FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 3, 2006 - ISSUE NO. 198 |
Dear friends of Wireless Messaging, Last month Verizon completed their acquisition of MCI Communications. This merger follows the acquisition of AT&T Corp. by SBC Communications. The two mega deals effectively eliminate the standalone long-distance industry, as phone companies seek to turn themselves into full-service communications suppliers. Verizon Communications—formerly Bell Atlantic who had acquired GTE, NYNEX, New York Tel, New England Tel, and several others—is the telephone company part of the Verizon trinity. The other two entities are Verizon Business, and Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless (cell phones and pagers) is not wholly owned by Verizon Communications. That ownership is split up between Verizon Communications, who owns 55% and Vodafone who owns 45%. This is all a little complex, but I am sure our readers will point out any inaccuracies. Vodafone says not to sell Verizon Wireless now
A friend is looking for the Over The Air Programming (OTAP) specification on the Motorola Advisor Elite pager. If you can help, please let me know. The problem with OTAP is that during the production life of a given model of pager, changes were made that made previous models incompatible with later production. In other words, frequently there would be several different revisions of OTAP s/w for the same model of pager, and it was necessary to have the serial number of the pager to mach up the s/w with the pager, or it wouldn't work. There was a big project underway, at Motorola before they got out of paging, to create a giant database to track pagers by serial number and match them up with the right OTA software. It never got finished, but it was a good idea. At issue was the desire to create multiple revenue streams by selling news feeds to special interest groups. Practically everyone would be a candidate for some special interest news: Boy Scouts, Stamp Collectors, Baseball Fans, or members of any kind of fraternal or religious organization—you name it—everybody is interested in something. The problem is that you must have OTAP ability to all your pagers in order to manage the turning on and turning off of such a service. It is quite complex. Fortunately, I believe there are some pagers, currently in production by other companies, that support OTAP. Don't miss my report on Emergency Alerting and the Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel at the FCC on page two and Vic Jackson's SPECIAL REPORT immediately following. Now on to more news and views. |
A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central 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 web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it. NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work 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.) MORE PAGES
A Paging company in New England has openings for experienced RF technicians or engineers. Glenayre Switch experience a plus. Please contact me if you know of anyone who might be interested and qualified. |
SPECIAL REPORT |
February 2, 2006 | ![]() |
To: | All Telecommunications Carriers |
From: | Interconnection Services, Inc. |
Re: | The Commission’s Public Notice DA 06-223, released January 30, 2006, Enforcement Bureau Directs All Telecommunications Carriers to Submit CPNI Compliance Certifications, Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules are set forth in 47 C.F.R. §§ 64.2001-2009. |
All Telecommunications Carriers including paging carriers must file a compliance certificate in accordance with Section 64.2009(e) of the FCC’s CPNI rules by Feb. 6, 2006. That rule instructs:
“A telecommunications carrier must have an officer, as an agent of the carrier, sign a compliance certificate on an annual basis stating that the officer has personal knowledge that the company has established operating procedures that are adequate to ensure compliance with the [CPNI] rules…The carrier must provide a statement accompanying the certificate explaining how its operating procedures ensure that it is or is not in compliance with the rules…”
Electronic Filers: Compliance letters may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. For ECFS filers, in completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address, and the applicable docket number (WC Docket No. 06-36).
Parties should also send a copy of their filings to:
Byron McCoy, Telecommunications Consumers Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room 4-A234, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554, or by email to byron.mccoy@fcc.gov.
We highly recommend that all telecommunications carriers, including paging carriers consult with their legal counsel for the substance and filing of this required form.
Carriers should note that on January 30, 2006, the FCC issued notices of apparent liability for $100,000 to AT&T and AllTel for violation of the Commission’s CPNI rules.
Vic Jackson
Interconnection Services, Inc.
