Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!ria!uwovax.uwo.ca!telecom-request From: doug@letni.lonestar.org (Doug Davis) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: The Press and Numbers (was: Houston Chronicle Cellular Fraud) Message-ID: Date: 18 Mar 91 21:34:22 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: Logic Process Unix Engineering, Dallas Office Lines: 63 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 217, Message 1 of 8 Okay, I guess to be a reporter takes flunking basic math. Note, enclosed is a handy dandy reality check cheat sheet that you can cut out and take with you. :-) Let's see, the most expensive long distance calling area I can find is $ 3.00 per minute. So, two international calls to the place via three way calling would be $ 6.00 (2 * 3 = 6 for you reporters out there.) Now, there are 1440 minutes in a day ... call it $7 to included air time. One phone left up constantly 24 hours a day costs $10,080. Three phones would obviously meet and exceed Joe's numbers. However by that time I would hope someone would notice. Anyway, in a more realistic perspective: ------------ Cut here for your very own reality check sheet ------- Goal == $ 30,000.00 per day @ $ 7.00 per minute. Number of phones: 3000 = 10 minutes each, average per day of fraudlent usage. 1000 = 30 minutes each, average per day of fraudlent usage. 500 = 1 hour each, average per day of fraudlent usage. 100 = 5 hours each, average per day of fraudlent usage. 50 = 10 hours each, average per day of fraudlent usage. 25 = 20 hours each, average per day of fraudlent usage. Now then, even as a city as big as Houston, don't you have real trouble with the idea of more than 100 fraudlent phones (or is that phraudlent fones?) running around? Even then, that would be the kind of "Big significant number" that would cause the industry to DO something. Not just complain about it to the press. One more reality check: 30000 * (52 * 5) = 7,800,000.00 30000 * (52 * 7) = 10,920,000.00 7.8 MILLION per year of loss in Houston alone, just on the weekdays mind you. Including the weekends it is almost 11 MILLION dollars. -------- Cut here for your very own reality check sheet ------- I'm going to refrain from making snide comments about Joe's past articles, but this one can be debunked by any second grade math student. It's pretty obvious, either Joe and or his sources are making things up as they go along. Take home question: Who else makes up numbers as they go along? (Hint: 911 documentation) Doug Davis/4409 Sarazen/Mesquite Texas, 75150/214-270-9226 {texsun|lawnet|smu}!letni!doug doug@letni.lonestar.org [Moderator's Note: har har har har har! And have you heard the quote from Saddam Hussein? Saddam said, "Compared to tanks, journalists are cheap -- and you get more for your money." :) My thanks to someone who sent that in their .signature earlier today. Sorry, I forget who. Mr. Abernathy will now respond. Although he specifically addressed my comments, which were similar to yours, his reply will serve you equally well. PAT]