Greetings Loyal Readers, and Friends of Wireless Messaging,

More snow here in Southern Illinois. Here is a shot of a little crippled doe having her breakfast in my back yard this morning. Temperature is 3º (F.).

Sgt. Michael Bartley

This young man was a friend of mine. He lived just a couple of miles from my house. I knew him when he was a high school student. He graduated from our local high school in 2007. His mom is a friend of mine too. It has been a sad week in Fairfield, Illinois.

FAIRFIELD, Ill. — Rebecca Isles is back home after the Army flew her to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday to witness the arrival of her son's flag-draped coffin from Iraq.

Isles' only child, Sgt. Michael Bartley, 23, of Barnhill, Ill., was killed Saturday when an Iraqi soldier opened fire during a training mission in the embattled northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing two and wounding another.

Military officials told Isles it would be five to seven days before her son's body would be returned home to Wayne County for services. Isles' sister, Angela Jolly, said the funeral will be conducted at Orchardville Community Church in northern Wayne County where the family attended weekly services.

On Tuesday, flags throughout Wayne County were lowered to half-staff. Volunteers from the VFW and American Legion posts in Fairfield erected dozens of flags around the military section of Maple Hill Cemetery, a display normally limited to Veterans Day and Memorial Day observances.

[source]

An Army team at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on Monday transfers the remains of Sgt. Michael Bartley of Barnhill, Illinois.

Now on to more news and views.

Wireless Messaging News
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 Messaging 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 Messaging 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 Opinion pieces present only the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of AAPC, its publisher, or its sponsors.

Brad Dye, Ron Mercer, Allan Angus, and Vic Jackson are friends and colleagues who work both together and independently, on wireline and wireless communications projects. Click here  for a summary of their qualifications and experience. They collaborate on consulting assignments, and share the work according to their individual expertise and their schedules.

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American Association of Paging Carriers

UPDATE FROM AAPC’s PRESIDENT

As 2010 comes to a close we again thank you for your membership and continued support of the American Association of Paging Carriers (AAPC). As the national association dedicated to representing and advancing the paging industry, our strength is dependent on members like you. I am pleased to note 2010 has been a very successful year as we have continued to build upon the momentum of the past few years, developing a more unified industry association with increased participation by both carriers and vendors alike. We continue to believe the value of an AAPC membership has never been greater. In particular, we note just some of the benefits of membership as follows:

Building on the overwhelming success of the Global Paging Convention, which in part was due to the tireless efforts and support of the European Mobile Messaging Association (“EMMA”), we will be co-hosting two events with EMMA in 2011: the Global Paging Summit, from March 15th to the 17th in Cork, Ireland and the Annual Global Paging Convention, which will he held in Nashville, TN from June 14th to the 16th. The Global Paging Summit is likely to be a slightly smaller, more intimate gathering of industry executives while the Global Paging Convention will be similar to the events held in Montreal and Charleston. If you participated in either of these conventions I am sure you will agree they were very successful and we sincerely hope you attend one or both of next year’s events. I can tell you personally that I and my company have benefited and continue to benefit from the discussions and relationships built and strengthened at prior events.

As a unified industry association it is our intent to advance our industry and the business prospects and realities of our members by helping to articulate the competitive advantages of our services and to leverage the individual knowledge of our members for our collective benefit. Accordingly, we hope you agree that the benefits of membership far exceed its cost and that you remain a member of the only organization whose sole purpose is to educate and protect its members from potentially harmful legislation, changing technologies, and competitive landscapes while simultaneously promoting our industry for the sole benefit of association members.

Sincerely,

J. Roy Pottle President & Chief Executive Officer
American Association of Paging Carriers

AAPC Announcements:

Thank you to those members who have already paid their 2011 membership fees. Your continued support and participation is greatly appreciated and critical to the success of the industry. You should have already received your 2011 invoice. If you did not receive yours, please contact Linda at aapc@ec.rr.com.

Click here to become an AAPC member.

Thanks to our Premier Vendor!

Prism Paging

Thanks to our Silver Vendors!

Method Link, LLC

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Thanks to our Bronze Vendors!