Telecommunications Industry Consulting
2377 Seminole Dr.
Okemos, MI 48864
Telephone: 517-381-0744
Fax: 805-980-5887
Web: www.interconnectionservices.com
E-Mail vic@interconnectionservices.com
Source: FCC web site | ||||||||||||||||
Source: FCC web site |
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PAGING CARRIERS |
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WIRELESS MESSAGING NEWS |
GTES Announces Release OF V1.2 Of SHERLOC™ Location Services
GTES has released the latest update to the SHERLOC™ Hosted Location Services (www.sherlocgps.com). With V1.2 SHERLOC™ customers tracking their high-value goods in transit or mobile assets will find the same powerful real-time location capabilities updated with a simpler and more intuitive map navigation interface.
Custer, WA (PRWEB) January 20, 2006—GTES is pleased to announce today that it has released the latest update to the SHERLOC™ Hosted Location Services (www.sherlocgps.com). With the release of SHERLOC™ V1.2 customers will find the same powerful location capabilities updated with a simpler and more intuitive map navigation interface.
“In discussions with our customers we identified several new features related to tracking screen navigation that would simplify the user experience and better map into existing work flows” stated GTES Vice President of Marketing and Business Development Mark Pocock. “We’re confident that both our cargo security and vehicle or mobile-asset tracking users will find the updated interface provides easier and more intuitive access to the powerful tracking and management features of SHERLOC™.
In addition to the user interface updates, SHERLOC™ V1.2 expands the report generation capabilities and implements several server-based modes of operation to unify capabilities across all device types. “Using server-based geofences, continuous tracking, and scheduled tracking, SHERLOC™ can provide these services even for wireless GPS tracking devices which do not inherently support these capabilities” said GTES Vice President of Engineering Peter Carr. “To the greatest extent possible, we strive to provide a unified feature set across different wireless networks and for both standalone battery powered and vehicle powered devices.”
The principal new features in SHERLOC™ V1.2 include:
For further details on the application of SHERLOC™ to enhancing the security of high-value goods in transit or the management of mobile assets please contact Brooks Marsden at (770) 754-1668.
About GTES
GTES has historically focused on providing support for Glenayre wireless messaging infrastructure and software. Recently, however the company has expanded its development activities to include wireless location technologies, a market that analysts forecast at $3.6 billion by 2010. In support of this new strategic direction, GTES has developed SHERLOC™ (www.sherlocgps.com), a complete one-stop wireless location service, which provides support for multiple tracking devices including the latest generation utilizing Assisted GPS technologies. Targeted at business customers who need to improve security or efficiency by tracking their high-value goods in transit or field assets, SHERLOC™ is a hosted application that combines configuration flexibility with ease of use.
# # #
Contact Information
Mark Pocock
GTES INC.
http://www.sherlocgps.com
604-293-4391
If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company listed in the press release. Please do not contact PR Web. We will be unable to assist you with your inquiry. PR Web disclaims any content contained in these releases. Our complete disclaimer appears here.
Patent Suits Spread to BlackBerry Rivals
February 1, 2006 7:28AM
"There are justifiable marketplace jitters about whether BlackBerry service will be shut down," Visto CEO Brian Bogosian said in a statement. "With Visto, all users, including BlackBerry users, have a safe-harbor alternative."
Mobile e-mail addicts, already nervous about a lawsuit that threatens to shut down BlackBerry service in the USA, have another reason to fret: BlackBerry's biggest rival was hit with a similar lawsuit Tuesday.
Visto, a maker of mobile e-mail systems for cellphone carriers, sued rival Good Technology in U.S. District Court. Visto claims Good has violated several patents dating to 1997. Good sells e-mail products for the Palm Treo, Hewlett-Packard iPaq and other handheld devices.
Customers shouldn't rush out to replace e-mail gadgets just because they're jittery, says Gartner tech analyst Ken Dulaney. Much of the industry is now involved in intertwined legal disputes. Most users should wait until the mess works itself out, he says.
"I don't know what's with this industry," he says. "The one viable product we can make is a lawsuit."
Visto, founded in 1996, has contracts with Cingular, Sprint and other carriers. Its user base numbers in the "hundreds of thousands," says co-founder Daniel Mendez.
Good won't release figures but is believed to be larger, Dulaney says. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has more than 4 million customers.
