| FRIDAY - APRIL 27, 2007 - ISSUE NO. 259 |
Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging, Lots of interesting news this week. Please note the AAPC Newsletter section—immediatly following—with a tentative schedule of events for the Wireless Forum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It will be held from May 30 to June 1, in the beautiful Marriott Resort. This is a wondurful hotel right on the Atlantic beach. I look forward to this event each year and it is the one wireless industry event that takes presidence over all the others for me. I can't think of anything that I would rather do than spend a few days in a luxury hotel, meeting with old friends, making new ones, walking on a sandy beach and enjoying some great food too! Of course, there are several compelling business reasons for attending this conference. The top experts in our industry will be there and will be presenting ideas that will benefit all of us. If you are too busy to go, then you are just too busy. Now on to the news . . . |
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.) | |||||||||||
| AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PAGING CARRIERS |
Confirmed Exhibiting Companies
Tentative Schedule of Events
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Blackberry hitches a ride on Windows Mobile By Ken Fisher The mobile space just got a lot more interesting thanks to a surprising decision at RIM. The home of the so-called crackberry plague has decided that it's time to stop playing exclusive, and start working on support for phone platforms other than its own. First up, RIM is hopping on board with Windows Mobile via a new software application suite that will let users access typical Blackberry services, such as the e-mail synchronization service. RIM says that the software will be made available later this year, and it will only work on Windows Mobile 6 devices. No word on which devices are yet supported, but the Motorola Q will most likely be among them. According to the announcement, the software suite will offer "BlackBerry e-mail, phone, calendar, address book, tasks, memos, browser, instant messaging and other applications developed for the BlackBerry platform." This last matter is quite interesting: RIM's announcement suggests that Blackberry developers will be able to get on Windows Mobile via this suite. The suite will launch like any other Windows Mobile Application, and users will be able to exit the Blackberry platform to switch back to the standard Windows Mobile interface, if needed. In short, the new application suite can convert a Windows Mobile 6 phone into a Blackberry clone. "Extending BlackBerry applications to a broader range of devices is an important element of RIM's strategy to provide an open platform that supports industry standards and addresses the various needs of our customers and partners," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. "This new software will provide a range of important benefits, including easier support of Windows Mobile-based devices within BlackBerry Enterprise Server environments, a consistent user interface for BlackBerry applications across various devices, and the ability to run third-party applications developed for the BlackBerry platform." It's a smart move by RIM, as it considerably expands the number of phones eligible to use the Blackberry data service, and it also shows that the company knows that its popular data service needs wider platform support than it currently enjoys. It's also a revenue booster for RIM, as the service will require support from your mobile carrier, and it will also require users to subscribe to a Blackberry data plan. RIM would be thrilled to scrape a tenner or more off the top of data plans for Windows Mobile users. Will RIM expand this program to other phones? Only time will tell, but Windows Mobile is in many ways RIM's biggest threat, since many IT shops have to make the decision between Windows Mobile or Blackberry for push e-mail. In this way, Blackberry becomes a safer choice, as it's not necessarily tied to a specific hardware experience. If RIM really wants to impress IT shops sitting on the fence, they should bolster this move by making it easier for smaller businesses to hop on board with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Wider phone support is great, but the biggest complaint I hear from potential RIM customers is the cost of its server products. For a small business with only 10-25 users, Enterprise Server is prohibitively expensive. There is a considerable "hole" in RIM's server offerings between basic push e-mail users relying on third-party e-mail networks and those users blessed enough to have Enterprise Server. RIM has made a smart move by hopping on Windows Mobile, but they should also realize that Windows Mobile is Exchange's turf. RIM needs to make e-mail push for Exchange on Windows Mobile truly cost competitive, and it can't do that without addressing its server licensing. I've got my fingers crossed. |
