Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging,

The media's attention to Motorola's woes reminds me of a school of piranhas feeding. I don't think Motorola deserves all this negative press. They are a great company — down but not out. Lets give them a chance to recuperate. In my view, it's the board's fault for bringing in outsiders to run the company and paying them obscene amounts of money — only to make things worse.

How Do You Mobilize Over 30,000 Expert Radio Operators, With Their Own Equipment, and Emergency Generators, On A Moment's Notice?

Call The Ham Radio Operators!

Field Day is the culmination of a weeklong "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL. Using only emergency power supplies, ham radio operators construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards to demonstrate that they can send messages in many forms without using telephone systems, the Internet or any other infrastructure which might be compromised in a crisis. More than 34,000 amateur radio operators in the United States participated in last year's Field Day activities. [source]

The 4th of July in the USA

In the United States, Independence Day commonly known as the Fourth of July is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Miami Fireworks Display on the 4th of July

New York City Fireworks Display on the 4th of July

Independence Day, the only holiday that celebrates the United States, is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.

Families often celebrate Independence Day with a picnic or barbecue, and take advantage of the day off and in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades often are in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares. [source]

Now on to more news and views. . .

Wireless Messaging Newsletter
Paging Telemetry Wireless Messaging Location-Based Services VoIP Wi-Fi WiMAX Critical Messaging Emergency Radio Communications	WIRELESS MESSAGING

This newsletter is brought to you by the generous support of our advertisers and the courtesy of iland Internet Solutions Corporation. For more information about the web-hosting services available from iland Internet Solutions Corporation, please click on their logo to the left.

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 readers' 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.)

The local newspaper here in Springfield, Illinois costs 75¢ a copy and it NEVER mentions paging. If you receive some benefit from this publication maybe you would like to help support it financially? A donation of $25.00 would represent approximately 50¢ a copy for one year. If you are so inclined, please click on the PayPal Donate button above. No trees were chopped down to produce this electronic newsletter.

ENTERPRISE WIRELESS 2008
November 5 – 7
Doubletree Paradise Valley Hotel

Registration is now open!
Click here to register.

AAPC Refocuses Mission

Our mission is to foster and enhance paging-related technologies to ensure the world-wide growth of the industry by:

• Providing a forum for industry participants to exchange knowledge, technology, and new business opportunities;
• Advocating for legal and regulatory matters;
• Developing, promoting, and administering paging-related standards
• Creating a unified voice for the paging industry.

For a summary of membership benefits and a membership application, please click on the Join AAPC graphic above. AAPC—Promoting Paging Technologies!

Thanks to our Gold Vendor member!

PRISM Paging

Thanks to our Bronze Member Vendors!

• Commtech Wireless
• Critical Response Systems, Inc.
• Hark Technologies
• Inilex, Inc.
• Microspace Communications Corporation
• Minilec Service, Inc.
• Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
• Raven Systems
• United Communications Corporation

Why your text messages are not private

June 29th, 2008
Posted by Richard Koman

The media, including your correspondent, reported last week that the Ninth Circuit decision in Quon v Arch clearly established an employee’s right of privacy in his text messages, even on an employer-issued pager.

The court said that a police department that looked through an officer’s text message transcripts in violation of its own informal policy and without the employee’s consent violated his Fourth Amendment rights against search and seizure.

But Matthew Hirsch at GigaOm rightly points out that the holding was considerably narrower than that. The holding was limited to government employment situations. That’s because the Fourth Amendment only applies to government action.

It is a fundamental concept in constitutional law that no individual rights attach unless their is government action. Private companies or individuals who the state is somehow intertwined with may be deemed to be “state actors” (classic example: the segregated coffee shop located in the government-owned parking garage). But short of such relationship, the Fourth Amendment does not apply to private employers.

What’s not clear is whether the court was applying some special rules for public employment or some more general Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, the Volokh Conspiracy notes.

To make a long story short, such policies are critical in the public employment context under O’Connor v. Ortega, but are not very important in the private employment context (except to the extent it provides third party consent rights for the employer).

In any case, notes Philip Gordon, all employers have to do is distribute “a policy unambiguously stating that employees communications using corporate resources will be monitored and are not private.”

Speaking of Fourth Amendment stuff, check out my lengthy article on last year’s Supreme Court decision that passengers in cars pulled over in a traffic stop are seized for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

Motorola appoints new leadership for handset business

Posted by Will on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

There really aren't words to describe Motorola's fall from glory. Perhaps words like spectacular, incredible, amazing were apt descriptions of Motorola's once giant-footprint on the global wireless stage. But, today, those same words could be used to describe the company's almost perplexing fall from up high.

Motorola's leadership has failed, since the days of Ed Zander and now with Greg Brown's arguable ineptitude, to capitalize on their fantastic success with the RAZR lineup of slim flip-phones. And, following quarter after quarter of massive net losses due to its handset manufacturing business, Motorola has attempted to turn their wayward ship around with repeated job-cuts and confused corporate restructuring. Most significantly, Motorola has decided to spin-off its handset business, in hopes that it can still make money from its cellphone-making business.

But, the problem Motorola is currently facing is rooted in the company leadership's apparent inability to, at once, find good executive managers of its various cellphone divisions and refusal to cut-off its useless heads and start fresh.

To help remedy their current problems, Motorola has appointed new leadership for its handset divisions in the China/Taiwan, Asia-Pacific, EMEA, and North American markets. Motorola has seen massive market share losses in all regions, but perhaps the most damaging is Moto's decline in its home market - the US. Once a US handset market giant, Motorola is now dangerously close to being passed up by Samsung and LG in terms of market share.

And, with Motorola's next big hit, the 5-megapixel Kodak-branded Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5 cameraphone, slated for an initial launch in China, Motorola's future in the US questionable. Rather than concentrating on taking back its single largest and home market, Motorola is hocking its wares in lesser markets - which may be a sign that Motorola itself realizes the ZN5 may not fly all that high in the US.

Whatever the case, we can only hope that Motorola's leadership can at least build a marketable handset business so that another manufacturer can come in and turn things around. Otherwise, our beloved Motorola will shrink away in to network-equipment obscurity.

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AT&T to Offer iPhone Without Contract

07/01/08 - 01:11 PM EDT
Robert Holmes
Updated from 10:20 a.m. EDT

AT&T announced additional pricing details for Apple's next-generation iPhone, which the company will begin selling next week, including the disclosure that buyers will have an option to purchase the device without a contract.

AT&T reaffirmed that it will offer the 3G iPhone at a subsidized price to subscribers who are activating a new line with the wireless provider or to current customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount. Those subscribers can buy the iPhone 3G for $199 for the 8-gigabyte model or $299 for the 16-gigabyte version. Those prices require two-year contracts, AT&T said.