• Critical Response Systems, Inc.
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• Digital Paging Company
• DX Radio Systems
• Hark Technologies
• InfoRad
• ISC Technologies
• Microspace Communications Corporation
• Onset Technology
• RF Demand Solutions
• Swissphone Telecom
• United Communications Corporation

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TErrestrial Trunked Radio to launch in Green Bay area this week

TETRA system used in 114 countries

BY NATHAN PHELPS
JANUARY 19, 2011

The Green Bay area will be home to a pilot project aimed at demonstrating an alternative form of radio communications in the United States.

Nielson Communications, 645 Potts Ave., Ashwaubenon, and Sepura, Rohde & Schwarz Professional Mobile Radio expect to launch a six-month demonstration of TErrestrial Trunked Radio this week.

The radio system is in use in 114 countries around the world, and the federal government is looking at expanding service to the United States, according to officials involved in the project.

The system is a worldwide standard for digital private mobile radios developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, according to Sepura, Rohde & Schwarz.

Steve Nielson, vice president of Nielson Communications, said TErrestrial Trunked Radio — referred to as TETRA in industry circles — is another potential market option for mobile two-way radio users like law enforcement agencies, colleges and manufacturing facilities.

"The Federal Communications Commission is looking at passing a waiver for the TETRA product in the United States … and our intention with the pilot program is to prove the TETRA technology — that it works and it does not interfere with other adjacent frequencies or any other systems," Nielson said Tuesday. "We're also trying to create interest for utilities, public safety and larger venues."

The project is made up of three IP connected base stations and more than 30 Sepura TETRA radios, according to the company.

"We are delighted that this TETRA trial in the U.S. will enable potential users to experience and evaluate the technology," Phil Kidner, CEO for the TETRA Association, stated in a release Tuesday.

The system is open for demonstrations to potential customers in the coming months.

"It's been proven throughout the world, and TETRA … is a constantly growing technology," said Nielson, who pointed out the system's radios can be less costly than some other products on the market.

He said the demonstration project has been in the works for about two years.

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Is AT&T Hoarding Spectrum?

By Gary Kim, Contributing Editor
TMC.net
January 14, 2011

It's a reasonable question, in the abstract, to ponder the matter of U.S. wireless service spectrum requirements, and to ask the question of whether some of the currently-allocated spectrum is being used in the "best" way. Of course, "best" is a matter of opinion. Spectrum is the foundation for many industries, ranging from local radio, local broadcast TV, paging, mobile phone service, microwave backhaul, satellite networks. Spectrum also is used by government, military, utility and public safety communities as well. So "best" is a value judgment conditioned by place in a business ecosystem that uses spectrum.

Some question whether AT&T , for example, is simply hoarding spectrum it has purchased, the implication being that the company simply is squatting on spectrum to deny its use to competitors. That would not be an unimaginable scenario, of course. But most spectrum these days is fairly expensive to acquire, especially at frequency ranges that make it highly useful for mobile communications of the sort people associate with mobile phones and related devices.

It would be a difficult proposition for a public company to invest heavily (say billions of dollars) in an asset that is not going to be used to create a revenue stream that justifies the investment. Indeed, it is a reasonable question to wonder what AT&T might be wanting to do with its newly-acquired spectrum.

In fairness, the AWS spectrum AT&T is accused of hoarding had some issues. In fact, one contemporary report said "Cingular (the AT&T brand name at the time) bought a wide variety of different licenses. There's no one clear strategy or pattern to their purchases."

The spectrum pattern clearly has some issues. The spectrum blocks are not commensurate across the country, for example. AT&T won two major 10 MHz licenses covering the whole Western United States and Central United States. AT&T also purchased 20 MHz worth of spectrum in Los Angeles and Dallas.

AT&T also won a smattering of licenses in the rest of the country. The largest metro areas covered in that group are Boston, Washington/Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta, and Chicago. All of those were 10 MHz C block licenses. In smaller cities, they went for the larger 20 MHz licenses.

So a clear problem is that, as a national carrier, AT&T needs spectrum that is consistent across its service footprint. That's a marketing problem of some scope. A national carrier obviously would like to be able to advertise service of certain minimum specifications no matter where a customer might be using service. Consistent capacity across the footprint helps, in that regard. And no matter what else one might say about the AT&T AWS spectrum, it was not consistent.

