Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging,

There are several interesting LETTERS TO THE EDITOR this week. (Near the end of the newsletter.)

I am very pleased to have a great opinion/editorial piece from my friend and colleague Vic Jackson. He doesn't like "Robocalling" and neither do I.

Friday, October 26, 2012, 07:41 am

White & Silver iPad mini sells out of launch day delivery

By AppleInsider Staff

Just hours after the iPad mini became available to preorder at Apple's online store, the white and silver model is now advertised to ship in two weeks.

While the white model in all capacities is now sold out, as of Friday morning the black and slate version is still advertised to deliver on next Friday, Nov. 2. Cellular-capable models do not ship until mid-November.

Announced this week, the iPad mini is available in sizes of 16, 32 and 64 gigabytes. Like the iPhone 5, it's available in black and slate, as well as white and silver.

Market watchers have big expectations for the iPad mini, with millions expected to be sold this quarter. Though many expected an entry price lower than $329, Wall Street analysts believe the iPad mini will justify its price to consumers with superior build quality, strong software, and a huge range of third-party applications available on the iOS App Store.

The iPad mini features a 7.9-inch display and a thinner bezel that allows it to be held with one hand. It's 7.2 millimeters thin and weighs 0.68 pounds, which is 68 percent less than the full-size iPad.

[ source ]

Apple to take on Pandora with online radio service as early as next year

by Rawiya Kameir, 26 October, 2012

Apple's rumored online radio service has entered advanced stages of talks with major record labels, Bloomberg has reported, citing "people with knowledge of the negotiations." Accordingly, we can expect to see a Pandora-like streaming radio service from Apple next year, the publication has said.

The tech giant's talks with music labels have reportedly focused on reaching an agreement on how to share revenue from what will be an ad-supported service. But the intensification of the negotiations suggests a deal could be on the horizon as early as mid-November, with the service possibly due for a launch in the first quarter of 2013.

Apple, which proved to be a boon for digital music with its iPod and iTunes, is working with record companies on new business models encouraging the discovery and purchase of digital music, as music download purchases show signs of slowing.

Apple is apparently working on creating a service that is app-based, not primarily run through a browser like existing competitors. The expected new model, which will challenge the likes of Pandora and Rdio, will primarily focus on flexibility, allowing users to skirt strict rules about skipping tracks and hourly plays that result from restrictive licensing deals from record labels and music publishers.

"Radio is a natural step for Apple," BTIG LLC analyst Rich Greenfield told Bloomberg. "This helps Apple dominate in cars, where people listen to an average of two hours of radio a day."

Reports of Apple's forthcoming entry in the music streaming market have sent Pandora's shares into flux, dropping and rising several times over the past few months, but finally declining by 12 per cent this week.

"We don't comment on our stock price or rumored competitive moves," the company's vice president of communications Eric Brown said in an emailed statement. "We remain focused on our listeners and delivering the best Internet radio experience for them."

[ source ]

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News and Comment on The FTC Robocall Challenge

Vic Jackson, Interconnection Services, Inc.

October 25, 2012

The Fifty Grand Contest

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a contest starting on October 25, 2012 and ending on January 17, 2013 [ http://robocall.challenge.gov/rules ] that is open to the public, with a prize of fifty thousand dollars to the winner, for proposing a solution to stop unlawful "Robocalling." (Robocalling is where an automated machine makes telephone calls that convey a recorded message to the recipient of the phone call.) Unfortunately, the majority of Robocalls are made by evil doers intent on inducing the person answering the phone to send them money. Although there are some legitimate uses for Robocalls, such as the call from your airline regarding your upcoming flight, or your pharmacy saying your prescription is ready, the sad fact is that most Robocalls are scams. The problem is that current technology allows these crooks to make thousands of calls per minute anonymously into the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) which is not only a great irritation for millions of people who receive the phony phone calls on their cell phones, home phones and business lines, but the unfettered and unlawful Robocalling easily clogs up paging and cellular trunk lines as well as business and government telephone systems.  If you don't think this Robocalling is a problem for paging systems, just check with Jeff Sohn at JSM Tele-Page in Wisconsin. He'll give you an earful!

