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| FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 5, 2003 - ISSUE NO. 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dear Friends and Industry Colleagues, Greetings to everyone. I hope you had a great week and that you find lots of interesting news in this issue. The list of companies supporting this newsletter continues to grow. Our wireless messaging industry really needs a community forum like this where we all can express our ideas and opinions about the trends and technologies that will affect our future. And of course, it really helps me with the operating expenses. Please join me in thanking these FEATURED ADVERTSERS for their support and check out their products:
Several others are expected to join this list soon. Of these, one is a major manufacturer and another is an individual management consultant. * These are in the process of final management approval. In the OTHER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES section are companies that I have agreements with (some verbal and some written) to represent them as a manufacturer representative (MR), as a sales "finder" or in some cases I sell them a component part of their finished product. Each agreement is unique. If you buy something from them then somehow I get compensated. You don't have to pay any more—just standard prices. Please check out these companies as well:
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A new issue of the Paging and Wireless Data Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon Eastern US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the Internet. That way it doesn't fill up your incoming e-mail account. There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world's major paging and wireless data companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers, so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It's all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology. I regularly get reader's comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the paging, and wireless data communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work just fine. Please notify me of any problems with viewing. This site is compliant with XHTML 1.0 transitional coding for easy access from wireless devices. (XML 1.0 / ISO 8859-1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
There was a lot of interest in the Wi-Fi/IEEE 802.11/ReFLEX engineering white paper last week by Allan Angus. He has issued an update. The changes are relatively minor:
You can download a copy of the update here. If you know anyone directly involved in the development of Wi-Fi products or services, you would do a good deed by letting them know about this important paper. Please see last week's newsletter for a review of this paper, if you didn't see it last week. I'm always happy to give visibility to other groups that are working to move the paging industry forward by providing free news and information. For you software developers, there's the PTC Developer Community, a Yahoo! group of about 300 members, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PTC-PWG-DeveloperCommunity/. For those of you who are interested in the business of selling and implementing mobile data solutions, one of the companies that I represent, Outr.Net, periodically publishes a free eNewsletter, at http://www.outr.net/news.htm. Paging Technical Committee News Sun Telecom is hosting the next meeting of the PTC in Minneapolis with the subcommittee meetings on the 30th of September and the full committee meeting on the 1st of October. The hotel for the meeting is the Mall of America Grand Hotel. The phone number is 952-851-6325 and we have a room rate of $99.00 per night. Please call and book your room to be sure you get one at that rate. Tell them that you are part of the AAPC / PTC meeting. In order for lunches and refreshments to be served, please send Stephen Oshinsky an e-mail back to let him know if you will be attending either or both of the meeting dates. This will be greatly appreciated.
Source: courtesy of Stephen Oshinsky
Source: courtesy of Gagan Puranik I am preparing information on a regional paging company for sale. I hope to have the materials organized by next week. If you want to be first on the list to get information about this opportunity before it comes out in the newsletter, please drop me an e-mail by clicking here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PAGING AND WIRELESS DATA NEWS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
J.D. Power and Associates Report Wireless Customer Switching Intent is Nearly Four Times Higher Among Users Who Rate their Services Provider Below Average in Customer Care Nextel and Verizon Wireless Rank Highest in Customer Care Performance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 28, 2003 WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. —The percentage of wireless users who say they will switch service providers nearly quadruples among those who rate their carrier below average in customer care, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Wireless Customer Care Performance StudySM released today. The inaugural study provides a detailed report card of wireless customer care performance, based on customer experiences with both the service representative and automated response system (ARS). The study indicates that among those