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AAPC Wireless Messaging News

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FRIDAY — SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 - ISSUE NO. 475

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Paging and Wireless Messaging Home Page image Newsletter Archive image Carrier Directory image Recommended Products and Services
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Reference Papers Consulting Glossary of Terms Send an e-mail to Brad Dye

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Dear friends of wireless messaging,

Here are some thoughts on:

To Leap Frog:

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For our international readers who may not be familiar with this term "leap frog" here are a couple of illustrations. It is a game that many of us played when we were children.

little boys

I guess the term comes from watching real frogs jumping over each other.

frogs

These illustrations are easier than trying to explain it with words.

Leapfrogging, as applied to technology, is when one great invention often comes out and then others copy it and improve on it. Each new product is better than the one before and everyone benefits from the continued improvement.

My gripe is that the technology companies seem to be stifling creativity now-a-days by the endless court-battles over patents.

If I invent some wonderful new thing/widget/gadget and get a patent for it, there would be no protection for me at all — for my "intellectual property." Why? Because patents are only of value to big companies that can afford to spend millions of dollars to defend them in court. An ordinary guy like me would be out of luck if some big company would take me to court and claim "prior art."

I don't claim to know much about the law, but I do get called in as a consultant once in a while on wireless patent issues. Do you know there are companies whose only business is buying patents and then suing other companies for infringement? This is ridiculous! I had one famous law firm call and ask me to help them in litigation over some paging technology. I declined, partly because some of the defendants were advertisers in this newsletter, but mostly because this law firm represented the plaintiff and I considered the whole thing frivolous.

I know of one major lawsuit over paging networks, claiming ownership of some ideas that the engineers in my department and I had implemented years before while I worked for Motorola.

Oh well, that's enough for now. It's just that as I research the news for you each week I keep finding all these articles about companies suing each other when they should be busy designing new products and creating jobs for the unemployed.

It makes me think of that jerk who was president of Motorola a few years ago. He fired thousands of employees and bought two new corporate jets.

“Let them eat cake.”

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Now on to more news and views.

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This is the AAPC's weekly newsletter about Wireless Messaging. You are receiving this because I believe you have requested it. This is not a SPAM. If you have received this message in error, or you are no longer interested in these topics, please click here , then click on "send" and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list.

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iland internet sulutions 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.

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A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter is posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the web. That way it doesn't fill up your incoming e-mail account.

There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world's major Paging and Wireless 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 POLICY

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

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Please help support the AAPC Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above.

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Newspapers generally cost 75¢ a copy and they hardly ever mention 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 willing and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button above.

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CONSULTING ALLIANCE

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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NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING

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If you would like to have information about advertising in this newsletter, please click here . Your support is needed.

USED PAGING EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Please click right arrow here left arrow for a list of used paging infrastructure and test equipment for sale from Ray Primack in Vancouver. Pagers, a big UPS, and other equipment as well. Check it out!

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AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PAGING CARRIERS

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aapc logo American Association of Paging Carriers

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American Association of Paging Carriers

Want to be a part of your industry association? Click here to join today.

Thanks to our current carrier members!

Please support our current vendor members.

Premier Vendor prism ipx
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Silver Vendors

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Method Link, LLC

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Unication USA

Bronze Vendors

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AAPC Executive Director
441 N. Crestwood Drive
Wilmington, NC 28405
Tel: 866-301-2272
E-mail: info@pagingcarriers.org
Web: www.pagingcarriers.org
AAPC Regulatory Affairs Office
Suite 250
2154 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007-2280
Tel: 202-223-3772
Fax: 202-315-3587

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ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

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Advertiser Index

AAPC—American Association of Paging Carriers Preferred Wireless
Daviscomms USA Prism Paging
Hahntech-USA Ron Mercer
Hark Technologies Product Support Services
HMCE, Inc. TC Promotion GmbH
Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E. UCOM Paging
Ivycorp Unication USA
Leavitt Communications United Communications Corp.
Northeast Paging VCP International
Paging & Wireless Network Planners LLC WiPath Communications
   

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The Surprising Ways RIM, Apple And Intel Named Their Best-selling Products

Aimee Groth
Business Insider
Sep. 28, 2011, 10:16 AM

blackberry There's one company, Lexicon, that's behind some of the most recognizable product names in America.