Source: ARS Tecnica
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YapLink.com Offers Free Instant Broadcast Messaging Service in Response to Recent Tragedy at Virginia Tech 04-24-2007 CARY, N.C. — YapLink.com, a service provided by General Technologies LLC, is providing free access to broadcast messaging for those looking to improve how they get the word out about emergencies or crisis situations. YapLink enables group text messages or emergency broadcasting capabilities to individuals and large groups. One message, created by the user, can be sent via www.YapLink.com to just one or an entire list of group members to the recipient’s cell phone, email, pager, Blackberry®, satellite phone, and computer. Individuals, as well as colleges and universities, are considering these and other measures in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, seeking to improve how they get the word out about emergencies to friends, family, or thousands of students across sprawling campuses. "People use all different kinds of wireless devices today and the YapLink service bridges messaging to all of them. It can be used for any list, from personal groups of friends, to organizations and family emergency preparation," says Matt Cannata, co-founder of General Technologies. The technology, developed in response to the Hurricane Katrina calamity, has been available to the general public for nearly a year. Due to recent tragedies and events, the company feels the public needs to be aware of this service more than ever. YapLink.com and services like it fill the need for groups to receive important messages. “Our goal is to offer people an easy to use medium to broadcast important information to more than one person at a time – to a cell phone, computer, pager, Blackberry, and other type of consumer electronic product. As we've seen, the ability to send or receive a message in crisis situations could make a huge impact on everyone involved,” said Cannata. YapLink is one of many services that offer broadcast messaging. Most recommend that the public research their options, sign on to a service, and set up their recipient list before the need to use it arises. YapLink sends text messages to users of any communication device and is paid for by advertising revenue, not the user. Users can sign up, manage their lists, and broadcast messages online at www.YapLink.com. YapLink currently supports Alltel Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Boost Wireless, CellularOne, Cincinnati Bell, Cingular Wireless, Edge Wireless, EinsteinPCS, Metro PCS, Midwest Wireless, Nextel, Qwest, Simple Freedom, Sprint PCS, Suncom, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Skytel Pagers, Metrocall Pagers, and Iridium Satellite Phone Service. About General Technologies LLC: |
Source: Carolina Newswire
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N.L. officer saves man's life — twice Tuesday, April 24, 2007 By Rachel Gallegos Jess Bernhard describes it as being in the right place at the right time. Doing what he was trained to do as a police officer. For Jeanette Ruegnitz, however, Bernhard's actions were more than that. That's because he has saved her son's life — twice. For his lifesaving, heroic efforts Bernhard will be awarded the title "Hero of the Tri-States" in the law enforcement category by the American Red Cross of the Tri-States. The ceremony will be at 7:30 a.m. May 8 at the Meadows Golf Club in Dubuque. Bern-hard, a police officer with the North Liberty Police Department since December 2005, worked as an officer with the Waukon Police Department at the time, with the two incidents about six months apart in 2001 and 2002, he said. The first time Bernhard met Alex Ruegnitz, Bernhard was on his way to the police station to start his shift. He lived in his hometown of Monona at the time and commuted back and forth. As he made his way down the windy, hilly road, he came to a flat area and saw the glow of a fire. "I couldn't tell it was a motor vehicle until I was right there," he said. When he stopped and got out of his vehicle, he saw the SUV smoking and the windows knocked out. The man inside was not moving and was covered in blood. "He had the look of a dead man on his face," said Bernhard, 36. "I urged him on to help me get him out of there," he said, but it was difficult because the truck was so crinkled up and bent from rolling several times that Bernhard couldn't open the door. "I got him away as the vehicle engulfed in flames," he said. After Bernhard moved Alex far enough away and settled him down on the ground, Alex's eyes popped open and he sat up, Bernhard said. "He just looked at me and said, 'my truck, my truck,'" Bernhard said. Bernhard said he didn't know Alex at the time, but a few days later realized he did know Alex's