What Hurts Hosted VoIP PBX & VoIP Phone Sound Quality

There is a misconception that if you have a good VoIP phone your calls will sound perfect. While this does play a role, it is important to realize that your hosted VoIP PBX and the components which go into making that service successful are equally important.

What makes Hosted VoIP Calls Sound Bad?

Bandwidth

This issue is pretty clear to most people. Bandwidth is the rate of data transfer which your Internet service provider enables.

In order to have a quality hosted VoIP call, you need to have an Internet connection which supports the data transfer. Some services offer a specialized connection to provide reassurance that the data will be transferred at an optimal rate. Other providers allow you the luxury of choosing your own Internet Service Provider. While there are pros and cons to either decision, in the case of call quality, you must ensure that you choose an Internet service which supports the data transfer which your hosted VoIP PBX demands. Take a VoIP speed test to verify your connection is good enough for VoIP.

Hosted VoIP Network Equipment

If you’re going to have a quality service, you’re going to need excellent network infrastructure. This depends on the investment in equipment, software, and level of maintenance provided by your ITSP. This also depends on the quality of the VoIP phone you are using. There are many VoIP service providers out there who do not invest the amount of money necessary to offer business quality VoIP. Make sure you choose a hosted VoIP PBX which has invested the capital necessary to provide quality network equipment.

Packet loss

Packet loss occurs when an Internet connection becomes overloaded with data or traffic. Packet loss can be recognized during a VoIP call. It sounds like an echo, similar to having a conversation in a big empty room. Your hosted VoIP PBX should not allow for more than 1 or 2% of packet loss, and obviously the less the better. If you are experiencing packet loss than you should consider cutting down on tasks which overload your VoIP service. You can also look into higher quality hosted VoIP services which allow for less packer loss.

Latency

When you make a call using your hosted VoIP service, that data is broken up into little packets and dispersed through certain channels of the Internet. Eventually, that call will reach the person on the other end. Latency basically refers to the distance that call data must travel to reach your hosted VoIP service provider. According to About.com, “Latency is the time between the moment a voice packet is transmitted and the moment it reaches its destination. It of course leads to delay and finally to echo. It is caused by slow network links. This is what leads to echo.” When choosing a provider, it is important to ensure that latency will not affect your service. Make sure you choose a provider that has worked to eliminate latency from their system.

Jitter

Ever been on a call and there is a delay in the sound? That is probably Jitter. This can be incredibly annoying. You will hear a delay in your speech and/or the speech of the person you are speaking to. This occurs because the packets of voice data are received at the wrong time. Jitter can occur due to power surges, bandwidth congestion, or other irregularities in the system. If your hosted VoIP service provider has not perfected their system, there is a good chance you could be subject to jitter

GENIUS KIDS USE CALLER-ID SPOOFING TO MESS WITH 911

Many hit heard of “swatting” it is commonly related with evenhandedly inoffensive pranks. However, it crapper go in assorted directions likewise the inoffensive pranks. There are dead clear lawful uses for swatting. At the aforementioned instance though, there are pranks that verify things artifact likewise far. One intellectual famous as “Little Hacker” has been ring hacking since he was 14. Now 19, Mathew Weigman has been at this for a some years. He’s a conception of a flooded assemble of ring hackers that met up on ring band lines.

The supply isn’t so much that this assemble is swatting, it’s more that they are screwing with 911. Which yes, that is all possible, but it is a contact more tricky. This assemble is related with over 60 assorted swatting calls to 911 drawing cross ways the country. They attain their prank calls to 911, but ingest spoofing profession to attain it materialize as if the call is reaching from their chosen victim’s house. The attractiveness behindhand it being, that the mortal they’ve prefabricated it materialize is occupation is feat to hit individual personnel stagnant at their entrance way with weapons drawn. As of today caller-ID spoofing is ease jural for most of the US. Lawmakers in New royalty and Louisiana are today disagreeable to curb the practice. Whether it be prizewinning that newborn laws are created or older ones modified, making calls much as this to 911 is attractive things artifact likewise far. Of instruction hopefully they won’t drive issues for those that hit legit reasons for making swatting calls

Five Predictions on Collaborative Computing in 2010

2010 will be another year of growth for the industry. Companies like Microsoft, SalesForce.com, Cisco, and others begin rolling out their collaboration solutions, accelerating the already quickly growing collaboration market. Consolidation will begin in 2010 as the convergence of VoIP, desktop sharing, video conferencing, and other more traditional technologies are consolidated into integrated collaboration solutions. Industry consolidation will truly occur in 2011.