So, in the name of public service, and only a faint glimmer of hope that the contest will not be won by some behemoth corporation that regularly buys and sells its influence to the bureaucrats at the FTC and the FCC, here are my suggestions. (Yeah, I know, the contest is limited to individuals and small companies of less than 10 employees, but you don't really believe that such a simple rule will stop the biggies from their wicked ways do you?)

One can tackle this thorny problem on either the network side to stop the Robocalls before they go anywhere in the PSTN or on the subscriber line side so it will improve your personal well being. Currently, if one carries a "smart" cell phone, there may be both a built-in option, as well as numerous "apps," that can screen incoming calls. For example, you can have the phone only ring on calls from numbers that are listed in your contacts. The rest of the calls go to voice mail. This solution does not actually stop the Robocalls and does not help anyone except you, but hey, it accomplishes the objective of eliminating those pesky offers of easy fame and ready fortune. Landlines can also similarly make use of call screening features available with almost all landline telephone providers.

It is quite apparent that I am not going to be awarded the 50 grand for my brilliance as listed above. You can bet that the FTC's prize is going to go to someone that comes up with a way to stop the Robocalls in their tracks before they get on the PSTN. So here are some thoughts for those contestants ready with their running shoes on.

Utilize the PSTN's Common Channel Signaling/Signaling System 7 (SS7) network routing structure to enforce honesty as to which switch in the PSTN is originating a call or calls. You can't put a fire out if you don't know where the fire is coming from. So the FCC or the Telecommunications industry could mandate some "hard wired" parameters in the SS7 Initial Address Message (IAM) and mandatory logging of call records that would positively identify the originating switch and the originating line on all calls. Currently the IAM only identifies the originating switch so that the terminating switch can send an Address Complete Message (ACM) and allow the call to proceed. If the terminating switch can identify the originating switch and line, then, at that instant, it at least knows exactly where and who the call is coming from. Under this circumstance, the FCC, as well as any interconnected carrier, has the authority and information available to make the originating switch entity responsible for blocking or preventing unlawfully originated calls by its subscribers. Stopping the genie before it gets out of the bottle is a lot easier than trying to capture it while it's running around the neighborhood. In essence, the integrity of the network switch record in the Local Exchange Routing Guide (LERG) needs to be rigorously enforced and timely maintained with respect to the qualifications and certifications of entities allowed to connect to the PSTN's SS7 network. It can be assumed that the electronic logging of the SS7 call record is done on a relatively routine basis in the current crop of network switches in anticipation of law enforcement and security requests.

So how would all this work in practice to stop Robocalls? At a minimum, a Robocall complaint to the FTC or FCC could be easily investigated by accessing the SS7 log of the terminating switch to identify the originating switch entity that made the call in question. It would then be possible for the originating switch entity to determine the number and timing of other calls originated by that particular subscriber line or lines. It would not take Sherlock Holmes to deduce the likelihood of Robocalling based on the volume and timing of originated calls by a subscriber. A lowly computer program could probably handle that job. Holding PSTN entities responsible for their originated call traffic via the SS7 network connections would go a long way toward controlling and limiting unlawful and disruptive call traffic.

A more automated but likely more expensive way to reduce or eliminate unlawful Robocalling could be to add an SS7 Initial Address Message (IAM) packet examiner on the terminating switch which would provide call matching between the CNID/ANI NPA/NXX of the originating calling line and the originating switch SS7 Point Code. The terminating switch would be prevented from sending the SS7 Address Complete Message (ACM) if the NPA/NXX sent by the originating switch did not match the assigned SS7 Point Code. Unfortunately, this type of database query system would entail a delay in the processing of all PSTN calls and ultimately would not prevent Robocalling that used a "legitimate" NPA/NXX for the origination call. This system would, however, limit the possibilities for call "spoofing," in which the Caller ID sent to the called party is not the actual ID of the calling line. Making the bad guys visible to the network might just make them less inclined to spew forth with their Robocalling.    

After all this exercise in telephone company acronyms you may be thoroughly convinced that there is no "solution" to Robocalling short of smashing your cell phone with a sledgehammer and unplugging your landline.  Well, I have faith that somebody, somewhere is going to collect the $50,000 dollars and maybe even be awarded a hero's medal for eliminating all Robocalls and not just the unlawful ones. I just hope they come forth prior to the next Presidential election and before I go bonkers.

