Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!UCBARPA.BERKELEY.EDU!cuccia
From: cuccia@UCBARPA.BERKELEY.EDU.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Universal telephone network plug??
Message-ID: <18351@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 16-Apr-87 00:56:36 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.18351
Posted: Thu Apr 16 00:56:36 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Apr-87 12:03:26 EST
References: <870413.184007z.01112.wales@DIANA.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU!cuccia@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Nick Cuccia)
Distribution: world
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 47
Approved: telecom@xx.lcs.mit.edu


In article <870413.184007z.01112.wales@DIANA.CS.UCLA.EDU> wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales) writes:
>I received the following insert in my latest phone bill.  (My phone
>company is General Telephone; I'm in western Los Angeles.)
>
>    QUALITY AND CONVENIENCE . . . TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE 90'S
>
>    Today about 90 percent of the information carried over telephone
>    lines in the United States is through conversation, what we call
>    voice communication.  But the demand for computerized data is
>    growing tremendously.
>
>    So we're working hard to make it as convenient for you to send
>    and receive both voice and data over your existing telephone line
>    as it is to use an electrical plug.
>
>Can anyone out there shed more light on what my local GTE people are
>talking about here?
>
>In particular, when they talk about "transforming" the existing system
>so that everything will connect to it via a "universal plug", are they
>thinking of the existing RJ11/RJ14 modular system, or something else?

The head of ATT's CS research facility in Murray Hill came to Berkeley
last month; he gave a talk on where network research at ATT was going
now.  Most of his talk centered on the Datakit processors, but the latter
part orbited around ATT's recent work in both long-haul networking
(ex: the new experimental network connecting Berkeley, UW-Madision,
U. of Illinois, and Bell Murray Hill) and "local-area" networking.
Work that has been done indicates that current wiring technology will
allow data transfer rates on the order of 2 Mb.  Not bad for non-twisted
copper.  One of the gizmos that has been built is a line-powered modem that
plugs into the standard wall socket.  Out the other end comes good old
RS-232, all ready for your Blit or other terminal.

ATT seems to be basing their work on current standard technology.  I know
nothing about GTE's work, though, so I can't say what they have up their
sleeve...

>-- Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department // +1 213-825-5683

Bell Labs people: I'd like to find out more about the Datakit, and expecially
the work that's been done implementing packet-based protocols (ie: X.25)
on top of the Datakit "streams."

Thanks,
--Nick