In an excellent piece for the New Yorker, John Colapinto wrote about how, in 1998, it met with executives from Research in Motion, who "had brought with them the prototype for a new device, a two-way pager that could send and receive email wirelessly. They could not agree on a name, but they had a few contenders: EasyMail, MegaMail, and ProMail."

After polling commuters in San Francisco and an exhaustive brainstorming session, the Lexicon branding team had about 40 possibilities:

RIM executives narrowed the list, and eventually talked themselves into the name Blackberry. Its strengths, they decided, were not limited to blood-pressure-lowering associations with fruit. The word "black" evoked the color of high-tech devices, and the gadget's small, oval keys looked like the droplets of a blackberry. ... [Plus] in the mid-nineties, Lexicon funded a linguistic study whose results suggested that the sound of the letter "b" was one of the most "reliable" in any language — "whether you were in Poland or Paris or New York."

Lexicon's first big success was naming the PowerBook for Apple, reports the New Yorker ("some people at Apple thought the name was boring ... but there [was] no such thing as a PowerBook"), and the Pentium microprocessor ("Intel's marketing team ... had asked for a name that 'sounded like an ingredient' — something that goes into the computer to enhance it").

Lexicon has been around since 1982, when there were fewer than 10,000 registered high-tech trademarks in the U.S. (now there are more than 300,000, via the New Yorker).

Read the entire New Yorker article here.

Source: Business Insider

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vcp

 

advertise here

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New threat to your car: a ticked-off geek

Posted 9/29/2011 1:21 PM by Susan Ladika

One hundred car owners got an abrupt wake-up call last year when a disgruntled former dealership employee in Austin, Texas, used an Internet-based vehicle immobilization system to reach out and touch their lives.

Electronic boxes installed by the used-car dealer receive a signal through a pager system. The horn honks, for example, when a payment is due. If payments are delinquent, the ignition is disabled.

Working from his home, moving alphabetically down a list of unsuspecting — and paid up — customers, the fired employee remotely set off car horns and disabled engines.

The damage that can be done by a few malicious keystrokes grows as cars become rolling high-tech showcases. Like any vandalism or theft, any physical damage due to car hacking is covered by your comprehensive car insurance, but that doesn't reduce the creepiness of corporate monitoring, the tedium of repairing a stolen identity, or the nagging fear that your safety has been compromised.

A recently released report from the computer security company McAfee pulled together research done by several universities to evaluate the potential security threats to a cars' electrical components, which can be found in everything from radios to anti-lock brakes to electronic stability control systems to infotainment systems.

The threat to your car and your privacy is real, the studies find.

"It's not just theoretical. Attacks can take place," says Tim Fulkerson, senior director of marketing for McAfee Embedded Security.

Even the auto industry agrees. The subject has "kind of been lurking under the radar," says Peter Byk, an engineering specialist in the SAE International ground vehicle standards group, which formed a committee this spring to begin discussing safety and privacy concerns.

Don't get out your tinfoil hat — yet

The McAfee report looked at the potential for cyber criminals to track a driver's location, steal personal data from Bluetooth, disrupt navigation systems, disable emergency assistance systems and to unlock cars and start them remotely using cell phones.

So far the potential risks uncovered by researchers haven't translated into major problems in real life.

"We're not aware that anything like this is happening in the real world," says Russ Rader, spokesperson for the Highway Loss Data Institute. "There's no indication that theft claims are going up as electronic systems proliferate; theft claim frequency is going down."

The National Insurance Crime Bureau also has not received reports of vehicles being hacked, says spokesperson Frank Scafidi. "People should not be losing sleep over the report."

