SBE Chapter 24 - Madison, WI

The Chapter 24 Newsletter is published monthly by Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers; Madison, Wisconsin. Original hard copy edited by Mike Norton on Pagemaker 5.0. Submissions of interest to the broadcast technical community are welcome. You can make your submissions by e-mail to:

Mike_Norton@went.pbs.org

Information and/or articles are also accepted by US Mail. Please address them to:
SBE Chapter 24 Newsletter Editor
5174 Anton Dr. #15
Madison, WI 53719-4201

Please submit text file on DOS or Windows 3.5" floppy diskette if possible.

Steve Paugh is the editor for the Electronic Version of this Newsletter uploaded monthly onto SBE Chapter 24's web page.

Thanks to Leonard Charles for his work on the Chapter 24 WWW page and electronic newsletter.

Contributors this month:

Lloyd Berg
Neal McLain
John Poray
Tom Smith
Tom Weeden

© 1998 by SBE Chapter 24. Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the Society, its officers, or its members. SBE Chapter 24 regrets, but is not liable for, any omissions or errors. The Chapter 24 Newsletter is published twelve times per year. Other SBE Chapters are permitted to use excerpts if attributed to the original author, sources, and SBE Chapter 24.

Thank you to WKOW-TV for providing copying and folding facilities for the Chapter 24 newsletter!

Thank you to WISC-TV for maintaining the web server for the Chapter 24 Web page!

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MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Tuesday, April 27, 1999

Elections and NAB Review

This month's program will also include a roundtable discussion with those who attended the annual NAB convention in Las Vegas. Please bring your questions and answers about the big show!

Dutch Treat Dinner at 5:30pm
J.T. Whitney's
647 S. Whitney Way
Madison, WI

Meeting and Program at 7:00pm
J.T. Whitney's Meeting Room

Visitors and guests are welcome at all of our SBE meetings!

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UPCOMING MEETINGS

Tentative Program Subjects

Thursday- May 20
EAS and CATV

Tuesday- June 22
To Be Announced

If you have any suggestions for program topics you'd like to see, please contact one of the Chapter 24 Program Committee Members: Kerry Maki 833-0047, Denise Maney 277-8001, Steve Zimmerman 274-1234 and Mark Croom 271-1025.

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MARCH BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES

Submitted by Neal McLain, Temporary Secretary

Chapter 24 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers met on Tuesday, March 23, 1998, at J.T. Whitney's restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. There were 17 persons in attendance, including 15 members (12 certified). John L. Poray, CAE, Executive Director of the SBE, was one of the members present.

The meeting was chaired by Chapter 24 Chair Fred Sperry. Call to order: 7:10 pm. Sperry introduced Poray. On unanimous voice vote, the minutes of the February meeting were approved as published in the March Newsletter.

Treasurer’s Report (reported by Chapter Treasurer Stan Scharch): the chapter balance is in the black. Newsletter Editor’s Report (reported by Newsletter Editor Mike Norton): The deadline for the April Newsletter is midnight 4/9/98; the folding party is 5:30 pm 4/14/98 at WKOW-TV.

Sustaining Membership Report (reported by Fred Sperry): Recent renewals include Maney Logic and Clark Wire & Cable. The Chapter now has 26 sustaining members.

Program Committee: The April meeting will include elections for the upcoming year, and the annual NAB Convention roundup. At the May meeting, Neal McLain will present "EAS/Cable," a repeat talk he had given last summer at the 1998 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association meeting.

Certification and Education (reported by Jim Hermanson): The deadline for the examinations to take place at the NAB Convention has passed. The next local examinations will take place in June.

Frequency Coordination Report (reported by Tom Smith): Most current activity relates to wireless microphones.

Nominations Committee Report (reported by Steve Paugh): a number of people have indicated in interest in running for office. Any Chapter members wishing to run for office is encouraged to contact a member of the Nominations Committee.

Old Business: Steve Paugh reported on the Chapter’s planned activities in connection with the Engineering Expo. The Expo is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering, and will take place on campus April 16-18. The Chapter plans to sponsor a booth and a DTV demonstration. Paugh explained the planned schedule, and recruited volunteers to staff the booth.

New Business: Sperry reported on efforts by a company to obtain equipment inventories from participating broadcast stations, through local SBE chapters.