Engagement analytics will replace Web analytics. Despite Adobe's $1.5 billion purchase of Omniture, the analytics market still has a lot of maturing to do. The tools and technologies used to run large social communities have outpaced the analytics tools used to measure those investments. With the rise of social analytics, we will see demand for tools to help businesses clearly articulate the ROI from an engagement metric, not just a page view metric. Engagement gives much more in-depth insight about customers -- including the sentiment (positive or negative association) of their comments and how influential they are.

Platform, not application. Probably the biggest struggle that the large enterprise software companies will have in this fast-growing market (besides faster iterations for getting their product to the market) will be overcoming the natural instinct to build isolated information silos. Now more than ever it is important to connect and integrate a company's collaboration investment across all its investments -- from CRM to financial reporting. Because today's organizations don?t have a single technology vendor, they must build and integrate with a collaboration platform, as opposed to cobbling together a number of disconnected applications.

Collaboration will replace social. The word social has too much baggage associated with it to appropriately describe the market. Unfortunately, most people unfamiliar with the industry strongly associate social with Facebook and other non-business-related activities. Collaboration is a much more encompassing word to describe the current -- and future -- market. Collaboration includes the tools most strongly associated with social -- blogs , forums, wikis, user profiles -- and also includes more traditional collaboration tools like desktop sharing and video conferencing. Social media tends to be a type of activity, while collaboration is an activity with a purpose.

Enterprise search technology will grow. The most neglected aspect within organizations is enterprise search. With the workplace more easily digitizing all of its content through collaboration technology, and with better analytics helping to determine what is truly important, enterprise search technologies will become even more critical. Organizations need to wade through massive amounts of information to pick out the proverbial needle in-the-haystack. Using analytics, enterprise search can become much more intelligent about how valuable certain data is relative to other data, as opposed to the current common method of using graph analysis and word count/ location to determine relevance.

Gradwell Supports Partner At Education Technology Show

Leading Internet services provider Gradwell is joining its partner RTS Technology Solutions at BETT – the world’s largest education technology show – to demonstrate how the two companies have solved many technical issues within education environments.

Budget constraints and the push for operational efficiently means 21st Century schools need to communicate more effectively than ever.

Gradwell and RTS allow schools to get the most from available resources by providing flexible and cost-beneficial VoIP technology, making school administration and pastoral care much easier than was previously possible.

Gradwell will be demonstrating its award-winning VoIP service at the show and explaining how features such as number portability and call management make it so attractive to schools.

The partnership between RTS Technology Solutions and Gradwell began in 2008, allowing RTS to introduce the benefits enjoyed by millions of Gradwell business customers to the education sector.

The two companies’ close relationship ensures that customers always enjoy the most up-to-date technology, coupled with industry-leading onsite implementation and support.

RTS Technology Solutions Director Mike Brooman said: “We are excited that Gradwell is bringing its expertise to BETT.

“Its industry-leading products and proven customer service provision are of great benefit to the education sector.

“We have already seen how well Gradwell’s VoIP works in education environments - together we are ready to take it a stage further.”

Gradwell Managing Director Peter Gradwell added: “RTS demonstrates a superior understanding of how VoIP can provide a reliable telephony backbone for small businesses and schools alike and solve real world problems.

“VoIP saves time and money as well as providing added features and we’re really looking forward demonstrating them at BETT.”

RTS Technology Solutions will be joined by Gradwell on stand W45 from Wednesday 13th to Friday 15th January.

In addition to VoIP, RTS will be demonstrating a number of other services, including Secure Computer Suites, Digital Signage, Classroom AV, Virtualisation and its new resource management application Kahu.

Why Did Nortel File for Bankruptcy Protection?

With the one year anniversary of Nortel’s (NRTLQ.PK) bankruptcy filing happening in a couple of weeks, something I’ve been wondering about recently is why Nortel bothered filing for bankruptcy protection in the first place.

At this time last year, Nortel had about $2.5-billion of cash and some assets that could have brought in some much-needed financial stability given the economic climate and the uncertain spending plans of carriers and cablecos. Although CEO Mike Zafirovski apparently was against the idea of bankruptcy protection, the board aggressively pushed for it.