At the same time, he acknowledges "there is no such thing as a totally secure system."

Fulkerson says the goal of the McAfee report is to raise consumer awareness of the potential security threats. In addition, as more electronic bells and whistles are added to vehicles, the potential for problems rise.

Even something as simple as an MP3 player that is plugged into your car's stereo system should have antivirus protection, Fulkerson says.

Driving distraction and risk? We asked for it

Virtually every automaker offers some sort of onboard connectivity as mobile technology develops to meet consumer desires and needs. But what are the ramifications of being connected while behind the wheel?

We already know that drivers' insistence on seamless connectivity with the outside world creates huge safety issues of its own. (See "The mixed message on cell phone use.")

But it's clear that drivers are willing to give up some of their privacy as well. For navigation to work, the computer has to know where you are. For "phone home" to dial correctly, your contacts need to be accessible. Data goes out, data comes in.

More than 6 million drivers in the U.S. use General Motors' OnStar telematics system to ask for directions, access e-mail, get weather reports and ask for emergency services. Its GPS functionality also allows authorities to track a stolen car.

(They'll trade their information for cheaper car insurance rates as well. An OnStar subscription is a key component to State Farm's In-Drive program, which tracks driver behaviors and mileage and rewards low-risk drivers with discounts up to 50 percent.)

In a telling indicator of the kind of pressures the marketplace will witness in coming years, OnStar recently backed off proposed changes to its privacy policy that would have maintained its data connection to customers' cars even after they ended their $199-a-year subscriptions. Before customers challenged the decision, OnStar had planned to keep the pipeline open and reserve the right to sell data gathered -- aggregated and without private information attached, of course.

Could a hacker crash your car?

Research funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and conducted by the University of California San Diego and the University of Washington found that a cyber criminal with a laptop could access the internal network of two 2009 autos "to take over a broad array of safety-critical computer systems."

The research found, for example, that brakes could be disengaged while the car was in motion, making it nearly impossible to stop; or activated, forcing a sudden stop.

Another study, by Rutgers University and the University of South Carolina, found that radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, designed to keep track of vehicle tire pressure, can be used to track a vehicle and can pose a threat to passenger privacy if a cyber criminal uses a powerful long-distance reader.

Perhaps worse, the threats aren't necessarily all linked to the car. A Facebook password stored in the car's electronics systems, allowing updates on the fly, could tip off a stalker or burglar if he or she gained access to it.

As the number of electrical components in cars increases each year, it creates an increasing number of avenues for potential hackers to breach auto security, Byk says.

For example, the idea of someone potentially using RFID tags in a malicious manner "probably wasn't even considered" by automotive engineers, Byk says.

Protecting a moving target

Andre Weimerskirch, chief executive officer of ESCRYPT Inc., one of the partners in the McAfee study, says components must be protected so any potential attacker "needs to get through a security wall."

Weimerskirch says he's seen an increase in concern by auto manufacturers in the past couple of years, as they try to "anticipate risks and want to mitigate them."

The committee formed by SAE International members this year is discussing things such as testing and design standards for embedded electronic devices, Byk says, and plans to come up with strategies to identify and prevent potential security breaches.

Another topic will be how to mitigate the potential harm if a security breach occurs.

But hacking into an auto isn't a simple task. "It requires a certain amount of technical know-how to execute," he says. Cyber criminals not only need to have strong computer skills, they also have to be good at hacking.

Part of the problem for the automobile industry is that the electrical components in vehicles are constantly evolving. The situation mirrors that of a home computer. You need to install various updates and patches when security flaws are found, and the auto industry now faces a similar challenge, Byk says.

"You just don't put a flag in the ground and say we're done," Byk says. "It's constantly moving."

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Source: NASDAQ

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Product Support Services, Inc.

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Based in Coppell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas/Fort Worth, and located just five minutes north of the DFW Airport, PSSI receives, repairs and ships approximately 4,000 discrete units each day.