2377 Seminole Dr. • Okemos MI  48864 • Telephone 517-381-0744
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iPhone Dominates Apple's Q4 Earnings; Cook Talks iPad and iPad Mini

BY CHRISTINA BONNINGTON*
10/25/12 6:45 PM
Wired.com

Photo: Alex Washburn/Wired

Only in the world of inflated expectations that is Apple could a quarter of record device sales, record revenue, and record earnings be a disappointment. But Apple stocks dipped slightly on Thursday just after the company announced its best Q4 ever, which included $8.2 billion in earnings on $36 billion in revenue.

"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a press release . "We're entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline."

Leading the pack for Apple was the iPhone. Apple sold 26.9 million of them this quarter, which ended Sept. 29 and included one week of iPhone 5 sales. This beat analyst estimates of 25 million and was up 58 percent over the same period last year. iPhone sales were significantly lower than expected in Q4 last year due to anticipation for the then-yet-to-be-released iPhone 4S.

iPad sales weren't quite so stellar, though. Apple sold only 14 million this quarter, down from 17 million last quarter and below Wall Street estimates of 16 million. The disparity caused Apple stock to dip before sales were halted at 4:50 p.m. EDT.

Cook attributed the iPad numbers to seasonal sales patterns for families with school-age children, an effect compounded by regular high iPad sales in the June quarter. Apple continues to see the PC market as the biggest opportunity for the iPad.

"We continue to be very confident that the tablet market will surpass the PC market," Cook said. "It is already extremely compelling for many many customers to choose a tablet, in particular an iPad, over a PC. And when you look at the size of the PC market there is an enormous opportunity for Apple there."

As for the just-announced iPad mini, Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer tempered public, media and analyst expectations over its pricing and purpose.

"When we set out to build the iPad mini, we didn't set out to build a small, cheap iPad," Oppenheimer said. "We set out to build a small iPad with the full iPad experience. The difference between the iPad mini and the competition is profound." Cook added that Apple is not concerned about the iPad mini cannibalizing sales of the iPad or any other Apple product sales.

Apple is also adamant that the 7.9-inch size puts the mini in a separate class from 7-inch tablets, which Steve Jobs famously dismissed for being too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with the iPad. Jobs dubbed them "tweeners" and said they'd be dead on arrival.

"We would not make one of the 7-inch tablets," Cook said. "We don't think they're good products."

Per an analyst question, Cook addressed another potential iPad competitor, Microsoft's Surface tablet , which goes on sale on Friday. "I haven't personally played with a Surface yet, but what we're reading about it is that it's a fairly compromised, confusing product," Cook said. "I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don't suppose it would do all those things very well."

In other Apple device news, the iPod line continued its downward spiral with only 5.2 million units sold, down from 6.6 million in Q4 2011. Cumulative iOS device sales totaled more than 44 million for the quarter, though.

Mac sales remained steady at 4.9 million (1 percent more than the same quarter last year). With the launch of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display Tuesday and the ultra-thin new iMacs over the next two months, perhaps that number will rise during the December quarter.

"We're dedicated to making the very best products in the world," Cook said. "This will always be the driving force behind Apple. We're managing the company for the long run."

* CHRISTINA BONNINGTON Christina is a Staff Writer for Wired's Gadget Lab blog covering Apple, iOS, robotics, and everything in between. She also contributes to Wired.com Reviews, How-Tos and Wired magazine. You can catch her on video on the Gadget Lab podcast each week. Christina has a degree in Electrical Engineering, and is a former professional ballet dancer. e-mail: Christina_Bonnington@wired.com

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Paging Tom Cruise: With Wifarer, Indoor Mapping Becomes A Reality

BY BRYAN M. WOLFE on Wed October 24th, 2012

Much of the attention in recent weeks has focused on iOS 6 Apple Maps and what it means for those looking for a way to go from point A to B. However, behind the scenes, another type of mapping opportunity for consumers is being plotted, one that is much more personal.

Ideal for shopping centers, churches, airports, and other large locations, indoor mapping is slowly gaining strength as Wi-Fi moves into new locations and smartphones get, well, smarter. One of the companies working on indoor GPS is Wifarer . With offices in San Jose, Calif. and Victoria, British Columbia, the company promotes its services as a way for customers to "conquer the great indoors." To do so, it offers facility owners location based services, search, and positioning tools.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Wifarer CEO Philip Stanger about his company, the future of indoor mapping, and Apple.

