Dear Wireless Colleagues and other Friends,

Rumors that Cingular would eventually sell or shut down its Mobitex network have been going around for quite a while. This week there is a news clip saying they are cutting jobs in their Mobitex business unit. No specifics were given.

More news this week on the possibility of an AT&T Wireless merger or acquisition.

There are two important legal issues that affect paging this week. The first is that the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is forcing the FCC to reconsider their ruling making our friends at Mountain Communications pay Qwest Communications a bunch of money for trumped-up telephone interconnect charges. The court called the FCC's action "arbitrary and capricious." Vic Jackson wrote an exclusive guest-editorial opinion for us and he calls it a "Big Win for wireless at the DC Court of Appeals." His article follows.

The other issue is a "pleading" to the FCC, by our friends at ASAP Paging in Texas, to rule on a similar issue where a local telephone company is trying to price them right out of business. A Public Order from the FCC is reprinted below and it contains instructions about how we can all file comments on this issue. I urge you to read it carefully, and if you want to help out ASAP Paging and our paging industry in general, go ahead and file your comments. I know ASAP Paging—these are good people and they need our help. The nice thing about being an American is that we are all entitled to express our opinions to our government, and if they don't do what we want them to, we elect a different political party and then try again. It may not be a perfect system, but is sure beats the ones where you can't even express your ideas and opinions without going to jail—or worse.

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. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my website.

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)

The Paging and Telephone Answering industries would never have amounted to much in this country had it not been for some high-principled individuals who said "we are not going to stand for this" and fought for their rights (and ours) to connect private equipment to the public telephone network.

Some may remember a time when the American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) Company had a monopoly on the manufacture of all telephone equipment installed on a customer's premises. Many in the industry know full well that they would not be in business right now had the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not handed down the Carterfone decision of 1968, allowing non-telephone company devices that are "privately beneficial" and not "publicly harmful" to be connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), commencing the deregulation of the telecom equipment market. Tom Carter, a determined Texas businessman, is the reason for that decision. He fought for and won the rights for end users to choose and install privately owned telephone equipment.

Source: TIA PulseOnline

Here is your chance to do something to help save paging—what's left of it. Remind the FCC that the paging industry supplies an important service to millions of people and tell them that continued overcharging by the telephone companies will put us all out of business. What am I saying, "will?" I haven't had a regular job in over two years. It has already happened to me.

I have come across an outstanding article on one of my favorite topics, Remote Monitoring and Control via wireless. The author is Marv Serhan, the Vice President of Business Development for Satellite Security Systems, Inc, a San Diego company involved in monitoring, tracking, and control of fixed and mobile assets. I am very pleased to reprint this article in its entirety, with the permission of both its author and its publisher. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Here is a news clip that I missed when it came out last October:

SAN DIEGO – October 31, 2003 — Satellite Security Systems (S3), a global provider of asset security and logistics control, in cooperation with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and InterState Oil Company, dramatically demonstrated the first wireless remote shutdown of a fully loaded moving petrochemical tanker truck.

From S3's headquarters in San Diego – 530 miles from the demonstration site – satellite communications were used to disable the truck in seconds, proving S3's GlobalGuard™ and FleetGuard™ a viable solution to the challenge of controlling rogue hazardous waste vehicles that could pose a threat to homeland security.

The event, conducted on CHP Academy grounds in Sacramento and administered by the CHP, addresses ongoing concerns about the affordability of effective security technology, stealthiness of such a security device, and how GPS monitoring can be incorporated safely into law enforcement protocol.  

The need to secure trucks carrying hazardous-waste or petrochemical products is of paramount concern. . .

Source: S3 Press Release

Cingular cuts jobs in Mobitex division

Jan. 16, 2004 1:13 PM EST

Cingular Wireless is cutting jobs in its Mobitex business, although the carrier declined to provide specifics.

Cingular said it is cutting a "minimal" number of jobs in its Cingular Interactive division, which runs its slower-speed Mobitex data-only network. Cingular said the job cuts will be achieved through attrition or placing employees in other roles within the company. Cingular declined to provide a current headcount for its Cingular Interactive business or a percentage of jobs cut.

"Like any major company, Cingular often reviews its regional operations and business units performance to make adjustments as necessary," said Jennifer Bowcock, director of Cingular's media relations. "These adjustments can include a variety of actions, including reducing the number of jobs."

Bowcock said Cingular has no plans for companywide layoffs.

In other Mobitex news, the board of the Mobitex Operators Association decided that the organization would revert back to a volunteer staffing structure. Jack Barse, formerly the group's paid executive director, was replaced by Kevin Swann, sales and marketing director for CML Microcircuits in the United Kingdom, who will serve as the MOA's chairman of the board. Charles Nelson, president of Cingular Interactive, is an MOA board member.

Barse said the MOA will continue its work to promote Mobitex networks worldwide. The group was previously a volunteer organization.

Mobitex is a data-only network supporting speeds of around 20 kilobits per second. Cingular said its Mobitex network covers 93 percent of the urban business population in the United States and provides good in-building coverage and device battery life. Although Cingular Interactive does not provide subscriber numbers, those in the industry estimate the carrier’s Mobitex subscriber base to be around 800,000, about 400,000 of which are BlackBerry wireless e-mail users from Research In Motion Ltd.