Visto's attack on Good comes as a similar lawsuit against RIM reaches a crucial stage. RIM has battled tiny intellectual property firm NTP over patents since 2001. On Feb.24, a federal judge is expected to decide whether RIM must shut down its service in the USA until the case is resolved.
Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM says it has a software workaround to keep BlackBerrys running if it loses. But some customers remain nervous. Good has reported growing interest in its products as a result of RIM's legal woes.
Now Visto wants to benefit, too. By casting doubt on Good's legal status, it hopes to win customers from both Good and RIM.
"There are justifiable marketplace jitters about whether BlackBerry service will be shut down," Visto CEO Brian Bogosian said in a statement. "With Visto, all users, including BlackBerry users, have a safe-harbor alternative."
Good says it can't comment until it has time to review the claims.
Visto also has patent lawsuits against Microsoft, Seven Networks and Smartner Information Systems.
Today, Visto plans to make a declaration in the RIM case claiming that the industry can absorb RIM's customers if BlackBerry service is turned off.
RIM-rival NTP has an equity stake in Visto. It also has a stake in Good.
The lawsuits raise questions about whether U.S. courts make it too easy for companies to threaten to shut down rivals' businesses, says lawyer Jeffrey Berkowitz at Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner in Washington, D.C.
It also points out flaws in the often-overwhelmed patent office, Dulaney says.
Source: NewsFactor
US has misgivings about BlackBerry shutdown plan
Wednesday 1 February 2006, 6:06pm EST
(Recasts with DOJ concerns about shutdown plan)
By Peter Kaplan
WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters)—The U.S. Justice Department urged a federal judge on Wednesday to refrain from any plans to shut BlackBerry portable e-mail service over patent infringement until the government gets more assurances its users will be exempted.
The department handed BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., its second legal victory of the day, saying in a court filing that there had not been enough evidence submitted to show that the plan would carve out government users "without substantial hardship."
"We believe that there are still a number of serious questions to be answered as to how an injunction can be implemented so as to continue BlackBerry service for governmental and other excepted groups," the Justice Department said in a legal brief filed in federal court.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sided with the company by issuing a non-final rejection of a fifth patent at the center of its legal battle with patent holding company NTP Inc.
RIM is pursuing the patent office challenge as it tries to fend off the 2003 patent infringement ruling that NTP won against the company in federal court in Richmond, Va.
U.S. District Judge James Spencer is due to hear arguments Feb. 24 on whether to grant NTP's request for a shutdown of most U.S. BlackBerry service.
RIM's lawyers have argued that Spencer should refrain from imposing any injunction for a number of reasons, including an "exceptional public interest" in maintaining uninterrupted BlackBerry service for national security officials and other government workers.
The patent office decision means the agency has now issued non-final rejections of all five patents at issue in a BlackBerry patent-infringement case before a federal judge.
But the final outcome of the challenge at the patent office is likely months away, while the potentially decisive court hearing in the infringement case is set for Feb. 24.
RIM shares, which had closed up 9 percent to $73.61 on Nasdaq after the patent decision, added on as much as 1.9 percent to $75 a share on Inet in after-hours trading following the government's court filing.
Source: Reuters
Industry veteran O'Brien joins emergency alert firm
By Jeffrey Silva (RCR Wireless News)
Jan 30, 2006
WASHINGTON-Morgan O'Brien, the industry pioneer who built Nextel Communications Inc. into a multibillion-dollar national wireless force, is joining a start-up firm seeking to leverage a patented geographic location-based technology for targeted emergency alerts and commercial mobile marketing.
O'Brien will be chairman of the advisory board at northern Virginia-based SquareLoop Inc. SquareLoop is headed by former wireless association executive-turned-entrepreneur Tom Stroup.
O'Brien's move to SquareLoop follows his departure from the board of directors of Nextel in 2005, when it was sold for $35 billion to Sprint Corp. O'Brien enters the emergency alert space at a time when the Department of Homeland Security, Congress and Federal Communications Commission continue to struggle in their attempts to modernize the Cold War-era national emergency warning system more than four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
The debate over reforming the nation's emergency warning regime is as much about how the new system would be administered as about which technology works best for wireless distribution.
