Dear Friends of Wireless,

I received several copies of an excellent article by Elaine Walsh, "Why Public Safety Still Needs Paging." This is just the kind of message that we need to get out to a wider audience. I think most of the readers of this newsletter are already sympathetic to the cause of, Emergency Alerting using Paging Technology. Elaine Walsh is a very good writer and I encourage everyone to share this important article with others. It is the feature article this week and follows immediately after the AAPC Bulletin.

Speaking of the AAPC, as I mentioned last week, one of the benefits of membership in this paging association, is access to information about FCC forms and deadlines. This is a very hot topic due to the FCC's recent notices that many wireless operators may be liable for large fines, for violations of the Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules.

So don't miss the following AAPC Bulletin: “AAPC CAN ASSIST MEMBERS WITH CPNI ISSUES.”

... A LOW BLOW?
By Liz Sachs, Esq. EWA Regulatory Counsel, is another excellent opinion on this (CPNI) issue—well... at least I think it is excellent—let me know what you think. The article follows.

I seem to have lost my copy of the Motorola booklet on paging capcodes. It is about ½ inch thick, green in color, and was the standard reference document in the paging industry for many years. Does anyone have one that they would loan me so I could copy it?

Now on to more news and views.

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

Editorial Policy: The opinions expressed here are my own and DO NOT reflect the opinions or policies of any of the advertisers, supporters, contributors, the AAPC (American Association of Paging Carriers, or the EWA (Enterprise Wireless Alliance). As a general rule, I publish opposing opinions, even when I have to substitute "----" for some of the off-color words. This is a public forum for the topics covered, and all views are welcome (so far). Clips of news that I find on the Internet always include a link to the source and just because I report on a given topic or opinion doesn't mean that I agree with it.

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.

AAPC CAN ASSIST MEMBERS WITH CPNI ISSUES

For those members listed in the FCC’s recent CPNI Omnibus Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NALF), AAPC may be able to help. AAPC’s counsel has met with the staff of the Enforcement Bureau to discuss procedures for efficient and fair resolution of individual cases, without having to make a formal filing in response to the NALF by the March 26, 2009, deadline established by the FCC. As a result, members will be able, if they so desire, to engage AAPC’s counsel for their individual cases at a special rate and can utilize his experience in dealing with the FCC on these issues. Members interested in taking advantage of this AAPC benefit should contact Ken Hardman at (202) 223-3772 or by e-mail at kenhardman@att.net.

Paging carriers that are not yet members of AAPC are encouraged to join now in order to avail themselves of this and other important benefits of AAPC membership. There is value in belonging to an organization whose purpose is to promote the paging industry and assist members in complying with their regulatory responsibilities.

Take a moment and visit our website at www.pagingcarriers.org. Discover how easy it is to join AAPC and start realizing the power we have as a group. If you are reading this, you should also seriously consider attending the Global Paging Convention, June 17-19, in Montreal to get a fresh perspective on the paging industry, from a global perspective.

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.
• Raven Systems
• United Communications Corporation

RadioResource
MissionCritical Communications
March 2009 Vol. 24, No. 3

Both public and private paging networks with advanced features offer numerous benefits for public-safety agencies.

By Elaine Baugh Walsh

n the midst of an explosion in sophisticated wireless technology, do first responders still need pagers? Let the Arlington County, Va., “After-Action Report (AAR) on the Response to the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon” released in December give a definitive answer to this question. “Almost all aspects of communications continue to be problematic, from initial notification to tactical operations. Cellular telephones were of little value in the first few hours, and cellular priority access service is not provided to emergency responders. Radio channels were initially oversaturated, and interoperability problems among jurisdictions and agencies persist,” the report says. The AAR specifically states, “Every firefighter and EMS responder should have a pager to receive dispatch notices both on and off shift,” and adds that during the Pentagon attack, pagers were “the most reliable means of notification.”

Throughout the United States, pagers are ubiquitous technology for more than 6 million people. This includes millions of workers in 50,000 public-safety agencies for crisis communications, homeland security, EMS, police and fire services, special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and other special forces. While widely available since the 1950s and approved by the FCC in 1958, the first messaging system that could be considered a pager, as invented by Al Gross, was used by the Detroit Police Department in 1921. A public-safety heritage is built into every paging device used in emergency communications more than 80 years later.

Without a display, with limited range and no message storage, the first portable paging devices were considered huge advances in on-site communications, but they share little beyond a convenient form factor and economics with modern paging technology.

Next-Generation Features
Current paging systems operate as virtually wireless multicast, alerting thousands of people in seconds with secure text messages. With each message, the system displays who received and read it and how each person is responding. Paging systems, as evidenced by the findings of the AAR, are extraordinarily reliable. And with a private system often costing one-tenth the price of a comparable trunked voice system for similar coverage, the cost is minimal.

During the Pentagon attack on Sept. 11, pagers were the most reliable means of notification.

Even after working 24 hours straight during a recent snowstorm testing a new radio system, Jerry Whittington, senior public safety incident response monitor for Erie County, N.Y., was still eager to share that the county’s proprietary paging system has improved communications for homeland-security personnel throughout the county. Erie County, which covers 1,058 square miles and includes Buffalo as a major metropolitan area, has a 2-year-old custom paging system with 8,000 pagers in use by EMS, police and fire personnel. This includes the 94 volunteer departments within the county.