With over 20 years experience in the technology industry, Stanger is no stranger to navigation. However, unlike most in the mapping industry that went out to chart the world, Stanger has stayed largely indoors. In doing so, he hopes to create something that reminds me of "Minority Report."

In a key scene from the 2002 movie set in the future, Tom Cruise's character walks through a Gap store. Here a 3-D hologram welcomes him with personal shopping recommendations based on previous purchases. Cruise's John Anderton also sees personalized ads from Aquafina, American Express, among others.

Take a look:

While Stanger never expects his system to collect personal information from users, he does hope to "recognize types of consumers, based on aggregated patterns of behavior." In doing so, a very public occasion would become much more personalized. Thankfully, instead of eyes, Wifarer's tools are triggered by smartphones and other Wi-Fi devices.

Possible uses for indoor mapping include automatic coupon generating, targeted advertising, and more. As Stanger explains, "we want to brand the experience."

When most think of GPS, they envision a journey that may spread for miles and across different states, or countries. Indoor GPS, by contrast, is understandably much more contained. And because it works with Wi-Fi, it is also much more controlled. The controlled experience is like a private Google, says Stanger.

Unfortunately, Apple is hampering Wifarer's work on iOS devices. Since iOS 5, Apple has made a key Wi-Fi API unreachable by developers. Because of this, it is very difficult for an Apple device connected to Wi-Fi to accurately map the inside of a facility, let alone distinguish one floor from another.

However, Wifarer's is said to be working with Apple to move this process forward.

For now, Stanger and his team are keeping an open mind and have yet to give up on iOS. In fact, they continue to sign up new consumers, as they continue to perfect the Android version of their indoor mapping solution.

"This is a amazing and fast-growing industry," concludes Stanger.

I'll be quite interested in seeing where indoor mapping heads in the months and years ahead. Naturally, there are some privacy issues here that will need to be addressed before a product like Wifarer is promoting could realistically be used by the masses. Still, I find it exciting, in a purely futurist way.

For more information on Wifarer, visit their website .

Ahead of iPad mini's expected debut, Sharp reveals 7-inch tablet with IGZO display

By Jay Alabaster
IDG News Service
Oct 17, 2012 6:06 AM

Japan's Sharp said Wednesday it will soon launch a small 7-inch tablet with its new IGZO displays, a week ahead of an Apple press event that is widely expected to reveal a mini tablet also linked to the new power-saving technology.

Sharp's new Aquos Pad, to go on sale in early December in Japan through local carrier au, has a 1280 x 800 IGZO display and other technologies that the company says allow its 2,040 mAh battery to last 2.5 times as long as existing tablets. The company didn't specify details, but currently sells a separate 7-inch tablet with a traditional LCD screen that can play video for six hours on a single charge.

IGZO, named after the indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductor on which it is based, is a new display technology from Sharp that can make smaller pixels than current screens, drawing less power and providing more touch accuracy. Sharp is a supplier for Apple and the screen technology has been linked to Apple's rumored 7-inch iPad mini, widely expected to be unveiled at a press event set for Tuesday.

At Ceatec, a major Japanese electronics show held earlier this month, Sharp showed IGZO tablet displays in 7-inch, 10-inch, and 13-inch sizes, and said it was producing them for at least one customer, which it declined to name. The company has already announced Sharp smartphones that will use the screens, which can last two days on a single charge.

The latest Aquos Pad was announced Wednesday as part of au's winter lineup of mobile products for its network. Au, which began carrying Apple's iPhone last year, has been pegged in the Japanese press as negotiating with Apple to become the exclusive carrier for the iPad mini when it is launched, which would put it in competition with Sharp's new tablet.

Sharp's Aquos Pad will run on au's LTE network and feature a touch stylus, and is built to be water and shock resistant. The device will weigh 280 grams and feature the company's "Feel UX" user interface, which it built together with software firm Frog Design, headquartered in San Francisco.

At a press conference in Tokyo Wednesday, Takashi Tanaka, the president of KDDI, the parent company of mobile operator au, gave no hint of any upcoming release of a new iPad on his network. He focused on the rollout of the company's high-speed LTE service and its success in launching the iPhone 5.