SquareLoop, which to date largely has steered clear of the policy debate in favor of raising capital and briefing wireless carriers about its technology, believes it has a solution capable of targeting small clusters of wireless consumers without compromising their privacy. The privacy component could be highly attractive, given current events. Congress and privacy groups have raised concerns about the Bush administration's secret eavesdropping program and the sale of cell phone records by third-party brokers.
O'Brien, who helped bring competition to a one-time cellular duopoly and made a blue collar push-to-talk technology a mainstay in the wireless industry, could be another big selling point for SquareLoop's location-based service. SquareLoop said O'Brien will help shape company strategy and build new partnerships as the firm introduces its location-based solution to the market.
"Our system doesn't allow the network to track. The handset makes all the decisions and preserves anonymity," said O'Brien.
O'Brien said the wireless industry's reception to SquareLoop's technology has been "quite good."
SquareLoop, currently attempting to raise between $3 million and $5 million, has patent rights to the wireless location technology developed by Mitre Corp., a federally funded nonprofit research resource for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. Indeed, the technology previously has been used by the Pentagon.
"What we are providing is the enabling technology," said Stroup, former president of the Personal Communications Industry Association.
Stroup said the firm will be demonstrating the technology soon in the Washington, D.C. area. He said the SquareLoop technology can be downloaded over the air to mobile phones.
The technology uses wireless receiver intelligence to filter messages based on the device's current or prior location as well as on factors such as velocity, direction of travel or time of day. And unlike other location-based services available from wireless carriers, SquareLoop said its technology is flexible enough to work on any of the wireless transmission technologies used by network carriers. As such, the SquareLoop solution does not require changes to the wireless network infrastructure.
"We're thrilled that Morgan has agreed to share his invaluable strategic insight with our team at SquareLoop and to introduce our technology to his extensive network of wireless industry contacts," said Stroup. "I look forward to working closely with Morgan as we prepare to launch SquareLoop's unique approach to location-based services in the marketplace."
From most indications, the private sector is moving far faster than Washington in trying to improve emergency alerts, whose public-safety value has only been heightened further since 9/11 by massive death and destruction from the December 2004 Indonesian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina last year in the Gulf region. Emergency alerts also can be valuable in smaller-scale emergencies, such as when chemical spills or serious traffic accidents occur.
The wireless industry and U.S. government has yet to give its nod to a specific wireless emergency alert technology. Cellular phones can carry text alerts through short message service, but the industry and others say SMS has limitations.
Another technology, cell broadcast, is gaining attention in the United States and overseas. Einstein PCS, a mobile carrier owned by Airadigm Communications, has successfully tested cell broadcast emergency warning service in Appleton, Wis.
A week ago, Westlin Corp. and CellCast L.L.C. announced a joint venture to deploy a cell broadcast emergency alert system. The system would enable federal and state agencies in the Gulf Coast to provide instantaneous notification to groups of people via their cell phones.
Westlin is a Houston-based Internet firm specializing in disaster and recovery. CellCast is a private firm responsible for global deployment of cell broadcast under license from the Cellular Emergency Alert Association.
Technology is one piece of the emergency alert puzzle. There are many other issues too, some identified in emergency warning legislation championed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
The FCC is examining a broad range of issues in considering how to improve the current emergency alert system.
CTIA flagged a number of issues it believes warrant close attention by the FCC.
The association recommended formation of a government/industry partnership to develop emergency alert system requirements enabling manufacturers to build to specific requirements; full liability protection for wireless carrier distribution of emergency alerts on par with that currently accorded broadcasters; designation of authorities for development of and operation of emergency alert service; development of a process to authenticate and secure emergency alert messages; and funding support for research, development and implementation of a new national emergency warning system.
Meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a unit of DHS, is moving into the next phase of a pilot project to develop a national digital platform for emergency alert distribution. Top mobile-phone carriers, public TV stations and others are working with DHS on the initiative.