In emergencies, when other wireless services may be overloaded and unreliable, paging with multicast transmitters retains the ability to send critical messages. Paging systems don’t solely depend on landlines likely to be compromised in wide-scale disaster situations. Paging infrastructure can be controlled via satellite links so terrestrial events don’t have the same impact. That was dramatically demonstrated after Hurricane Katrina and the Minneapolis bridge collapse when paging systems continued to operate under conditions that swiftly overwhelmed many terrestrial-based systems.

Simulcast, as used in paging, allows the same message to be broadcast over multiple transmitters simultaneously, for better penetration into, under and around buildings than cellular and mobile radio systems. Physical obstructions can be less of a deterrent to pager operation, and simulcast technology allows for inherent redundancy, further increasing reliability. Pagers on public systems operate throughout the United States, so coverage isn’t an issue for more than 90 percent of the population.

Terrain doesn't present coverage issues for paging systems. The Foothills Fire Protection District serves 29 rugged square miles of Jefferson County west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains. Jeanette Kehoe, business manager for the Foothills Fire Protection District, says that with two-way radio, there were occasional issues with coverage. “With paging, I know that the message will get to everyone,” she says.

In addition to its radio system, the Foothills Fire Protection uses a public system from Contact Wireless, a Denver-based paging operator, to be sure that messages reach every member of the combination volunteer and paid department staff. Because some firefighters live outside of the district, a text message requiring all to respond immediately is sent via the paging system. While immediate notification is crucial in an emergency, Kehoe says that it’s also a convenient way to announce routine events such as training.

Battery life reaches up to four weeks of operation using off-the-shelf AA or AAA batteries in many paging models, adding to the high return on investment (ROI) of pagers. Numeric pagers offer a display of a phone number, and alphanumeric pagers include text or a keyboard. Pagers and paging-based devices can be accessed by phone, secured Web site, e-mail, modem, cell phone and two-way pagers. Users can choose to subscribe to an existing commercial paging service or construct a private system for exclusive use by their agencies.

Public and Private Options
Agencies choosing a public system option gain national coverage, and service can be immediately operational. Satellite is deployed in public systems for traffic distribution, which enhances reliability in major emergency events. If users travel beyond their home regions, they are assured of continued coverage.

“Many public-safety agencies find wide-area paging on the public network to be the best solution to their communications needs,” says Linda Hoover, executive director of American Association of Paging Carriers (AAPC). “Those who require an extended coverage area and the immediate access to an operational system on the public network are enthusiastic users across the U.S.”

For other public-safety agencies, however, a private system is often the most logical choice. Customizable and expandable — a public system may have 10 base stations in a region but a private system could have 20 or more — a private paging system can usually be incorporated into an existing radio system. Private systems allow for tiered use in emergencies, so the highest priority users are allowed unlimited access, medium-priority users have less access and low-priority users may only receive, for example, outbound messages.

While mass alerting via group call means that virtually an unlimited number of people can be reached, which is essential for an agency, most agencies set up multiple groups. Selective group messaging can be used to alert, for example, just chief officers to get a silent alarm, while all of the appropriate accident investigation team members are sent text messages with full text. A private system can be designed for access to specialized databases and can be connected to agency dispatch centers. Larger agencies usually enjoy economy of scale with their own leased systems and can expand the capabilities of the system with customized functions such as access control, lighting and automatic emergency alerts.

Disasters don’t strike on schedule or at convenient times. To reach your SWAT team members at 2 a.m., a paging notification, simultaneous with a radio call, is both secure and immediate and reaches members regardless of whether they’re in the coverage area. Whittington said that the Erie County system has 95-percent coverage, and while he can’t guarantee that a message will reach team members outside of the coverage area, the system will forward the text message to a cell phone. Erie County can’t guarantee paging message delivery; however, the county is working on a project to facilitate forwarding.

The turning point for emergency response in America is Sept. 11, and the final word on paging for first responders comes again from the AAR. Lisa Thompson, wireless communications systems manager for Arlington County’s emergency communications center (ECC) recalls how paging performed during the Pentagon attacks. “From the initial wireless message to notify our police, fire, EMS, county manager and ECC staff, to the recall of all dispatchers, police officers and firefighters, paging has performed flawlessly,” Thompson says.

Not bad for a technology celebrating its 87th year.

Elaine Baugh Walsh is president of E Comm International, a marketing consultant to the wireless industry. The company provides public relations, advertising, sales training and marketing support to manufacturers, associations and dealers. Walsh has been in the wireless industry for 30 years. Contact Walsh at elaine@ecommint.com.

RadioResource MissionCritical Communications delivers wireless voice and data solutions for mobile and remote mission-critical operations. The magazine covers business, public safety, and regulatory news; case studies; in-depth features; innovative applications; product information and comparisons; emerging technologies; industry reports and trends; and technical tips. In addition, each issue contains Public Safety Report, a special section devoted solely to the needs of the public safety community. Editorial content targets organizations in the United States and Canada with mobile and remote communications needs, including public safety, government, transportation, manufacturing, utility/energy, business, and industrial entities. To request a FREE subscription or get more information, go to www.mccmag.com. RadioResource MissionCritical Communications is published by the RadioResource Media Group. Pandata Corp., 7108 S. Alton Way, Building H, Centennial, CO 80112, Tel: 303-792-2390, Fax: 303-792-2391, www.rrmediagroup.com. Copyright 2009 Pandata Corp. All rights reserved. Reprinted from the March 2009 issue of RadioResource MissionCritical Communications. For more information about MissionCritical Communications and the RadioResource Media Group please call 303-792-2390 or visit www.mccmag.com

Advertiser Index

QUIKPAGER 2400

HOSPITALS AND CLINICS EMERGENCY DISPATCH FIRE DEPARTMENTS The same reliable QUIKPAGER that you have used for years!