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Cell phones are replacing pagers in pediatric hospitals

Many physicians and residents are using their own cell phones to page colleagues, raising privacy concerns.

by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
October 22, 2012 2:03 PM PDT
c|net News.com

Ah, pagers — still beloved by a wide range of users, from physicians to restaurant hostesses to bird watchers to drug dealers.

And given the simple telecommunication tech has been around for more than half a century, it should come as no surprise that it is gradually being replaced — at least in hospital settings — by cell phones.
That's according to an electronic survey administered by researchers out of the University of Kansas and presented this week at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

Of the 106 pediatric hospital physicians surveyed, 96 percent say they text and 90 percent say they use a smartphone, with 57 percent of the physicians reporting they've sent or received work-related text messages and 49 percent even when they weren't working or on call. (These figures may not be representative of all pediatric physicians given the majority surveyed have been in practice less than 10 years, but it still indicates a general trend toward cell phone use in a hospital setting.)

Researchers report that talking face-to-face and by telephone remain the most common methods of communication (both at 92 percent), and while only 27 percent of respondents say they actually prefer texting when it comes to brief communications, even fewer (23 percent) prefer a hospital pager, and fewer than that (21 percent) prefer talking face-to-face.

The underlying issue with this shift toward texting over paging is that few of the physicians said their hospital had Health Insurance Portability and Protection Act (HIPPA)-encrypted software for texting, let alone an actual policy regarding texting at the hospital.

Cell phones in hospitals pose numerous potential privacy breaches, be it taking photos of patients or routinely texting them about a range of health issues , including extremely personal ones such as drug use and sex.

And with more respondents (41 percent) of this survey using their personal phones to text rather than hospital-assigned phones (18 percent), lawsuits may be inevitable, particularly if unencrypted messages include such detailed information as patients' names.

"We are using text messaging more and more to communicate with other physicians, residents, and even to transfer a patient to a different unit," abstract author Stephanie Kuhlmann said in a news release. "We've had such a rapid increase in cell phone use, and I'm not sure that hospitals have caught up by putting in place related processes and protocols."

Elizabeth Armstrong Moore Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is based in Portland, Ore., and has written for Wired, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include climbing, billiards, board games that take up a lot of space, and piano.

Selected portions of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, a newsletter from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP are reproduced in this section with the firm's permission.

FCC Unveils Updated "Small Biz Cyber Planner"

The FCC has unveiled an updated 2.0 version of its "Small Biz Cyber Planner," a free and easy-to-use online resource for any small business owner who wants to better protect their business from the growing threat of cybersecurity attacks. Launched in 2011, the FCC said, the tool has already been used by nearly 10,000 businesses across the country to create customized cybersecurity plans. New research by Symantec, an FCC Cybersecurity Outreach Partner, indicates that nearly 83% of U.S. small businesses have no cybersecurity protection plan — despite the fact that millions of cyber attacks occur each year. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski also announced new and renewed partnerships with public and private sector organizations, including Symantec, eBay, Visa, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), and others.

The Commission's online cyber planner enables business owners to create and download a customized plan — to protect themselves from online threats which could significantly damage their companies — by answering 12 simple questions. The updated cyber planner features new details about cyber insurance to mitigate interruptions to business and financial loss from cyber attacks, and best practices on spyware, including how to avoid advanced versions of spyware. It also incorporates the immediate steps to take in case of infection, and recommendations on installing new software systems that enable users to remotely track and erase the hard drive of laptops and mobile devices in the event of theft. The Cyber Planner can be accessed at the following link: www.fcc.gov/cyberforsmallbiz

FCC SEEKS TO REFRESH RECORD IN WIRELESS MICROPHONE PROCEEDING: The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) have invited interested parties to update and refresh the record pertaining to two specific issues raised in the Commission's 2010 Wireless Microphones Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). Comments in this WT Docket Nos. 08-166, 08-167, and ET Docket No. 10-24 proceeding are due November 21, and replies are due December 12. Comments should focus on (1) whether the Commission should provide for a limited expansion of license eligibility that would permit some wireless microphone and other low power auxiliary station users, which currently operate in the TV broadcast spectrum on an unlicensed basis, to operate on a licensed basis under the part 74 rules applicable to low power auxiliary stations (LPAS); and (2) what steps the Commission should take to promote more efficient use of this spectrum by wireless microphones. The Commission asks that these comments take into consideration recent industry developments, including advances in wireless microphone technologies, as well as related Commission proceedings that affect use of wireless microphones, including the TV White Spaces proceeding and the Incentive Auctions proceeding proposing auction of spectrum currently allocated to television broadcasting.