Rumors that Cingular will eventually sell or shut down its Mobitex network have long circulated in the industry, especially due to the carrier's GPRS and EDGE network buildouts. Further, other wireless carriers have withdrawn from a similar data-only network technology, CDPD. AT&T Wireless Services Inc. plans to shut down its CDPD network this year, while Verizon Wireless plans to shut down its CDPD network by the end of next year. Both AT&T Wireless and Verizon are working to move their CDPD customers to newer, faster network technologies.

Source: RCR Wireless News

Cingular Steps Up AT&T Wireless Courting

Tue January 20, 2004 07:22 PM

PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless has made an overture to buy smaller rival AT&T Wireless Services Inc., but the No. 3 U.S. wireless telephone company is likely to set up a formal process to collect bids from several suitors, sources close to the situation said on Tuesday.

Cingular outlined its all-cash proposal to AT&T Wireless officials before a scheduled two-day meeting of that company's board that began on Monday but thus far has yet to put an offer in writing, one source said.

The proposal, which was likely to be slightly richer than AT&T Wireless's current market capitalization of about $27 billion, was more of an enticement to step up talks and to edge out rivals who have shown preliminary interest, the source said.

"There's a preliminary valuation floating around. But that's more of a lure to get serious on talks rather than a hard and fast offer," said the source, who declined to disclose that valuation.

Shares of AT&T Wireless closed up 4 percent, hitting a level not seen since early 2002.

Sources were divided on the firmness of a Cingular offer. A person familiar with the situation told Reuters earlier in the day that Cingular had made a formal offer, but that source could not be immediately reached later in the day to clarify those comments.

Enough carriers have expressed interest in the company — including Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc. — that AT&T Wireless' board is likely to set a deadline when formal bids could be submitted for consideration, several sources said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that NTT Docomo, which already owns 16 percent of AT&T Wireless, also outlined a bid for the company. The Japanese company sketched out other scenarios, as well, such as what role it would play if another company bought AT&T Wireless, the newspaper reported.

NTT Docomo must grant its blessing for any other carrier to acquire more than 15 percent of AT&T Wireless, according to regulatory filings.

An acquisition of AT&T Wireless would set in motion long-awaited consolidation in the crowded U.S. wireless industry, which has seen slowing subscriber growth and cutthroat competition among the six national companies.

Source: Reuters

Court orders FCC to fix paging interconnection rules January 21, 2004 By Vic Jackson, Interconnection Services, Inc. Big Win For Wireless at the DC Court of Appeals

On Friday, January 16, 2004, the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision in Mountain Communications, Inc. versus the Federal Communications Commission (No. 02-1255) in which the Court declared that a major portion of the FCC’s July 25, 2002 Order in Mountain Communications, Inc. versus Qwest Communications International, Inc. (FCC 02-220) was "arbitrary and capricious." In their 2002 decision the FCC ordered Mountain to pay Qwest for what Qwest described as "dedicated toll facilities" that delivered calls from Walsenburg and Colorado Springs, Colorado to Mountain's point of interconnection with Qwest in Pueblo, Colorado. In June 2000, the FCC had ruled in a similar situation involving TSR Wireless and Qwest that TSR did not have to pay for similar trunk facilities. The DC Court decision means that the FCC must re-consider their Mountain vs Qwest Order and conform it to the Court's decision.

Mountain Communications is a small paging and telecommunications carrier located in Pueblo, Colorado, but this dispute involved all paging and cellular carriers in the USA. If the FCC's decision in the Mountain case had not been reversed, the landline local telephone companies would have collectively been able to bill millions of dollars per month in facility charges for the, so called, "dedicated toll facilities" that in reality are simply part of the landline telephone local networks.

Vic Jackson's e-mail address:

Another report : RCR Wireless News

FCC PUBLIC NOTICE [reprint]

DA 04-92
Released: January 20, 2004

PLEADING CYCLE ESTABLISHED FOR PETITION OF ASAP PAGING, INC. FOR PREEMPTION OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS CONCERNING RETAIL RATING OF LOCAL CALLS TO CMRS CARRIERS

WC Docket No. 04-6

COMMENTS DUE: March 23, 2004
REPLY COMMENTS DUE: April 23, 2004

On December 22, 3003, ASAP Paging, Inc. (ASAP) filed a petition requesting that the Commission preempt an order of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (Texas Commission), certain provisions of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), and certain Texas Commission substantive rules. ASAP states that, on April 1, 2002, CenturyTel of San Marcos, Inc. (CenturyTel), an incumbent LEC, changed its switch translations so that end-users attempting to dial ASAP customers were required to dial 1+ and assessed intraLATA toll charges by CenturyTel. ASAP filed a complaint with the Texas Commission asking it to order CenturyTel to stop requiring its users to dial 1+ and pay toll charges in order to reach ASAP NXXs in rate centers that are "local" to the San Marcos rate center.