Announcements: Leonard Charles announced that WISC-TV was hosting an exhibit of Sony DTV equipment on March 24. SBE members were invited to attend.

The business meeting was adjourned at 7:41 pm. The program consisted of a discussion led by SBE Executive Director John Poray. The discussion included a description of the activities planned for the SBE National Meeting taking place in connection with the 1999 Broadcasters Clinic, scheduled to take place in Madison in October.

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TELCOM INDUSTRY NEWS

PSC SPLITS 414...AGAIN!

By Neal McLain, CSBE

On March 16, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) ordered another split of area code 414. The split line essentially follows the Milwaukee County line: Milwaukee County keeps 414 and the rest of what's now 414 will get new area code 262. The actual split line follows telephone exchange boundaries as close to the Milwaukee County Line as possible:

MAP SHOWING SPLIT LINE

It's only been two years since 414 was split the last time. That split, which created 920, was ordered in November, 1996, and became mandatory in October, 1997. According to Ameritech's Number Plan Administrator, that split was supposed to last eight years. It didn't, and 414 is now "in jeopardy" again. That's the official way of saying that it's about to run out of central office codes.

OVERLAY VS. SPLIT

Given the need for new number capacity within 414, the Commission didn't have much choice about addressing the issue: it had to do something. The real question it faced was, how do we do it?

Officially, the Commission considered five alternatives:

Two-way split
Three-way split
All-services overlay
Wireless overlay
Number conservation

Of these alternatives, three were rejected immediately:

The three-way split was deemed unacceptable because it wouldn't have lasted any longer than a two-way split unless Milwaukee County itself was split.
The wireless overlay was rejected because it violates FCC rules. This idea inevitably comes up in area code relief proceedings: if the wireless (paging, cellular, and PCS) companies are using up all the numbers, why not put them in their own area code? New York implemented a wireless area code several years ago when 917 was overlaid on 212 and 718. It apparently worked fine, but the wireless companies didn't like it because that "funny" area code put them at a competitive disadvantage. The next attempt to implement a wireless overlay (in Chicago in 1995, when Ameritech tried to overlay 630 on 312 and 708) wound up in the FCC's lap. The FCC decided that overlays are okay if they're "competitively neutral" and apply equally to all services. So all companies -- cellular, paging, PCS, and landline -- have to draw from the same pool of numbers without regard to area code. But overlays that discriminate against specific types of service are prohibited.
"Number conservation" was rejected primarily because the FCC has claimed jurisdiction. But there's also a secondary (unstated) reason: the whole issue is so fuzzy that nobody really knows what to do about it anyway. More on this later in this article.

So that left the PSC with only two choices: a two-way split or an all-services overlay. The usual arguments were considered:

A split means that half the phone numbers in the affected area get a new area code. Businesses don't like this because they have to change their phone numbers on everything from letterheads and business cards to trucks, buildings, websites, and billboards. Companies that do a lot of business with out-of-town customers lose business because their old customers can't reach them. And cellular companies have a special problem: changing the number of a cell phone means that the phone itself has to be reprogrammed, so half their customers have to bring their phones in for reprogramming.
An overlay means 10-digit dialing for local calls. Theoretically, it's possible to retain 7-digit dialing within each separate area code, even in an overlay situation, but that means customers would have to dial 10 digits to reach numbers in the other area code. And that would put wireless companies at a competitive disadvantage because they're the ones most likely to need new numbers. In its Ameritech decision, the FCC responded to this complaint by establishing the "dialing parity" rule: in an overlay situation, all numbers must be dialable with the same dialing plan. And that means everybody has to dial ten digits for local calls.

THE SPLIT LINE

The PSC also faced another major decision: if it ordered a split, then where? The split line has to fall somewhere, and wherever if falls, local residents and businesses are invariably upset.

Further complicating the situation: the split line must (or at least should) follow telephone exchange boundaries. These boundaries usually don't follow political boundaries. As an example, the 414/920 line splits the Town of Oconomowoc in two: the southern half is in 414 and the northern half is in 920. During the 1996 proceedings, the Town Chairman claimed that the split line should follow county lines. But that plan, of course, would split right through the middle of several exchanges. Furthermore, it would split incorporated municipalities like Watertown and Whitewater which straddle county lines.

