2. 2
Bits and BytesBits and BytesBits and BytesBits and Bytes
By Bryan Goodland
When you are trying to get things done quickly,
any shortcut can help. Which is part of the reason that
the Microsoft OS and its programs have keyboard short-
cuts that can be used to make your task a little faster.
I have listed some of the most common ones,
and hopefully some that you never knew existed. So,
contrary to popular belief, sometimes it is okay to take the
easy way out.
Microsoft Keyboard Shortcuts:
CTRL + C - Allows you to copy something
CTRL + V - This will paste what you copied
CTRL+ X - Will cut an item
CTRL+ Z - Used to undo something, will take you back to last item
SHIFT + DELETE - This will permanently delete an item without moving it to the recycle bin. (Permanent is
a relative term because most if not all items on a hard drive can be retrieved)
CTRL + A - Selects everything that is on a page
CTRL + B - Will apply bold text to whatever you are typing
ALT + Enter - This will display the properties of an object, such as when you want to see the space left
over on your hard drive, a jump drive, etc. This is the same thing as right clicking on a selected object and
choosing properties from the drop down.
ALT + TAB - Will let you switch between open items. Depending on how many thing you have open, a
box will come up and holding down on the ALT key and tapping the TAB key will scroll through the objects.
CTRL + ESC - Opens up the start menu for windows.
SHIFT Key - When putting a CD into the drive, hitting the shift key will prevent it from automatically starting.
CTRL + SHIFT + ESC - Open Task Manager. This can also be done by right clicking on the taskbar.
Function Keys:
The function keys are located at the top of the keyboard and serve a special function for Windows opera-
tions. They react differently than the shortcut keys in the sense that they don’t always need to be used in
conjunction with other keys, they can operate independently.
F2 - This key can be used to change the name of an item. The same function can also be done by select-
ing the particular item and then using the right click on your mouse and selecting rename from the drop-
down.
F3 - Allows you to pull up the Search, so you can find items in the text. The same command that you
would do with the CTRL + F option. May not work in all MS applications.
ALT + F4 - This will allow you to close the active item ( the one you are currently working on) or to quit the
active program.
The World of Keyboard
Shortcuts
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3. 3
Basic
Training
By Bryan Goodland
Oftentimes the key to understanding a subject is learning
the language that the pundits of that subject speak. So in
pursuit of that endeavor here is a short list of some common
telecommunications terms:
Attenuation - A term used to describe a decrease in power
between what is transmitted and what is received back.
Loss can take place in transmission lines, equipment or de-
vices that are designed to transmit a signal.
Broadband - transmission that includes a wide range of
frequencies.
Central Office - For local telephone companies this is the
building that houses the switch for local phone service. In a
broader sense, when it comes to long distance this is the
access point for LD routing.
Demodulation - The process by which data is brought back from a modulated signal.
Duplex - Two way transmission. A transmit and receive path.
ERLANG - A unit measurement of traffic intensity.
Facilities - A term used to describe the transmission lines or circuits that are available to carry traffic.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - The government agency established in 1934 that regu-
lates all interstate communications in the United States.
Fiber Optics - Essentially a cable made up of glass fibers that uses light to send data at high speeds.
Hot Cut - Used to replace one line with another. The operation is designed to be instant and seamless.
Interstate - In telecommunications any traffic or signal that goes across state lines
Intrastate - In telecommunications any traffic or signal that remains within state lines
LEC (Local Exchange Carrier) - The local telephone company.
Multiplexing - Combining a number of disparate signals onto a common signal and path for transmission
purposes.
Out of Band - A band (possibly channel) that sits outside the band which is used for voice. Often used in
testing.
Repeater - A device placed in a network that amplifies weak signals.
Switch - A piece of equipment that is used to interconnect various lines and trunks.
T-1 - A transmission medium that is capable of sending data at 1.544 Mbps. There are 24 digitized chan-
nels on a T-1 and the digital stream is carried over two pairs of copper wires.
Trunk - A single transmission channel that runs between two points such as switching centers or nodes or
the combination of the two.
Wideband - a facility or circuit in which the bandwidth is actually greater than what is required for a voice
channel. When it comes to spectrum this is utilized in spread spectrum technologies such as CDMA and
UMTS.
Deciphering the Language of
Telecom
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4. 4
Siemens Hangs up on Telecom Industry
By Bryan Goodland
The telecom industry is continually
evolving and now that includes Siemens,
the German Telecommunications giant,
leaving the industry behind.