parents. As fate would have it, when Bernhard found a home in Waukon, it was right behind the Ruegnitz's home. That was the reason Bernhard was there to save Alex's life a second time. He was at home when he heard his fire pager mention an address on the street parallel to his. He was already in his backyard, Bernhard said, so he decided to go over and see if he could help. As he ran between the houses, he saw Alex's parents in shock outside the house. They told him Alex needed help in the bedroom. When he found Alex, he was blue with a weak pulse, Bernhard said. He started doing CPR, giving breaths. At the first push down on Alex's chest, he sputtered, gasped and came to, Bernhard said. Saving the life of the same man twice wasn't something Bernhard realized until days later, he said. "It really didn't sink in," he said. "You just go into go mode and your training kicks in." "I just felt like it was the right thing to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in this profession," Bernhard said. "I think its humble beginnings of small-town boy that has gotten me to where I'm at now," he said. Both incidents were alcohol related, Bernhard said. "He's struggled a long time with alcohol," he said. "I don't think he was trying to kill himself." Ruegnitz, whose son Alex is now 34, said she nominated Bernhard because he's been so humble about these events. "He gave our son two more chances at life with those heroic events," she said. "He's never left our heart," Ruegnitz said. "He's left our territory, but he's never left our hearts." |
Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen
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Messaging & Cellular
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Security: our present and future April 23, 2007 We cannot predict acts of violence; we can only allow ourselves the best preparation. he bomb threat on the East Bank campus last Wednesday, two days following the violence at Virginia Tech, has left the University community with its own feelings of uncertainty about safety. Colleges and universities across the nation are questioning their own preparedness for unexpected violence or threats. This leaves us looking at our present and future security position. At the University, we have a Department of Emergency Management whose employees understand that using one method for notifying the University community of an emergency situation will not always be successful. Therefore, it lists a series of procedure options that might be used during a threat. A fire alarm is the most familiar method to students. It calls for an immediate evacuation of a building. The DEM might use a fire alarm to indicate evacuation for other reasons. Radios that can broadcast messages throughout University departments are available from the DEM. Higher University officials share a pager system from which they get alert messages from the University Police Department. The DEM also states that e-mail and even word of mouth are essential reaction tools to an emergency. All emergency situations will be listed on OneStop. The University Department of Safety also offers a reporting service that allows anyone to unanimously report suspicious behavior to University security and UMPD with UREPORT. However, in any instance that might be immediately threatening, call 911. Last week's bomb threat at the University and the shootings at Virginia Tech brought light to the problem that e-mail notification does not reach enough people fast enough in emergencies. In the future, we see intercom systems and heightened security surveillance being key contributors to campus safety, both here and across the nation. The best way to protect ourselves is to have a common goal of awareness and communication. We cannot predict random acts of violence; we can only allow ourselves the best preparation for dealing with them. |
Source: The Minnesota Daily
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| Registration Number | Status | File Number | Owner Name | Latitude Longitude | Structure City/State | Overall Height Above Ground (AGL) | |
| 1 | 1050903 | Constructed | A0382848 | CSSI* | 32-16-09.0N 098-18-52.0W | Lingleville, TX map | 93.0 |
| 2 | 1050905 | Constructed | A0446642 | CSSI* | 32-49-04.8N 098-06-13.3W | Mineral Wells, TX map | 24.8 |
| 3 | 1056264 | Constructed | A0446643 | CSSI* | 32-58-33.0N 097-56-33.0W | Whitt, TX map | 92.4 |
| 4 | 1057649 | Constructed | A0382852 | CSSI* | 32-20-33.0N 097-44-57.0W | Glen Rose, TX map | 60.9 |
| 5 | 1057656 | Constructed | A0446641 | CSSI* | 32-18-08.0N 098-29-36.0W | Desmona, TX map | 83.2 |
| 6 | 1057659 | Constructed | A0382844 | CSSI* | 32-21-23.0N 099-26-01.0W | Baird, TX map | 89.3 |
| 7 | 1232880 | Constructed | A0317614 | CSSI* | 32-51-05.0N 098-06-31.8W | Mineral Wells, TX map | 134.0 |
| 8 | 1042515 | Constructed | A0050114 | CSSI* | 32-44-21.0N 097-48-00.0W | Weatherford, TX map map—close up | 112.8 |