The Texas Commission issued an order dated October 9, 2003, denying the relief requested by ASAP Paging. According to the petition, the Texas Commission ruled that CenturyTel can require its end-users to dial 1+ and pay retail rated toll charges when they call a number that ASAP obtained from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator and associated with rate centers that are "local" to the San Marcos rate center. The Texas Commission found that the physical location of the CMRS customer at the time of the call is determinative for retail rating purposes. Because CMRS customers are mobile and their physical location cannot be readily determined for retail rating purposes, the Texas Commission decided to use ASAP's switch site as a proxy for the customer's physical location. Given that ASAP's switch was located, outside the local calling area that includes San Marcos, the Texas Commission found that CenturyTel could require 1+ dialing and impose toll charges for calls to ASAP's customers.

ASAP requests that this Commission preempt the Texas Commission order dated October 9, 3003 in PUC Docket No. 25673 because the order: (1) deprives ASAP and consumers of several rights related to CMRS that are guaranteed by federal law; (2) confuses the essential distinctions between retail rating and wholesale carrier compensation; (3) misconstrues the character of expanded local calling service (ELCS) and the duties of incumbent LECs servicing an ELCS area; and (4) errs in its conclusions concerning state regulatory authority over the service that ASAP provides to its Internet service provider customers.

ASAP also seeks preemption of certain provisions of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act and Texas Commission substantive rules that address the creation of ELCS because their application in the order cannot be reconciled with prevailing federal law. ASAP requests that the Commission require the Texas Commission and CenturyTel to "honor federal law as it pertains to retail rated local calling to CMRS users with numbers that are 'local' to the landline user." ASAP also seeks an order preempting the Texas Commission’s attempt to require ASAP to submit to state regulation for an interstate service.

Interested parties may file comments on or before March 23, 2004, and reply comments on or before April 23, 2004. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies.

Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission must be filed. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and should include the following words in the body of the message, "get form." A sample form and directions will be sent in reply. Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each filing.

Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail).

The Commission's contractor, Natek, Inc., will receive hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building.

Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.

U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.

All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.

Parties are strongly encouraged to file comments electronically using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). Parties are also requested to send a courtesy copy of their comments via e-mail to victoria.schlesinger@fcc.gov.

Two (2) copies of the comments and reply comments should also be sent to Chief, Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 5-A221, Washington, D.C. 20554. Parties shall also serve one copy with Qualex International, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202) 863-2893, or via e-mail to <qualexint@aol.com>.

Documents in WC Docket No. 04-6, including the ASAP Paging Petition, are available for public inspection and copying during business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th St. SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The documents may also be purchased from Qualex International, telephone (202) 863-2893, facsimile (202) 863-2898.

This matter shall be treated as a "permit-but-disclose" proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentations must contain summaries of the substance of the presentations and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and arguments presented generally is required. Other rules pertaining to oral and written ex parte presentations in permit-but-disclose proceedings are set forth in section 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules.

For further information, contact Victoria Schlesinger of the Pricing Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-7353.

- FCC -
[reprint]

Motorola Introduces Two New Pagers Ideal for Health Care, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Utilities Markets

Motorola's newest one-way pagers—the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager—are ideal for users in demanding business environments who need a convenient and cost effective way to stay in touch.

Both the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager were developed for use in hospitals and medical facilities, manufacturing environments, utilities, hospitality applications, campus settings, and for businesses that own and operate their own paging systems.

The Advisor II pager's alphanumeric four-line display and expanded functionality incorporate many of the most advanced paging features available. A major advantage of the Advisor II pager is that it is synthesized which enables the user to program the pager to a specific frequency in the field. Other features of the Advisor II pager include:

• Displays up to four lines of text and 80 characters per line
• Zooms in on two lines for larger view
• Optimax® EL Electra Light for optimum readability
• 52 message slots for storing multiple pages
• Two notebook areas, including a personal notebook and a mail drop notebook

The LS355 numeric pager enables users to receive a "call-back" number that can be returned at the user's convenience. This pager has a one-button design for ease of use. Features of the new LS355 pager include:

• 16 message slots for storing multiple pages
• Six individual addresses to allow the user to receive individual or group pages
• 4 icons including Message Preview, Unread Message Indication, Alert Mode, and Out of Range Indication
• Saves messages when off or when the battery is being changed and offers the time and date when on standby
• RS232 programmable to allow for programming changes in the field

Both the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager are available in POCSAG, UHF or VHF models and ship with a one-year standard warranty. As part of the continued support of these pagers, Motorola offers a two-year Express Service Plus program. This feature provides hardware repair coverage for two years beyond the standard one-year warranty for a total of three years of pager repair coverage. Both pagers are available through Motorola Authorized Resellers.

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2003.

NEWSLETTER POSTER OPTIONS
small: $3.85/week	medium: $7.70/week
large: $11.54/week
extra large: $15.38/week
A poster size to fit every budget.

For more information on advertising click here.

Paging Training Course

Specially Designed for Sales, Marketing, and Administration employees.

This is a one-day training course on paging that can be conducted at your place of business. Please take a look at the course outline to see if you think this might be beneficial in your employees: Paging training course outline.