  • PSSI is ISO certified and has comprehensively integrated robust lean manufacturing processes and systems that enable us to deliver timely and benchmark quality results.
  • PSSI is certified for Levels III and IV repair by a wide variety of OEMs including, for example, Motorola, Nokia, Sony/Ericsson, Samsung, Stanley and LG.
  • PSSI ’s service center is a state-of-the-art facility, complete with multiple wireless test environments and board-level repair capabilities.
  • PSSI’s state-of-the-art and proprietary Work-In-Process (WIP) systems, and its Material Planning and Warehouse Management systems, enable PSSI to track discrete units by employee, work center, lot, model, work order, location and process through the entire reverse logistics process. Access to this information can be provided to our customers so that they can track the real-time movement of their products.

Pager and Electronics Repair

Product Support Services, Inc.

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Contact:
Product Support Services, Inc.
511 South Royal Lane
Coppell, Texas 75019
Phone:
877-777-8798 (Toll Free)
972-462-3970
info@productsupportservices.com
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www.productsupportservices.com left arrow

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Supreme Court to Rule on ‘Big Brother’ Tracking

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Eva Arevuo

satellite
Orwell's nightmare may already be a reality

Just like the rest of the fall entertainment, the new Supreme Court season is set to commence next week. In addition to a ruling on the President’s health care bill, there are a number of high-profile fourth amendment cases set to take the stage.

The Fourth Amendment to the constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights that protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures — it is the the law that requires a warrant and probable cause in order to search the personal areas and belongings of individuals.

One of the most interesting of these cases will be United States vs. Jones, a case the New York Times has labeled “the most important Fourth Amendment case in a decade.”

The case deals with a drug dealer who was monitored by police for a month through a GPS tracker they had fixed to his car. George Orwell’s 1984 is one of my all time favorite books, but while it was written as a dystopian prediction of the future, no one expected to see ‘Big Brother’ translated into reality.

What the court will now have to decide is whether this kind of non-stop all pervasive tracking in a “search” that requires a warrant, and more fundamentally, whether affixing such a device to a car is an unconstitutional search.

The federal appeals court in Chicago ruled in April that such tracking was unconstitutional and that surveillance using global positioning system devices would “make the system that George Orwell depicted in his famous novel, ‘1984,’ seem clumsy.”

Unlike the precedent set for beepers in United States vs. Knotts, where it was decided that police could lawfully attach a beeper to a container they knew would come in to a suspect’s possession, GPS devices are a different beast entirely.

The beeper only exposed what was already visible to the public — the car’s location, in public, at a given time, and did not therefore invade any reasonable expectation of privacy. GPS, however, convey more fluid and personal information about a driver’s life, in a running motion picture, not simply a snapshot.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (and dissenters from other federal courts of appeals decisions) have identified, for Fourth Amendment purposes, this distinction between the snapshot and the cumulative moving picture.

Aside from the constitutional impact, this case will also resonate with ordinary citizens who have already seen technological gains eroding their privacy.

Most cellphones, for example, already have tiny GPS devices embedded within them. The police, not having attached anything extra, would not therefore require a search warrant to pinpoint the location and follow the signal. Why? because as the user of a device with a GPS system, you are already “knowingly” conveying information to the telephone company.

Similarly with Internet privacy, since you knowingly convey the sites you visit and the information you input to the service provider, the government had no constitutional trouble in passing the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act — a law which requires all internet service providers to keep customer logs for up to one year in the event of a police review.

In this way, if the court finds in favor of Jones, it may perversely be easier to track innocent people than criminals who may be more savvy about covering their tracks with loopholes like untraceable cell phones!

The case is set to be heard in November. For all you Orwell fans, it will be well worth tuning in.

Source: Legally Easy

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LEAVITT Communications

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its stil here

 

It's still here — the tried and true Motorola Alphamate 250. Now owned, supported, and available from Leavitt Communications. Call us for new or reconditioned units, parts, manuals, and repairs.