Siemens opened its doors in Oc-
tober of 1847, which is coincidentally the
same year that Alexander Graham Bell
was born. Werner Von Siemens, the com-
pany’s founder, was an inventor and
trained in engineering via his military ser-
vice. He was a founding father of sorts to
the field of electrical engineering in his
homeland and invented the electric eleva-
tor, a refined telegraph and even a version
of the trolley bus.
Siemens as a company positioned
itself early in the communications busi-
ness. Even though Werner’s needle
based telegraph never took the thunder
from Morse’s version, the instrument still
met with some success in Germany. In
addition to their inventions and discover-
ies, Siemens also went about laying tele-
graph wire throughout Europe and Russia.
They also designed a telephone switch in
1881 and designed a vessel to lay subma-
rine cable in an effort to bring communica-
tion to the world.
Despite the company’s auspicious
beginnings, various divestitures and corpo-
rate changes have found themselves losing ground in an ever competitive market. So the company
made a decision to sell the majority of their cordless phone business, which is Siemens last remaining
remnant of their telephony presence. In previous business dealings, Siemens sold a portion of their
communications unit, which specialized in call centre equipment to the Gores Group, and sold control
of their network equipment entity to NOKIA. Prior to that their mobile phone business was sold to a
Taiwanese company, BenQ.
The telecom industry has a variety of competition and companies that are trying to compete in
an ever changing and crowded market. Siemens made a decisions to take some losses and move on
from telecom, even though it is something they have done for over a 150 years.
Siemens as a company of course will continue on, just not in the telecom industry. As a engi-
neering corporation they still have a variety of business that they are involved in. Siemens is well
known for their inventions in the medical industry, oil and gas industries and in finding alternative tech-
nology that can be used to power the planet. In addition to this they offer a myriad of consumer based
products which include everything from appliances to computers and home security systems. So the
fact that Siemens has divested itself of the telecommunications segment of their business is not as dra-
matic a change as it might seem. They have positioned themselves in the global economy as an inno-
vator and as a consistent company that has maintained its reputation for over a hundred years.
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5. 5
And in This Corner...
By Bryan Goodland
Revenue from telecommunica-
tions is expected to reach about $2 trillion
by 2012. That’s a large chunk of change,
and a battle is brewing between the cable
industry and telecoms across the country
for a slice of this considerable pie. The
question that is on everyone’s mind right
now, is who will come out on top?
The cable companies have for
years benefited from deals they have cre-
ated with local municipalities that allowed
them to be the only service provider for
the area. Now they are feeling the pres-
sure from telecoms that are bundling
packages and offering potential savings to
consumers. The telecoms are also out-
spending the cable industry in order to
increase their influence.
The larger telecoms, which in-
clude AT&T and Verizon are able to
spend millions of dollars in lobbying and
with PR firms to increase their presence. Of course the cable industry is doing the same thing, but the battleground
has changed. At one point the fight was waged at the national level through the petitioning of the FCC and other
government entities in order to get licensing agreements. Now the battles are being fought at the state and local
level in order to secure contracts that will allow them to push the competition out. All of this costs a great deal of
money and the results are still uncertain.
The cable industry is calling foul in all of this. The industry points to the fact that the government is hin-
dering the expansion of the cable industry by limiting their coverage area to only 30% of any given market. Their
point is, that this limits them from truly competing against the local telcos who don’t have such restrictions. This
allows the giants like AT&T and Verizon to continue to expand without the fear of restrictions from Uncle Sam.
And to give an indication of how big, big is; AT&T is in about 36% of all homes and businesses and Verizon is in
about 24% of these places.
The story gets more complicated when you add the fact that despite tremendous wireless growth for the
telecoms, they have been losing their T1s. Part of this is due to the fact that people are dropping their landlines and
getting off the grid. The problem is that the telecom industry hasn’t completely prepared for this and making up
these losses could be difficult. And for those who rely on landlines as their main source of revenue, it may already
be too late.
Competition usually means better deals for consumers, but with this battle, it’s hard to tell what the out-
come might be. At a local level, cable and telco are still battling for access rights, and nationally they are petition-
ing the government, which can cost millions and slow things down considerably. For now consumers are content
with bundling and shopping around, but the savings so far haven’t been significant. Once the shakedown is com-
plete and a true winner is decided those savings may be huge, or then again we may see a monopoly break down
like we did with the Bells, at this point only time will tell.
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6. 6
Keeping tabs on subscribers
By Bryan Goodland
The old adage of, “you
can’t put all your eggs in one
basket,” is definitely true when it
comes to cellular technology.
