Blue box

A blue box is an electronic device that generates the same tones employed by a telephone operator's dialing console to switch long-distance calls. A blue box is a tool that emerged in the 1960s and '70s; it allowed users to route their own calls by emulating the in-band signaling mechanism that then controlled switching in long distance dialing systems. The most typical use of a blue box was to place free telephone calls. A related device, the black box enabled one to receive calls which were free to the caller. The blue box no longer works in most Western nations, as modern switching systems do not use in-band signaling. Instead, signaling occurs on an out-of-band channel which cannot be accessed from the line the caller is using, a system called Common Channel Interoffice Signaling or CCIS.

History

In November 1954, the Bell System Technical Journal published an article titled "In-Band Single-Frequency Signaling" which described the process used for routing telephone calls over trunk lines with the then-current signaling system, R1. The article described the basics of the inter-office trunking system and the signalling used. This, while handy, could not be used in and of itself, as the frequencies used for the Multi-Frequency, or "MF", tones were not published in this article.

Agreement on Agriculture

The Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on January 1, 1995.

History

Origins

The idea of replacing agricultural price support with direct payments to farmers decoupled from production dates back to the late 1950s, when the twelfth session of the GATT Contracting Parties selected a Panel of Experts chaired by Gottfried Haberler to examine the effect of agricultural protectionism, fluctuating commodity prices and the failure of export earnings to keep pace with import demand in developing countries.

The 1958 Haberler Report stressed the importance of minimising the effect of agriculture subsidies on competitiveness and recommended replacing price support with direct supplementary payments not linked with production, anticipating discussion on green box subsidies. Only more recently, though, has this shift become the core of the reform of the global agricultural system.

Blue box (disambiguation)

Blue box is an early phreaking tool that simulates a telephone operator's dialing console.

Blue box may also refer to:

Technology

Entertainment

Other uses