We also offer refurbished Alphamate 250’s, Alphamate IIs, the original Alphamate and new and refurbished pagers, pager repairs, pager parts and accessories. We are FULL SERVICE in Paging!

E-mail Phil Leavitt ( pcleavitt@leavittcom.com ) for pricing and delivery information or for a list of other available paging and two-way related equipment.

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Phil Leavitt
847-955-0511
pcleavitt@leavittcom.com

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7508 N. Red Ledge Dr.
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253

www.leavittcom.com

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PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOLLOWING TRAGEDY AT INDIANA STATE FAIR AND ON LONG ISLAND NY IN THE AFRTERMATH OF HURRICANE IRENE

As I am sure most remember, on the weekend of August 13, 2011 a thunder storm caused the collapse of a stage at the Indiana State Fair resulting in the death of 5 people. Media reports the following week claimed that the cellular telephone networks at the Fair Grounds became “Overloaded and Jammed” for several hours following the tragedy.

The following week (August 15th) I received a request to investigate this incident in order to determine whether the “Jamming” was limited to cellular voice traffic, or if wireless data transmissions were also affected.

Pursuant to this request, I have interviewed the author of the original article and, with his assistance, several reporters who were actually at the Fair when the tragedy occurred. Although none of these people have precise recollection of the events on that tragic evening, they have commented as follows:

From a reporter at the scene: “The first call I got through was the phoner [telephone interview] we did, and, from what I was told later, the audio was terrible. Very long delay (6-8 seconds, really bad) and the audio would freeze, cut out, etc.”

From another: “I have 2 Verizon phones (one work and one personal), and I basically just kept hitting redial on both incessantly until one would connect”. “I did send a few e-mails of the pics at the scene, but I’m not sure how long they took to get through. They did make it though.”

From a third: “I was constantly hitting redial—end—redial—end, over and over when the calls weren't going through. I don't know what service the other stations have, but all the reporters and photogs who were there had the same problems getting through. And it seemed to last for quite a while. Even after the majority of the people had left.”

Although not totally conclusive, and not at all scientific, the above experiences from the Indiana tragedy do provide some insight:

  • Conventional cellphone (voice) calls were severely destabilized by the traffic surge which occurred, as it typically does, as the crisis unfolded,
  • Text messaging appeared to be less impacted, although none of the witnesses was able to estimate specific delays that the text messages encountered.

On Sunday, August 28th, Hurricane Irene arrived on Long Island New York, creating an opportunity to experience the performance of communications systems during interruptive events under more controlled conditions. At approximately 9:30 am on the 28th, the Cable TV Service, which supported TV, Internet/e-mail access and Voice Over IP phones was interrupted. At approximately 10:00 am, all commercial power was also interrupted meaning:

  • No TV (a battery operated radio was operational)
  • No lights and no computer operation,
  • No landline phone service,
  • No Internet access or e-mail service,
  • The probability of impaired service on two cell phones which were on-hand

Under these circumstances, a series of informal tests was undertaken wherein a number of voice calls and Text Messages were initiated from one cell phone (631) 786-9359 to a second cell phone (631) 786-1465. Both cell phones used CDMA technology operating on Verizon’s 3G Text Network.

Table A tabulates the results of the cell phone voice call tests.

Table B tabulates the results of the cell phone text messaging tests.

Note: Although a nationwide one-way pager was available, it was not included in the August 28th tests because without internet access and wireline phone service, the only way to call the pager was via the voice path of the cell phones which were clearly experiencing impaired service to make any test of the pager meaningless.

