"ISDN Tariff Trick" -Reply

[mikebw@bilow.bilow.uu.ids.net (Mike Bilow)]

  Doctor Who wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:
  
   DW> Yes, we've seen examples of this many times. The Ham-radio
   DW> busy-body is making the hobby horrible. A friend got nasty
   DW> notes accusing him of sending encrypted data over
   DW> packet-radio, when in fact it was only compressed with an
   DW> out-of-date compression algorithm (ARJ).
  
  Actually, ham radio regulations in the U.S. permit the use of "unspecified
  digital codes" as long as (1) the purpose is not merely to conceal the content
  and (2) the parties to the communication are all under U.S. jurisdiction.  Ham
  TCP/IP has been using on the fly LZW as an extension to SMTP for years.
  
   DW> I am getting frustrated with the paranoia and fear that
   DW> accompanies DOSBS. I see advertisements for 56K modems
   DW> coming to market next year, and this makes me consider
   DW> dropping the ISDN line for those. Of course, like every
   DW> other analog spped upgrade, it won't actually work until 6
   DW> months after it is put to market. And I'd still have to get
   DW> my ISP to support it! 
  
  I don't have high hopes for the 56 kbps analog idea.  As I understand it, the
  high speed will only work if one side (the ISP) has a special digital
  connection, and the circuit will still be asymmetrical.  Like ADSL, this might
  be kind of nice for home shopping, but the casual web user probably will not
  want to buy a new modem for this and the serious Internet user needs symmetry.
   
  -- Mike
  
  
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