Existing AT&T subscribers who don't qualify for an upgrade discount can purchase the iPhone 3G for $399 for the 8-gigabyte model or $499 for the 16-gigabyte device. Both options will require a new two-year service agreement. Current AT&T customers who are upgrading to iPhone 3G will pay an $18 upgrade fee and new AT&T customers will pay the standard $36 activation fee, the company said.

AT&T also divulged the unsubsidized cost of the iPhone 3G, saying it will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 for the 8-gigabyte iPhone or $699 for the 16-gigabyte "in the future." Previously, both Apple and AT&T had not announced plans to sell the iPhone 3G without a service contract.

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Swiss high court allows Motorola to get Uzan funds in Swiss banks

The Associated Press
Published: July 2, 2008

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: Switzerland's highest court has ruled that Motorola Inc. will receive disputed funds the former owners of the Turkish telecom company Telsim had deposited in Swiss banks.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal in the ruling published Wednesday rejected an appeal by members of the wealthy Uzan family against a 2006 Zurich court ruling to transfer the funds to Motorola Inc.

The ruling did not specify the amount of the money, but billions of dollars have been involved in the case, the main part of which is in the United States.

Switzerland's highest court said the lawsuit filed by Motorola Credit Corp. against the Uzans was under American jurisdiction. It only decided on the part of the case that concerned funds in Swiss banks.

A U.S. federal judge in July 2003 ordered the Uzan family to pay more than US$4 billion to a division of Motorola Inc., finding that the family bilked the telecommunications giant with an "almost endless series of lies."

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, ruling on a civil lawsuit in New York, also ordered five leading members of the Uzan family to be arrested if they set foot in the United States.

Motorola Credit Corp. and Nokia Corp. had accused the Uzans of borrowing money to build a next-generation wireless network — with no intention of paying back the money.

From 1998 to 2000, Motorola and Nokia transferred US$2.7 billion in loans to the Uzan-controlled telecom company, Telsim. The family diverted at least US$1 billion of that money to their own pockets and other entities, the 2003 ruling found.

A Zurich district court in 2006 said the U.S. ruling was to be carried out in Switzerland, including transferring funds of the Uzans in Swiss banks to Motorola. The Uzans appealed against the decision.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected their appeal saying that there is no doubt the U.S. justice was in charge of the Uzan trial. It also rejected the appellants' claim that implementing the U.S. ruling would breach public order in Switzerland.

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'Serving the Paging industry since 1987'

Skype taps former Motorola exec for COO post

Posted by Marguerite Reardon
July 1, 2008 10:26 AM PDT

Internet calling provider Skype said Tuesday that it has hired Scott Durchslag, a former Motorola executive, to become its chief operating officer.

Durchslag spent more than five years at Motorola where he was most recently corporate vice president of global product and experience invention for the mobile devices business unit. Skype said that while in that position Durchslag "led product strategy, innovation, intellectual property, design, user interfaces, consumer experiences, partnerships, product marketing, and customer care."

The fact that Durchslag was in charge of "strategy" and "innovation" for Motorola's device business at a time when the company lost significant market share to competitors, because it lacked innovative and compelling handsets, isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. Motorola's poor handset performance led to the ouster of former CEO Ed Zander and a planned spinoff of the mobile device unit.

That said, Durchslag had some significant successes at Motorola. He helped strike deals with Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Kodak to bring new services to Motorola's mobile devices. And in a previous role at the company, he was in charge of Motorola's South Asia region where he was able to build a business with the highest margins for Motorola, according to the Skype press release.

When he joined Motorola in 2002 as chief strategy officer of the Personal Communications Sector, he helped develop the turnaround strategy that doubled market share and revenue for that part of the business between 2002 and 2007, Skype also said in a statement.

Josh Silverman, who was named Skype's president in March and will be Durchslag's new boss, is confident that his new charge will help Skype innovate and bring new services to market.

"Scott has an outstanding track record and will be able to help us apply best practices in staying ever more customer-focused and nimble, even while becoming larger," he said in a statement.

Skype provides free and low-cost voice, video calling, and instant-messaging services over the Internet. The company was acquired by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion. And even though it is by far the most successful voice over IP services company in terms of users with 309 million registered users worldwide, it hasn't been a financial success for eBay. In fact, last year, eBay took a $900 million so-called impairment write-down against the value of Skype. In essence, the company admitted to shareholders that it has taken a loss on its original investment.

Still, eBay is determined to make something of its investment. Mobile is likely the next frontier for Skype. And Durchslag's experience could help the company come up with a viable strategy. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Accused Motorola spy denies charges, blames work overload

Security
By Humphrey Cheung
Friday, June 27, 2008 14:03

Chicago (IL) – A woman accused of stealing Motorola corporate secrets denies that she is a spy. In a federal indictment, former Motorola software engineer Huanjuan Jin is accused of copying hundreds of documents from Motorola’s internal servers and then trying to board a plane to China. She claims that her supervisor overloaded her with work and that she was merely taking the documents to keep up, but prosecutors say her motives were much more sinister.

Two years ago, Jin took a medical leave of absence from Motorola claiming that she had a life-threatening disease. She flew to China where authorities allege that she met with representatives of a Chinese computer company. Apparently she agreed to steal Motorola secrets and the prosecutors say she downloaded more than 600 documents from Motorola’s servers when she got back — those are some real secure servers you got there Motorola. Jin then copied everything to her laptop, portable hard drives and USB flash sticks and headed to O’Hare airport with a one-way ticket to Beijing.

Jin was caught after Customs agents found all the drives and $30,000 in cash (Jin had only declared $10,000) after a 'routine check'. Most likely the declaration of $10,000 and the one-way ticket came up as red flags for the officers and prompted the secondary inspection, at least we can hope right?

In the past year, China has been accused of organizing an extensive hacking campaign against the United States and other countries. China recently denied such charges by saying that it wasn't skill enough, some US government officials think otherwise. Earlier in the month, US Representatives Frank Wolf and Chris Smith accused China of hacking into congressional computers and in May, government officials say the Commerce Secretary’s laptop may have been cloned when he visited China for trade talks.

Americans heading to China for this summer’s Olympics are advised to be especially careful with their laptops and phones. Larry Wortzel, chairman of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, recently said, “There is a high likelihood – virtually 100% - that if an individual is of security, political, or business interest to Chinese … security services or high technology industries, their electronics can and will be tampered with or penetrated.”