Six months later, Nortel decided to abandon ship by announcing it planned to sell all of its assets rather than use bankruptcy protection to restructure, close plants, lay off employees and reduce much of its $4.5-billion of debt. If done properly, Nortel might have emerged from bankruptcy as a smaller, more focused, viable company with a portfolio that included optical, VoIP, carrier products.

In hindsight, it was a strange decision. The only way to explain it is that the board panicked. Spooked by the volatile economic conditions and likely bullied by debt and bond holders, the board took the easy way out by pulling the trigger on the asset sale. In the process, it decided to kill Canada’s flagship high-tech company.

It would be fascinating to know why the board decided to throw in the towel so quickly and easily. For Canada and Nortel employees, why didn’t board decide to fight the good fight? Sure, debt and bond holders might not have got their pound of flesh but Nortel might have survived to live another day rather than feebly raise the white flag.

The last decade for Nortel was a disaster on many fronts – terrible strategic decisions, misguided acquisitions, an accounting scandal that cost it billions of dollars, a board that had little telecom experience, and a string of CEOs who had no vision about what Nortel could have become.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the assets that were happily purchased by Avaya, Ciena (CIEN), Ericsson (ERIC) and Hitachi (HIT) have found good homes, and that the thousands of employees who worked for those business units will continue to be employed. As well, maybe all the ex-Nortel employees will start their own companies or bolster the efforts of new companies. Finally, Nortel’s sad story will provide MBA students will lots of great studies to learn how not to manage a world-class company.

To illustrate Nortel’s puzzling bankruptcy protection process, here’s a video featuring Zafirovski after the company filed for protection from creditors. It starts with Mike Z. proclaiming “Ultimately, I believe this process will enable Nortel to become a more focused, financially sound and competitive company.” So, what happened, Mike?

Orange UK to Launch High-Definition Voice

Orange will reportedly become the first mobile operator to launch a "High Definition Voice" service for its U.K. customers in 2010, with a full nationwide introduction later in 2010. Customers will require an "HD" voice capable handset, and apparently none of the present Orange devices do.

HD Voice uses the Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate speech codec, using bandwidth between 50 Hz and 7000 Hz compared to the current narrowband speech codec which uses 300 Hz to 3400 Hz.

The announcement is significant for several reasons. Orange hopes to use the enhanced capability as a way of gaining differentiation in the U.K. mobile market. But the move also is a partial fulfillment of the promise of IP communications, which is capable of better user experience than the older public switched network, not just the ability to offer consumers lower prices.

Some have argued that consumers have taken to VoIP services, despite some occasional quality issues, because they had been so widely accustomed to mobile voice audio quality, objectively and not only subjectively worse than landline quality. The Orange enhancement at least potentially could have positive impact, but in the opposite direction, making mobile voice audio quality objectively and subjectively better than either legacy mobile voice or landline voice using the public switched network.

“HD Voice really does inject a level of innovation into mobile phone calls, making it sound as if callers are actually in the same room," Tom Alexander, Orange UK CEO, said. "Once people have tried it, they won’t want to go back.”

Batman Turns to VOIP Phones

Batman takes a call from Catwoman and plays nervously with the cord

Batman has lept in to the 21st century by replacing his old rotary bat phone with sparkling new VOIP phones. Purists will be happy to note that the caped crusader has insisted the VOIP phones are finished in hot red with the Batman logo emblazoned on the hand set.

When asked what took him so long to upgrade the retro phones he has had since the sixties Bruce Wayne, who apparently know Batman quite well, said “I, er, he quite liked them and to be honest I get called out by the ol’ Batman search light that everyone mistakes for an advert for a gothic nightclub. And yes, I didn’t mean ‘I’ just then, of course I meant Batman.”

The VOIP phones are rumoured to be a special edition manufactured esclusivley by Logitech for the super hero and his VOIP provider is assumed to be Skype. Band of Slugs has searched the Skype directory for Batman but could only find the Green Lantern, Hawkman and three entries for the Flash. The old Batphones will be sold to DirectLine for use in their advertisements.

The Triumph of VoIP Could Spell Doom for Voice

Voice calling has been the engine of profit for the telcos for a century, and most of it has been old-fashioned switched voice -- what’s called “plain old telephone service,” or POTS. When VoIP was first introduced, everybody predicted that voice on the Internet would destroy the old POTS model. Now, with even service providers buying VoIP companies, it looks like that’s about to happen.