PUBLIC INPUT

Before it reached its decision, the PSC solicited comments from the major constituencies affected by the decision: the telephone industry, the business community, and the general public.

According to the PSC, the public favored a geographic split. Surveys published in its recent order show that 60% to 70% of residential customers prefer a split, primarily to retain 7-digit dialing. These same surveys also show that an even higher percentage of businesses prefer a split -- this in spite of the fact that many of them would have to change area codes.

The telephone industry favored an overlay. This represents a shift since 1996:

In 1996, the industry was divided. Ameritech favored a split, and produced an extensive survey to back up its position. BellSouth, then the owner of the Cellular One franchise in Wisconsin, advocated an overlay, asserting that splits don't solve the problem, they just beget more splits. To bolster its position, BellSouth pointed to the Chicago situation where the 312/773 split had just been implemented, thus creating the fifth separate area code in what used to be just one area code.
In 1998, the industry favored an overlay. According to the PSC's order, "the telecommunications industry team ... reached a general consensus that an all-service overlay, rather than a geographic split, should be recommended to the Commission." Apparently Ameritech changed its mind.

THE PSC DECISION

In the end, the Commission voted for the split. The final vote was 2-1:

In a comment to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mettner noted that "a conversion to an overlay system would be cheaper and would push back the inevitable time when southeastern Wisconsin would have to add yet another area code." [*].

Mettner was also the only Commissioner who seriously considered an overlay back in 1996, even though he eventually voted for a split in that proceeding. According to Albert F. Schams, a Communications Analyst with the Commission, "The [1996] vote ended up being unanimous. There were some questions by Commissioner Mettner regarding some other possible area code relief. However, after a brief discussion with the other two Commissioners, he changed his position in support of the staff draft recommendation." [E-mail message, Schams to McLain, December 4, 1996].

THE NEW CODE

The new area code will be 262. Like all new area code assignments, this code was selected on the basis of several constraints:

An area code can be used only once. This is an obvious constraint, but it poses definite limitations on the selection of a new code. Theoretically, there are a total of 784 area codes; however, about 260 have already been assigned, and another 200 or so are reserved for special purposes, so the actual pool of available codes is limited to around 300 combinations.
To avoid customer confusion, an area code cannot be the same as any existing central office code within the area. Thus, for example, 608-608-XXXX is a prohibited combination. This constraint severely limits the number of possible codes: the new area code must be selected from the list of presently-unassigned central office codes. That list is likely to be short: if an area code needs to be split, it's already running out of central office codes. The new area code meets this criterion: 262 is not used as a central office code anywhere in 414. Even so, there may be some confusion in Racine (which will have 262-260) and Port Washington (262-261).
Insofar as possible, a new area code should not conflict with any nearby central office code in any adjacent area code. The new area code will be adjacent four other area codes: 414, 608, 847, and 920. Two conflicts exist: 608-262 in Madison and 920-262 in Watertown. Of course, 414-262 does not exist; neither does 847-262, in spite of the fact that 847 itself is in jeopardy.

SO WHERE DID ALL THE NUMBERS GO?
So why did the 414/920 split last only two years? Where did all the numbers go?

We've discussed the obvious reasons in this Newsletter before: rising population; rising residential penetration levels; the increased use of centrex and centrex-like telephone systems by businesses. And, of course, the endless proliferation of gadgets: pagers, cell phones, PCS phones, fax machines, computer modems, voice mail boxes.

But there's a more fundamental reason: the proliferation of competitive telephone companies demanding new central office codes.

To understand the significance of this reason, we first have to understand the format of North American telephone numbers. Every North American telephone number is composed of three parts:

NPA-NXX-XXXX
where:

NPA is the "Numbering Plan Area" (that's the official name for an area code).
NXX is the Central Office Code. N can be any digit 2-9; X can be any digit 0-9. An NXX code can be anything from 200 to 999 except for N11 combinations like 411 and 911. Each NPA contains 792 NXX codes.
XXXX is the line code; it can be anything from 0000 to 9999.

The NPA-NXX combination identifies a specific telephone exchange owned by a specific company. Thus, for example, 608-271 identifies the Ameritech exchange on Black Oak Drive in Madison, 608-272 identifies the CenturyTel exchange in Cataract, and 608-279 identifies a United States Cellular [Cellular One franchisee] exchange. These combinations are important for two reasons: call routing and billing.