Stand-alone remote alphanumeric entry device with internal modem to dial-up and connect to paging terminals to deliver messages in TAP protocol.

QUIKPAGER Wireless
Combine your commercial paging service with onsite paging using the same QUIKPAGER keyboard!

PageRouter Networks
Give your customers the power of PageRouter to unify messaging and increase productivity.
In operation at Hospitals and Factories since 2004.

Canamex Communications Corporation Providing technology to the paging industry since 1989 800-387-4237 sales@canamexcom.com www.canamexcom.com

Wireless Industry Management Specialist

• Nationwide Field Service Capability
• 24/7 Customer Service
• Collections
• Network Operations Center Functions
• Two Way Radio Network Provider
• Spectrum Sales & Acquisition

Contact:

Tom Williams 973-625-7500 x102
e-mail: twilliams@fleettalkusa.com

FleetTALK Management Services
101 Roundhill Drive
Rockaway, NJ 07866
973-625-7500

... A LOW BLOW?

By Liz Sachs, Esq.
EWA Regulatory Counsel
Enterprise Wireless® Insider
March 11, 2009 - Volume 3, Issue 4

Well, they couldn't have picked a worse time to do it, since the FCC did not exist during what we still call (and hopefully always will call) the Great Depression of 1929. But the $20,000 fines the FCC assessed for what they consider violations of their Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) rules sure felt like a low blow to the more than 600 small communications providers fingered in the Commission's recent "Omnibus Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture." It may even be a fatal blow for some operators who decide that their paper thin profit margins during this economic crisis cannot survive an FCC that is comfortable dishing out forfeitures of that size for the crime of missing an FCC filing deadline. What's next? Summary execution for failing to timely file a construction notification!

If you didn't get it before, you surely understand now that the FCC takes CPNI very, very seriously. And perhaps they should. Most of us don't want to have to worry about whether our telephone records are being sold to third parties to be used for purposes that range from annoying to illegal. The CPNI rules are intended to prevent that. But how did Congress end up passing a bill that imposes these requirements on service providers whose systems aren't even connected to the telephone network and whose customer information is pretty much limited to names and addresses – information most businesses want to advertise, not keep confidential.

No wonder so many Part 90 dispatch operators continue to believe that CPNI cannot possibly apply to them. In a world where common sense prevailed, it wouldn't. But that is an element that sometimes is in short supply in the lawmaking process. So those 600 plus entities will have to see whether the Commission is prepared to be merciful and reduce the proposed $20,000 fines, particularly during the worst financial meltdown in more than half a century. They had better hope that incoming Chairman Genachowski's phone records were never sold to a data broker.

ONLY THE BEST

ST800

POCSAG and FLEX

ST800, Sun Telecom's Best Selling Numeric Pager. Built for today's life style, the ST800 is rugged yet stylish and blends well with all day-to-day activities.

www.suntelecom.com

CONTACT:
Michelle Choi
Director of Sales & Operations
Sun Telecom International, Inc.
Telephone: 678-541-0441
Fax: 678-541-0442
michelle.choi@suntelecom.com

— FLEX is a registered trademark of Motorola Inc.

Outbound Call Center Featured Article

Telemessaging As a CRM Strategy

By Brendan B. Read
Senior Contributing Editor
TMCnet.com
March 06, 2009

Businesses, non-profits, and institutions looking for productive and cost-effective ways to implement and enhance customer relationship management (CRM) strategies may want to take a second look at telemessaging a.k.a. telephone answering, with live agents assisted by technology.

In its simplest form telemessaging/telephone answering is the taking down and forwarding of messages, whether on slips of paper, recital by phone to message recipients, recording and retrieval of voicemails, and more recently, transmitting voicemails as e-mails in .wav files. Telemessaging also entails paging on-call staff whether by radio or pagers or more commonly today by calling, texting, and IMing.

Telemessaging often includes appointment setting and reminder calls. Pen-and-paper appointment books have displaced by software that can also send out confirmation and reminder e-mails. It can involve call and e-mail screening; urgent calls and e-mails can be warm-transferred to recipients. Given the barrage of calls and e-mails firms and their staff are inundated with these days, this function can help them become more productive.

In all of these instances the CRM functions are the same: identifying callers, their needs, and handling them based on their importance. The reminder functionality keeps firms in touch with their customers on important matters.

Telemessaging is a little different, though, from standard contact center call handling in that these agents (often still called ‘operators’) receive and transmit information for others to provide customer care and service or handle sales rather than taking on those tasks themselves. The agents/operators record, screen, and manage contacts but do not usually involve themselves with the content of those contacts. The calls are therefore shorter: 45 to 60 seconds as compared with the typical 3 minute inbound contact center interaction.