Although it touches on several "technical" topics, it is definitely not a technical course. I used to teach the sales and marketing people at Motorola Paging and they appreciated an atmosphere where they could ask technical questions without being made to feel like a "dummy" and without getting a long convoluted overly-technical answer that left them more confused than before.

two tone pager
QUATTRINO RE529

• Reliable operation
• Flexible programming
• Weather resistant

A fast and reliable alarming system is an indisputable prerequisite for emergency fire and rescue services to respond successfully and efficiently. State-of-the-art paging enables groups as well as individuals to be alerted.

The Quattrino Voice and Memo two tone pagers are suitable for everyone, even for those working in an emergency during severe weather conditions. Continual further development of previous popular models has resulted in a practical, reliable and user-friendly device, innovatively housed with ergonomic operating controls. Design elements include a very long standby function and weather proofing to the European IP54 specifications.

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for Swissphone. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

Advanced RF Communications offers a complete line of products and services to support your new or existing paging system. Our RF and System engineering team utilizes the latest technologies and techniques to deliver reliable high-speed digital data messaging or tone/voice paging for local or wide area simulcast one-way or two-way paging systems.

Advanced RF Communications is a proud sponsor of the:

American Association of Paging Carriers

Our System design and installation services integrate all the "boxes" and deliver fully operational one or two-way paging "system". We can also "tune-up" that existing paging system with our diagnostic and troubleshooting services to restore System performance that has deteriorated over time.

CONTACT

Advanced RF Communications, Inc. 301 Oak Street—Suite 2-46A Quincy, IL 62301 USA

For further information please contact: Fred Pakosta or Jim Neves

Telephone/Fax: 217-221-9500 E-mail: sales@advancedrf.biz CLICK Web: www.advancedrf.biz CLICK

Need a good paging engineer?

Jason Loefer is looking for a job.

Download his resumé here.

Authentium's COMMAND Antivirus™

COMMAND Antivirus™ is used by leading education institutions, Fortune 500 companies and government agencies for one simple reason - it works. Based on the proven F-Prot engine and developed continuously over a period of more than ten years, COMMAND Antivirus™ deploys more easily, detects more viruses (and potential viruses), handles more file extensions, and returns fewer false positives than competing antivirus products.

Authentium's new representative for Mexico:

Enrique Llaca
Llacom, SA de CV
Mexico City
Telephone: 011 52 55 53734241

Enrique Llaca CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL

Advertise Here

Your company's logo and product promotion can appear right here for 6 months. It only costs $500 for a full-size ad in 26 issues—that's $19.23 an issue.

Details about the NEW 2004 advertising plans can be read here.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

AAPC’s Mission Statement Defines Purpose

• Identifying issues of common concern to its members
• Providing an effective forum for the discussion and progression of issues relating to the industry
• Monitoring and addressing regulatory and legal matters as a unified organization
• Providing research into and development of our industry and its current and prospective markets
• Providing education and resources to address the challenges and trends affecting our operating environments
• Encouraging and maintaining high standards of ethics and services
• Championing the industry and representing paging carriers with a positive voice

Our industry must move forward together or we will perish individually. If you want to get involved, please click here. Come and join us!

The AAPC "newsroom" is a great source of information.

The AAPC also hosts the Paging Technical Committee site. There is a lot of good paging industry information here.

Click on the logo above to get a membership application.

Coming Soon

Prism Systems International, Inc.
300 Colonial Center Parkway,
Suite 100
Roswell, Georgia 30076
Tel: 678-353-3366

Wireless Communication Solutions

Hark Systems has provided the wireless industry with innovative products for over 20 years. The Omega family of products continues that tradition.

The Omega Gateway performs the function of a TAP Concentrator, a TNPP Router, and an Internet Paging Gateway. This allows the paging operator with TAP and TNPP connections to their paging network to offer e-mail and Internet based paging services. Any message coming in via any supported protocol (SMTP, SNPP, TAP, TNPP, HTTP) can be converted to another protocol and sent. Pages can also be sent to e-mail boxes for safe keeping. Subscribers can log on with a web browser and view stored alpha messages. The TNPP router function has the most extensive routing and filtering capabilities in the market today. The Internet Gateway also has extensive anti-SPAM and other selective filtering options to protect your system. The Gateway is available as a turnkey system or software only.

The Omega Unified Messaging Platform gives you the competitive edge by offering the ability to bundle a variety of services that can include Voicemail, FAXmail and e-mail as part of customized subscriber packages. Subscribers can view faxes, listen to voicemails, and modify features using a common browser. System administration can also be performed remotely as well as locally. This robust set of features allows the system operator to build a profit center with low initial expense and expand as needed

CONTACT

Hark Systems, Inc. 2675 Lake Park Drive N. Charleston, SC 29406

Tel: +1 800-367-4275 or 843-764-1560 ext. 8104 Fax: +1 843-764-3692 E-mail: leanne@harksystems.com CLICK Web: http://www.harksystems.com CLICK

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.