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Small army of sensors invades city Data nodes form research network
By Janice O'Leary, Globe Correspondent | April 22, 2007 Rosario's got the ball, she passes it to Josh Bers . Then Racing has the ball and passes it to Bers. In this field, the ball is actually data, and Rosario and Racing — named for two Argentine soccer teams — are wireless sensors on the roof of BBN Technologies in Cambridge. The sensors are part of the world's first high-powered, fixed, outdoor, wireless sensor network, called CitySense. Right now the network senses only weather data, but researchers expect that to change once the entire 100-node network is in place throughout Cambridge. Bers, a senior engineer at BBN Technologies, heads the project with Matt Welsh, an assistant professor of computer science at Harvard University. Via the Internet, they can log on to the CitySense site and check the information being detected and transmitted by the two nodes atop BBN: wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. Eventually, anyone will be able to log on to the site and not only check data, but also run their own experiments. "We don't need 100 weather sensors in Cambridge," Welsh said, "but we are really researching how such an urban network will work that can then have later practical applications." "There are lots of possible applications for the future," said Bers. "Urban pollution monitoring in Cambridge for one." He hopes the network could be used by developing countries to help study, for instance, whether new emissions regulations in those countries are working. With the help of the city electrician, George Fernandez, 20 new nodes will be mounted on street lights, hopefully by the end of the summer, said Bers. The sensors will then tap into the lamps' electricity for power and data messages can hop from one node to another to transmit information. "It works like walkie-talkies do," he said. "Across radio waves. Each radio has a range to send data." Bers, a fan of Argentina's soccer teams, named the five BBN nodes after several of them: Rosario, Racing, River, Boca, and San Lorenzo. Welsh's team of student researchers at Harvard named their five nodes for characters from the "Family Guy" cartoon. A third researcher on the project, Majid Ezzati, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, plans to study air quality using particulate sensors that will later be mounted on some of the nodes Bers and Welsh put up. The National Science Foundation provided the grant money to fund CitySense. Welsh and Bers are especially excited about the project being an open test bed, meaning that any researcher around the world could run an experiment on this Cambridge network. "An open test bed lets people reprogram the network to run their own experiments," Welsh said. Each node contains a tiny computer that can upload programs. "Researchers can then have access remotely over the Internet," he said. Welsh said most research into sensor networking is being done in remote locations using battery-powered sensors that have a limited longevity. "This is an entirely different system; it can be more powerful over a long period of time and we could use more sophisticated embedded PCs to do data collection and computations." Welsh, considered an expert in remote sensing networks, said the Cambridge project comes out of his interest in building large-scale networks of systems. He has created networks to monitor volcanic activity in Ecuador and is working on another for medical use, called CodeBlue. In that project, he places sensors on patients, with approval, to monitor heart rate and blood oxygenation levels. If the sensor detects a dangerous change, it can transmit a message directly to a doctor's pager. Regarding CitySense, though, he said, "Putting this together opens up more questions than answers. We hope that others will get funding to add other sensors atop these. "My hope is that the really juicy applications haven't even been thought up yet." |
Source: The Boston Globe
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| BLOOSTON, MORDKOFSKY, DICKENS, DUFFY & PRENDERGAST, LLP |