And the changes on the Internet could be profound.

Imagine for a moment that your voice services were all replaced by Skype or a similar service. If you open your calling to everyone, you can expect zillions of telemarketing calls with no hope of relief, because regulators can’t trace or even authenticate the user names.

Same with harassing calls. And if you call 911, maybe somebody will come -- maybe even to the location where you made the call -- but you probably can’t be certain. Forget wiretaps on criminals and potential terrorists, because there’s no guarantee lawful intercept will work.

Nobody is going to tolerate this sort of thing, but that’s what the future would look like if we simply transferred our voice calls to current IP-based services without additional steps and safeguards. To get some protection, we’d have to regulate these new voice services.

That might seem easy, a matter of regulators just broadening voice service regulations to cover VoIP. It’s not that easy. After all, we have regulations on some online behavior, including spam and malware, and much of it turns out to be unenforceable because either we can’t identify the source or the source is out of our legal jurisdiction. How is VoIP going to be different?

Shifting voice services to a data model will also have a major impact on mobile wireless services. With VoIP, for instance, can operators stop carrying over-the-top voice? Probably not, considering they are already being pressured not to do that. Look at the Skype or Google Voice-on-the-iPhone debates.

Some operators could just throw in the towel and offer data-only plans. If that occurs, will texting replace mobile voice? How will that impact our already-depersonalized culture? How will it impact our driving safety, considering most people can’t talk and drive, much less text and drive?

Speaking of operators, do they now have to prioritize voice traffic so that when Johnny is streaming HD to some of his many screens, he doesn’t stop mom from calling grandma, or maybe the doctor?

If we are saying that operators must prioritize voice, we’re getting into traffic management on a per-application basis, which is exactly what net neutrality principles are supposed to prevent.

Lots of bad things could happen here, but we may still have a chance to prevent most of them. For almost a decade, there’s been growing interest in the notion of service overlay networks, or SONs. A SON is a kind of VPN that is designed to keep traffic and connectivity for a specific service separate from other traffic in that it’s identifiable and can be secured and managed, but not segregated in the sense that it travels over different facilities.

By using SONs for VoIP networks, we could create the same kinds of rules we now have for voice without forcing constraints on our Internet experience. We don’t lose the benefit of a universal Internet, but we don’t create anarchy in a service experience we’ve all literally bet our lives on at some point or another.

SONs are advancing as a standard called the “Next Generation Service Overlay Network,” or NGSON, promoted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) , which has created a working group Website.

Presently, the focus of NGSON seems to be more on advanced services than on voice. This may be the time to push for NGSONs as a way of separating, regulating, and securing VoIP service before the greatest technology win of all time -- the victory of VoIP over traditional voice -- doesn’t become a big risk and loss to us all.

AT&T wants the FCC's blessing to shut down PSTN Read more: http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/t-wants-fccs-blessing-shut-down-pstn/2010-01-

AT&T has asked the FCC to create a timetable that would allow the company to shut down its analog public switched telephone network (PSTN). AT&T said doing so is the only way to meet Congress' goal of covering all Americans with broadband services as more investment would flow to its IP-based initiatives.

"That transition is under way already," AT&T wrote to the FCC. "With each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and plain-old telephone service (POTS) as relics of a bygone era."

AT&T argues that having to maintain and invest in two networks--broadband and the PSTN--means Congress' goal won't be met efficiently or timely. The company said that while 90 percent of Americans have access to broadband services, reaching that last 10 percent would require an investment of about $350 billion. Meanwhile, AT&T continues to struggle with its own 3G network because of data hungry smartphone users.

"Due to technological advances, changes in consumer preference and market forces, the question is when, not if, POTS service and the PSTN over which it is provided will become obsolete," AT&T wrote to the FCC.

AT&T also said that less than 20 percent of Americans rely exclusively on POTS for voice service, while 25 percent of households have abandoned POTS. It noted that some 700,000 lines are being turned off each month.

AT&T outlined steps for shutting down the PSTN and wants the FCC to swiftly follow them. AT&T's letter was in response to a public query from the FCC seeking comment on how the nation should migrate from circuit-switched networks to all-IP voice networks.