It is one thing to reinforce capacity in heavy-demand areas; it is another to ensure a minimum level of capacity across the whole footprint. Ironically, in some ways, the AWS spectrum that AT&T is accused of hoarding will be used to launch the new Long Term Evolution network.

Need for additional spectrum, in adjacent frequencies, was one reason why AT&T recently bought spectrum from Qualcomm.

The move was described as part of AT&T’s construction of a new 4G mobile broadband network. The spectrum covers more than 300 million people total nationwide: 12 MHz of Lower 700 MHz D and E block spectrum covers more than 70 million people in five of the top 15 U.S. metropolitan areas — New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco; 6 MHz of Lower 700 MHz D block spectrum covers more than 230 million people across the rest of the U.S.

But spectrum alone is not the answer to the question of why newly-acquired spectrum has been put to work. There are business considerations. AT&T also had made a decision to upgrade its 3G network to HSPA+, which provides bandwidth comparable to other 4G networks. In a direct sense, AT&T did not "need" to immediately activate a 4G network at the same time as it was activating a higher-speed network that would function as a "4G" network. In fact, T-Mobile USA now has activated its own HSPA+ network, and is marketing it as "4G," with the belated blessing of the International Telecommunications Union.

For financial reasons and human resource reasons alone, AT&T might not have wanted to "immediately" build and launch both 4G and advanced 3G (otherwise "4G" in terms of performance) networks at the same time. But to say AT&T is "hoarding" spectrum seems unjustified. See for more discussion.

AT&T will deploy its new LTE network in 2011, on 700 MHz and Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum. Hoarding? Hardly.

Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Gary’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jaclyn Allard

5^th Circuit Rules AT&T Is Not Entitled To Refunds From Certain USF Payments

The 5^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has ruled that AT&T, a “taxpayer,” is not entitled to a refund on certain Universal Service Fund (USF) payments it received because those funds were “income” rather than “capital contributions.” More specifically, the Court said, in AT&T v. United States, that the funds AT&T received from federal and state governmental entities for providing “universal service”—viz., affordable telephone service mainly for lower-income consumers and those in high-cost rural, remote or isolated areas—or else is entitled to treat those funds as non-shareholder contributions to capital under the Internal Revenue Code, because the “universal service” support payments were income rather than capital contributions.

AT&T filed this suit in federal district court seeking tax refunds totaling $505,245,517. AT&T contended that the USF payments were capital contributions excludable from its gross income. The government filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the undisputed facts and applicable law demonstrate that the government payors of USF support payments did not intend to make capital contributions to AT&T in making payments from the USFs; and that they instead intended to supplement the carriers’ operating income by compensating them for some of their costs of servicing high-cost customers and by reimbursing carriers for discounts that they were required to give low-income consumers. The government further relied on the 11^th Circuit’s decision in United States v. Coastal Utilities, which held that payments from USFs to support high-cost users did not constitute capital contributions.

AT&T opposed the motion, arguing that there was a genuine issue as to a material fact, viz., whether the FCC and state payors intended to make contributions to AT&T’s capital in making the USF payments, which required a trial; that the USF payments were intended to pay for the expansion and upgrading of the carriers’ network infrastructure and must be treated as capital contributions; and that Coastal Utilities was erroneously decided because the court there did not examine the requirements for a payment to be held to be a capital contribution set forth in United States v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co.

According to the 5^th Circuit, the district court referred the government’s motion for summary judgment to a magistrate judge, who recommended that the court should grant the motion. She indicated that “[t]he parties agree that the test for determining whether a payment is a contribution to capital is the transferor’s intent.” However, she rejected AT&T’s argument that the court is required to rigidly apply the test identified in CB&Q. Instead, the 5^th Circuit said, the magistrate judge determined that the court could discern the state and federal governments’ intent by examining the method by which the FCC and state utility commissions decided to make payments from the USFs to support service to high-cost and low-income subscribers. The magistrate judge stated that these payments were intended to supplement “lost revenues” from servicing these customers and that “the cost of capital improvements is not part of the calculation of the universal service payments”; “[a]lthough the cost of capital improvements [such as building telephone lines] undoubtedly affects the amount a carrier claims, the computations of payments focuses on revenue (the amount of universal service charges), not capital improvements.” Therefore, the 5th Circuit said, because “carriers provide service at discounted rates and governments reimburse carriers for revenues lost in providing discounted services,” nothing in the payment structure for servicing high-cost or low-income customers directly implicates capital contributions.