whose satisfaction with the most recent customer care transaction is below average, 26 percent report they are "definitely" or "probably" likely to switch from their current carrier in the next year—almost four times higher than for those who rate their customer care experience above average (7%). Minimizing the number of contacts needed to resolve an issue and reducing the amount of time on hold prior to speaking with a service representative are keys to a successful customer care transaction. About one-third of those who said they waited 20 minutes or more on hold indicate they will "definitely" or "probably" switch providers. Switching probability drops to 12 percent for those who waited less than 2 minutes. "It currently costs wireless providers between $300 and $425 to acquire each new customer, so the ability to retain existing subscribers is increasingly crucial in this industry," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "Wireless providers shouldn't underestimate the influence the customer care experience can have on retaining customers. In most cases, this is the only time carriers have an opportunity for personal contact with customers, and a good customer care experience can actually raise satisfaction levels and increase future loyalty above the level it was before the call to customer service." Source: J.D. Power Press Release Networking From the Rooftop MIT researchers are developing new routing strategies for a wireless network that hops data in the roofs of the city. August 29, 2003 A few weeks ago, MIT graduate student Shan Sinha canceled his broadband Internet service. Now his Net connection comes through the chimney. From a computer in the living room of his Cambridge, MA, apartment, a few blocks from the MIT campus, a cable goes into the fireplace up to the roof, where it is attached to an antenna. From there, data packets hop to another roof-mounted antenna at a nearby student’s apartment. That way, from roof to roof in multiple hops, Sinha’s data packets finally reach a gateway—a computer connected to the fixed Internet—at MIT’s computer science building. “We can’t use the fireplace,” he says, “but that’s the cost of free Internet.” Sinha’s “chimney connection” is part of MIT’s Roofnet, a project to create a self-organizing wireless network in which an amorphous, unmanaged collection of cheap Linux computers equipped with Wi-Fi cards collaborate to efficiently route data packets. Each computer and roof-mounted antenna at students’ apartments and MIT buildings is a node on the network and the arrangement in which they are connected to each other—the topology of the network—is constantly changing. “We want to understand how a whole bunch of computers with short-range radios can self-configure a network, forming order out of chaos,” says computer science professor Robert Morris, who coordinates the project. The network has now more than 30 nodes in a 4-square kilometer area surrounding the MIT campus. “We hope to reach a hundred nodes within a few months,” he says. Research groups at universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Rice, UCLA, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and at companies such as Nokia, Intel, and Microsoft are developing similar systems. In each case, data packets are routed through geographically dispersed and wirelessly connected nodes that can be fixed in a building or moving with a user or vehicle. Applications of these so-called multi-hop mesh networks include systems to connect people carrying PDAs, tanks on a battlefield, or a large number of sensors in a factory plant. And community mesh networks such as Roofnet, which are much cheaper to deploy than DSL or cable hookups, are a promising way to overcome the “last mile” barrier and bring high-speed Internet access to a large number of people, especially those who live in rural areas or other places where the infrastructure for wired broadband access is not available. Source: MIT Technology Review Lucent gets subcontract to upgrade Iraq telecom network Tuesday August 26, 2:07 AM [AFP] NEW YORK (AFP)—Lucent Technologies won a 25 million-dollar subcontract to carry out emergency repair and rehabilitation of the communications network in Iraq. The subcontract was granted through engineering firm Bechtel, which earlier this year was awarded a US government contract for infrastructure improvements in Iraq. Bechtel and Lucent said in a joint statement that as much as 80 percent of the actual deployment work will be done by Iraqi workers and engineers. The statement said that 240,000 out of 540,000 telephone lines in the Iraqi capital are out of service and that the Lucent subcontract is directed at restoring this service. "This is a milestone in the reconstruction effort being coordinated by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq," said Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's Iraq program manager. "A reliable, flexible communications system is critical to virtually all of the work we are doing to rebuild Iraq." "Lucent is honored to be part of the rebuilding of Iraq. An advanced, robust communications system is important to any country, and perhaps plays an even more vital role as a country rebuilds itself," said Phillip Rosenthall, president of Lucent Technologies Middle East and Africa. Source: Yahoo! Tech This Week's Clips From Wireless Week Study: Consumers Want PTT, Photo Messaging, Not