Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!mailrus!ncar!ames!amdcad!sun!lorelei!lemay From: lemay@lorelei.Sun.COM (Laura Lemay) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: FCC Regulations Message-ID: <129866@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> Date: 4 Jan 90 01:56:27 GMT References: Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM Reply-To: lemay@sun.UUCP (Laura Lemay) Distribution: usa Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View Lines: 109 In article bannon@andromeda (Ron Bannon) writes: > > F C C Prosed Regulation of Modem Use > ====================================== > > The following message was posted on the > Prodigy Computer Club Bulletin Board. > It comes from Sam Katon of Staten Is., > NY. Thanks Sam! [more deleted] After this was posted to the local sun network and it had been harshed on a bit, this appeared a few minutes ago. Questions comments flames should be directed to the author of the enclosed message, not to me. (his .sig is at the bottom, just before mine.) Thanx, Laura. Subject: Re: Modems Message-ID: <7014@newstop.EBay.Sun.COM> Date: 3 Jan 90 23:56:05 GMT Lines: 78 **************************** Hold the phone everyone (pun intended) I just recieved the following mail...Looks like this is a hoax Rand **************************** >From hattrup_ja@juliet.enet.dec.com Wed Jan 3 15:42:22 1990 To: rand@sun.com Well, save your envelopes, stamps, and forwarding activity. The FCC chairman and Congressional Committee chairman WILL NOT be levying modem charges....don't really know how they could enforce it anyhow. If you forwarded this, please try to help squash it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: Modem story bogus - bad case of "gullibility virus" - sorry Subj: RE: Modem Charges... Forget it... This is Fred's reply in Telecom Digest to the Bogus Fidonet FCC/Modem story. >From: "Fred R. Goldstein" Subject: Re: FCC & Modem charges Date: 26 Dec 89 15:39:32 GMT Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Littleton MA USA In article <2403@accuvax.nwu.edu>, levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org (Ken Levitt) writes... >This article is reposted from Fidonet and may be of interest to >Telecom readers. > From: Jack Lohman > To: All > Subj: FCC PROBLEMS >MOBILIZE! >========= >Now, they are at it again. A new regulation that the FCC is quietly >working on will directly affect you as the user of a computer and >modem. The FCC proposes that users of modems should pay extra charges >for use of the public telephone network which carry their data. In >addition, computer network services such as CompuServ, Tymnet, & >Telenet would also be charged as much as $6.00 per hour per user for >use of the public telephone network. ... Cripes. This again. It's becoming the new Chain Letter. It popped up in comp.unix.wizards last month and I think I had it squashed there, but alas, this moderated group has allowed it to surface. Here's the poop. When the new FCC chair Alf Sykes was being confirmed, he was grilled on this topic by Congressman Markey, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the FCC. Sykes was made to swear on a stack of bibles, so to speak, that this "enhanced service provider" (not modem, btw, though the two often overlap) surcharge was dead. Markey made clear that a congressional LAW preventing it was being put on the back burner only out of courtesy to Sykes. If Sykes hadn't been so docile, the law would have been passed; Congress doesn't like this crap any more than we do! And Markey does have power over Sykes to hit him where it hurts in case he is lying: His subcommittee oversees the FCC's budget and appropriations. In government, that's everything. I do have a copy of the appropriate Congressional Record article (Nov. 6, 1989) quoting Markey on this, and Markey's press release on the subject. So I'm not rumormongering. Someone on Fidonet is. Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com voice: +1 508 486 7388 I'm not strange. You are. ********************************************************* Laura Lemay lemay@eng.sun.com Redhead. Drummer. Geek.