Accordingly, the 5^th Circuit continued, the magistrate judge rejected AT&T’s contention that there was a genuine issue of material fact requiring a trial. She stated that “AT&T [had] submitted a large volume of summary-judgment evidence . . . but did not explain why or how this evidence raises a material fact question” and that she had “found nothing raising a fact question about whether universal service payments to AT&T constitute non-shareholder contributions to capital.”

After reviewing the record, the recommendations of the magistrate judge, and the arguments of the parties, the district court accepted and adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation in its entirety, and granted the government’s motion for summary judgment, rejecting AT&T’s claim for a refund of income taxes paid. AT&T appealed.

As the 5^th Circuit read the statutes authorizing the USF payments, the administrative orders implementing those statutes, and the resulting regulations, the USF payments were not intended to be capital contributions to AT&T, but to be supplements to AT&T’s gross income to enable it to provide universal service programs while meeting competition newly introduced by the 1996 Act.

In this manner, the 5^th Circuit said, the authorizing statutes, administrative orders and regulations demonstrate a consistent governmental intent that the USF payments were designed to provide the telephone companies with supplemental revenue to offset their extra costs in or decreased revenue resulting from providing high-cost and low-income customers with affordable telephone services. That intent was implemented by the payment mechanisms, which distribute the USF payments in a manner so as to supplement the recipient companies’ revenue from services. The Supreme Court’s decision in Texas & Pacific Railway confirms that such a regulatory and legislative framework dictates that the payments were income. Thus, the 5^th Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court.

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC To Decide Connect America Fund, Intercarrier Comp Issues at February 8 Open Meeting

At its February 8 open meeting, the FCC has tentatively scheduled to consider the following items:

Connect America Fund and Intercarrier Compensation Reform NPRM: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to get broadband to all of rural America and spur investment and job creation, by modernizing the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation (ICC) system while cutting waste and inefficiency. Through the use of market-driven, incentive-based policies and increased accountability, the NPRM proposes near-term support for broadband deployment in unserved areas and measures to address ICC arbitrage, as well as a long-term transition from current high-cost support and ICC mechanisms to a single, fiscally responsible Connect America Fund.

Data Innovation Initiative Presentation: A presentation on the status of the comprehensive reform efforts to modernize and streamline how the Commission collects, uses, and disseminates data in order to improve the agency’s fact-based, data-driven decision-making.

Broadband and Voice Data Modernization NPRM: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, initiated as part of the Commission’s Data Innovation Initiative, to streamline and modernize the collection of data via Form 477, in order to ensure that the data the Commission collects enables informed policymaking while minimizing burdens on voice and broadband service providers.

CEI/ONA Reporting Elimination NPRM: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, initiated as part of the Commission’s Data Innovation Initiative, to eliminate the legacy narrowband comparably efficient interconnection (CEI) and open network architecture (ONA) reporting requirements that currently apply to the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs), due to a lack of continuing relevance and utility.

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

FCC OKs Comcast-NBC Merger, With Conditions

The FCC has granted—with conditions and enforceable commitments—approval of the assignment and transfer of control of broadcast, satellite, and other radio licenses from General Electric Company (GE) to Comcast Corporation. The approval will allow GE and Comcast to create a joint venture involving NBC Universal, Inc. (NBCU) and Comcast. An Order further explaining the Commission’s reasoning and the conditions and commitments will be issued shortly. As part of the merger, Comcast-NBCU will be required to take affirmative steps to foster competition in the video marketplace. In addition, Comcast-NBCU will increase local news coverage to viewers; expand children's programming; enhance the diversity of programming available to Spanish-speaking viewers; offer broadband services to low-income Americans at reduced monthly prices; and provide high-speed broadband to schools, libraries and underserved communities, among other public benefits. More specifically, the conditions imposed by the Commission address potential harms posed by the combination of Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator and Internet service provider, and NBCU, which owns and develops some of the most valuable television and film content. These targeted conditions and commitments, which generally will remain in effect for seven years, include:

Ensuring Reasonable Access to Comcast-NBCU Programming for Multichannel Distribution. Building on successful requirements adopted in prior, similar transactions, the Commission is establishing for rival multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) an improved commercial arbitration process for resolving disputes about prices, terms, and conditions for licensing Comcast-NBCU’s video programming. The Commission is also requiring Comcast-NBCU to make available through this process its cable channels in addition to broadcast and regional sports network programming.

Protecting the Development of Online Competition. Recognizing the risks this transaction could present to the development of innovative online video distribution services, the Commission has adopted conditions designed to guarantee bona fide online distributors the ability to obtain Comcast-NBCU programming in appropriate circumstances. These conditions respond directly to the concerns voiced by participants in the proceeding — including consumer advocates, online video distributors (OVDs), and MVPDs — while respecting the legitimate business interests of the Applicants to protect the value of their content. Among other things, the Commission requires that Comcast and/or Comcast-NBCU:

• Provides to all MVPDs, at fair market value and non-discriminatory prices, terms, and conditions, any affiliated content that Comcast makes available online to its own subscribers or to other MVPD subscribers.
• Offers its video programming to legitimate OVDs on the same terms and conditions that would be available to an MVPD.
• Makes comparable programming available on economically comparable prices, terms, and conditions to an OVD that has entered into an arrangement to distribute programming from one or more of Comcast-NBCU’s peers.
• Offers standalone broadband Internet access services at reasonable prices and of sufficient bandwidth so that customers can access online video services without the need to purchase a cable television subscription from Comcast.
• Does not enter into agreements to unreasonably restrict online distribution of its own video programming or programming of other providers.
• Does not disadvantage rival online video distribution through its broadband Internet access services and/or set-top boxes.
• Does not exercise corporate control over or unreasonably withhold programming from Hulu.

Access to Comcast’s Distribution Systems. In light of the significant additional video programming Comcast will control after the merger with NBCU—programming that may compete with third-party programming Comcast currently carries or otherwise would carry on its MVPD service—the Commission requires that Comcast not discriminate in video programming distribution on the basis of affiliation or non-affiliation with Comcast-NBCU. Moreover, if Comcast “neighborhoods” its news (including business news) channels, it must include all unaffiliated news (or business news) channels in that neighborhood. The Commission also adopts as a condition of the transaction Comcast’s voluntary commitment to provide 10 new independent channels within eight years on its digital tier.

Protecting Diversity, Localism, Broadcast and Other Public Interest Concerns. The Commission is also imposing conditions and accepting voluntary commitments concerning a numbers of other public interest issues, including diversity, localism, and broadcasting, among others. For example, to protect the integrity of over-the-air broadcasting, network-affiliate relations, and fair and equitable retransmission consent negotiations with the joint venture, the Commission adopts a series of conditions that were independently negotiated between the Applicants and various network affiliates.

The Applicants have also made a number of additional voluntary commitments, many of which the Commission has adopted as conditions to the transaction’s approval. Most of these commitments are geared towards enhancing the public interest as a result of the joint venture. These commitments include:

Broadband Adoption and Deployment. Comcast will make available to approximately 2.5 million low income households: (i) high-speed Internet access service for less than $10 per month; (ii) personal computers, netbooks, or other computer equipment at a purchase price below $150; and (iii) an array of digital-literacy education opportunities. Comcast will also expand its existing broadband networks to reach approximately 400,000 additional homes, provide broadband Internet access service in six additional rural communities, and provide free video and high-speed Internet service to 600 new anchor institutions, such as schools and libraries, in underserved, low-income areas.

Localism. To further broadcast localism, Comcast-NBCU will maintain at least the current level of news and information programming on NBC’s and Telemundo's owned-and-operated (“O&O”) broadcast stations, and in some cases expand news and other local content. NBC and Telemundo O&O stations also will provide thousands of additional hours of local news and information programming to their viewers, and some of its NBC stations will enter into cooperative arrangements with locally focused nonprofit news organizations. Additional free, on-demand local programming will be made available as well.