Bluetooth Watco Wireless In Running For Iraqi License Motorola Looks To Shed Symbian Stake Nextel Founder Pushes Rebanding Effort Watco Wireless In Running For Iraqi License IEEE Adopts New 802 Standard Security firm aims to ease RFID concerns August 27, 2003, 12:40 PM PT Researchers at a major security firm have developed a blocking technique to ease privacy concerns surrounding controversial radio frequency identification technology. The labs at RSA Security on Wednesday outlined plans for a technology they call blocker tags, which are similar in size and cost to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags but disrupt the transmission of information to scanning devices and thwart the collection of data. The technique, one of few RFID-blocking technologies being worked on by researchers, is still a concept in the labs. But the next step is to develop prototype chips and see if manufacturers are interested in making the processors, according to Ari Juels, a principal research scientist with RSA Laboratories. Blocker and RFID tags are about the size of a grain of sand and cost around 10 cents. RFID technology uses microchips to wirelessly transmit product serial numbers to a scanner without the need for human intervention. While the technology is potentially useful in improving supply chain management and preventing theft in stores, consumer privacy groups have voiced concerns about possible abuses of the technology if product-tracking tags are allowed to follow people from stores into their homes. Many retailers view RFID as an eventual successor to the bar-code inventory tracking system, because it promises to cut distribution costs for manufacturers and improve retailing margins. Source: c|net news.com Broadcom: One-Chip Wonder? 08.29.03 Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM—message board ) is preparing single-chip 802.11b (11-Mbit/s over 2.4GHz), and 802.11g (54-Mbit/s over 2.4GHz) products that might be the subject of a September 9 publicity blitz. That is, Broadcom is making a big, big deal out of it, with a 30-minute public Webcast planned for September 9. A spokeswoman wouldn't confirm or deny whether or not the event has anything to do with single-chip products. We do know Broadcom is developing single-chip 802.11 products, though. For one, acting CEO Alan E. "Lanny" Ross has said so during conference calls with analysts, and multiple sources have confirmed that work on shrinking the silicon is in progress. More importantly, Broadcom has to do this, just as birds gotta fly and fish gotta swim. Chip designers continually try to squash more functions into smaller spaces, and Broadcom prides itself on having the expertise to glom multiple pieces of silicon into one. And—guess what—its current 802.11 offering consists of two chips. Source: UNSTRUNG
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| FEATURED ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER | ||||||||
 AAPC’s Mission Statement Defines Purpose
Our industry must move forward together or perish individually. If you want to get involved, please click here. Come and join us! Their "newsroom" is a great source of information. They also host the Paging Technical Committee site. There is a lot of good paging-industry information here. Click on the logo above to find out about joining. |
Sophisticated And Affordable
The Zetron 2000 Series Paging Terminals are designed for the paging operator needing a flexible, modular approach to system operation, with the capacity to expand to a region-wide or national network. The terminals are incrementally expandable in both capacity and options. The 2000 Series can act as the hub of an integrated communications system and are suitable for the larger private paging system. The terminals are incrementally expandable in both capacity and options, so a system can start small and grow as required. The terminals are available with advanced features such as PageSaver voice messaging. They connect with a wide range of PBX or PSTN equipment and can be integrated with security systems, monitoring and control systems, nurse call, product control, building management systems etc. www.zetron.com/paging. | |||||||
 ISC Technologies is the industry leader in the pre-owned Paging equipment marketplace. We specialize in purchasing, reconditioning, reconfiguring and sales of quality paging infrastructure. We can customize and configure equipment at a fraction of the cost of new. All equipment carries a standard warranty to insure your trouble free operation. At ISC Technologies we service what we sell and more. Our factory-trained technicians repair most Quintron, Glenayre, Motorola, and Skydata equipment. All of our repairs are done on a Time and Material basis, saving you money over flat rate repair. From vacuum tubes to surface mount equipment, we are ready to handle your repair needs quickly and cost effectively.
Web: www.4isctech.com |  Wireless Communication Solutions The Hark ISI-400LX is a hardware device that encapsulates serial data into TCP/IP for transmission over the Internet. It can also be configured to convert incoming TAP messages from the serial port and send them over the Internet to paging providers in email (SMTP) or Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP) format. The ISI-400LX with the optional external modem can connect to a secondary dial-up ISP when a failure on the ethernet port is detected.