Motorola claims the information contained in the documents are valued at $600,000. Sounds like they are valuing the stuff at $1000 a document.
An ABC 7 reporter caught up to Jin and asked her a few questions. You can judge for yourself whether she is telling the truth or lying.

ABC 7 Video

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Text Messaging Remains Most Important Feature for Cell Phone Buyer, Survey Says

July 2, 2008

According to a survey of cell phone users commissioned by ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. and conducted by independent research firm Amplitude Research, buyers of new cell phones view accessing the Internet (61%) and email capabilities (63%) as most important features along with such items as text messaging (73%) and a camera (67%). Among the list of 19 items respondents selected from, music (34%) and video capability (33%) were also frequent choices, with only a small percentage selecting such features as battery life (0.5%) or voice activation (0.33%).

Fifteen years have passed since Neil Papworth in England sent the world's first text message to a cell phone with the simple phrase of "Merry Christmas" to the person receiving the greeting on his cell phone, Richard Jarvis. "We've come a long way since that first text message was sent to a cell phone from a computer keyboard — because at that time cell phones were not yet designed to type out and send individual letters of the alphabet," said Kiyo Oishi, COO, ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. "It's truly a milestone that in 2008, 73% of new cell phone buyers cite 'text messaging' as the 'most important' feature on their device."

Look Ma, No Hands

According to the survey, just over 62% of survey respondents said they would use a "Bluetooth" device to comply with laws restricting the use of cell phones or mobile devices when driving; slightly more than 51% said they would employ a hands-free microphone on an existing mobile device; 18.5% said they would stop using the phone in the vehicle. Just over 12% said they would use voice recognition software, and just over 7% said they would "ignore the law and hope not to get caught."

Adding Cell Phone Applications

39% of the survey respondents have added new applications (e.g., games; graphics programs; online photo management, Internet phone applications/VOIP; stock trackers; sports teams/games trackers; business applications; productivity; utilities) to their cell phone, with just over 21% adding six or more new applications. When cell phone users were asked to identify (from a list of nine items) the two cell phone applications that are not necessary to have, stock trackers (42%) and sports teams/games trackers (36.6%) were selected most often. Business applications (10.3%), productivity (7.5%), and utilities (4.8%) were selected the least i.e., are more often perceived as necessary items.

Not All Talk: Email Has Significant Usage

41% of the survey respondents who use a cell phone with emailing capabilities said they send or check for emails one to five times a day. Almost 16% said they send or check for emails between six and ten times a day; 14% said the use their cell phone for emailing more than ten times a day, while 28% said they never use their cell phone for emailing.

Of the survey respondents who have a cell phone with emailing capabilities but who do not currently use those capabilities, nearly 12% said they believe they will start using their cell phone to send or check for emails within the next year, while almost 46% answered they might.

Nearly 40% of the survey respondents said they use their cell phone for various kinds of "alerts," such as traffic, weather, stock market updates, sales-at-favorite-stores alerts and TV show updates.

Bank On It?

Nearly 30% of the survey respondents said they use their cell phone for banking transactions or to check their bank account balances. Of the 70% who said they don't, almost 56% said they had no interest in doing so in the future, while almost 38% said they were "somewhat interested" in using their cell phone for banking transactions or to check their bank account balances, and just over 6% said they were "very interested."

Only 16% of the survey respondents said they use their cell phone to make credit card or mortgage payments, and of the nearly 84% who said they don't, almost 67% said they had no interest in doing so in the future, with almost 29% saying they were "somewhat interested," and just over 4% expressing they are "very interested" in using their cell phone to make credit card or mortgage payments.

88% of the survey respondents said they found it "very important" to have a cell phone to use in case of an emergency, while 4.83% said that the only reason they have a cell phone is in case of emergency.

Cell Phone Hack Attacks Do Happen

When asked if their cell phone had ever been hacked, just over 79% said "no," almost 5% answered "yes," just over 9% said they "didn't know," and almost 7% answered "I'm not aware that hacking of my device is a significant threat."

The Carrier Matters to Most

When buying a new cell phone, collectively almost 74% of the survey respondents said they either strongly consider the telecommunications service provider (55.6%) or that the carrier is the most important consideration (18.3%). 23% said they somewhat consider who is the carrier, with only 3% noting they do not consider at all the carrier.

About the Survey

The survey was conducted during the January 29 to January 31, 2008 time frame using Amplitude's Panelspeak® web panel (http://www.panelspeak.com). The survey asked cell phone users a series of questions about attitudes on new cell phone purchasing and usage behavior. The associated "maximum" margin of sampling error was 4.0% at the 95% confidence level.

About Amplitude Research, Inc.

Amplitude Research® (http://www.amplituderesearch.com) is a privately owned survey research organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, with blue chip clients located throughout the United States and Canada. Amplitude combines its proprietary survey platform, experienced professional services, and top-quality sample to deliver actionable survey results. The name "Amplitude" Research and its tagline "loud and clear" signify Amplitude's high-quality statistical and reporting services tailored to meet each client's specific needs.

About ACCESS

ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACCESS CO., LTD., a global company providing leading technology, software products and platforms for Web browsing, mobile phones, wireless handhelds, and other networked devices. ACCESS' product portfolio, including its NetFront™ Browser, Garnet™ OS (formerly Palm OS®) and ACCESS Linux Platform™, provides customers with solutions that enable faster time to market, flexibility and customizability. The company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operates 24 subsidiaries and affiliates within Asia, Europe and the United States. ACCESS is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mother's Index under the number 4813. For more information about ACCESS, please visit http://www.access-company.com/

© 2008 ACCESS CO., LTD. All rights reserved.

ACCESS, NetFront, Garnet and ACCESS Linux Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACCESS CO., LTD. in the United States, Japan and other countries.

The registered trademark Linux® is used pursuant to a sublicense from LMI, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a world-wide basis.

Palm OS is a trademark owned by Palm Trademark Holding Company and is licensed exclusively to ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc.

All other trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc.

This article came up since it explains how to use a numeric-display pager to trace a telephone call. After reading the article, I decided to include it, even though it is off-topic. It deals with an important subject to any of us who have children and grandchildren who use computers.