BloostonLaw Telecom Update FCC Seeks Comment On Assessment and Collection Of FY 2007 Regulatory Fees The FCC has proposed collecting $290,295,160 in regulatory fees for fiscal year (FY) 2007. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued last week, the Commission seeks comment on the development of FY 2007 regulatory fees collected pursuant to section 9 of the Communications Act. It tentatively proposes to retain the established methods and policies that the Commission has used to collect regulatory fees since FY 2003. In addition to seeking comment on the assessment methodology, the Commission typically seeks comment on various administrative and operational issues affecting the collection of regulatory fees. For the FY 2007 regulatory fee cycle, it proposes to retain the vast majority of the administrative measures used for notification, assessment, and pre-billing of regulatory fees in previous years, such as generating pre-completed regulatory fee assessment forms for certain regulatees. Consistent with past practice, the FCC seeks comment on ways to improve the Commission’s administrative processes for notifying entities of their regulatory fee obligations and collecting their payments. Finally, it seeks comment on applying the same regulatory fee obligations applicable to interstate telecommunications providers to providers of interconnected voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. Comments in this MD Docket No. 07-81 proceeding are due May 3, and replies are due May 11. The Commission intends to collect these regulatory fees in the August-September 2007 time frame in order to collect the required amount by the end of the fiscal year. CMRS Messaging: Since FY 2003, the Commission has maintained the commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) Messaging regulatory fee at the rate that was established in FY 2002 (i.e., $0.08 per subscriber) to account for the messaging industry’s declining subscriber base. The FCC notes that between FY 1997 and FY 2006, the CMRS Messaging subscriber base declined 79.7 percent from 40.8 million to 8.3 million, respectively. It proposes to continue the same approach for regulatory fees applicable to the messaging industry in FY 2007, thereby maintaining the industry’s regulatory fee at $0.08 per subscriber. It seeks comment on this proposal. BRS Licensees: Recently, the Commission adopted a megahertz-based formula for Broadband Radio Service (BRS) licensees with tiered fees by markets, similar to but more complex than the Commission’s annual scale of regulatory fees paid by broadcast television stations. According to this formula, annual fees will be charged on a per-megahertz basis based upon three categories of Basic Trading Areas (BTA) population rankings: Licensees in BTA rankings 1-60 will pay the highest fee, licensees in BTA rankings 61-200 will pay a lesser fee, and licensees in BTA rankings 201-493 will pay the lowest fee. Because this formula is complex, the FCC is assessing the impact of this methodology (using a per-megahertz formula and a BTA populating ranking) on the manner in which regulatory fees are calculated for this class of licensees. The FCC seeks comment on how to devise a simple method of calculating regulatory fees that incorporates BTA population rankings and a per-megahertz fee for future fiscal years. The FCC specifically seeks comment on a formula for calculating regulatory fees that not only incorporates BTAs and a per-megahertz fee, but a formula that is also sensitive to rural operators in less densely populated areas. It seeks comment on this proposal. Due to the complexities mentioned above and the need for detailed analysis, however, the FCC will not implement any such changes for FY 2007. VoIP: The FCC tentatively concludes that providers of interconnected VoIP service should pay regulatory fees. During FY 2006, the Commission concluded that providers of interconnected VoIP services should contribute to the Universal Service Fund (USF). Based on section 9’s broad mandate that the Commission “assess and collect regulatory fees to recover the costs” of regulatory activities and its analysis in the 2006 Interim Contribution Methodology Order, the Commission tentatively concludes that the it has the legal authority to extend regulatory fee obligations to interconnected VoIP service providers. It seeks comment on whether it should assess regulatory fees on providers of interconnected VoIP services based on their revenue, which would be consistent with the regulatory fee methodology used for interstate telecommunications service providers, or whether the Commission should assess regulatory fees using a numbers-based approach, which would be consistent with the methodology used for CMRS providers. Cable TV: Last year, for the first time, the FCC sent a message to e-mail addresses populated in the Media Bureau’s Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) to notify recipients of the FY 2006 regulatory fee payment due date and the fee amount for basic cable television subscribers. The Commission proposes to continue this effort for FY 2007. It also proposes to discontinue its practice of sending fee assessment letters via surface mail to cable television operators who are on file as having paid regulatory fees the previous fiscal year. The FCC seeks comment on our proposals. Cellular vs. mobile: In FY 2006, the FCC streamlined the CMRS payment process by eliminating the requirement for CMRS providers to identify their individual calls signs when making their regulatory fee payment, requiring instead for CMRS providers to pay their regulatory fees only