Children’s Programming. Comcast-NBCU will increase the availability of children’s programming on its NBC and Telemundo broadcast stations, and add at least 1,500 more choices to Comcast’s on-demand offerings for children. It will provide additional on-screen ratings information for original entertainment programming on the Comcast-NBCU broadcast and cable television channels and improved parental controls. Comcast-NBCU also will restrict interactive advertising aimed at children 12 years old and younger and provide public service announcements addressing children’s issues.

Programming Diversity. Building on Comcast’s voluntary commitments in this area, we require Comcast-NBCU to increase programming diversity by expanding its over-the-air programming to the Spanish language-speaking community, and by making NBCU’s Spanish-language broadcast programming available via Comcast’s on demand and online platforms. As noted above, Comcast also will add at least 10 new independent channels to its cable offerings.

Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Programming. Comcast will safeguard the continued accessibility and signal quality of PEG channels on its cable television systems and introduce new on demand and online platforms for PEG content.

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC SETS COMMENT DATES ON NG911 PROCEEDING: The FCC has established a comment cycle for its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) initiating a comprehensive proceeding to address how Next Generation 911 (NG911) can enable the public to obtain emergency assistance by means of advanced communications technologies beyond traditional voice-centric devices (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, September 29, 2010). The NOI seeks to gain a better understanding of how the gap between the capabilities of modern networks and devices and today's 911 system can be bridged and seeks comment on how to further the transition to IP-based communications capabilities for emergency communications and NG911. Comments in this PS Docket No. 10-255 proceeding are due February 28, and replies are due March 14. As recommended in the National Broadband Plan, the NOI initiates a comprehensive proceeding to address how NG911 can enable the public to obtain emergency assistance by means of advanced communications technologies beyond traditional voice-centric devices. In the telecommunications industry overall, competitive forces and technological innovation have ushered in an era of advanced Internet-Protocol (IP)-based devices and applications that have vastly enhanced the ability of the public to communicate and send and receive information.

At the same time, the legacy circuit-switched 911 system is unable to accommodate the capabilities embedded in many of these advanced technologies, such as the ability to transmit and receive photos, text messages, and video. Accordingly, in this proceeding, the FCC seeks to gain a better understanding of how the gap between the capabilities of modern networks and devices and today's 911 system can be bridged. The FCC also seeks comment on how to further the transition to IP-based communications capabilities for emergency communications and NG911. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULES FOR SPECIAL CPE FOR LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE “DEAF-BLIND”: The FCC has issued a Public Notice requesting comment on proposed rules to create an effective and efficient process governing the distribution of specialized customer premises equipment (CPE) to enhance and promote access to telecommunications and related communications services by low-income individuals who are deaf-blind. Comments in this CG Docket No. 10-210 proceeding are due February 4, and replies are due February 14. The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), signed into law by President Obama on October 8, 2010, requires the FCC to take various measures to ensure that people with disabilities have access to emerging communications technologies in the 21^st Century. Section 105 of this law directs the Commission to establish rules within six months of enactment of the new statute that define as eligible for relay service support those programs approved by the Commission for the distribution of specialized customer premises equipment (specialized CPE) to people who are deaf-blind. The goal of this National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) is to make telecommunications service, Internet access service, and advanced communications, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, accessible by low income individuals who are deaf-blind. The Commission issued a Public Notice on November 3, 2010, seeking comment on a range of issues related to the Commission’s implementation of the requirement for an NDBEDP. The comments filed in response to this Public Notice informed the Commission’s preparation of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Cary Mitchell and Mary Sisak.