Source: SquareLoop web site
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Brad Wills
For SquareLoop
bwills@wills-pr.com ph: 301-767-1919
Nextel Cofounder Morgan O’Brien Joins Location-based Services Company SquareLoop as Advisory Board Chair
O’Brien to influence company strategy, facilitate new partnerships as SquareLoop introduces its unique location-based services solution to the market
Reston, Va., January 30, 2006—Morgan O’Brien, founder and former chairman of Nextel Communications, today joined location-based services (LBS) company SquareLoop as the chairman of SquareLoop’s Advisory Board. This is O’Brien’s first official advisory position since leaving the Board of Directors of Nextel Communications in 2005, after Sprint and Nextel announced their plans to merge in December of 2004.
“At Nextel, our new twist on existing digital wireless technology—the ability to support push-to-talk communications—revolutionized both the cellular industry and communications within the mobile workforce. SquareLoop’s unique location-based technology also has ground-breaking potential,” says O’Brien. “SquareLoop’s location technology has the potential to rewrite the way location-based communications are delivered in a wide range of situations, ranging from emergency communications to mobile marketing,”
SquareLoop is the only wireless location-based services company that does not continually track or centrally monitor the movements of subscribers to deliver geographically targeted messages, thus preserving subscriber privacy. Instead, it uses the intelligence of the wireless receiver to filter messages based not only on the device’s current or prior location, but also on factors such as velocity, direction of travel or time of day. Unlike many of the location-based services currently available from wireless carriers, SquareLoop’s technology (which was originally developed by The MITRE Corporation for military applications) can be adapted to work on any of the wireless transmission technologies currently used by network carriers and does not require any changes to the wireless network’s infrastructure.
“We’re thrilled that Morgan has agreed to share his invaluable strategic insight with our team at SquareLoop and to introduce our technology to his extensive network of wireless industry contacts,” says Tom Stroup, CEO of SquareLoop. “I look forward to working closely with Morgan as we prepare to launch SquareLoop’s unique approach to location-based services in the marketplace.”
The location-based services market is beginning to take off; particularly as global positioning system (GPS) technology is increasingly included in wireless handsets. Location-based services “will gather momentum very quickly in 2006,” according to a recent study from ABI Research.
[Tom Stroup's photo was added.] About SquareLoop Inc.
SquareLoop (www.squareloop.com) is a northern Virginia based company that is commercializing its unique wireless location-based services technology for public safety, content delivery and mobile marketing applications. SquareLoop’s technology platform provides the only model for location-specific and time-specific delivery of messages to mobile phones and devices that does not rely on location tracking or central monitoring of a subscriber’s movements, thus preserving the user’s location privacy. This contrasts with the LBS methods and related applications currently in use on wireless networks that rely on "continuous tracking" of targeted individuals to determine location. Managed by industry veterans, the company plans to partner with content providers and information sources to enhance the value and relevancy of information.
Source: SquareLoop web site
FEATURED ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER |
GTES has recently made the strategic decision to expanding its development activities to include wireless location technologies; a market that researchers forecast could reach $3.6 billion by 2010. In support of this new strategic direction, GTES has developed SHERLOC™ a complete one-stop wireless location service, providing the flexibility of being protocol neutral and network agnostic. Targeted at business customers who need to track their high-value shipments or better manage their service or delivery fleets, SHERLOC™ is a hosted application that combines configuration flexibility with ease of use. GTES is offering SHERLOC™ services both directly and through authorized resellers. If your company has an interest in finding out how location services can enhance your revenue stream, and has the contacts and expertise to make you successful in the location marketplace, please contact us for further information at www.sherlocgps.com and select “Reseller Opportunities,” or call us at 770-754-1666 for more information. www.gtesinc.com GTES is the only Glenayre authorized software support provider in the Paging industry. With over 200 years of combined experience in Glenayre hardware and software support, GTES offers the industry the most professional support and engineering development staff available. Continued Support Programs CALL US TODAY FOR YOUR SUPPORT NEEDS
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