Every one of those NPA-NXX combinations contains 10,000 possible telephone numbers. Whether they're actually used or not, these numbers are locked up and can't be used elsewhere: even an exchange with as few as 1000 lines still locks up 10,000 numbers. Cataract, for example, has, at most, 1000 lines: all numbers in Cataract are in the form 608-272-3XXX.

Now what happens when another company comes along and wants to provide a competitive telephone service in the area? For call-routing and billing purposes, it needs a separate NPA-NXX combination, even though it may not need anywhere near than 10,000 numbers. But it still gets 10,000 numbers because that's the way the system works.

In recent years, dozens of new companies have entered the telephone business in competition with the existing landline companies. Every one of them -- every paging company, every cellular company, every PCS company, every competitive landline carrier -- needs a separate NXX code before it can provide service to even one customer.

And that's the problem: area codes don't run out of telephone numbers, they run out of NXX codes.

NUMBER CONSERVATION
In at attempt to mitigate this problem, the FCC has undertaken a "number conservation" study. The idea is to assign telephone numbers in blocks of 1000, rather than 10,000. Thus, for example, a call to 608-268-1XXX would be routed to an Ameritech exchange, but a call 608-268-7XXX would routed to a competitive carrier.

There's an obvious immediate problem with this idea: the NPA-NXX-XXXX number format is embedded into just about every one of the thousands of software programs that run telephone exchanges. Including "smart" pay phones and PBXs, there are literally millions of software programs that can't accommodate routing and billing down to the 1000-number level. Getting every one of these programs replaced would be a monumental task.

To get around this problem, the FCC is studying the idea of using a centralized database to route local calls. Every incoming call would "dip" into the data base to find out how to route the call.

Will all this make much difference anyway? In larger, growing communities like Madison, where there are lots of competitors, NXX codes get used up fairly rapidly. In smaller communities, where number conservation might help, there aren't many competitors requesting new numbers anyway. So, one might ask, what's the point?

I guess we'll find out when the FCC releases the results of its study.

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THE FCC UNDER FIRE FROM CONGRESS

By Tom Smith

On March 17th, all of the FCC Commissioners appeared before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection to make their annual report. They appeared as high-ranking members of both the House and Senate Committees that oversee the FCC were criticizing Chairman William Kennard, and recent actions of the FCC. Senator John McCain, Congressmen Billy Tauzin, and John Dingell have lead the attacks on the FCC with other members joining in. Some have even called for the abolishment of the FCC or privatizing some of its functions. Congress has also complained about the White House involvement and influence in FCC and telecommunication policy.

They have complained the FCC has not been implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996 fast enough and that new competition in the telecommunications industry, mainly telephone, has not been increasing at a fast enough rate. They also have complained about items that Chairman Kennard has either sought to or brought before the Commission. They include free airtime for candidates, the review and attaching of public interest conditions to mergers, a look at broadcast ownership rules including more restrictions on local marketing agreements for TV, and low power FM. Many of the Congressional leaders want to loosen the ownership rules while Chairman Kennard would like to revisit some of the rules in light of all of the consolidation. A number of Congressmen did send Chairman Kennard a letter of support concerning the low power FM action.

At the March 17th hearing, the Commissioners outlined what they have done in the past year to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and their plans for the future of the FCC. Chairman Kennard and Commissioners Susan Ness, Gloria Tristiani and Michael Powell outlined similar views that there need to be fewer regulations, a reorganization of the FCC with fewer bureaus, and greater emphasis on enforcement with less emphasis on rulemaking. Universal phone service, consumer protection and information, increasing competition, and spectrum management were issues that they feel the FCC should focus on. Commissioner Harold Furchgott-Roth took a different view, in which the FCC should follow the laws that Congress writes in a very narrow way. Commissioner Furchgott-Roth often disagrees with the other four Commissioners decisions.

The first person to appear before the Congressional Committee was Mr. Huber Peter, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a partner in a Washington D.C. law firm. In his statement, he claimed that the FCC was impeding new competition by taking too long to act on many issues and that the FCC still follows, much of what he felt was, outdated language that still exists in the 1934 Communications Act. He thought that language in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 overrode parts of the 1934 Act. Mr. Peter called for the FCC to move from a role of a general regulator into a role of an arbiter, adjudicator, and enforcer.