Telemessaging has traditionally been deployed to provide after-hours customer contact for professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, mortuaries, veterinarians, contractors, and vital services such as fuel oil delivery and roadside assistance. The method is also used to cover daytime reception staff when they are busy or away, and to gatekeep corporate or institutional individual campus buildings with phones at entrances that avoids having personnel there.

Yet telemessaging can be used to help on-call account representatives, subject matter experts, and tech support leaders stay in touch with customers by alerting them of important calls and contacts, and handling matters like appointment setting. In that sense telemessaging can be regarded as ‘live presence’.

Answering services have been and continue to be best means to handle telemessaging calls. They can affordably handle calls and contacts 24/7 with well trained and experienced staff. They typically use specialized switches that manage voicemail, multiple-message handling, and paging/dispatch along with ACD, IVR, e-mail, chat, reporting and unified communications; some now support VoIP.

These answering-service-targeted solutions provide a wide array of capabilities. Startel’s Call Management Center offers IntelliSpeller, a comprehensive spell-check solution that automatically that spell checks individual lines of messages for agent entries.

Professional Teledata’s Pinnacle system combines scripting, order taking, messaging and dispatching applications with eON’s digital including IP-enabled routing for a single-platform turnkey product. Alston Tascom, which makes the Tascom Evolution solution, also offers AppointmentsOnCall.com, a hosted application that manages appointment scheduling.

Answering services can also often provide basic inbound contact center customer service, order entry, and first level help desk. There is often very little difference in that respect between today’s answering services and ‘traditional’ teleservices companies. Their contact centers tend though to be smaller, with typically less than 25 seats; some firms have multiple networked sites to deliver scalability. They do bring to the table is an ability to affordably manage low-volume and short-duration programs that their other larger brethren cannot profitably or will not want to take on.

Answering services are either locally managed or owned which enables them to provide high degree of personal commitment to clients. Their employees tend to be very loyal, with tenure measured in years, not months; it is not uncommon to see multiple generations working at the same firm.

Part of the reason is that answering services themselves predate today’s contact centers—the first ones were first formed in the 1920s—and those that have prospered have become part of their communities. Many of today’s companies have their roots in those pioneering outfits.

Teleservices firms that offer telephone answering/telemessaging can be found via TMC’s (News - Alert) Buyer’s Guide. Check them out by visiting their websites. There are also professional trade associations that represent these companies and others and which fosters quality service through testing/certification and awards and through conferences/trade shows and seminars. These organizations include the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI) and the Canadian Call Management Association (CAMX).

Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Fixed Service Strategies for Mobile Network Operators, brought to you by Comverse (News - Alert).

Brendan B. Read is TMCnet’s Senior Contributing Editor. To read more of Brendan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michelle Robart

Motorola boss reportedly receiving travel perks

March 12, 2009

The Wall Street Journal reports Thursday that Motorola Co-CEO Sanjay Jha has received $336,000 in travel perks, including flying on a corporate jet, using personal chauffeur services and paying for relocation costs, in the five months he has worked for the Schaumburg-based cell-phone company. Jha commutes each week from his home in San Diego, though he has said he plans to move to the Chicago area.

The Journal also cites Motorola board member Tom Meredith, who acted as chief financial officer through March 1 and lives in Austin, Texas, and who spent $423,000 to use corporate aircraft and for relocation expenses in 2008. The amounts were listed in Motorola’s proxy filing.

Co-CEO Greg Brown also racked up personal jet costs of $222,000, plus $102,000 for a car and driver, according to the report.

Motorola said: "Co-CEOs were required to use the plane by the Board for business and personal travel for security reasons." However, the Journal reports that Brown and Jha's perks exceed the $174,000 median for S&P 500 chief executives set out by the Corporate Library.

www.daviscommsusa.com

Br502 Numeric VHF/UHF-900 MHz FLEX

Bravo Pagers FLEX & POCSAG

Br802 Alphanumeric VHF/UHF-900 MHz FLEX

With or Without Housing With or Without BNC Connector

25-pin Connector Dimensions: 127 x 70 x 35 mm (Including Flange)

For information call 480-515-2344 or visit our website
www.daviscommsusa.com
E-mail addresses are posted there!

Pagers improve security at jail

30 AT NEW FACILITY: Device sounds alarm when activated, tilted out of vertical position

By DAVID WINTERS
TIMES STAFF WRITER
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2009

MELANIE KIMBLER-LAGO / WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES Sgt. Daniel L. Dominie demonstrates Wednesday how the man-down pager system works at the new St. Lawrence County jail in Canton.

CANTON — The serenity in the control room of the new St. Lawrence County jail was suddenly broken by a blaring noise over the loudspeaker. Corrections Sgt. Daniel L. Dominie had pulled the lanyard on a personal security pager.

The device allows corrections officers and jail support staff, including kitchen workers, to notify the control room of an emergency. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department purchased about 30 units for the jail.

"The philosophy is because you have this huge facility, you have a corrections officer watching up to 60 inmates at a time," Mr. Dominie said. "You want to offer them the most security possible to protect them."

The personal security pager can be activated three ways: by a panic button, by pulling a lanyard or when the device is no longer in an upright position.

When an alarm sounds, the control room is notified immediately of the location on a computer screen. The monitor that displays a layout of the jail shows the section of the facility from which the alarm is coming.

Within seconds, officers can respond to the alarm's location and the control room operator can focus surveillance cameras on the area of the alarm to get a grasp of the situation and take appropriate measures, including locking the cell doors.