What Should You Do If You Suspect Your Child Is Communicating With A Sexual Predator On-line?

by Bob B.
June 30, 2008 12:21 PM EDT

• Consider talking openly with your child about your suspicions. Tell them about the dangers of computer-sex offenders.
• Review what is on your child's computer. If you don't know how, ask a friend, coworker, relative, or other knowledgeable person. Pornography or any kind of sexual communication can be a warning sign.
• Use the Caller ID service to determine who is calling your child. Most telephone companies that offer Caller ID also offer a service that allows you to block your number from appearing on someone else's Caller ID. Telephone companies also offer an additional service feature that rejects incoming calls that you block. This rejection feature prevents computer-sex offenders or anyone else from calling your home anonymously.
• Devices can be purchased that show telephone numbers that have been dialed from your home phone. Additionally, the last number called from your home phone can be retrieved provided that the telephone is equipped with a redial feature. You will also need a telephone pager to complete this retrieval.
• This is done using a numeric-display pager and another phone that is on the same line as the first phone with the redial feature. Using the two phones and the pager, a call is placed from the second phone to the pager. When the paging terminal beeps for you to enter a telephone number, you press the redial button on the first (or suspect) phone. The last number called from that phone will then be displayed on the pager.
• Monitor your child's access to all types of live electronic communications (i.e., chat rooms, instant messages, Internet Relay Chat, etc.), and monitor your child's e-mail. Computer-sex offenders almost always meet potential victims via chat rooms. After meeting a child on-line, they will continue to communicate electronically often via e-mail.

Should any of the following situations arise in your household, via the Internet or on-line service, you should immediately contact your local or state law enforcement agency, the FBI, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children:

1. Your child or anyone in the household has received child pornography;
2. Your child has been sexually solicited by someone who knows that your child is under 18 years of age;
3. Your child has received sexually explicit images from someone that knows your child is under the age of 18.

If one of these scenarios occurs, keep the computer turned off in order to preserve any evidence for future law enforcement use. Unless directed to do so by the law enforcement agency, you should not attempt to copy any of the images and/or text found on the computer.

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• Includes extensive voice-messaging features.
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TAPS—Texas Association of Paging Services is looking for partners on 152.480 MHz. Our association currently uses Echostar, formerly Spacecom, for distribution of our data and a large percentage of our members use the satellite to key their TXs. We have a CommOneSystems Gateway at the uplink in Chicago with a back-up running 24/7. Our paging coverage area on 152.480 MHz currently encompasses Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas. The TAPS paging coverage is available to members of our Network on 152.480 MHz for $.005 a transmitter (per capcode per month), broken down by state or regions of states and members receive a credit towards their bill for each transmitter which they provide to our coverage. Members are able to use the satellite for their own use If you are on 152.480 MHz or just need a satellite for keying your own TXs on your frequency we have the solution for you.

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Cisco NERV: The ultimate first responder vehicle

Date: July 2nd, 2008
Author: Michael Kassner

As a former volunteer firefighter/EMT, I understand the need for high quality communications on any type of emergency. Having something like the Cisco NERV available to on-scene emergency teams will certainly make their difficult job a great deal easier.

An associate of mine knowing my interest in Cisco TelePresence technology mentioned that he’d just seen a video about some kind of a vehicle called NERV (pdf) and it had a working Cisco CTS 1000 telepresence system in the back. I made mention that it sounded interesting. I really was thinking that it must be some kind of a publicity stunt. Boy was I wrong. After reading about the NERV, I became a whole lot more impressed. The following image is of the largest truck in the NERV series (courtesy of WRAL.com):

According to Cisco, the Network Emergency Response Vehicle (NERV) is a total communications platform:

“Cisco is in the IP communications business and identified a need for a ready-to-go, plug-in solution for command center communications during emergencies. The outcome: The Network Emergency Response Vehicle (NERV). Basically, a mobile communications vehicle that can act as a command center for your on-the-ground disaster management, as well as a central processing center for all the communications going on for that effort. Through Cisco’s IPICS technology, which allows disparate radio systems to communicate with each other via IP translation, police, who are on one radio system, can talk with fire professionals who are on another radio system, who can talk with the National Guard, who are on another radio system. The NERV also has TelePresence, video surveillance, Wi-Fi, satellite communications, and IP telephony on-board.”

To get a better understanding of this vehicle, please watch the video “Cisco’s NERV“. Bill Browning, Senior Manager of Tactical Operations Support at Cisco moderates the video and is considered a leading authority on emergency communications management. To get a feel for all of the individual technologies incorporated in a single vehicle, please refer to the following image (courtesy of Cisco):

Being a radio geek, the one technology that really excites me is Cisco’s IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS). IPICS is a combination of hardware and software that provides interoperability between disparate communication systems. For instance, IPICS allows a person using a push-to-talk (PTT) radio, mobile phone, IP phone, PSTN phone, or a computer to talk to someone else using any one of the above choices. The following image should give you some idea of this capability (courtesy of Cisco):

When I was in San Jose for the TelePresence training, Kevin Nyugen a Cisco demonstration engineer also gave us a first hand look at how IPIC works. By using a cell phone, one member of the training class was able to talk to another member using a hand held radio.

Final thoughts

I especially admire technology that has the potential to reduce or remove pain and suffering. It’s my sincere hope that vehicles like the NERV and the skilled personnel who operate them will do just that. I’m not sure, but I suspect that the NERV in California is hard at work right now helping fight the many wild fires.

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Apple 2.0

Mac news from outside the reality distortion field

By Philip Elmer-DeWitt

JUNE 29, 2008, 6:29 AM

15,000 Canadians petition for iPhone rate relief

It’s taken more than a year for the iPhone to make its way across the world’s longest undefended border, which may help explain why so many Canadians are upset this weekend.

On Friday, Rogers Communications (RCI) — Canada’s largest mobile carrier and the only one with a contract to sell Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone north of that border — announced the details of its voice and data plans. They struck some would-be customers as unreasonably high and unnecessarily restrictive, especially when compared with those in the U.S. and the U.K., and thousands of angry Canadians have made their feelings known in various homegrown websites, including eh Mac, GeekCulture, and blog.r4nt.

But the largest and most pungent protest is a petition whose original name was unprintable, but which can now be found at ruinediphone.com. Its stated goal is to gather 10,000 names — accompanied by a letter to Steve Jobs — by July 11, the date when the iPhone 3G goes on sale in Canada. By Sunday morning it had already gathered more than 10,000; by Monday it had topped 15,000.

The letter to Jobs begins:

Dear Steve,

My name is James and I would like to thank you for creating the wonderful iPhone device. We really think that you will change the world with it, just as you changed the world with the iPod. We were so happy to learn that on July 11th, we would finally be able to buy the iPhone and legally use it in Canada.

To our great disappointment, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced VERY unfair rates in comparison to AT&T in the United States and to other authorized wireless service providers around the world. . . (link)

What’s wrong with Rogers’ rate plan?

For one thing, it comes with a mandatory 3-year contract. In the U.K., O2 offers an-18 month contract and throws in the iPhone for free. And although both AT&T (T) and Rogers offer calling, data and text messaging for $75 a month, Rogers at that price gives Canadians a third less calling time, half as many text messages, and puts a 750 MB cap on 3G data usage — with steep fees for users who go over their monthly limit.