CONTACTS

Chris Kephart 888-645-7545 972-221-4528 ckephart@mckcom.com CLICK

Ken Knapp 888-223-4028 217-221-0985 kknapp@4isctech.com CLICK

Web: www.4isctech.com CLICK

• ISO 9001 - 2000 certified manufacturing facility.
• THE High-Quality RF design and Contract Manufacturer of choice.
• Do you have a product or product component that you would like to have manufactured?
• Would you like to have us design and manufacture a product just for you?
• Would you like to know firsthand that your contract manufacturer is one of the leading providers of service with the highest degree of quality in mind?

Daviscomms USA Inc. is your direct connection to Daviscomms (S) Pte Ltd., the leading pager manufacturer in the world with many years experience in Engineering, Design, and Manufacturing of highly-reliable, premium-quality FLEX and POCSAG Alphanumeric and Numeric pagers. Daviscomms offers unparalleled quality, features and functions. We perform our own stringent quality testing as well as certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to meet all of their standards. All of our paging products meet FCC and IC Standards for use in the USA and Canada.

Our manufacturing facility, located in Malaysia, is a 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility. Customers, globally, choose Daviscomms for our QUALITY, RELIABILITY, ON-TIME DELIVERY, COMPETITIVE PRICING and our TOTAL COMMITMENT to providing the best value for their needs.

TMR w/BNC Telemetry	We offer full product support (ODM/OEM) for our worldwide customers, including a complete design center, research facilities, proto-typing, field services, contract manufacturing, commodity sourcing, and distribution.
In addition to both Numeric and Alphanumeric pagers, we have designed, engineered and manufactured 1-way Telemetry devices, paging receivers, 2-way paging (ReFLEX) telemetry devices, DECT phones/devices and PDA accessories.	Bravo 500 Side Mount Numeric

At Daviscomms, we are proud to provide our customers with end-to-end manufacturing solutions while delivering superior quality and support. Daviscomms is at the forefront of the industry with its commitment to leading-edge technology, cost-effective manufacturing and the highest degree of customer service.

Daviscomms delivers low cost, high volume manufacturing solutions to our customers. We help maximize time-to-market objectives while minimizing procurement, materials management, and manufacturing costs.

For information about our contract manufacturing services or our Bravo-branded line of numeric and alphanumeric pagers, please call Bob Popow, our Director of Operations for the Americas, 480-515-2344. (Scottsdale, Arizona) or visit our website www.daviscommsusa.com.

Programming Concepts, Inc. Since 1979

RTS Wireless ADVX System
Support and Enhancements

Programming Concepts, Inc. provides authorized RTS ADVX Wireless Gateway Support & Enhancements. Our RTS lab includes source code control, development tools, and test beds for all deployed RTS systems. Call now to sign-up for our first class support of your aging RTS system. More info ...

PCI (www.programmingconcepts.com) has been in business for 24 years providing custom application programming for medium to large businesses. PCI's primary business segments include web enabled application development, financial industry systems, telephony (IVR, CTI, and Wireless), Secure Enterprise Instant Messaging System, Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (MS-CRM) Applications, and a wide variety of commercial applications.

Contact Sales sales@programmingconcepts.com
or 631-563-3800 x220.

DX Radio Systems

DX Radio Systems, Inc. manufactures high quality, high specification type communications products. The following is a list of products that DX Radio Systems, Inc. manufactures or supplies as a single supplied product and can be included as part of a turnkey system:

Performance that is tough to find anywhere at a price you can afford.

CONTACT

DX Radio Systems, Inc. 10941 Pendleton Street Sun Valley, California 91352-1522 USA

Telephone: 818-252-6700 Fax: 818-252-6711 E-mail: Info@DXRadioSystems.com CLICK Web: www.dxradiosystems.com CLICK

REMOTE MONITORING & CONTROL SERVICE BUREAU; AN END-TO-END SOLUTION

Marvin T. Serhan, CEM

ABSTRACT
Utilities as well as Commercial and Industrial (C&I) customers today have an enormous challenge to remain aware of various energy, natural gas, water, wastewater or environmental details for their many geographically dispersed locations. With large numbers of locations under the supervision of one organization, the costs to obtain readings at each location can be quite high. In addition, benefit is gained by reducing the time required to gather data readings from all locations and assemble them into information that can be used by utilities and C&I customers to make decisions that improve operational efficiency and business results. One solution to this challenge is through the use of a Service Bureau that provides an end-to-end solution for monitoring and control.

INTRODUCTION
In today’s environment, many Utilities and their customers are faced with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of locations that require some level of monitoring. This information, once collected, is used for generating reports to help reduce operating costs. Examples of how this data is used include graphing the profile of energy consumption over time, monitoring the performance of remote energy distribution system hardware/circuitry, developing energy load curtailment/demand response programs, or logging and reporting environmental data from remote water reservoirs and dams. Any anomalies that may develop in these widely dispersed and/or distant regions could impact the efficiency and reliability of a corporate-wide monitoring and oversight program.

WHAT IS A SERVICE BUREAU MONITORING & CONTROL SOLUTION?
A Service Bureau Monitoring & Control Solution (M&CS) is an end-to-end management system that collects, transmits, and processes data as well as controls equipment at multiple locations in near real-time. For utilities and commercial/industrial customers requiring insight about their energy, gas, water or wastewater operations, and critical equipment status, the M&CS provides near real-time access to information via the Internet. An effective M&CS Service Bureau solution will include a variety of hardware and communications options to meet dynamic and unique operational business requirements some of which are listed in Table 1.