This device is the perfect companion for the Hark Gateway products. An ISI can be located at a remote location for receiving TAP, TNPP, or Billing traffic using a local ISP eliminating long distance phone charges.
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 ProfitPlus by Netflow—the software that streamlines pager billing and system maintenance. ProfitPlus interfaces to your Zetron terminals allowing easy changes to pager settings and billable services. Zetron Interface: Multiple Zetron Series 2000 terminals supported. Default pager settings. Terminal/phone number association. Future activation/deactivation dates. Easy group maintenance. Automatic Billing Records: Point of Sale transaction automatically enters pager airtime into monthly billing cycle. Contract pricing. Recurring and one-time billing capabilities. Tracking: Agent commissions. Phone number inventory/analysis. Product inventory transfer from stockroom to sales locations to customer. Capcode usage reports. Duplicate capcode detection.
Contact Netflow, Inc at: 800-236-5861 | 
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Supports both current and future radio paging network needs. Offers both analog (2-tone, 5/6-tone, Quick-Call I and II) formats with voice and digital (Golay, POCSAG and FLEX™) paging formats. Can be tailored to meet special operating requirements of your organization. Features redundant AC and DC power supplies, plug-in hard disk drives, standard MS Windows 2000 operating system, voice prompts, caller password screening, direct connection to your dispatch console and more. You can use common time source for logging. Supports PURC transmitter control or can be connected to existing transmitter control system. Redundancy option with geographic separation is available to provide additional protection for critical message control points. Let us discuss your specific needs. Other PMG models are available with more features and capacities. Also inquire about TGA’s Special Network Application Platform (SNAP)* featuring e-mail messaging inbound and outbound with Web Site Hosting, and don't forget:
* TGA SNAP is a trademark of TGA Technologies, Inc. |
Developers and Manufacturers of Paging and Mobile Data Equipment Selective is a developer and manufacturer of intelligent paging receiver/decoders and mobile data equipment. The PDT2000 Paging Data Terminal is a large display pager designed for desktop or in-vehicle mounting and it, along with our range of other Paging Data Receivers provide a significant message processing capability. The PDT and PDR range have multiple uses and capabilities including:
Our mobile data equipment includes a range of Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) which may be interfaced to a variety of wireless networks including trunked and conventional radio, paging, GPRS & CDMA cellular, Mobitex etc. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and GPS solutions, Dispatch & Messaging software. Local area paging systems, paging interception and message reprocessing software, field force automation and mobile dispatch solutions. We export worldwide.
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Coming soon.
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Coming soon.
|  TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS Salcom's synthesized UHF and VHF transmitters, receivers and transceivers are utilized in many areas of the telecommunications industry, often in conjunction with Salcom signalling products. To realize additional market segments for the RF products, specialized OEM products have been developed utilizing the standard core technology. Most of these products are utilized in third party telecommunications and telemetry systems. PAGING EQUIPMENT EMERGENCY TRANSCEIVER SEA AIR AND LAND COMMUNICATIONS LTD | |||||||
Coming soon. | ||||||||
Your company's logo and product promotion can appear right here for 6 months. It only costs $400 for 26 issues—that's $15.38 an issue. | Would You Like To Advertise Here? If you have any wireless equipment that you would like to buy or sell, please let me know. I don't charge individuals for listing something for sale. If a sale is made through this newsletter, I ask the seller to send me a 10% commission, much the same as the voluntary payments that are requested on the Internet for shareware. It's on the honor system. There is no cost to the buyer. There is a small charge for companies wanting to put their products in the newsletter and on my web site. There is no obligation for payment of a commission for this kind of basic advertising. I would be very pleased, however, to get involved in the sales process as a manufacturer representative—for quality wireless products and reputable companies. It's only $15.38 per issue for the basic advertising package. ($400 for 6 months or 26 issues.) Details about the advertising plans can be read here. | |||||||
| OTHER PAGING AND WIRELESS DATA PRODUCTS AND SERVICES | ||||||||||||||||
Two-way Radio Products
| Radio Paging Transmitters
VHF PAGING TRANSMITTER
To request pricing and delivery information for the PTX-150, please click here. You can check out their paging products here. | |||||||||||||||
| Wireless Automation & Telemetry Check out the following four categories of two-way wireless data communications. We have the ability to customize solutions to meet your (or your customer's) needs.