It’s this last element that has struck Canadian Apple fans as most unreasonable. One of the features that makes the iPhone so popular is how effortless it makes web surfing and multimedia downloads — activities that can quickly rack up the megabytes. That’s why heavy users usually pay extra for unlimited data usage.

Rogers claims that its top data plan — 2 GB per month for $115 — is enough to download 16,000 webpages. But users point out that a single Facebook page can account for 1.2 MB, which reduces browsing from 16,000 pages per month to 1,600.

“It’s like they’re deliberately driving customers away,” wrote wolfscribe on CBCnews. “I'll keep my money, ride out the contract and look for a new provider.”

Rogers does offer unlimited data through Wi-Fi sites, and it defends its pricing on 3G data as consumer friendly. “Unlimited plans could end up costing customers more for what they don’t use,” argues a spokeswoman. “Our iPhone plans more than accommodate the vast majority of customers.” (link)

Petitioners are asking Steve Jobs to pressure Rogers to offer a better plan — or cut a deal with another provider who will.

[UPDATE: As of Monday 9PM, ruinediphone.com is no longer responding, a development likely to spawn all sorts of Rogers Communications conspiracy theories. The site had reported collected more than 20,000 signatures before it went down.]

Below the fold: Rogers’ iPhone rates.

News From The Past

Please note, this article from Newsweek is ten years old.

TELECOM

The Day The Beepers Died

A Satellite Glitch Reveals A High-Tech Bottleneck

By Adam Rogers | NEWSWEEK
Jun 1, 1998 Issue

By the end of last week, most of the beepers were once again beeping. The brief bout of chaos was a sign of how dependent we've become on all our high-tech info-infrastructure gizmos. But the really scary thing was that no one anticipated such a meltdown in the first place. The culprit was the Galaxy IV, a five-year-old communications satellite hovering about 22,300 miles above Kansas. The $250 million bird, a nine-foot cube with two 50-foot solar-panel wings, has a “footprint” covering the United States and the Caribbean. But at 6:13 p.m. Eastern time last Tuesday, the on-board computer that kept the satellite pointed at the Earth failed; so did the backup. No one knows why, though PanAmSat, which owns Galaxy IV, has ruled out sabotage or a collision. “This is a highly unusual event,” says Frederick Landman, head of PanAmSat. “The failure rate [of such satellites] has been less than 1 percent.”

That's why no one really worried about the fact that G-IV was carrying signals for 80 percent to 90 percent of the United States' 45 million pagers. When it failed, all those doctors, cops, business people and worried parents were suddenly incommunicado. But the troubles weren't limited to the beeper nation. One of about 100 communications satellites in geo-synchronous orbit — that is, fixed above a single location — G-IV relayed signals for dozens of broadcasters and data networks. Gas stations lost the ability to take credit cards at pumpside. National Public Radio winked out. (A few member stations switched to a feed from a specially erected Web site.) About 20 United Airlines flights were delayed as the company waited for high-altitude weather reports and radar.

The broadcasters were able to get up and running fairly quickly; with just a few receiver dishes to shift, they could easily switch to other satellites temporarily and wait for PanAmSat to move a backup into G-IV's old orbit. The data networks weren't so lucky. They had to switch permanently to another satellite, Galaxy III-R, in a different orbit. That's a manual procedure involving “some big sweaty man in coveralls up on the roof banging away” to reorient the dish to the new direction, says John Pike, director of space policy for the Federation of American Scientists. For a nationwide paging company like PageNet, for example, it means performing maintenance on about 3,000 dishes, at a couple hours a pop.

How could an information network be so vulnerable? Paging companies all climbed aboard the same bird . . . because it was there. “When the paging industry was going nationwide and it started to use satellite service, the G-IV satellite was one of the early ones that had full digital capability, and it also provided the best footprint,” says Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association. As the business grows and more satellites fly into space, paging and other industries will likely diversify to other carriers. Want something else to worry about instead? Several other data networks have bottlenecks similar to the paging industry's reliance on a single piece of equipment. Automated teller networks share data-processing centers. Air-traffic controllers share regional radar centers. Even that epitome of decentralization, the Internet, depends largely on a small handful of server computers for routing. Like the beeper crash, the next collapse might not make a sound, but it may induce a lot more fury.

Wireless Messaging Software

AlphaPage® First Responder (Windows 2000, XP, Vista). When the message matters, AlphaPage® First Responder is the fast, reliable, and secure solution Emergency Management Professionals choose. AlphaPage® First Responder is designed for the modern professional who requires full-featured commercial wireless messaging capabilities that include advanced features such as automated Route-on-Failure, custom message templates, and secure messaging with SSL encryption. AlphaCare™ extended premium support plans are also available. For more information on all InfoRad Wireless Messaging software solutions, and fully supported free demos, please click on the InfoRad logo.

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NOTIFYall Group Text Messaging Service delivers your text message to an unlimited number of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or e-mail on any service, anywhere, anytime!

Analyst: RiM Spending Points to Larger Cell Phone Goal

June 30, 2008, 12:47 pm
Posted by Tiernan Ray

Digging through a 6-K filing made with the Securities & Exchange Commission by Blackberry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) on Friday, UBS Securities wireless technology analyst Maynard Um thinks the company is “aggressively investing to become a more significant player in the handset market,” as he writes in a note today.

Um says that management’s discussion in the 6-K of the company’s fiscal first quarter, reported last Thursday, contains some detail about what’s known as “purchase obligations and commitments,” or POC, that RiM has outstanding — basically, money it’s pledged to spend on parts and on contract manufacturing. The total amount of POC is up 53% from the prior quarter, which Um takes as a “directional” indication of “a large upcoming ramp in units” at RiM.

Um doesn't say what sort of “more significant player” he thinks RiM will be, whether they will simply be more successful at smartphones, or if they are venturing into other categories of “handsets.”

RiM shares are down $2.23, or 1.82%, at $118.75.

NEWS FLASH — SATELLITE FAILURES

• January 11, 1997—Telstar 401 suffers a short in the satellite circuitry—TOTAL LOSS
• May 19, 1998—Galaxy 4 control processor causes loss of fixed orbit—TOTAL LOSS
• September 19, 2003—Telstar 4 suffers loss of its primary power bus—TOTAL LOSS
• March 17, 2004—PAS-6 suffers loss of power—TOTAL LOSS
• January 14, 2005—Intelsat 804 suffers electrical power system anomaly—TOTAL LOSS

DON’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT SATELLITE OUTAGE

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Google Boosts Mobile Search With Tele Atlas Agreement

The deal could place Google and its Android Open Handset Alliance in competition with Nokia and its Navteq navigation technology.