Table 1: Monitoring & Control Applications

HOW IS DATA COLLECTED AND FORWARDED TO THE DATA CENTER?
Data collection is provided through three forms of public communications providers (paging, satellite, or dial-up telephone), each with an appropriate communications fee for gathering the information over these networks. The same procedures can be followed using private radio platforms, allowing customers to instrument points and gather data over their existing private radio networks. Please see Figure 1 for a graphical representation of the communications architecture focused on a Motorola ReFLEX™ communications protocol that can accommodate both mobile and/or fixed point monitoring and control operations.

Figure 1: Monitoring & Control System Architecture (Source S3)

Wireless communication technology has expanded the reach of the M&CS Service Bureau approach. Data collection and remote monitoring of customer meters is possible through use of a family of Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) that interface with low earth orbit satellites, terrestrial 2-way paging systems or private RF networks. Please see Figure 2, which illustrates examples of 2-way paging RTUs. Once collected, information from an RTU is sent over one of several data communications networks (satellite or terrestrial) and then via the Internet to the Service Bureau Data Center, where it is unbundled and formatted for compliance with a customer's database. The information can be displayed in a variety of client-defined formats that include graphs, tables, raw data, FTP, E-mail, or text pager services. If applicable, the information from the database can also be formatted for input into a Utility's existing MV-90 system through FTP transfers in the appropriate file format. If customers own their data collection hardware or MV-90 systems, they can FTP data to the Service Bureau and have information immediately accessed and replayed to their customers anywhere in the world. The Internet has no geographic boundaries. Essentially, Customer flexibility in communications options (wireless or wireline) when combined with the Internet have changed the rules for accessing and distributing data, and the Service Bureau M&CS serves as the vehicle to facilitate that process. For control applications, the information flow begins with the customer via the Internet and continues to the Data Center, then via the communication network, to the RTU, which sends a control message to the site.

Figure 2:
Remote Terminal Unit (2-Way Pager Devices)
Source: S3 & Motorola

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A SERVICE BUREAU APPROACH?
By allowing both utilities and their customers to access and use the M&CS in near real-time, the M&CS provides specific value to both parties. For utilities and their customers, the M&CS is a remote monitoring and load-profiling solution that can help reduce electricity demand, and enable customers to effectively take control of their operational costs. As such, many commercial customers are reviewing their usage information to determine where they can take steps to improve facility energy efficiency or increase the energy conservation awareness of their workforce. Some of the areas where commercial account energy managers can use a Service Bureau M&CS to focus attention include:

• Energy benchmarking determination
• Billing verification
• Energy profile monitoring and control with alarms and exception reporting
• Reduction of demand charges
• Near real-time aggregation of load data in support of Utility Demand Response programs
• Measurement and Verification (M&V) procedures in support of Demand Side Management (DSM) projects
• Regional aggregation of facility data and comparison of energy use or demand parameters

Table 2 below helps to illustrate various other value propositions as related to energy use. These same value statements can apply to any utility or environmental application particularly those covering a wide geographic region.

Table 2: Challenges, Solutions, and Value

A Service Bureau M&CS can be implemented and brought on line quickly primarily because it is a hosted system maintained and upgraded by the vendor, with no special customer software required. Information can be accessible quickly wherever Internet access is available, across county, state or national boundaries. The Service Bureau M&CS offers many significant advantages particularly in a global economy, where customers are constantly seeking a competitive advantage. Table 3 provides an overview of some of the key attributes of a well-designed and fully functional Service Bureau M&CS.

Table 3: Service Bureau and Remote Terminal Unit Features, Functions & Benefits

WHAT VISUAL TOOLS CAN THE SERVICE BUREAU M&CS PROVIDE TO THE CUSTOMER?
The data collected by the data center can be formatted for output to support various customer systems. Customer data outputs include near real-time alarm messages and periodic data reports with all data archived for a designated period (usually 24 months). In addition to alarm messages through E-mail enabled pagers, messages can be sent to any device that accepts incoming E-mail messages. Typical chart and graphical outputs, accessible through the Internet, are displayed in Figure 3, 4 and 5. A typical alarm historical display is portrayed in Figure 6.

In addition to the graphical, tabular and alarm reports noted above, the Service Bureau's data center offers a powerful data analysis system that is flexible and can produce reports and information tailored to a specific customer's operational needs. Couple the near M&CS real-time information delivery system with threshold alarming and equipment control functionality and a customer now has the means to oversee and manage a corporate-wide monitoring and control system that affords a unique advantage in a highly competitive global economy.