"Every staff member will be carrying one around the facility," Mr. Dominie said.

Transmitters distributed throughout the facility also help the operator keep tabs on correction officers or support staff carrying the pager during their shifts.

Corrections officers in the three-story jail on Judson Street use an antiquated alert device built into handheld radios that tell the control room operator the floor where the alarm is coming from, but not an exact location. The device also doesn't track corrections officers, should they move from floor to floor or within the level they're on.

"This was one of the top items that jail staff and management wanted in the new correctional facility," Mr. Dominie said.

The pager also could be activated accidentally, creating a false alarm, for example when a corrections officer or other employee reclines in a chair. The alarm would activate should it be tilted more than 60 degrees.

"The device gives off a few warning beeps, should it be accidentally tilted, before the control room gets the alarm," Mr. Dominie said.

At the new jail, people visiting inmates won't have to carry the units because correction officers will supervise visits in a secure room.

FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith Visits ARRL

March 7, 2009

FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith visited ARRL Headquarters on March 5 and 6, her first official visit as Special Counsel. Smith was named to the position earlier this year, filling the vacancy created when Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, retired in 2008; Hollingsworth served in that position for more than 10 years as the Commission's enforcement watchdog over the Amateur Radio Service.

While at Headquarters, Smith visited with various departments, such as the Lab, the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC), the Regulatory Information Branch and Membership and Volunteer Programs (MVP).

Spending all Thursday afternoon with ARRL Lab staff, Smith discussed power line noise and how it can affect Amateur Radio. "Since Riley had retired last year, very little had been done at the FCC with regard to the power line noise enforcement," said ARRL Laboratory Engineer and power line noise expert Mike Gruber, W1MG. "The Lab staff discussed the status of the ARRL-FCC Cooperative Agreement on power line noise with Laura and how best to proceed forward. While the ARRL is not in the enforcement business, the Cooperative Agreement was an attempt to help the FCC focus its limited resources in the area where they are most needed — enforcement. The ARRL's goal is to help resolve as many of these cases as possible with technical and other help before they ever get to the FCC."

On her two-day visit to ARRL HQ, ARRL Laboratory Engineer Mike Gruber, W1MG, showed Smith how they detect power line noise. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, Photo]

Gruber also briefed Smith on some power line noise basics, including a demonstration of some professional grade locating equipment. Using a Model T spark coil as a noise source, Gruber was able to show Smith how a utility can locate power line noise — in many cases, without too much difficulty.

According to ARRL Regulatory Information Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, the FCC committed to Smith visiting the ARRL once she accepted the position. "I think this visit has been a very productive two days. We are getting to know Laura, and she is getting to know our organization and what we, as the ARRL, can do to help her make her job easier to help the amateur community as a whole," Henderson said. "I just kind of played tour guide and facilitated the visit, introducing her to all the departments here at Headquarters."

Smith, a lawyer, is no stranger to the FCC or Amateur Radio. She began her legal career with the Commission, working in the Mass Media Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB), working with Senior System Analyst Bill Cross, W3TN; she also served as Deputy Division Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division. Smith also knew Hollingsworth through her father-in-law Richard M. Smith, former Chief of the Field Operations Bureau, at the time responsible for all FCC field engineering and enforcement activities. Richard Smith led many investigations of illegal uses of the radio spectrum, including the successful apprehension of "Captain Midnight" who overrode a satellite television broadcast signal. Smith also served as Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET).

"Riley worked for my father-in-law for years," Smith said. "My father-in-law was the Chief of the Field Operations Bureau at the FCC for 25 years. So enforcement is actually something that is a long-standing family tradition. A member of my family — the Smith family — has worked at the FCC continuously since 1964: Myself, my husband and my father-in-law."

Calling Hollingsworth "irreplaceable," Smith said what he did for the Commission and for the amateur community was "amazing. He volunteered for that job. He stood up and said, 'I'm an amateur. I love this community and I want to give back to it.' This position needs to be filled by somebody who is interested in doing it long-term. This [job] is not a stepping stone; it's not a short term process. This wouldn't work if I were trying to be Riley. I'm not going to be Riley. We're very different people. But we both have the same goal: To make the amateur community better."

Smith emphasized that an Amateur Radio license is "a privilege, not a right. When you come to the FCC and you sign up for a license and you get that license, you have agreed to abide by those Rules. That is inherent in the application process. As an applicant and a licensee, you have said, 'I will hereby comply with the Rules that have been enacted by the FCC.' So you have said, 'I will adhere to that.' And if you choose not to, then you are subject to losing that privilege."

Smith is not yet a licensed amateur. She said that she will get her license "someday," but that she did not want to get her license just because her job involves Amateur Radio: "I didn't want to come into this job and become a ham, saying, 'I'm getting this job so I'm going to be a ham — not because I'm interested in being a ham, but because it looks better on paper.' So ultimately I will become a ham." Smith said that her father-in-law, when stationed in the FCC"s Field Office in Los Angeles, used to administer the Morse code test to prospective licensees: "So he has challenged me that before I can become an amateur on any level, I must learn Morse code and I must past the test with him administering the Morse code. So I have a challenge. I am going to begin learning Morse code this summer. He is going to start teaching me, so once I have sufficient proficiency, then he will let me take the [Technician] test."

