance Prior to placing the radio telephone into service you must present it to a service location of the Post Office established for the purpose of the technical acceptance of radio telephones. There is no guarantee for the freedom from deficiencies of the device or its installation associated with this acceptance. If there are no objections raised at this acceptance, an authorization card for the use of the radio telephone will be issued. With this authorization card it is also possible to operate every other radio telephone -- as long as its owner permits it. The resulting call charges will accumulate on the telephone bill of the possessor of the authorization card. 3.4 Termination When you terminate your radio telephone connection, the Post Office will notify you how you are to take the radio telephone out of service. Please return the authorization card to the service order location for telephone apparatus responsible for your place of residence. 3.5 Transfer At the present time, transfer of a radio telephone is only possible via termination of the previous authorization and reestablishment of service by a request from the new customer. A transfer regulation without termination and reapplication is being prepared. 3.6 Telephone book Subscribers with radio telephones are listed in the telephone book. In the main entry at most three successive print lines are without charge. Only the text necessary for looking up a subscriber will be entered. Auxilliary listings are possible. Subscribers without radio telephones will not be listed in the telephone book. 4 Charges The following charges for a radio telephone will be billed by the telecommuni- cations billing center in Mannheim: 4.1 Acceptance (including repeated acceptance)...... 100,- DM 4.2 Monthly base charge............................. 120,- DM 4.3 Monthly base charge for an authorization card for measurement purposes.................... 10,- DM 4.4 Blocking........................................ 15,- DM 4.5 Call charges for directly dialled calls 4.5.1 Domestic calls One message unit (0,23 DM) each................... 8 seconds Off peak time as well as Saturdays, Sundays, and nationwide holidays, one message unit each....... 20 seconds These charges are valid for calls from radio telephones and from wire telephones to radio telephones. [The CALLER always pays the charge; there is no charge to the radio telephone subscriber to receive a call.] 4.5.2 International calls Depending on the country, calls originating from radio telephones will incur the charges associated with one of the three international rate zones [for normal telephones] (without reductions for zones near borders) and then a surcharge of one message unit each 16 seconds (off-peak 40 seconds). 4.6 Call charges for operator assisted calls 4.6.1 Domestic calls Rates provided by domestic information. 4.6.2 International calls Rates provided by international information. 4.7 Unauthorized use In the case of unauthorized use of the radio telephone (for example before the acceptance test or after the termination of the subscriber relationship) a charge of 1.5 times the normal base charge for the period of the unlawful use (but at least the charge for two months) will be levied. 5 Instructions for use 5.1 Directly dialled calls from the radio telephone You reach fixed telephone connections from the radio telephone in the usual manner; you dial only the city code and telephone number of the telephone connection you wish to reach. Observe the operating instructions for your radio telephone. If a channel is free, the connection to the desired sub- scriber will be established. If there is no free channel at the moment, the system will indicate to you either that no further calls can be processed at this time or that your call has been placed into a wait queue. As soon as your call has neared the end of the queue, the call processing in the public telephone network is begun. If no channel is free after successful call establishment, the subscriber you have called will receive the announcement "Funkgespraech, bitte warten". [Real great if you're calling someone who doesn't understand German! This recording can also occur on incoming calls.] Immediately after a channel becomes free your connection will be established. After a successful call, your radio telephone number, together with the accumu- lated message units and necessary call data will be stored only for billing. You can also conduct a call from one C Radio Telephone to another C Radio Telephone by dialling 0161 and the radio telephone number. To call B Radio Telephones [older system] (B or B2 devices) you must dial the code for the base station where the telephone is presumed to be located. This means that the approximate location must be known. The codes for B base stations can be obtained from the telephone information service. 5.1.1 Telegrams You may send telegrams from your radio telephone by dialling the national standard number 1131 and by giving your radio telephone number. 5.1.2 Emergency calls If you want to report an emergency, please dial the national standard numbers 110 (police) or 112 (fire department). Since the reporting centers are responsible for a large area, it is absolutely essential that you provide an exact location. 5.2 Operator assisted calls from the radio telephone If the desired telephone connection cannot be established by direct dialled service (e.g. connections to certain locations in the German Democratic Republic or foreign countries), book the call with the telephone office. Use 010 for domestic calls and 0010 for international calls. As soon as the telephone office answers, give your own radio telephone number. (Example "HIER FUNKTELEFON C-Anschluss 2012345"). When booking the call, please give the name of the desired locality and the telephone number of the desired telephone connection. If the call cannot be established immediately, the telephone office will call you back. For each manually established call you will receive a call charge form enclosed with your telephone bill. 5.3 Directly dialled calls to radio telephones. >From within the service area of the German Bundespost, a radio telephone is dialled by dialling the access code 0161 and the seven digit individual radio telephone number. (Example: "01 61 2012345"). If the desired radio telephone connection is busy, this will be indicated by the normal busy tone. If the radio telephone is not turned on or is not within the service area of a fixed radio station, the caller will receive the announcement "Dieser Anschluss ist voruebergehend nicht erreichbar". For calls from international locations special procedures apply; further information can be obtained from the international information service. [In fact, you just dial +49 161 and the number, as expected.] 6 Taking a radio telephone along when leaving the service area of the German Bundespost. 6.1 General As a rule, the radio telephone may not be turned on outside the service area of the German Bundespost (if it is permitted to remain in the vehicle upon crossing the border). Be absolutely sure to observe this, as you can otherwise disturb foreign radio services. If you fail to observe this you should expect punishment. Special agreements exist for the following countries: 6.2 Switzerland During a temporary visit the radio telephone may remain in the car. It may, however, under no circumstances be turned on, even near the border. 6.3 France When crossing the border into France, the radio telephone may remain in the car if you prepare the following label and attach it to the telephone: "L'usage de cet appareil est interdit sur le territoire francais sous peine des penalites prevues par l'article L.39 du Code des Postes et Telecommunications" (The use of this device on French territory is prohibited under pain of penalties in accordance with article L.39 of the postal and telecommunications law.) 6.4 Italy The radio telephone can remain in the car, but must be made unusable by the border authorities, who will seal it. 6.5 Rumania When crossing the border the radio will be sealed and the traveller will be notified that he cannot use the radio in Rumania and that the seal must be undamaged upon exit from the country. 6.6 Sweden The radio telephone, if it is permanently installed, may remain in the vehicle. No special permission is required. 6.7 Yugoslavia At least one month before travel an application for permission to import a radio telephone must be submitted to the foreign representative for Yugoslavia. 6.8 Spain When crossing the border, a time-limited import-authorization will be provided by the customs authorities. 6.9 Denmark When crossing the border into Denmark the radio telephone may remain installed under the precondition that an authorization has been obtained from the Danish telecommunications authorities and that the telephone will not be used while in Denmark. 6.10 Transit through the German Democratic Republic When travelling from the Federal Republic to West Berlin and vice versa it is necessary to obtain an authorization from the border authorities of the German Democratic Republic. There is a charge for this authorization, which does not authorize use of the telephone. ============================================================================= [Moderator's Note: My very special thanks to John Covert for translating this material and sending it along to the Digest. In Wednesday's Digest: John Wheeler on Overseas Cellular Service; James Crook on Canada - US Communications; and Fred Goldstein, responding to Lars Poulsen on 'the fiction' of SLC's as an element of interstate rates. See you tomorrow morning! PT]