at the aggregate subscriber level without having to identify their various call signs. The FCC proposes to continue this practice in FY 2007. It seeks comment on this proposal. As an additional measure to reduce the administrative burden on CMRS licensees, the FCC proposes to consolidate the CMRS cellular and CMRS mobile fee categories into one fee category, thereby eliminating the requirement for CMRS providers to separate their subscriber counts into CMRS cellular and CMRS mobile fee categories during the regulatory fee payment process. It seeks comment on this proposal. In the FY 1998 Report and Order, the Commission classified Wireless Communications Service (WCS), which included Personal Communications Services (Part 24), as a CMRS Mobile Service, stating that the Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) is “an ‘umbrella’ descriptive term attributed to various existing broadband services authorized to provide interconnected mobile radio services” However, beginning in FY 1998, a separate fee code was provided for Personal Communications Service (PCS) to monitor the number of units in this category of service. In recent years, the need to track the number of units for CMRS cellular and CMRS mobile separately has become unnecessary, especially for regulatory fee purposes. Therefore, beginning in FY 2007, the FCC proposes to consolidate the CMRS cellular and CMRS mobile fee categories into one CMRS fee category. To illustrate, in FY 2007 the CMRS cellular fee category of “0711” and the CMRS mobile fee category of “0712” would be consolidated into the fee category of “0711.” Licensees paying regulatory fees for CMRS cellular and CMRS mobile will need only to identify their aggregate subscriber unit totals under the fee code of “0711.” The FCC seeks comment on this proposal. Consistent with past practice, regulatees whose total FY 2006 regulatory fee liability, including all categories of fees for which payment is due, amounts to less than $10 will be exempted from payment of FY 2007 regulatory fees. VONAGE WINS STAY IN PATENT DISPUTE: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. has issued Vonage a permanent stay of a previous court's injunction that would have barred it from signing up new customers during its patent litigation with Verizon. Vonage sought the stay following an April 6 decision by the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., enjoining the company from using certain voice over Internet protocol (VoIP ) technology to add new customers. The permanent stay enables Vonage to add new customers as it pursues its appeal. The Federal Circuit has scheduled a June 25 hearing on the appeal. |
Source: Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy and Prendergast, LLP
For additional information, contact Hal Mordkofsky at 202-828-5520 or halmor@bloostonlaw.com
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Vonage – An Anachronism or an Antecedent? Stephen M. Dye, Consulting Analyst Hats off to Vonage. It didn't just jump on the VoIP bandwagon; it created it, and for that the company deserves a bit of respect. With over two million active subscribers attracted to its aggressive pricing and unique services, Vonage generated enough buzz to make “Vonage” and “VoIP” household names. But after a failed IPO and a damning patent lawsuit, even its funny commercials and catchy slogans won’t be enough to save the company. Vonage is Dead. Long Live the VON Age The problem though, is despite getting what we need, we want more. We want at least three services from a single provider, and at significant discounts on one monthly bill. Yes, we want TV, Internet and voice, all for less. As well, we might also want mobile phone service (creating a quadruple service) and at an even larger discount. The Market is Always Right, Kind Of So, with the advent of broadband and soft switches, it seems only right that the market should yield an entrepreneur who puts it all together to create a virtual phone network that captures the hearts and purse strings of the savvy consumer and, at the same time, raises the ire of incumbents. It appeared that the U.S. market determined that though Vonage was a bit of novelty when compared to traditional phone services (both in terms of its technology, its business model, and its pricing models). It leveraged your existing broadband connection to make phone calls without dealing with your local phone company. But the incumbents didn't stand still and looked to deploy VoIP on a much broader scale than Vonage ever could. It seems the old dinosaurs have awoken, roaming the earth for sustenance, and guess who’s coming for dinner? The VON Age: An All-IP World In merging their networks, the new telecom emperors could bundle voice, Internet, video, and mobile all under a single umbrella. The new subscribers they’d gain promise to generate much more revenue and at a higher margin. In this scenario, the