COMMISSIONER PAI SPEAKS ON IP TRANSITION AND END OF COMMON CARRIER REGULATION : In a recent speech, FCC Commissioner Ajit V. Pai addressed the transition to an all-Internet Protocol (IP) world and called for the FCC to close its 2010 docket examining the reclassification of broadband Internet access services as common carrier services subject to Title II regulation. Commissioner Pai also called for the FCC to establish an IP Transition Task Force to "hasten the Internet transformation" and "modernize the Commission's regulations." Commissioner Pai states that he would expect the Task Force to recommend "the repeal of old-world regulations that no longer make sense in a competitive, all-IP world," including the removal of "all the tariffs, the arcane cost studies, and the hidden subsidies that distort competition for the benefit of companies, not consumers." Although Commissioner Pai states that "vital consumer protections" must be preserved in an all-IP world, the only such protection mentioned was access to 911. Commissioner Pai also expressed his support for the FCC's overhaul of the universal service fund in the USF/ICC Order and stated that he looks forward to working with the other commissioners "on continuing to implement these historic reforms." The full text of Commissioner Pai's comments is available on the FCC website.

FTC OFFERS AWARD FOR ROBOCALL BLOCKING TECHNOLOGY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the "Robocall Challenge," a government sponsored contest that will award $50,000 for the best technical solution to block illegal commercial robocalls to landline and mobile phones. Details can be obtained at Challenge.gov .

PANETTA WARNS OF CYBERATTACKS: According to Reuters, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said last week that cyberspace is the battlefield of the future, with attackers already going after banks and other financial institutions and developing the ability to strike U.S. power grids and government systems. He said that U.S. banks and financial institutions have been under sustained attack in recent weeks by suspected Iranian hackers thought to be responding to economic sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to negotiate over its nuclear program. Reuters noted that a group calling itself the Cyber Fighters of Izz addin Al Qassam has claimed credit for the disruptions, calling them a protest against an anti-Islam video posted on YouTube that has provoked violent protests across the Muslim world. Panetta said the United States has made significant investments in cyber forensics to deal with the problem of identifying the source of a cyber attack. He warned potential attackers that the United States has "the capacity to locate them and hold them accountable." Panetta also said that more pressure on Congress is needed to push it to act to avoid a round of automatic budget cuts due to go into effect in January. The cuts would take another $500 billion from defense spending over the next decade, following a $487 billion cut in projected defense spending approved last year, Reuters said.

SOFTBANK DOES NOT RULE OUT PURSUING MetroPCS: After reaching an agreement to purchase 70% of Sprint-Nextel for $20.1 billion (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, October 17), Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has not ruled out pursuing MetroPCS, according to FierceWireless , the Wall Street Journal, and other media sources. Deutsche Telekom (DT) has agreed to conduct a reverse merger with MetroPCS in which its T-Mobile USA subsidiary will essentially acquire MetroPCS, according to these media reports. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Son did not rule out the possibility of a deal with MetroPCS. "We shouldn't rule out any opportunity or alternative," Son said. But any bid for MetroPCS would be complicated, FierceWireless noted. Under the terms of its agreement with DT, MetroPCS cannot exit the deal even if a competing bid is made, unless its shareholders vote against DT. Before then, according to the New York Times , only DT can call off the deal, even if MetroPCS' board recommends a higher bid. Sprint also announced that it will increase its ownership in Clearwire from 48% to 50.8% by purchasing about $100 million worth of Clearwire stock from Eagle River Holdings, the investment firm owned by Craig McCaw. Sprint also told the New York Times that it has told other Clearwire investors Comcast and Intel that it would be interested in buying their stakes if they were willing to sell. The companies have 30 days to decide if they want to sell, the report said. FierceWireless said that many analysts think that Sprint is maneuvering to gain complete control of Clearwire's vast 2.5 GHz spectrum assets, which Clearwire plans to use to build a TD-LTE network next year. Softbank is using similar spectrum for its own TD-LTE network in Japan.