In addition to tabular and graphical representations of data, a 2-D or 3-D representation of the geographic region in which the data is being recorded often adds meaning and an element of situational awareness that often is missed in merely reviewing other graphical representations of the data. As an example, Figure 7 offers a 2-D visual of an Arizona school system instrumented to record not only energy interval data, but also power outage notification. The RTU hardware is tied to the US government's Global Positioning System (GPS). As such, when an outage occurs or an out-of tolerance condition develops, the threshold alarm can be quantified and visualized based upon a geospatial display. From a command and control perspective, this feature provides a rapid means of directing field-service personnel to proceed to a precise location (latitude/longitude with street address) and to correct the problem in a timely manner. Customers are pleased and rapid correction of the problem re-starts meters and revenue for utilities.

Figure 7: 2-Dimentional Representation Enhances Enterprise-wide Visualization (Source S3)

Table 4 offers a snapshot of the Units of Measure available through the processing power of a Service Bureau, which collects energy, gas, water, wastewater, or environmental data and presents that information to customers in formats that meet their operational and administrative requirements.

Table 4: Service Bureau Presentation Units of Measurement

CONCLUSION
Information is critical to sound decision making and long-range forecasting of system demand and production requirements. The Service Bureau M&CS solution has significant value particularly in support of large commercial, industrial or retail account operations where users must monitor hundreds and/or thousands of sites spread across regional, state, national or even international boundaries.

The Service Bureau M&CS approach provides the technology that can collect, aggregate and report utility performance data on any number of locations and allow utility specialists or corporate operations managers to make business decisions quickly when considerable cost savings or operational improvements are feasible. This approach to operational oversight and management enables corporations to function more efficiently and enhances their bottom line. The Service Bureau Monitoring and Control Solution provides a cost-effective and rapidly deployable option to establish a corporate-wide operational oversight program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Formerly with Motorola, Inc., Marv Serhan is now the Vice President of Business Development for Satellite Security Systems, Inc, a San Diego company involved in enterprise-wide monitoring, tracking and control of fixed and mobile assets with coverage throughout North America, (US, Canada, Mexico) and select off-short locations. He is a former Naval Aviator and retired Navy Captain who holds three Graduate Degrees in disciplines associated with National Security & Strategic Studies, General Management, and Global Leadership. He has worked in the Utility industry for seven years and is a Certified Energy Manager with expertise in the design, implementation, and management of the Service Bureau Concept to support Utility or Corporate-wide energy monitoring programs.

Satellite Security Systems. Inc.
939 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
Office: 619-574-1452
Fax: 619-574-6521
E-mail: mserhan@satsecurity.com

REFERENCE:

• Satellite Security Systems of North America, LLC, Collateral Materials
• Motorola Energy Monitoring & Control Solution for Utilities and Business, RC-30-2004

Reproduced from: "Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment," Vol. 22, No. 4. 2003, page 51-63, with the publisher's permission.

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.

• Automatic Past Due
• Prompts and Disconnects!
• Customer Alerts!
• Over 70 reports!

Contact Netflow, Inc at: 800-236-5861
or e-mail: sales@netflow-usa.com
Visit us on the web: www.netflow-usa.com

GL3000 Cards

• RAM Cards, CPU’s, LCC, UOE, QVSB’s, T1s, DIDs, SIO, Drives, Almost any card you need—priced right.
• TOWERS (NEW) Self supporting, Guyed, Monopoles, with all the hardware
• Antenna Line Hanging kits, and misc hardware.

Transmitters

• (12) Motorola Nucleus, 350W, VHF, Advanced Control
• (2) Glenayre QT5994, 45W, 900 MHz Link TX, w/ Hot Standby
• (1) Glenayre QT6994, 150W, 900 MHz Link TX.
• (3) Glenayre QT4201, 25W Midband Link TX.
• (15) Glenayre RL70XC, Midband Link RX.
• (10) Glenayre GLT5340, 125W UHF TX.
• (75) Motorola PURC 5000, UHF, 110W, ACB
• (12) Glenayre GLT85/8600, 250/500W, 900 MHz w/C2000
• (5) Micor PURC UHF, 250W Complete – (Make Offer)

Motorola PURC UHF RF Trays & UHF 110W PAs, tested and ready to ship. Motorola PURC Advanced Control Units, tested and ready to ship.

TOO MUCH TO LIST • CALL OR E-MAIL

Rick McMichael 888-429-4171 rmcm@preferredwireless.com CLICK

Mark Dawson 972-467-8188 markd@preferredwireless.com CLICK

TGA Technologies

PRISM PMG 4500e Radio Paging Control Terminal

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:

TWO-WAY PAGING

CONTACT

TGA Technologies, Inc. 100 Pinnacle Way Suite 140 Norcross, Georgia 30071 USA

Tel: +1 770-441-2100 Fax: +1 770-449-7740 E-mail: sales@tga.com CLICK HERE Web: www.tga.com CLICK HERE

* 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:

• FLEX or POCSAG decoding
• TNPP input & output
• TAP input & output
• POCSAG output (encoder)
• Parallel printer output
• Serial inputs & outputs (up to 2)
• Relay outputs (1-256 or more)
• PC interfacing
• Interception
• Remote control
• Cross band repeating
• Paging infill
• LED Sign Control
• Remote Printing etc.

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.