Read more: http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/t-wants-fccs-blessing-shut-down-pstn/2010-01-03#ixzz0bg30yIOC

AT&T Tells FCC It's Time to Cut the Cord

In response to a Notice of Inquiry released by the FCC to explore how to transition to a purely IP-based communications network, AT&T has declared that it's time to cut the cord. AT&T told the FCC that the death of landlines is a matter of when , not if, and asked that a firm deadline be set for pulling the plug.

AT&T said in its response to the FCC that "with each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") and plain-old telephone service ("POTS") as relics of a by-gone era."

It also stated "It makes no sense to require service providers to operate and maintain two distinct networks when technology and consumer preferences have made one of them increasingly obsolete."

Moving to VoIP

Providers like Vonage have been delivering VoIP (Voice over IP) for consumers over broadband Internet connections for years. I should know, I was one of the charter members. I haven't had an actual POTS landline for at least five years.

While my local telephone providers wanted to nickel and dime me for "features" like caller ID and voicemail, Vonage has reliably provided all-inclusive service for $24.95 for as long as I can remember.

While Vonage is still a major player in the consumer VoIP market, just about every communications entity has joined in the game now. VoIP phone services are offered as a bundled service along with broadband Internet service, and digital cable TV by major players like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T itself.

Transition to Mobile

The way wireless phone plans are set up now, it is hard to argue in favor of keeping both a mobile phone and a home phone--even a VoIP line. You can get unlimited minutes of talk time with all of the bells and whistles you can imagine--caller ID, call forwarding, etc. Many plans come with unlimited data, unlimited text messaging, and more. With all of that service in your hip pocket, do you really need a phone attached to your wall?

The number of U.S. households that have ditched the landline entirely in favor of relying solely on mobile phones doubled between 2006 and 2009. A quarter of U.S. households no longer have a landline of any kind, and that number will continue to grow.

No Dial Tone

One of the last remaining reasons for maintaining a standard POTS landline is the fact that in most cases the POTS line maintains a dial tone and the ability to make and receive calls during catastrophes and emergencies.

When Hurricane Ike hit here in the Houston area, there was no power for days, or even weeks in some areas. No power means no broadband Internet, which means VoIP phone services like Vonage don't work. No power to cell towers means no bars on your cell signal and no wireless service.

Some broadband VoIP providers have solutions to address at least short-term power outages. AT&T provides its UVerse customers with a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) battery back-up that maintains power to the broadband router at least for a while.

Emergency services, and the ability to place 911 calls have also been an issue. With a POTS landline it is easy to match a phone number with a physical address, but with broadband VoIP you could be calling from around the corner or around the world and the 911 operators can't tell. There are solutions in place for 911 calls via broadband VoIP, but users who drop landlines entirely in favor of wireless phones may have issues getting timely emergency service.

Those are issues that will have to be worked out, though. The future marches on, and it is fair for AT&T and other traditional POTS providers to want to drop the obsolete, unprofitable technology and focus their resources on the universal broadband and IP communications of tomorrow.

Snom Ends 2009 with VoIP Phones Award

VoIP phones manufacturer snom technology AG announced that it has been awarded a high accolade by The Internet Telephony (News - Alert) Services Providers' Association at its annual ITSPA Awards event.

The awards ceremony showcased the best products in the VoIP and Unified Communications (News - Alert) market. Specifically,snom was given honors in the “Most Innovative VoIP Product” category for its snom 870 phone.

The award recognizes companies that have delivered a dynamic and user-friendly product that’s proven its value in the VoIP market place, according to ITSPA. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany,snom technology AG ( News - Alert) also has an office in North Andover, Mass. The company distributes its fourth generation SIP phones through its network of authorized reseller partners in Europe, South America, Asia-Pac, Africa and Australia.

The 870 desktop phone reportedly impressed judges with its touchscreen technology and high-definition TFT color display, qualities which make the phone much more user-friendly than other models. According to snom, the 870 allows user to easily handle even complex applications like swapping of calls, or establishment of conference calls for up to five participants via simple “drag and drop.”

This year’s ITSPA Awards ceremony was held in the Strangers Dining Room at the House of Commons and was hosted by Andrew Miller MP.

“We are very proud to have received such a prestigious accolade,” Usman Tahir, product manager for snom’s 8xx VoIP phone series. “The 870 is snom’s flagship product and we put innovation at the top of our priority list when we were designing it. The 870 truly showcases everything snom has to offer in one handset and this commendation spurs us on to keep pushing the boundaries of telephony design.”