By W. David Gardner
InformationWeek
July 1, 2008 02:40 PM

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) beefed up its position in the digital navigation world by signing a long-term agreement with Tele Atlas that gives the search engine company access to Tele Atlas maps and content in more than 200 countries.

The deal, announced Monday, could also eventually place Google and its Android Open Handset Alliance in stronger competition with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and its Navteq navigation technology.

The Google-Tele Atlas agreement covers Google's map-based services and navigation offerings in the mobile, online, and desktop universes, including Google Maps and Google Earth services and some mobile applications like Google Maps for Mobile.

"This agreement ... gives us access to input from a significant online community of map users, whose feedback can help us keep our maps fresh and accurate," Tele Atlas CEO Bill Henry said in a statement. Tele Atlas noted that by increasing geospatial data, global search is enhanced by organizing data and delivering results on location.

A subsidiary of TomTom, Tele Atlas has some 2,500 staff members and contract cartographers in 24 countries. With the help of millions of GPS users globally, these workers track and validate changes in real time to develop and enhance accurate digital maps and dynamic content.

TomTom recently received approval from the European Union to acquire Tele Atlas, setting the stage for competition with Nokia's Navteq navigation operation. Nokia recently unveiled a partnership with France Telecom's Orange with a goal of signing up 10 million Mobile Maps users by 2010.

The TomTom-Tele Atlas union had been aimed more at automotive navigation, while Nokia-Navteq seemed to address the pedestrian side of navigation. As the navigation market advances quickly, the two groups seem to be seeking to become major players in both the automotive and pedestrian markets.

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 Services Messaging
• Utilities Job Management
• Telemetry and Remote Switching
• Fire House Automation
• Load Shedding and Electrical Services Control

PDT2000 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 Integrated paging receiver
PDR2000/PSR2000 Paging Data Receivers
Highly programmable, intelligent PDRs Message Logging & remote control Multiple I/O combinations and capabilities Network monitoring and alarm reporting
Specialized Paging Solutions
Remote switching & control Fire station automation PC interfacing & 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
	Fleet tracking, messaging, job processing, and Field service management Automatic vehicle location (AVL), GPS CDMA, GPRS, ReFLEX, conventional, and trunked radio interfaces

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 Office 770-844-6574 Fax 805-907-6707 Mobile
WiPath Communications

 SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:
www.preferredwireless.com/equipment CLICK HERE

Too Much To List • Call or E-Mail

Preferred Wireless Rick McMichael 888-429-4171 rickm@preferredwireless.com CLICK HERE www.preferredwireless.com/equipment OR HERE

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Contact

E-mail: whittinghill@minilec.com

Minilec Service, Inc. Suite A 9207 Deering Ave. Chatsworth, CA 91311

Minilec Service

BlackBerry BIS 2.5 presentation, OS 4.5 not coming ’til September!

[BlackBerry] BIS version 2.5

By now you all have heard that BlackBerry BIS 2.5 is rolling out to U.S. carriers on June 29th. Heck, there’s even going to be some downtime. But, maybe that isn’t enough? Maybe you’d like more information. We’ve definitely got you covered in that area. We just got a hold of this presentation outlining BIS 2.5 and all the various features. The sad part? As some of you know, all the sexy stuff requires BlackBerry OS 4.5 which according to the presentation will not be available until September. That’s not to say some of you aren't running it already, but September guys? For reals? Head on over to the gallery to check it out for yourself, but we'll break down the more interesting stuff here for all you lazy bums:

• You can save attachments including audio and video formats.
• Full list of supported downloadable attachments are: .doc, .ppt., .xls, .wpd, .txt, .html, .pdf, .zip, and the aforementioned audio / video formats.
• File size of attachments is limited to 3MB.
• The 4.5 OS will be “available for all BlackBerry’s in September.” This includes the 8100, 8800, 8820, 8300, 8310, 8120, and the 8110. No 8320 love?
• “If a BlackBerry launches before September, it will have 4.5 software.”
• Addition of push AOL email and Hotmail/MSN accounts.

Wireless Communication Solutions

ISI-LX Internet Serial Interface with Protocol Conversion Converts Serial TAP message to SNPP, SMTP, or WCTP Pass through Serial Data to TCP/IP and TCP/IP back to Serial Supports Ethernet or PPP Connection to Internet w/Dial Backup Includes 4 Serial Ports for Multiplexing Traffic

IPG Internet Paging Gateway No Moving Parts Such as Hard Drives or Fans to Fail Supports 10Base-T Network Connection to Internet Accepts HTTP, SMTP, SNPP, and WCTP from Internet Sends TAP or TNPP to Your Paging Terminal

PageTrack Inexpensive method of automating your paging monitoring Uses standard paging receiver Available in 152-158 POCSAG or 929 FLEX (call for others)

Omega Unified Messaging Server Full Featured Internet Messaging Gateway TAP Concentrator and TNPP Routing Functions w/TNPP over Internet Serial Protocols Supported: GCP, SMDI, SMS, TAP, TNPP Internet Protocols Supported: AIM, HTTP, SMPP (out only), SMTP, SNPP, and WCTP Full Featured, Easy-to-use Voice/Fax/Numeric Mail Interface One Number For All Your Messaging Optional Hot-swap Hard Drives and Power Supplies Available

Please see our web site for even more products designed specifically for Personal Messaging carriers. For example, the Omega Messaging Gateway and Email Throttling Gateway (anti-spam).

Contact

Hark Technologies 3507 Iron Horse Dr., Bldg. 200 Ladson, SC 29456

Tel: 843-285-7200

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Hark Technologies

BloostonLaw Telecom Update

Published by the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP

[Selected portions reproduced here with the firm's permission.]