SENATOR HUTCHISON ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT: Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had been the Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, has announced she will not seek a fourth term, the first incumbent up for reelection in 2012 to retire. With Hutchison formally ending her political career, attention will immediately turn to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst who most handicappers regard as the frontrunner if he decides to seek the open seat, according to various press reports. Dewhurst received more than 3 million votes on election night 2010 — eclipsing even Republican Gov. Rick Perry's total — and is widely seen as the most popular elected official in the state. Dewhurst also has massive personal wealth — a huge advantage in such a large and expensive state as Texas. In a statement released a few hours after Hutchison's announcement, Dewhurst said: "While my focus remains on the challenges we face here at the state level and making this upcoming session successful, I fully intend to explore running for the United States Senate, and should I run, I will run with the intention of winning and continuing to serve the people of Texas just as I have done throughout my career." It is also widely believed that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) will not seek a fifth term in 2012, according to two Democratic sources familiar with the decision. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

STEARNS PLANS TO REINTRODUCE ONLINE PRIVACY BILL: Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is planning to reintroduce an online privacy bill he worked on last year with former Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.). The draft legislation would address concerns raised about the measure in comments provided to the lawmakers last year, according to the National Journal. "Rep. Stearns has taken those comments and is working with stakeholders on developing legislation that he plans to offer soon," a Stearns spokesman said. The draft Boucher-Stearns bill would have required websites to inform users how they collect and use personally identifiable information. Under the bill, consumers, for the most part, would have to opt out of having such information collected, although it would mandate that users opt in before websites could collect sensitive information such as financial and health data or share personally identifiable data with some third parties. Third-party ad networks would be exempt from the opt-in requirement as long as they adhere to certain guidelines.

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

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• Network monitoring and alarm reporting

Specialized Paging Solutions

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

Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

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

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

Too Much To List • Call or E-Mail

Rick McMichael Preferred Wireless, Inc. 10658 St. Charles Rock Rd. St. Louis, MO 63074 888-429-4171 or 314-429-3000 rickm@preferredwireless.com CLICK HERE www.preferredwireless.com/equipment OR HERE

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Wireless Communication Solutions

USB Paging Encoder

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

Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

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

Other products

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

Contact

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

Tel: 843-821-6888

Fax: 843-821-6894

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK HERE

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

Vocera acquires Wallace Wireless

Monday - January 10th, 2011 - 11:35am EST by Brian Dolan

Vocera has acquired Toronto-based Wallace Wireless, a competitor that enables healthcare professionals to send pages, text messages, and alerts through their smartphones. Wallace says its system is “secure, reliable, and traceable” and works over both WiFi and cellular networks. Vocera did not disclose the acquisition sum.

Healthcare has proven to be a core vertical for Wallace Wireless, but its offering has found a home in any industry that is weaning off its use of pagers. Wallace counts 200 customer sites across North America in healthcare, finance, public safety and more.

In its press releases, Vocera often quotes the The Joint Commission’s patient safety metric about communication breakdowns between healthcare providers: They are estimated to be the “root cause of 65 percent of sentinel events, two-thirds of which have resulted in death,” according to the company.

“Ineffective, incomplete, and inaccurate communication is a daunting challenge for care givers striving to provide the highest possible care,” Bob Zollars, Chairman and CEO of Vocera Communications stated in the release. “As a company, we are committed to finding solutions to these points of failure. Each of our four recent acquisitions, including Wallace Wireless, strengthens our portfolio of products and services that analyze, eliminate, or mitigate these communication failure points, and improve the patient experience.”

Wallace Wireless had enjoyed a particularly cozy relationship with both AT&T and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM). In an interview with MobiHealthNews in June 2009, RIM’s head of healthcare Fraser

Edward extolled the Wallace Wireless offering:

“There are paging applications on BlackBerry so I can get rid of my old pager and do away with multiple devices,” Edward said. “Wallace Wireless has built an enterprise-grade paging application with redundancy so if the data connection isn’t working for some reason there is a fail-over. The application has open APIs, though, so you can pull in data from other systems. Bottom line, it’s just like a pager — workers and others are not getting your private cell phone number — but unlike a pager the open APIs mean you can do so much more. Maybe after receiving a page, the physician will then look up some reference guides or look to collaborate with a colleague over mobile instant message applications. We are working on click-to-call functions so we can facilitate more collaboration.”

Other companies playing in the same sandbox as Vocera and Wallace Wireless include Voalte and Amcom.

Here are some quotes from readers two years ago on How, When and Why smartphones will replace pagers in healthcare.

For more on the Vocera acquisition of Wallace Wireless read the release here.