VoIP: Industry of the Decade

Say what you want about where the cool new gadgets are popping up, but according to some analysts, the 'naughts' were all about VoIP growth. According to IBISWorld, VoIP was ranked 'industry of the decade' for the decade just come to a close.

According to the IBISWorld report "in the short period [from 2002 when VoIP emerged] to 2009, revenue growth accumulated to an astronomical 179035.8%." Compared to the runners up--search engines and e-commerce--VoIP crushed the competition. Sure the wireless world has their iPhones and Androids, but they only came in 8th with just 183 percent growth.

"VoIP has skyrocketed from non-existent to a massive application targeting telecom carrier's voice revenues," says George Van Horn, senior analyst with IBISWorld in the release.

When they peered into their crystal balls, IBIS also saw VoIP as the industry of the next decade beating out retirement plans and biotech. The cost savings of VoIP technology coupled with all the opportunity to upgrade all the legacy phone systems lying around means we've got a lot more work to do in the new decade. Sounds good to us!

Read more: http://www.fiercevoip.com/story/voip-industry-decade/2010-01-03#ixzz0bg0QQ4SI

Genband to Buy Nortel's VoIP Assets

Genband, a developer of next-generation IP infrastructure solutions, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Nortel to acquire substantially all of the assets of its Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions Business (CVAS) globally, for a purchase price of $282 million and a total cost of ownership in excess of $400 million.

The proposed transaction combines Genband's next-generation access, trunking, session and security gateway technology and Nortel's widely used soft switch and application technology.

In a press release, Genband said its vision behind the acquisition will be to institute open standards, open interfaces, promote interoperability and continue to build on its global OEM business partner relationships.

Genband has teamed with one of its existing shareholders, One Equity Partners (OEP), to purchase the Nortel assets. Established in 2001, OEP manages $8 billion of investments and commitments for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in direct private equity transactions.

Los Angeles Imposes Tax on VoIP Phone Service

Los Angeles voters have imposed a 9 percent tax on Internet phone calls, known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). VoIP calls had been tax-free in the city.

Voters also enacted a 1 percentage point reduction in the tax on all other phone calls, from 10 percent to 9 percent. Most phone calls are still made over traditional wireline or wireless phones, but Internet phone service is a rapidly growing segment of the telephone market.

Measure S appeared on the February 5 ballot in Los Angeles and won by nearly a two-thirds margin. Voters were promised if they supported Measure S, the tax money would go toward police protection.

Critics of the new VoIP tax say there is no guarantee any of the money will go to police or other public safety services, as the proceeds will simply go into the city's general fund.

Tax Called Illegal

Last fall, Congress passed a seven-year extension of the federal moratorium protecting Internet access services from federal, state, and local sales or excise taxes. President George W. Bush signed the bill November 1.

Huffman said Measure S was sprung on voters with almost no notice, which bothered several taxpayer and business organizations, including VICA.

"We were disappointed at how the Los Angeles City Council placed this measure on the ballot. It came out of nowhere," said Huffman, leaving almost no time for opponents to muster arguments against it.

Huffman said association members are also upset the new VoIP tax was proposed barely two weeks after the Los Angeles City Council granted 20 to 25 percent pay raises for all city employees, making them the highest-paid city employees in California.

City officials should have simply acknowledged they needed more revenue to pay for those high salaries and benefits instead of arguing it was a matter of public safety, Huffman said.

"It's a matter of honesty," Huffman said. "They should have been upfront with us."

Public Safety Cited

Los Angeles city officials said public safety was the central issue behind Measure S.

"In the past, large cities have been able to rely on the state and federal government to assist in providing necessary funding for public safety. Today, however, the state of California and the federal government have allocated far less money to all cities and particularly to Los Angeles for public safety, education, and traffic relief, which is why Measure S is essential," said William Bratton, the city's police chief, in a guest editorial in the February 3 issue of the Los Angeles Daily News, urging voters to support the measure.

An especially annoying provision of Measure S for Huffman is the inclusion of a 50 percent tax break for telemarketers.

"Telemarketers will pay half of what everyone else will pay," Huffman said. "This offends a lot of people. If anyone should pay this tax, it's telemarketers."