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

Allow us to uplink your paging data to two separate satellites for complete redundancy! CVC owns and operates two separate earth stations and specializes in uplink services for paging carriers. Join our list of satisfied uplink customers.

• Each earth station features hot standby redundancy UPS and Generator back-up Redundant TNPP Gateways On shelf spares for all critical components
• 24/7 staffing and support

For inquires please call or e-mail Stephan Suker at 800-696-6474 or steves@cvcpaging.com

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!

Want to help the newsletter?

Become a SPONSOR

Promote your company's image with one of these posters.

* cost per week—six-month minimum—or 26 issues.

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

That buzzing you feel from your cell phone may be all in your head

by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood | The Grand Rapids Press
Tuesday March 10, 2009, 10:10 AM

Emily Zoladz | The Grand Rapids Press Live wire: Richard Kenyon, of Cascade, checks his cell phone while working on his laptop before a recent lunch meeting at The Black Rose in Grand Rapids. Kenyon, who carries a pager and cell phone, frequently experiences phantom ringing and vibrating. As a small-business technology consultant, Kenyon has to respond quickly to clients throughout the day. He stays connected because he says he doesn't want to miss anything.

Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz.

You feel a vibration on your hip, you reach for your phone. You must be getting a call, e-mail or text message, right?

But no. The screen is dark. No one called, no one texted. Turns out, the vibrations are all in your head.

So, what's the matter with you and all the other cell phone users quietly experiencing these phantom vibes?

"It's a perfectly normal and expected occurrence," said professor Robert Hendersen, who heads the psychology department at Grand Valley State University. "Before cell phones, people used to get out of the shower because they thought they heard the phone ringing."

Now, cell phone users feel a vibration while idling in cars at stoplights or brushing past a chair in the office, and have to check their phones.

While little research has been completed in this area, academics describe these occurrences as a form of top-down processing, explaining that our brains become conditioned to react to the vibration. So, when we expect or anticipate a call, it sometimes causes a false sensation of someone trying to contact us.

Sudden movements

These phantom vibrations could be "influenced by your memory, expectation, anticipation and, in some cases, motivation, that could influence the process of sensation," said Liang Lou, an associate professor of psychology at GVSU.

The likelihood of false vibrations may be increased by movement, Lou said, which explains why people reach for their phones while idling in the cars or after their phone shifts in their pocket.

"It's completely understandable," Lou said.

Tara Truskoski, 20, of Wyoming, usually experiences false vibrations when she's waiting for a text message.

"It's weird," she said, reflecting on the disappointment following the phantom vibrations she experiences about every other day. "It's really weird."

For a while, Truskoski said she suspected something was wrong with her phone or worse. She stopped worrying after witnessing her roommate do the same thing.

"Then I was like, 'Oh, maybe it's not me or my phone.'"

Richard Kenyon, 45, of Cascade, can spot a phantom attack a mile away.

"You'll be at a concert or something, and you'll see someone reach for their phone," said the small-business technology consultant.

A perplexed expression will flash across the individual's face as he or she returns the phone to its hip holster.

"You laugh because you know what happened," Kenyon said. "And you instinctively reach for your phone."

It happens to Johnathan Smith, too.

The Kindel Furniture Co. president and CEO said he feels phantom vibes a couple of times a week, usually in the car.

"I check my BlackBerry obsessively," he said, confessing he often sneaks glances at it during meetings.

He also will clue people into their phone messages, often saying, "You just got a message" to those around him who may be less attuned to react to the low buzz or ping of an incoming message.

24-hour cycle

Smith, 56, like many other tech-savvy professionals, checks his phone often to efficiently manage his inbox. Since portable technology makes instant communication possible 24 hours a day, many people expect immediate responses.

"It's funny," Smith said. "Our standard for communication has changed so radically."

Yes, the conveniences of modern technology have many of us twitching and reaching for our phones.

A couple of years ago, Scott Adams, the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, blogged about the buzzing sensations on dilbert.org, reporting he felt the phantom vibrations, "about 10 times per day."

"'Ooh, it's an e-mail with good news!'" he wrote. "So far, the only good news is that my pocket is vibrating, and that's OK because it gives me hope that the condition might spread to the rest of my pants."

The Press followed up with Adams for an update. Turns out, Adams is hearing things now, too.

"I am indeed still getting BlackBerry phantom vibrations in my front left pocket," Adams wrote in an e-mail interview. "But I have learned to not keep my phone on vibrate so I know it isn't real.

"But now I hear my cell phone ring tone all the time when it isn't there. I suppose it's a 'grass is always greener' situation, where I am thinking whatever incoming communication I might be getting must be more interesting than whatever I am doing at the moment."

Intelligent Solutions for Paging & Wireless Data

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

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

PDT3000 Paging Data Terminal

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

Paging Controlled Moving Message LED Displays

• Variety of sizes Indoor/outdoor
• Integrated paging receiver

PDR3000/PSR3000 Paging Data Receivers

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

Specialized Paging Solutions

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

Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

	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
Fax:	770-844-6574
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

Preferred Wireless

Motorola Authorized Service Center for Paging and Cellular.

Ask for Special Newsletter Pricing.

Please call: 800-222-6075 ext. 301 for pricing.