CONTACT
Postal Address:	Selective Communications Group Ltd. PO Box 8798 Symonds St. Auckland, New Zealand
Street Address:	3/2 Haultain St. Eden Tce Auckland, New Zealand
Web site: E-mail:	www.selective.co.nz CLICK info@selective.co.nz CLICK
Phone: Fax:	+64-9-3021142 +64-9-3021148

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for Selective. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS
SALCOM designs and manufactures a range of VHF and UHF FM radio transmitters and receivers to integrate with systems data equipment as well as for voice operation. The design philosophy has always been to be low cost and yet meet the most demanding compliance requirements. 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
Salcom manufactures an extensive range of POCSAG paging products suited to a wide range of system applications such as remote switching, automatic machine monitoring, security and fire alarm systems and nurse calling systems.

EMERGENCY TRANSCEIVER
A transceiver has been developed to meet the demand for a low cost, simple to use, fully immersible, floatable emergency radio. It provides a means of communication from aircraft to personnel in distress where they can not be reached and no alternative communication method exists.

SEA AIR AND LAND COMMUNICATIONS LTD
120 St Asaph Street
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 3792298 • Fax: +64 3 3651580

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for SALCOM. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

A late comer claims to have invented Wireless E-mail in 1991. We all know that the paging community was doing this in the mid to late 80s and I need your help to prove this.

I am looking for the following:

• Any copies of articles on the announcement of the HP95 and the NewsStream or any printed articles describing reception of e-mail on the NewsStream/HP95
• NewsStream RSS software and cradle for same—unless Motorola still sells same?
• Copies of Motorola Paging Price pages from 1989-91
• NEC Printer/RS-232 interface for the NEC D4 Alpha
• ZETRON DAPT 1000 encoder with TAP dial-up port capable of Golay and POCSAG Alpha—must have been manufactured before 1991
• Operational Motorola Moden Plus encoder with dual-port interface option and documentation
• Old Motorola bag phone (pre 1991) with Telular, CellJack or equiv RJ-11 Interface
• TELOCATOR back issues from 1985 - 1992

Please look in your storeroom or your basement and see if you have any of these items. It would be very helpful if you could assist me in showing that wireless e-mail was being used before 1991.

Best regards, Paul Cassel VE3SY Cassel & Associates 1083 Notre Dame Drive Petersburg, ON N0B 2H0 Telephone: 519-634-5139 paul@ve3sy.com

Want to help the newsletter?

Become a SPONSOR

Promote your company's image with one of the posters to the right

For more details, and pricing on the 2004 advertising options please click here CLICK

LOOK — more poster options

• PATRON •
• SPONSOR •
• SUPPORTER •

All these terms mean the same thing: "people and companies that want to help keep the newsletter publication going with weekly news about business trends and technology in paging and wireless data."

Examples of New Poster Ads

For more information on advertising click here.

Satellite Uplinking Service
Affordable and Reliable

• Own and operate our own satellite uplink
• Provide the same reliable services to several other paging carriers with room for more
• Lower than average industry costs
• Completely redundant hardware
• Access to knowledgeable technical staff 24/7

Glenayre Technical Support
Paging Terminals & Transmitters

• Paging terminal upgrades, relocations, troubleshooting, emergency repair & training
• Transmitter installation & maintenance
• Experienced industry technicians and engineers
• Satisfaction Guaranteed

Call or write today to learn more

Alan Carle, Dir of Engineering

888 854 2697 x272 or

acarle@ucom.com

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: "Business Development in Mobile Data"

Please call me so we can discuss your need or your idea. Or contact me by e-mail for additional information. CLICK

Worm Advisory—W32.Beagle.A@mm

Discovered on: January 18, 2004
Last Updated on: January 21, 2004 12:19:57 PM

W32.Beagle.A@mm is a mass-mailing worm that accesses remote Web sites and sends e-mail to any addresses it finds using its own SMTP engine. The e-mail has the following characteristics:

Subject: Hi
Filename: <Random>.exe
Filesize: 15,872 bytes

The worm will only work until January 28, 2004. Symantec Security Response has developed a removal tool to clean the infections of W32.Beagle.A@mm. Some customers have reported that Trojan.Mitglieder.C has been discovered on computers infected with W32.Beagle.A@mm.

Also Known As: I-Worm.Bagle [Kaspersky], WORM_BAGLE.A [Trend], W32/Bagle-A [Sophos], W32/Bagle@MM [McAfee], Win32.Bagle.A [Computer Associates]

Type: Worm

Infection Length: 15,872 bytes

Systems Affected: Windows 2000, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP

Systems Not Affected: DOS, Linux, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX, Windows 3.x

Source: Symantec Security Response

A big "thank you" too all those who contributed to this week's newsletter and for the new advertisers. I hope you have a great weekend. Please tell someone about the newsletter. Let's keep paging alive.

With best regards,	Brad Dye WIRELESS DATA CONSULTANT
	Voice:
	Fax:
	E–mail:	brad@braddye.com
	Web:	Consulting and Job search page MAY I HELP YOU?
	Anyone wanting to help support the newsletter can now do so by clicking on the PayPal DONATE button.

FLEX, ReFLEX, FLEXsuite, and InFLEXion, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
Si desea escribirme en español, puede hacerlo con toda confianza.