FEBRUARY 1: FCC FORM 502, NUMBER UTILIZATION AND FORECAST REPORT. Any wireless or wireline carrier ( including paging companies ) that have received number blocks—including 100, 1,000, or 10,000 number blocks—from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a Pooling Administrator, or from another carrier, must file Form 502 by February 1. Carriers porting numbers for the purpose of transferring an established customer's service to another service provider must also report, but the carrier receiving numbers through porting does not. Resold services should also be treated like ported numbers, meaning the carrier transferring the resold service to another carrier is required to report those numbers but the carrier receiving such numbers should not report them. Reporting carriers are required to include their FCC Registration Number (FRN). Reporting carriers file utilization and forecast reports semiannually on or before February 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending December 31, and on or before August 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending June 30.

VITAL MEETINGS & DEADLINES

Oct. 25 – Deadline for rebuttals to oppositions to direct cases regarding designated issues for investigation of ILEC ARC tariffs (WC Docket No. 12-233).

Oct. 25 – Deadline for comments on Verizon's request to discontinue domestic private line, frame relay service in all 50 states, plus territories (WC Docket No. 12-298).

Oct. 29 – Deadline for reply comments on NECA's high cost loop formula (WC Docket No. 05-337).

Oct. 30 – Deadline for reply comments on Custer Telephone Cooperative's request for waiver of cellular construction deadline (WT Docket No. 12-259).

Oct. 31 – Deadline for comments on CenturyLink request for additional waiver of call signaling rules (CC Docket No. 01-92).

Nov. 1 – Deadline for comments on proposal to improve spectrum efficiency, use of 4.9 GHz band for public safety broadband (WP Docket No. 07-100, PS Docket No. 06-229, and WT Docket No. 06-150).

Nov. 1 – FCC Form 499-Q is due.

Nov. 1 – Deadline for comments on FirstNet's conceptual network architecture (NTIA Docket No. 120928505-01).

Nov. 1 – Deadline for Auction 901 winning bidders to submit FCC Form 680 (long form).

Nov. 8 – Last chance to file nationwide EAS test results.

Nov. 9 – Deadline for petitions to deny LightSquared request that FCC declare that certain broadband build-out requirements no longer apply (IB Docket No. 12-296).

Nov. 15 – Deadline for reply comments on CenturyLink request for additional waiver of call signaling rules (CC Docket No. 01-92).

Nov. 15 – Deadline for comments on Communications Innovators' request for declaratory ruling on informational calls to wireless consumers (CG Docket No. 02-278).

Nov. 15 – Deadline for comments on Cargo Airline Association's request for expedited declaratory ruling on autodialed package delivery notifications to wireless phones (CG Docket No. 02-278).

Nov. 15 – Deadline for comments on CallAssistant's request that the FCC clarify applicability of TCPA to operator-supervised prerecorded messages (CG Docket No. 02-278).

Nov. 15 – Deadline for comments on lawfulness of billing practices (CG Docket No. 98-170).

Nov. 19 – Deadline for oppositions to petitions to deny LightSquared request that FCC declare that certain broadband build-out requirements no longer apply (IB Docket No. 12-296).

Nov. 19 – Deadline for comments on CAF modeling of network, customer location (WC Docket No. 10-90 and 05-337).

Nov. 21 – Deadline for comments to refresh record in wireless microphone proceeding (WT Docket Nos. 08-166, 08-167, and ET Docket No. 10-24).

Nov. 23 – Deadline for comments on FCC review of wireless mobile spectrum holdings policy (WT Docket No. 12-269).