The “eggs” in this analogy are
the subscribers and the
“baskets” are the Home Loca-
tion Register and Visitor Loca-
tion Register.
Depending on what
type of network you have de-
ployed, you will utilize either an
HLR or a VLR or both. For
Comment Wireless, since we
are a roaming wireless carrier,
we use a VLR and at this time
do not have an HLR. For carri-
ers that have customers, they of
course will use an HLR, which brings us to the question of, what these devices are used for?
An HLR is basically a database that is used to store all the subscribers information. When a
mobile user goes to make a phone call the MSC will verify the user’s information in the HLR to make
sure that they are a legitimate customer, have paid their bill, and are able to use whatever service they
are trying to gain access to. So the HLR keeps track of the mobile phone number itself, authentica-
tion, services that the customer has subscribed to, the location of the mobile via the MSC and VLR
location, and any billing info that would be pertinent to the customer gaining access to the network.
The VLR operates under the same principles as the HLR, but is for people that have moved
out of their home network and are visiting another location. The VLR is a cache of sorts for the HLR
subscriber information, and is a database for any visitors that are in the geographic area of the MSC
that the VLR is attached to. The VLR keeps track of the mobile’s last location, the subscription and
authentication information and the identification of the HLR. The VLR also contacts the HLR so that it
can create a temporary ID of sorts for the caller while they are roaming on a network other than their
own.
The HLR and the VLR work in conjunction to identify where a caller is at any given time, in
order to keep track of billing and to make sure that the call is routed properly. These databases are in
turn coordinated by the MSC, which will coordinate the back end of the call to make sure that the par-
ties are connected properly.
For someone who is roaming, it is also important for the HLR to keep track of their location via
the VLR, so that they can properly route calls to the subscriber. If the subscriber is roaming and re-
ceives a phone call, it is necessary for the MSC to contact the alien MSC that the roaming subscriber
is on so that it can transfer the call to that MSC. Without the VLR and HLR, none of this would be pos-
sible.
In essence the HLR and VLR are used to keep track of subscribers on a network so they can
use the services they paid for and send and receive all the data they are entitled to have.
The Think Tank
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7. 7
The Last PageThe Last PageThe Last PageThe Last Page
Commnet Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wholesale voice and data services to the wireless telecom-
munications industry. Commnet Wireless works in partnership with national and regional wireless operators to
offer highly-reliable, feature-rich coverage in a variety of technical environments.
Commnet Wireless
Creating Secure Passwords
By Bryan Goodland
The first line of defense for any computer or file is to have a password
that is difficult to overcome. Hackers are continually improving their capabili-
ties, so the probability that your password will be cracked increases with each
passing day. However, there are some ways to safeguard your information
and to limit the possibility that your computer will be compromised.
The first thing to remember when creating a password is not to make
it obvious. Don’t use any family names, birthdates or addresses. All of these
can be found out easily and if someone is trying to get to you, may go through
this list first. Also, avoid common passwords like password, qwerty, 1234,
abcd, and the like. All of these passwords are extremely common and there-
fore pretty weak in their level of security.
Hackers will use scripts and software to “guess” at what your pass-
word might be. Oftentimes these programs and scripts rely on the dictionary
as a source for potential passwords. So another simple rule to remember is
not to take your password from a dictionary. Make the word up, spell some-
thing wrong, create a nonsensical phrase or add numbers and characters to your password to increase the
strength.
Once you have created this password, it is tempting to believe that it is unbreakable, which is of
course another amateurish mistake. If you have a good password use it in only one place. Don’t take the
same password and use it for all your accounts or computers. Also make sure that you change your pass-
words on a regular basis. Set it as a calendar event on Outlook or write down a reminder to change all your
passwords on some sort of rotating basis.
Now that you’ve created a decent password, make sure you don’t send it out over email or use an
unsecured network to type it in on. All of this can lead to a breach in your security, no matter how clever you
were when creating the password.
As a final note of advice, make sure that you create passwords that you can remember, otherwise
they are pointless. If you want, think of a theme for your passwords, such as your favorite restaurant and then
go through the menu of your favorite foods there. For instance; the restaurant could be named Luigi’s and your
favorite food there is the lasagna. So your password might be luigislas190@# (characters can be something
memorable as well). That way you have a mnemonic device to remember your password by and the password
itself follows some basic security devices such as words that you won’t find in a dictionary, characters, and
numbers and ease of use for the user. Passwords aren’t foolproof, but you can make them much more secure.
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