growth prospects of Vonage and Clearwire become severely stunted. With competition from profitable, multi service-offering juggernauts, coupled with the recent lawsuit victory by Verizon, Vonage starts to bleed profusely. It is interesting to note that Vonage and Clearwire remind us of those bubble companies which lived at the end of the last millennium, when it was en vogue to go public with no profit. All you needed was a catchy name, a website, and a snake oil salesman. This time around, only a few fell for that and, quite frankly, I am surprised at whom I see as some of the investors. Vonage’s Last Hope – Survival by Being Eaten A second possibility is a merger between Vonage, possibly Clearwire, an ISP, and a cable company or satellite TV provider, or some combination thereof. This could create a second- or third-tier MSO capable of filling in the gaps left by the incumbents, giving New Co. the opportunity to take them on in all markets. There’s much truth in the ‘differentiate or die’ maxim and both Vonage and Clearwire’s management must realize that being a single-service provider is not the form of difference for which you want to be known. Enter IMS IMS is not without its challenges and the report also examiners the steps and precautions both vendors and service providers will have to take in order to not only succeed with their transition to IMS, but also how to survive in the IMS world. About the Author: About The Diffusion Group (TDG): |
Source: TDG Research
(This article was sent in by Ken Krassy, and old friend and paging industry colleague.)
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• FIREHOUSES • SCHOOLS • PUBLIC FACILITIES • GOVERNMENT FACILITIES • EMERGENCY ROOMS • WHAT DO FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, WISPS, HAVE IN COMMON? THEY ALL USE NIGHTHAWK. Nighthawk Systems Inc. manufactures low cost and reliable remote control products for fire house alerting, volunteer alerting, activation of warning signs and sirens, and a number of applications for public safety. The Company manufactures the EA1 and the FAS-8 which have been designed specifically for these applications. Both products are paging based and will work with any public or private paging network. They are available in all VHF, UHF, and 900 MHz paging frequencies. The products can serve as the primary notification system or an excellent, low-cost backup to existing systems.
The EA1 is the solution for remotely activating public warning signage. Examples include tornado sirens, flash flood warnings, fire danger, Amber Alert, icy roads, etc. The EA1 can also send text messages to scrolling signs. This can occur in conjunction with the activation of audible alarms and visual strobes. This is ideal for public notification in buildings, schools, hotels, factories, etc. The group call feature allows for any number of signs or flashing lights to be activated at the same time over a wide geographic area. In addition, the EA1 Emergency Alert is the perfect solution for low cost yet highly effective alerting of volunteer fire fighters in their home. When activated the EA1 will emit an audible alarm and activate the power outlet on the units faceplate. A common setup is to simply place the EA1 on a table and plug a lamp into the faceplate. When paged from dispatch or any touch tone phone the EA1 will awaken the fire fighter to a lit room. As an option the EA1 can be ordered with a serial cable, allowing for attachment of a serial printer. When paged the alphanumeric message will be printed out at the same time the alarm sounds and the outlet is activated. The EA1 is an ideal complement to alphanumeric belt pagers common to volunteers.
The FAS-8 is designed for activating one or more relays in a firehouse and if desired, printing the alphanumeric message to a serial printer. For this application the FAS-8 is set to activate upon receiving the proper paging cap code sent from 911 dispatch. Up to eight different devices can be activated all with individual time functions. The most common devices to turn on include the PA amplifier, audible wake up alarm, and house lights. The most common device turned off is the stove. The FAS-8 can accept up to 8 different cap codes and have separate relay and time functions per cap code. This allows for different alerting to be accomplished at the same physical location depending upon which cap code is sent. This can be very helpful when fire crews and medical crews are housed in the same building.
Put the innovative technology of Nighthawk to work for you. For more information on any of our products or services, please contact us. Nighthawk Systems, Inc. Phone: 877-764-4484 |
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Download Mr. Mercer's resumé. | ||||||||||
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Complete Technical Services For The Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.