The tension between Congress and the FCC increased during the tenure of FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, and will continue as the telecommunications revolution grows and the industry players jockey and lobby for position.

>From Statements before the House Commerce Subcommittee (www.house.gov) and BROADCASTING and CABLE.

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FCC RULEMAKINGS

Compiled By Tom Smith

PROPOSED

MM Docket No. 99-25; RM-9208; RM- 9242 Creation of Low Power Radio Service

The FCC has extended the comment and reply periods on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the proposed new low power FM service. The comment period has been extended from April 12, 1999 to June 1, 1999, and the reply period has been extended from May 12, 1999 to July 1, 1999. This action is in response to petitions from Lucent Digital Radio, the NAB, the Consumer Electronic Manufacturers Association, all of the state broadcasting associations, and the Walt Disney Company.

Adopted and released on March 19, 1999.

>From FCC Notice (www.fcc.gov)

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AMATEUR RADIO NEWS

By Tom Weeden, WJ9H

The Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) of France wants to put some distance between itself and the latest, soon-to-be-launched mini-Sputnik satellite, which reportedly will transmit messages on behalf of Swatch, a Swiss watchmaker. AMSAT-Russia, with help from the Russian Space Flight Control Center (SCSC), had contracted with AMSAT-France last December to design and fabricate an RF module and electronics for this latest mini-Sputnik. The new Sputnik-99 satellite will carry a 100-mW transmitter and is expected to be hand-launched sometime this month during a space walk by Mir cosmonauts. It will be able to transmit up to 10 different voice messages in addition to digital messages and telemetry. AMSAT-France later discovered that the SCSC had made a separate commercial contract with the Swatch watch company to put its messages on the satellite. AMSAT-France has protested, citing contract provisions prohibiting "direct advertising" on the air. The concept of commercial messages coming from an amateur radio satellite has touched off a worldwide controversy with many hams threatening to boycott Swatch. Others are threatening to jam the satellite by intentionally "legally" transmitting on its 2-meter downlink frequency.

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) will again have a booth at the annual NAB Convention in Las Vegas, April 17-22. The NAB has donated the booth space, and volunteer hams from the Las Vegas area will staff the booth. Steve Scott, KD8S, of KVWB-TV, invites hams to use the Las Vegas Amateur Radio Club’s repeaters on 146.94 and 449.700 MHz. "Local broadcasters, SBE Chapter 128, and club members will monitor the repeaters and provide assistance as needed during the convention," Scott says.

An AM station in Florida was fined $7000 by the FCC for various technical violations including radiating an excessive signal on 1909 kHz—in the amateur 160-meter band. WINV in Inverness, FL also was cited for EAS deficiencies and for not having its public file available. Well-known Georgia ham Tom Rauch, W8JI, had noticed the spurious emission on 1909 and contacted the station. "After four unsuccessful attempts to get them to correct the problem, their switchboard operator said, ‘If we are bothering you way up in Georgia, why don’t you just call the FCC and quit calling us?’" Rauch reported. "Just to be helpful, I did exactly what she asked!" Rauch said it took the FCC just a week to visit the station following his complaint. "It’s great to see the FCC is back in business!" he said.

(Excerpts from April 1999 "QST" Magazine and "The ARRL Letter")

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SBE SHORT CIRCUITS- APRIL 1999

By John L. Poray, CAE
SBE Executive Director

LETTER TO GMs PROMOTES SBE CERTIFICATION

On March 29, a letter was sent by First Class mail to all radio and television station general managers in the U.S., from Terry Baun, SBE Certification Chairman. Mr. Baun’s letter described the benefits of having a competent, professional engineering staff and that SBE Certification is one of the best ways to ensure that they do. The letter encourages each GM to support in tangible ways, the efforts of their engineering staff to become certified. GMs were reminded of the tie between having a qualified engineering staff and an improved station bottom line.