www.bloostonlaw.com

FCC SETS COMMENT CYCLE FOR VERIZON WIRELESS- ALLTEL MERGER: The FCC has requested comment on series of applications seeking Commission approval of the transfer of licenses, authorizations, and spectrum manager and de facto transfer leasing arrangements through the transfer of control of subsidiaries of ALLTEL Corporation and partnerships in which ALLTEL has either controlling or non-controlling general partnership interests to Verizon Wireless. The applicants also request a declaratory ruling that the public interest would not be served by denying approval of the indirect foreign ownership in the licenses, authorizations, and spectrum manager and de facto transfer leasing arrangements held by the post-transaction ALLTEL Subsidiaries and Partnerships. Petitions to deny the requests are due July 25; oppositions to the petition to deny are due August 4; and replies to the oppositions are due August 11. All filings should reference WT Docket No. 08-95. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ASK FCC TO ADOPT 48- HOUR LNP RULE: Although encouraged by the FCC’s efforts to streamline the local number portability (LNP) process, several Members of Congress have asked the Commission to adopt a 48-hour rule for all wireline-to-wireline and simple intermodal ports by July 31. In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the Representatives noted that wireless carriers port numbers among themselves within two and one half hours, but that the wireline porting interval is four business days. Accordingly, they asked that the Commission issue an order reducing this four-day interval to 48 hours by July 31. The letter was signed by Reps. Anna Eschoo, Jay Inslee, Zoe Lofgren, Baron P. Hill, Chip Pickering, Michael Honda, Gene Green, Doris Matsui, Bart Stupak, Michael Doyle, and Lois Capps. Our small, rural clients should contact us if they believe that this timetable would constitute an unreasonable burden on them. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

ESPN, NFL INVITE FCC TO TEST “WHITE SPACES” DEVICES: ESPN and the National Football League have filed ex parte comments with the FCC, and invited the agency to field test wireless “white spaces” devices under “real world” conditions during the 2008-2009 football season. To date, the FCC has been testing these white space devices, which would operate in the same band of spectrum as microphones, at its labs in Columbia, Maryland. “To continue the delivery of the best audio the viewing public is accustomed to, we believe it is essential that field testing studies reflect actual, true-to-life conditions, including testing of wireless microphones and other wireless audio equipment used at these games,” ESPN and NFL stated in the filing. “The conditions at these events provide an excellent opportunity to stage a meaningful, real-world test under actual operating conditions as they exist in a sports stadium to ensure that there is no resulting “harmful interference” to wireless microphones from WSDs [white spaces devices].” ESPN and the NFL have been concerned that WSDs would cause interference to wireless microphone and coach-to-quarterback communication systems. They believe realworld field tests during the NFL's pre-season games are a perfect opportunity to prove whether the systems work while minimizing risk to the league and its partners. In May, ESPN and the NFL called on the FCC to require the technology companies that want to sell white spaces devices to prove that their devices won’t interfere with wireless microphones. “We are offering our assistance, expertise, access to facilities and equipment and other resources so that the Commission, including the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), can conduct field testing of the potential impact of [white space devices] on wireless microphone operations during a live sporting event,” ESPN and the NFL stated in their filing. They further offered to hold testing at the Baltimore Raven’s M&T Bank Stadium and the Washington Redskin’s FedExField in Landover, Maryland, which are close to the FCC’s headquarters. Depending on scheduling, testing could also take place at a number of stadiums across the country. According to the filing, “ESPN’s use of wireless microphones is not a convenience but a necessity to bring the sounds of the event to the viewers. The evolution of wireless technology has finally allowed for placement of microphones in locations previously occupied by wishful thinking. ESPN is now able to place wireless microphones in situations where the laying of cable was not possible or practical, or the laying of cable created a safety hazard to the participants and general public in the venue.” BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Richard Rubino.

FCC CLARIFIES THAT AUDIO BRIDGING SERVICE PROVIDERS MUST CONTRIBUTE TO USF: The FCC has denied in part and granted in part a request for review filed by InterCall of a Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) decision finding that the audio bridging services offered by InterCall are “toll teleconferencing” services and that InterCall must contribute directly to the universal service fund (USF) based on revenues from these services. The audio bridging services InterCall provides are equivalent to teleconferencing services and are “telecommunications” under the Telecommunications Act and the Universal Service First Report and Order. As Intercall explains, it markets audio, web, and video conferencing services that allow multiple end users to communicate and collaborate with each other using telephone lines through and audio bridge, which links multiple calls together. Providers of these services must contribute directly to the USF based on revenues from these services; therefore, the FCC denied Inter- Call’s request to reverse USAC’s decision in this respect. The FCC, however, granted InterCall’s request and reversed USAC’s decision requiring InterCall to contribute based on past revenues. Instead, InterCall must contribute directly to the USF beginning as of the calendar quarter immediately following the next scheduled FCC Form 499-Q filing after the release date of this order. The FCC further directed USAC to ensure that all similarly situated audio bridging service providers contribute directly to the USF beginning as of this same time frame. The Commission reasoned that it was unclear to Intercall and to the industry that stand-alone audio bridging providers had a direct USF contribution obligation, and it directed USAC to conduct an outreach to these providers to ensure that they properly contribute in the future. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

USF INTERIM CAP ORDER PUBLISHED IN FEDERAL REGISTER WITH AUGUST 1 EFFECTIVE DATE: The FCC’s order imposing an interim cap on total annual high-cost Universal Service Fund (USF) support for competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (CETCs) was published in the July 2 Federal Register. In this Order, the Commission takes action to rein in the explosive growth in high-cost universal service support disbursements (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, May 7). As recommended by the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, the Commission adopted an interim, emergency cap on the amount of high-cost support that CETCs may receive. Specifically, as of the August 1, 2008 effective date of this Order, total annual competitive ETC support for each state will be capped at the level of support that competitive ETCs in that state were eligible to receive during March 2008 on an annualized basis. The Commission also adopted two limited exceptions from the specific application of the interim cap. The interim cap will remain in place only until the Commission adopts comprehensive high-cost universal service reform. In addition, the Commission resolves most of the petitions for ETC designation currently pending before the Commission. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

BARTON, STEARNS ASK FCC TO DELAY AWS-3 AUCTION, REMOVE “FREE INTERNET” PROVISION: U.S. Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Cliff Stearns (R. Fla.) have asked the FCC to withdraw its proposal for a new Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) spectrum auction that would require the winning bidder to provide free Internet access. In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the congressmen said that the stipulation — which requires a winner to build a free-access network serving 95 percent of the population within a decade — would drive many potential bidders away. "It seems to us that your proposed auction rules are going to discourage certain parties from bidding," the representatives wrote. "Our understanding is that there are more than 40 small, medium and large carriers that would be interested in bidding on the spectrum if it didn't have the service conditions." Barton and Stearns also asked Martin to delay the new auction until the D Block has been re-auctioned, and suggested that the agency extend the period for accepting public comments on the proposal past three weeks. The congressmen also warned in their letter that the AWS-3 band could interfere with existing licenses in a neighboring part of the spectrum. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, Cary Mitchell, and Bob Jackson.

This newsletter is not intended to provide legal advice. Those interested in more information should contact the firm.

Source: Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy and Prendergast, LLP
For additional information, contact Hal Mordkofsky at 202-828-5520 or halmor@bloostonlaw.com

It Seems To Us: We Win In Court!