To visit their web site for more information, click here. |
CUSTOM APPLICATIONS
If you see someone in the field (like salespeople, technicians, and delivery people) using paper forms, their company could probably save a pile of money, and get much better timeliness, accuracy and efficiency, by using converting to Outr.Net's Wireless Forms. Custom applications for as little as $995, delivered in just a few days. Outr.Net has a web page on Wireless Forms for Timeports at: http://www.outr.net/overnight_pw.htm Their latest newsletter is: "Crossing the Chasm" with Mobile Data http://www.outr.net/newsletter_chasm.htm Please call me so we can discuss your need or your idea. | |||||||||||||||
Unication Co., Ltd. Introducing the new line of 802.11b products Quantity—1,000 minimum each item—per order
These are wholesale, direct-from-the-factory products. To send me an e-mail for pricing information please click here. | Sea Air & Land Communications Ltd. Designers and Manufacturers of Communications Systems You can check out their web site here. | |||||||||||||||
Legacy Technology Solutions LLC
Paging infrastructure repair with warranty. Please ask for Virgil Jarrard, President, and tell him Brad Dye sent you. They are located in the Dallas suburbs, and they occasionally have some good deals on reconditioned paging equipment as well. Check with them for current product availability. You can send Virgil an e-mail by clicking here. | ||||||||||||||||
The Ambient Orb
Now in stock at your local Brookstone store Green... the market's up. Yellow... unchanged. Red... stocks are down. Know your financial position at a glance. The Orb slowly transitions between thousands of colors in response to stock market activity. Pre-configured to track the Dow, it can also be set up to mirror NASDAQ, S&P 500 or your individual portfolio. You don't need a PC or an Internet connection. Just plug the Orb into a standard outlet, and you're instantly tapped into the pulse of the market. There are no monthly service charges for the basic service, and it only costs $150.00! Mirrors more than markets As an alternative to tracking stocks, the Orb can be customized to respond to weather conditions, pollen levels, or even the Homeland Security Channel. This is a Wireless Data receiver that receives its market updates over the WebLink Wireless nationwide paging system. It should work just fine in most major populated areas in the United States. | ||||||||||||||||
Used Pagers For Sale
Motorola Bravo Plus (numeric) units:
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Wireless Messaging Software InfoRad® Wireless Office (Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP) is designed for the professional who needs full-featured wireless messaging capabilities. Features include enhanced user interface, message log with search function, scheduled paging, group and individual message addresses, TAPI Smart™, multiple protocol SMS communication compatibility. AlphaCare™ support services available. With a 32-bit architecture, InfoRad Wireless Office is designed for compatibility with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. For more information on InfoRad Wireless Messaging software, and a free demo, please click on the logo. | ||||||||||||||||
| UNTIL NEXT WEEK | ||||||||||||||||
Please help spread the word by telling a friend or coworker about this newsletter. Remember it's free with no strings attached. All anyone has to do to subscribe, is to send me an e-mail with their first and last names and say "sign me up," that's there is to it. Photography is one of my hobbies and has been for many years. If you would like to see some of my latest shots just click here. Have a great weekend!
FLEX, ReFLEX, FLEXsuite, and InFLEXion, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||
| UNTIL NEXT WEEK | ||||||||||||||||
("SPAM-proof" e-mail
image.)
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE
TWO-WAY PAGING
For over 55 years, RELM has manufactured and marketed two-way FM business-band radios as well as high-specification public safety mobile and portable radios, repeaters and accessories, base station components and subsystems. Products are manufactured and distributed worldwide under RELM Communications, Uniden PRC and BK Radio brand names. 
Distribution agreements for Dealers and Stocking Distributors are available in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. 
If you have the ability to sell and service two-way radio equipment and would like to represent Uniden PRC, BK Radio, and RELM Wireless, please let me know as soon as possible. This is a unique opportunity. Requests for other countries will also be considered. Please call me today. 