Contact

E-mail: duane.rose@minilec.com

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

Minilec Service

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

FTC Warns Consumers Of “Stimulus Fund” Scams

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notes that deceptive Web sites, advertisements, and e-mail campaigns have cropped up across the Internet in recent weeks to lure consumers into scams by promising them federal grant money from President Obama’s economic stimulus package. The FTC said it is investigating these scams and is reaching out to the private sector for help. Google said it has committed to investigating stimulus-related ads that violate its anti-scam policy, and Facebook has pulled ads for stimulus funds from its site, in accordance with a new advertising policy it implemented this week.

The deceptive sites and ads "have literally mushroomed up almost overnight," said Eileen Harrington, the acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Scammers have created sites with domains like PresidentObamaGrants.com and OfficialStimulusGrants.com, Harrington said, and include pictures of President Obama and Vice President Biden. The sites prompt consumers to enter a credit card number to pay a small fee in return for a list of grants supposedly available for things like mortgage payments. Those small fees, however, are often nothing more than a down payment on a "negative option" agreement that could cost someone thousands of dollars over the course of a year if not canceled. "These Web sites tout free money for you," Harrington said. "But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. Buried deep within the Web site is the fact that they'll charge you a lot of money."

According to the FTC, an email, online ad, or website says you’re eligible to get an economic stimulus payment. You just have to send back a form or submit one online to get it. The message might appear to come from a rebate company or look like it’s straight from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). But the promise of stimulus money in return for a fee or financial information is always a scam. Some scam artists ask you to send a small processing fee, supposedly to get a much larger check in return. That’s money you'll never see again. Others skip the fee, and instead, ask for your bank account number so they can “deposit” your check. Then, they use the information to clean out your account or open new ones using your identifying information. Some stimulus scams encourage you to click on links, open attached forms, or call phony toll-free numbers. But simply clicking the link or opening the document can install harmful software, like spyware, on your computer. The result could be your personal information ending up in the hands of an identity thief.

If you get a message offering you money from the stimulus program in exchange for your personal information, ignore it, delete it, or throw it out, the FTC says. The IRS doesn't send emails like this asking for personal information, and rebate companies claiming to have stimulus payments for you should not be trusted, regardless of how plausible the script sounds or how official the forms look. When a stimulus plan does involve a check to you (it may not), you won’t need to fill out a separate form in an email or give out personal information — like account numbers or your Social Security number — to someone who calls you out of the blue. If you get an unexpected email from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking you to call a number or email back personal information, forward it to phishing@irs.gov, then delete it without clicking on any links or opening any attachments. If you think you are the target of a scam, you also can file a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint. If you need to reach an agency like the IRS, the FTC says don’t use phone numbers or links included in an email. Always type the web address directly into your browser, and look up any url you aren't sure about. Use phone numbers listed on agency websites or in other reliable sources, like the Blue Pages in your phone directory.

BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

FCC Meetings and Deadlines

Mar. 16 – FCC Form 477, Local Competition and Broadband Reporting Form, is due. (Extended from Mar. 2.)

Mar. 16 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Washington, D.C.).

Mar. 17 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Las Vegas, Nev.).

Mar. 18 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Flagstaff, Ariz.).

Mar. 19 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Washington, D.C.).

Mar. 19 – Deadline for reply comments on Sprint Nextel request to extend BAS relocation deadline (ET Docket No. 02-55).

Mar. 20 – Deadline for comments on auction procedures for Auction No. 79 (FM Construction Permits) (AU Docket No. 09-21).

Mar. 23 – Deadline for filing certain information collection statements regarding NET 911 Act (PS Docket No. 09-14).

Mar. 23 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Washington, D.C.).

Mar. 24 – Public Meeting on NTIA/RUS broadband grant programs (Washington, D.C.).

Mar. 25 – Deadline for comments on FCC-USDA rural broadband strategy (GN Docket No. 09-29).

Mar. 27 – Deadline for reply comments on NOI regarding FCC’s annual video competition report (MB Docket No. 07-269).

Mar. 31 – FCC Form 507, Universal Service Quarterly Line Count Update, is due.

Mar. 31 – FCC Form 525, Competitive Carrier Line Count Quarterly Report, is due.

Mar. 31 – FCC Form 508, Projected Annual Common Line Revenue Requirement Form, is due.

Mar. 31 – Annual International Circuit Status Report is due.

Apr. 1 – FCC Form 499-A, Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet, is due.

Apr. 1 – Revised DTV Consumer Education requirements for ETCs, MVPDs take effect.

Apr. 1 – Certain sections of DTV Delay Act Omnibus Order take effect (47 C.F.R. Sections 15.124, 54.418, and 76.1630).

Apr. 1 – Deadline for reply comments on auction procedures for Auction No. 79 (FM Construction Permits) (AU Docket No. 09-21).

Apr. 8 – FCC open meeting.

Apr. 10 – Auction 73 winners must file quarterly report covering DTV consumer education outreach efforts for period Jan.-Mar. 2009.

Apr. 11 – Deadline for FCC to act on Embarq forbearance petition regarding IP-to-PSTN voice traffic, or have it deemed granted (WC Docket No. 08-8).

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

Easy Solutions provides cost effective computer and wireless solutions at affordable prices. We can help in most any situation with your communications systems. We have many years of experience and a vast network of resources to support the industry, your system and an ever changing completive landscape.

• We treat our customers like family. We don't just fix problems...
  • We recommend and implement better cost effective solutions.
  We are not just another vendor — We are a part of your team.
  • All the advantages of high priced full time employment without the cost.
• We are not in the Technical Services business...
  • We are in the Customer Satisfaction business.