By David Sumner, K1ZZ

July 01, 2008

Last year, in the wake of Federal Communications Commission decisions that did not adequately protect licensed radiocommunication services from interference from Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) systems, the ARRL went to court to challenge the FCC.

On Friday, April 25 the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit confirmed what the ARRL has been saying for years about how the FCC was handling the BPL interference issue: FCC prejudice tainted the rulemaking process.

In fact, the FCC's mishandling of the issue was so egregious that the Court took an unusual step: it did not defer to the Commission's presumed expertise on a highly technical issue.

The Court of Appeals found that the FCC violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not disclosing in full the staff studies on which the Commission relied. Writing for the three-judge panel that heard American Radio Relay League, Incorporated v. FCC and USA, the ARRL's petition for review of the FCC's Orders in ET Docket No. 04-37, Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers said: "It would appear to be a fairly obvious proposition that studies upon which an agency relies in promulgating a rule must be made available during the rulemaking in order to afford interested persons meaningful notice and an opportunity for comment . . . there is no APA precedent allowing an agency to 'cherry-pick' a study on which it has chosen to rely in part. . . The League has met its burden to demonstrate prejudice by showing that it 'ha[s] something useful to say' regarding the un-redacted studies…that may allow it to 'mount a credible challenge' if given the opportunity to comment. . . Under the circumstances, the Commission can point to no authority allowing it to rely on the studies in a rulemaking but hide from the public parts of the studies that may contain contrary evidence, inconvenient qualifications, or relevant explanations of the methodology employed . . . no precedent sanctions such a 'hide and seek' application of the APA's notice and comment requirements." [Emphasis added.]

In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge David S. Tatel wrote: "[I]n this very case the Commission redacted individual lines [emphasis in original] from certain pages on which it otherwise relied . . . there is little doubt that the Commission deliberately attempted to 'exclude[ ] from the record evidence adverse to its position' [emphasis added]. . ."

The Court also found that the Commission failed to justify its decision to apply an "extrapolation factor that was designed to accommodate technologies different in scale, signal power, and frequencies used" to Access BPL and that it "summarily dismissed . . . empirical data that was submitted at its invitation." The Court found that the FCC's Reconsideration Order "…provides neither assurance that the Commission considered the relevant factors nor a discernable path to which the court may defer."

While the Court did not agree with us on every point, it found that the FCC's decision-making process was seriously flawed. The Court concluded, "On remand, the Commission shall afford a reasonable opportunity for public comment on the un-redacted studies on which it relied in promulgating the rule, make the studies part of the rulemaking record, and provide a reasoned explanation of its choice of an extrapolation factor for Access BPL systems." In explaining its choice of an extrapolation factor the Commission must either "provide a reasoned justification for retaining an extrapolation factor of 40 dB per decade for Access BPL systems sufficient to indicate that it has grappled with the 2005 studies [three published studies suggesting that an extrapolation factor of 20 dB per decade may be more appropriate — Ed.], or adopt another factor and provide a reasoned explanation for it."

You can read the entire decision in American Radio Relay League, Incorporated v. FCC and USA at pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200804/06-1343-1112979.pdf.

The Court's decision is a tremendous victory for radio amateurs and other licensed users of the radio spectrum — indeed, for anyone who cares about the integrity of the federal administrative process. Yet, the remand does not guarantee that the FCC will correct its errors. We face another round of technical arguments. No doubt the FCC's technical staff, many of whom want to do the right thing, will remain under heavy pressure to ignore the laws of physics and give preference to wishful thinking once again. When the FCC reopens the BPL proceeding as the Court has ordered, we must leave no room for these technical issues to be settled on anything other than technical grounds. There's more work to do!

While all this was going on, the ARRL technical staff — principally Ed Hare, W1RFI — was working quietly with the BPL industry, persuading them that it was in their best interest to fix the interference problem. To their credit, the leading companies have taken the problem seriously and have gone beyond what the FCC rules require. But it took great effort, including our frontal assault on the flawed FCC proceedings, to get their attention.

The responsible BPL companies have shown they can do what's necessary to avoid interfering with Amateur Radio. FCC rules requiring all BPL companies to take these steps will protect them from irresponsible competitors.

BPL received another blow on May 1 when it was announced that the largest BPL deployment to date, in Dallas, would not be used to offer Internet service but would be used only to monitor the power distribution network. The Associated Press report began, "Goodbye, broadband over power lines. We hardly knew you." Thus the marketplace has added its verdict to that of the Court of Appeals.

This good news notwithstanding, the ARRL will not rest until the FCC rules give licensed radiocommunication services the protection they are entitled to under international agreements and federal law.

Even as we celebrate these dual verdicts, we cannot afford to become complacent. Our access to the radio spectrum is much too important to allow us that luxury.

EMERGENCY AUTOMATION & NOTIFICATION

• 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.

FAS8

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.
10715 Gulfdale, Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78216

Phone: 877-764-4484
Fax: 210-341-2011
E-mail: sales@nighthawksystems.com
Web: www.nighthawksystems.com

PAGING & WIRELESS
NETWORK PLANNERS LLC

WIRELESS SPECIALISTS

www.pagingplanners.com
rmercer@pagingplanners.com

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

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Complete Technical Services For The
Communications and Electronics Industries
Design • Installation • Maintenance • Training

Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.
Consulting Engineer
Registered Professional Engineer

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

From: Ricardo Tatto
Date: July 2, 2008 12:05:34 AM CDT
To: Brad Dye

Subject: Feliz Dia del Ingeniero

Les mando un cordial saludo y Felicitación a los Ingenieros de profesión y honorarios en este 1 de Julio. Y como siempre, para que no se olviden y sigan alimentando el orgullo de ser saber aprovechar el ingenio, les recuerdo que...

"El científico descubre lo que es, el Ingeniero crea lo que nunca ha sido"

——
Ricardo Tatto C.
r3tcn@yahoo.com.mx

Translation:

From: Ricardo Tatto
Date: July 2, 2008 12:05:34 AM CDT
To: Brad Dye

Subject: Happy Engineer's Day

I send a cordial greeting and congratulations to the professional engineers honored on this first of July. And as always, so that you will not forget, and to continue feeding the pride and knowledge of the engineer's work, I remind you that. . .

"The scientist discovers what is, and the engineer creates what never has been."

——
Ricardo Tatto
r3tcn@yahoo.com.mx

With best regards,

Newsletter Editor

73 DE K9IQY

Brad Dye, Editor
The Wireless Messaging Newsletter
P.O. Box 13283
Springfield, IL 62791 USA

“Be the change that you want to see in the world.”

—Mahatma Gandhi