MAKE 1999 THE YEAR YOU BECOME SBE CERTIFIED

There are now four SBE Certification exam periods held each year in local chapters, plus, exams may be taken during the NAB Convention in Las Vegas. You have more opportunities to become certified - at times convenient to you. For more information about SBE Certification, see your Chapter Certification Chair or contact Linda Godby-Emerick, Certification Director at the SBE National Office at (317) 253-1640 or lgodby@sbe.org.

MONTHLY HAMnet BRINGS SBE TO REMOTE AREAS

At 8:00 pm EST, 0000 GMT, on the second Sunday of each month, SBE Chapter 73 takes the air. Hal Hostetler, WA7BGX, of Tucson, Arizona, is the control station for the "meeting." Updates on SBE activities are given each month and participants can discuss technical issues and visit. HAMnet was originally begun to help serve members who lived too far to attend meetings of any regular chapter, but any amateur operator is welcome and encouraged to participate. Look for HAMnet on 14.205 MHz.

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

WISC TV currently has an opening in the Engineering department. Duties include installation and maintenance of broadcast and production equipment. Our Engineers also participate in operator training and assistance.

Qualifications include 3 years experience in broadcast engineering and the energy to participate in the transition to Digital Television. Prefer SBE certification. Experience in other areas of Television or Radio Broadcasting and computers is a plus.

WISC TV is an entity of Television Wisconsin, Inc. which owns and operates additional media companies in Southern Wisconsin. We offer a professional challenging work environment, competitive compensation benefits package, and we encourage our employees to grow professionally with us.

To apply, send resume and salary requirements by Friday 4/23/99 to:

			Television Wisconsin Inc.
			Attn: HR/ENG
			PO Box 44965
			Madison, WI  53744-4965

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LOCAL LEGALS

Compiled By Tom Smith

GRANTED

WIBA-AM 1310 KHz, WTSO (AM) 1070 KHz, WIBA-FM 101.5 MHz, and WZEE (FM) 104.1 MHz in Madison, WMLI (FM) 96.3 MHz Sauk City, WMAD-FM 92.1 MHz Sun Prairie

The FCC granted the application for transfer of licenses from Capstar Broadcasting Corporation to Chancellor Media Corporation. The investment firm of Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst was a major stockholder of both companies and it’s chairman, Thomas Hicks will head Chancellor. Chancellor Media will own about 450 radio stations when the merger is completed. Announced on March 12, 1999.

WTLX (FM) 100.5 MHz Colombus

An application was granted for a construction permit for WTLX to move it’s transmitter location and build a new antenna structure with a change of height. The transmitter will move from the coordinates of 43-20-04/89-09-57 to the coordinates of 43-16-28/89-16-32. The present site is seven miles west of Colombus near WI. Highway 60 and County Highway N. The new site is 4 miles northeast of DeForest on County Highway V between US Highway 51 and County Highway C. Announced on March 16, 1999.

>From the FCC Daily Notices and FM Database (www.fcc.gov) and BROADCASTING and CABLE.

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CHAPTER 24 SUSTAINING MEMBERS

RECENT RENEWALS:

Alpha Video
National Tower Service

THANKS TO ALL OUR SUSTAINING MEMBERS:

Alactel USA
Belden Wire and Cable
BCS Wireless
CTI
Clark Wire and Cable
Harris Corporation
Hewlett-Packard
maney-logic
Norlight Telecommunications
Panasonic Broadcast
Richardson Electronics
Roscor Wisconsin
Scharch Electronics
Skyline Communications
Sony Broadcast
Tektronix
Teleport Minnesota
Token Creek Productions
Video Images
WISC-TV 3
WKOW-TV 27
WMSN-TV 47
WMTV-TV 15

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CHAPTER 24 APRIL 1999 NEWSLETTER

MADISON WISCONSIN

USA

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Elections and NAB Review

UPCOMING MEETINGS

MARCH BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES

TELCOM INDUSTRY NEWS PSC SPLITS 414...AGAIN!

THE FCC UNDER FIRE FROM CONGRESS

FCC RULEMAKINGS

AMATEUR RADIO NEWS

SBE SHORT CIRCUITS- APRIL 1999

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

LOCAL LEGALS

CHAPTER 24 SUSTAINING MEMBERS

RECENT RENEWALS:

THANKS TO ALL OUR SUSTAINING MEMBERS:

TELCOM INDUSTRY NEWS

PSC SPLITS 414...AGAIN!