Experts in Paging Infrastructure
Glenayre, Motorola, Unipage, etc.
Excellent Service Contracts
Full Service—Beyond Factory Support
Contracts for Glenayre and other Systems starting at $100
Making systems More Reliable and MORE PROFITABLE for over 28 years.

Please see our web site for exciting solutions designed specifically for the Wireless Industry. We also maintain a diagnostic lab and provide important repair and replacement parts services for Motorola and Glenayre equipment. Call or e-mail us for more information. Easy Solutions
3220 San Simeon Way
Plano, Texas 75023 Vaughan Bowden
Telephone: 972-898-1119
Website: www.EasySolutions4You.com CLICK HERE
E-mail: vaughan@easysolutions4you.com

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 E-mail Throttling Gateway (anti-spam).

Contact

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

Tel: 843-285-7200

Fax: 843-285-7220

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK HERE

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

Hark Technologies

Advertise Here

Your company's logo and product promotion can appear right here for six months. It only costs $600.00 for a full-size ad in 26 issues—that's only $23.08 an issue. (6-month minimum run.)

Read more about the advertising plans here. CLICK HERE

'Giant Killer' attorney leads suit against Mississippi's SkyTel

By Corey Williams
Associated Press Writer
MARCH 12, 2009

DETROIT — As Kwame Kilpatrick was being whisked from jail behind the tinted rear windows of a Chevy Suburban, the latest in his string of lawyers hinted that Detroit's disgraced former mayor might be striking back in the form of a civil lawsuit.

Willie E. Gary was true to his word.

Just over a month later, he filed suit against SkyTel, claiming the Clinton, Miss.-based communications company violated Kilpatrick's privacy and constitutional rights by releasing sexually explicit text messages between the married ex-mayor and his former chief of staff.

Gary says the $100 million demand he made to Skytel "could go up."

And he's no stranger to money. Gary, who travels in his own Boeing 737, has won a $240 million verdict against Disney and a $500 million judgment against a Canadian funeral company. That award later was settled for $175 million.

His work has earned Gary the nickname "Giant Killer."

"I can't stand to lose," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday. "You've got to outwork the opponent. I don't think there is a lawyer in America that is going to outwork Willie Gary."

Legal victories have been few for Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, who were accused of lying on the stand during a 2007 whistle-blowers' trial about having an intimate relationship and their roles in the firing of a police official.

The Detroit Free Press published excerpts of text messages from Beatty's city-issued pager in January 2008 that contradicted their testimony. The newspaper has not revealed how it obtained the texts.

A prosecutor later filed perjury and other charges against Kilpatrick and Beatty.

Kilpatrick eventually entered pleas in two criminal cases, resigned his office, lost his law license, served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the city.

"I have so much respect for all of the lawyers that have been working for the former mayor," Gary said. "They are at the top of their games in the criminal arena, but this is a whole different court."

Kilpatrick's civil suit against SkyTel, the city's former communications provider, was filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Tuesday.

It claims the text messages were confidential and that SkyTel violated federal law by releasing them following the whistle-blowers' trial. The lawsuit says the messages were divulged after SkyTel received a subpoena from a lawyer representing police officers in the case.

Prosecutors later also obtained copies of the messages, many of which have now been made public, including a batch earlier this week.

Birmingham, Mich., attorney Thomas Plunkett has represented SkyTel in litigation involving the texts and said Tuesday the company was "compelled" by courts to release the messages. He said today that the company won't comment further on Kilpatrick's suit.

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.

CLICK HERE

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

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend or colleague.

Facebook Individual Contact

I have also started a Facebook Group associated with this newsletter. It is an open group and you are welcome to join. Just click on the link above.

et's not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress.

Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It's in crisis that inventive is born, as well as discoveries, and big strategies. Who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. Who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent, and is more respectful to problems than to solutions. Incompetence is the true crisis.

The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems. There's no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony. There’s no merit without crisis. It's in the crisis where we can show the very best in us. Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism. Let us work hard instead.

Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it.

—Albert Einstein

o pretendamos que las cosas cambien si siempre hacemos lo mismo. La crisis es la mejor bendición que puede sucederle a personas y países porque la crisis trae progresos.

La creatividad nace de la angustia como el día nace de la noche oscura. Es en la crisis que nace la inventiva, los descubrimientos y las grandes estrategias. Quien supera la crisis se supera a sí mismo sin quedar "superado". Quien atribuye a la crisis sus fracasos y penurias violenta su propio talento y respeta más a los problemas que a las soluciones. La verdadera crisis es la crisis de la incompetencia.

El inconveniente de las personas y los países es la pereza para encontrar las salidas y soluciones. Sin crisis no hay desafíos, sin desafíos la vida es una rutina, una lenta agonía. Sin crisis no hay méritos. Es en la crisis donde aflora lo mejor de cada uno, porque sin crisis todo viento es caricia. Hablar de crisis es promoverla, y callar en la crisis es exaltar el conformismo. En vez de esto trabajemos duro.

Acabemos de una vez con la única crisis amenazadora que es la tragedia de no querer luchar por superarla.

—Albert Einstein

Thanks to my friend Enrique Llaca for sending in this "Thought For The Week" from Mexico City. His copy was naturally in Spanish; I found the same quotation in English on the web.