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Motorola to Pay $23 Million in Legal Fees By Teresa von Fuchs After celebrity lawyer Willie Gary asked for $11,000 an hour while representing a failed suit against Motorola, a Florida judge has ruled that Motorola must pay nearly $23 million in legal fees. SPS Technologies tried to sue Motorola for $10 billion claiming that the company had stolen its technology. The trial collapsed when Motorola supposedly violated a judge's order and let a witness read transcripts of the trial. Although $23 million doesn't necessarily equal the hourly rate Gary had asked for, his estimates totaled $24.5 million just for his work; he did seem pleased with the ruling. After the hearing he told reporters "I feel the judge sent a message to corporate America and to Motorola that you can't cheat and get away with it." |
Source : Wireless Week
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
From: waynem@handypage.net
Subject: Item in Apr 20 issue
Date: April 25, 2007 1:41:33 PM CDT
To: brad@braddye.com
Reply-To: waynem@handypage.net
I take issue with the DOOM AND GLOOM article you had in your April 20th issue about the end of an era of Paging in Japan !!!
What is NOT explained in this article is that NTT DoMoCo is also the Cellular carrier there.
The use of Paging may be declining in Japan, but since NTT owned both the Paging and Cellular in Japan, the elimination of the Paging system was probably more of a choice of offering a service that had unlimited calls for a set price per month, or being able to package their cellular and text messaging all in one product and then being able to make far more additional money from text messaging "usage".
This was the same situation in China where the Paging carrier shut down their system, although they had a decline in the amount of users, they also owned the cellular system. More money could be made on the text messaging charges than from the way Paging is billed.
This brings us back to a decision of Verizon to sell their Paging system. My understanding is that although the number of Pagers was declining, the system was still profitable. But Verizon wanted to concentrate on where the bigger money was, and that was with Cellular.
Nextel did the same thing to their Two-way radio customers, by shutting down the flat rate billed Trunking radio systems and forcing the customers onto the more profitable IDEN cellular system.
American Messaging evidently felt that Paging was still a profitable business by buying Verizon's system. The same can be said with Bell Industries purchase of Skytel.
Your article goes on to state that there are still going to be 2 Paging carriers left operating in Japan. So this is not by any means the death knell of Paging in Japan that is headlined in this article !!
Given the chance, most companies WILL opt for running and promoting the system that they can get the most return on their dollar, and try to use their corporate might to push any customers from an older system to the more profitable system.
This is also why I have been pushing the Paging Industry to try and find a way to turn the nation's existing Paging systems and frequencies from One-way Paging into Two-way Messaging. There is more money to be made in two-way Messaging then in flat rate billed Paging.
Wayne Markis
Interstate Wireless, Inc.
(Handy Page)
Tempe, Az.
480-350-9400
waynem@handypage.net
From: Gagan Purnak gagan.puranik@gmail.com
Subject: Baby Girl Puranik. . .
Date: April 13, 2007 2:46:41 PM CDT
Baby Girl Puranik arrived yesterday at 11:30 am ET weighing 6 pounds 2 ounces, 18.5 inches long. Both baby and mother are doing fine. . .
Regards,
Gagan
From: tedasap@asapchoice.com
Subject: If one picture is worth a thousand words . . .
Date: April 26, 2007 9:06:43 AM CDT
What is this picture worth?
It took my breath away!
Ted Gaetjen — President
TAPS — Texas Association of Paging Systems
361-798-4943
tedasap@asapchoice.com
| UNTIL NEXT WEEK |
That's all for this week.
With best regards, | Brad Dye P.O. Box 13283 |  |  | |
| Skype: | braddye | WIRELESS  MESSAGING | ||
| Telephone: | +1-217-787-2346 | |||
| E–mail: | brad@braddye.com | |||
| Web: | Consulting page  MAY I HELP YOU? | |||
| THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK |
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.” Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org |
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