This newsletter is not intended to provide legal advice. Those interested in more information should contact the firm. For additional information, contact Hal Mordkofsky at 202-828-5520 or halmor@bloostonlaw.com

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WIRELESS NETWORK PLANNERS LLC
WIRELESS SPECIALISTS

www.wirelessplanners.com
rmercer@wirelessplanners.com

R.H. (Ron) Mercer Consultant 217 First Street South East Northport, NY 11731
Cellphone: 631-786-9359

Intelligent Solutions for Paging & Wireless Data

WiPath manufactures a wide range of highly unique and innovative hardware and software solutions in paging and mobile data for:

• Emergency Mass Alert & Messaging
• Emergency Services Communications
• Utilities Job Management
• Telemetry and Remote Switching
• Fire House Automation
• Load Shedding and Electrical Services Control

PDT3000 Paging Data Terminal

• FLEX & POCSAG
• Built-in POCSAG encoder
• Huge capcode capacity
• Parallel, 2 serial ports, 4 relays
• Message & system monitoring

Paging Controlled Moving Message LED Displays

• Variety of sizes
• Indoor/outdoor
• Integrated paging receiver

PDR3000/PSR3000 Paging Data Receivers

• Highly programmable, off-air decoders
• Message Logging & remote control
• Multiple I/O combinations and capabilities
• Network monitoring and alarm reporting

Specialized Paging Solutions

• Emergency Mass Alerting
• Remote telemetry switching & control
• Fire station automation
• PC interfacing and message management
• Paging software and customized solutions
• Message interception, filtering, redirection, printing & logging Cross band repeating, paging coverage infill, store and forward
• Alarm interfaces, satellite linking, IP transmitters, on-site systems

Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

Contact
Postal Address:	WiPath Communications LLC 4845 Dumbbarton Court Cumming, GA 30040
Street Address:	4845 Dumbbarton Court Cumming, GA 30040
Web site:	www.wipath.com CLICK
E-mail:	info@wipath.com CLICK
Phone:	770-844-6218
Fax:	770-844-6574
WiPath Communications

Wireless Communication Solutions USB Paging Encoder

• Single channel up to eight zones
• Connects to Linux computer via USB
• Programmable timeouts and batch sizes
• Supports 2-tone, 5/6-tone, POCSAG 512/1200/2400, GOLAY
• Supports Tone Only, Voice, Numeric, and Alphanumeric
• PURC or direct connect
• Pictured version mounts in 5.25" drive bay
• Other mounting options available
• Available as a daughter board for our embedded Internet Paging Terminal (IPT)

Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

• Frequency agile—only one receiver to stock
• USB or RS-232 interface
• Two contact closures
• End-user programmable w/o requiring special hardware
• 16 capcodes
• POCSAG
• Eight contact closure version also available
• Product customization available

Other products

• Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.

Contact

Hark Technologies 717 Old Trolley Rd Ste 6 #163 Summerville, SC 29485

Tel: 843-821-6888

Fax: 843-821-6894

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK

Web: http://www.harktech.com CLICK

HARK—EXHIBITS AT CONFERENCE

David George and Bill Noyes
of Hark Technologies.

Motorola Solutions, Motorola Mobility Fortunes Still Divergent

By Maisie Ramsay
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
WirelessWEEK

Before Motorola split itself apart in early 2011, its infrastructure business had long outperformed its handset division, posting regular profits as its smartphone unit sunk further into the red.

That trend is still in place nearly two years after the company's separation.

Motorola Solutions posted healthy third quarter results today, a marked contrast to the handset business it was once combined with.

Motorola Solutions' profits nearly doubled year-over-year to $206 million as sales ticked upwards to $2.15 billion on strength in its government unit. It increased its full-year forecast for sales growth, pegging the increase at between 6 percent and 6.5 percent.

In contrast, Motorola Mobility has lost month in all but two of the past 16 quarters. Its operating loss reached $527 million during the third quarter as its sales slipped to $2.58 billion on dwindling demand for its Android smartphones. Motorola Mobility's performance cost its new parent company, Google, $182 million in amortization expenses, in addition to $349 million in restructuring charges.

Google is aiming to turn Motorola Mobility around after paying $12.5 billion for the beleaguered handset maker. It has laid out a restructuring plan designed to return the company to profitability, and plans to lay off 4,000 Motorola Mobility employees and close about one-third of its facilities while shifting the handset maker's focus toward "more innovative and profitable devices."

Motorola Mobility has tried to resurrect its successful RAZR line with a new portfolio of devices branded with the RAZR moniker, including the Droid RAZR HD, Droid RAZR Maxx and Droid RAZR M.

The smartphones face steep competition in the United States from the likes of Samsung, LG and Apple. ComScore pegs Motorola Mobility's share of the U.S. cell phone market at just 11 percent, compared to Samsung's share of nearly 26 percent.

Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly. . .
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

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