TABLE A

8/28/2011 Cell Phone to Cell Phone Voice Calls
Grade Legend U= Unsatisfactory; F= Fair; G=Good; VG=Very Good; E=Excellent
Time From To Results & Comments Grade
10:15am 786-9359 786-1465 No Service U
10:20am 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered, very noisy (audio merit 2) F
10:30 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered, dropped after 15 secs U
10:45 786-9359 786-1465 No Service U
11:00 786-9359 786-1465 No Service U
11:15 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered, delay distortion & echo (audio merit 2) F
11:30 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered, noisy but understandable (merit 3) G
11:42 786-1465 786-9359 No Service U
11:59 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered, noisy but understandable (merit 3) F
12:10 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered, dropped after 20 secs U
12:30 786-9359 786-1465 No Service U
12:55 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered, noisy but understandable (merit 3) F

TABLE B

8/28/2011 Cell Phone Text Messaging Tests
Time From To Results & Comments Delay
10:18 786-9359 786-1465 5 character message received without error 65 secs
10:20 786-1465 786-9359 5 character message received without error 58 secs
10:30 786-9359 786-1465 5 character message received without error 69 secs
10:45 786-1465 786-9359 5 character message received without error 66 secs
11:00 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 62 secs
11:15 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 68 secs
11:30 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 71 secs
11:47 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 60 secs
12:04 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 88 secs
12:15 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 51 secs
12:35 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 63 secs
    AVERAGE LATENCY 57.09 secs

Four days after Hurricane Irene (i.e. Wednesday 8/31), power and cable facilities were restored allowing the tests of Sunday 8/28 to be repeated in a more normal environment. The results of the 8/31 tests are tabulated in Table C for voice calls and Table D for cell phone text messages.

TABLE C

8/31/2011 Retest Cell Phone to Cell Phone Voice Calls
Grade Legend U= Unsatisfactory; F= Fair; G=Good; VG=Very Good; E=Excellent
Time From To Results & Comments Grade
4:00pm 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
4:14pm 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
4:22pm 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
4:35pm 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
4:42pm 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
5:00pm 786-9359 786-1465 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG
5:15pm 786-1465 786-9359 Call answered no problems (Merit 4/5 audio) VG

TABLE D

8/31/2011 Retest Cell Phone Text Messaging
Time From To Results & Comments Delay
4:10pm 786-9359 786-1465 5 character message received without error 35 secs
4:18pm 786-1465 786-9359 5 character message received without error 42 secs
4:26pm 786-9359 786-1465 5 character message received without error 30 secs
4:38pm 786-1465 786-9359 5 character message received without error 29 secs
4:48pm 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 45 secs
4:55pm 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 41 secs
5:05pm 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 37 secs
5:20pm 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 29 secs
5:30pm 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 35 secs
5:40pm 786-1465 786-9359 10 character message received without error 33 secs
5:45pm 786-9359 786-1465 10 character message received without error 40 secs
    AVERAGE LATENCY 36 secs

SUMMARY

As might be expected, traffic volume on the Verizon cellular network increased dramatically during Hurricane Irene. Just as expectedly, the performance of cellular voice communications deteriorated as the traffic volume increased. However, although a measurable increase in text message delivery latency was observed (approximately 63% increase), the general performance of text messaging deteriorated far less than was true for voice. In large measure, these differences in performance are the result of a number of factors:

  • As Brad Dye explained in the Newsletter several weeks ago, all public telephone systems (as well as the input facilities of Paging Terminals) have always been designed in accordance with Erlang Formulas which calculate service grades based on the principal that only a percentage of users will attempt to call at any one time, even during the busiest hour of the day. In fact, two Erlang formulas exist: Erlang A, which assumes that, upon encountering a blocked call, callers will wait for a period of time before redialing, and Erlang B which assumes that callers will redial immediately.
  • Modern cell phones, with instant “Redial” buttons, create a worst case example of Erlang B to contribute significantly to “voice call blocking” under very heavy traffic conditions.
  • By nature, phone calls are fairly lengthy “real time” events and, when a call is blocked, the blockage constitutes a failure which is immediately obvious to the caller who is motivated to try again, immediately.
  • In contrast, text messaging is inherently a “Store & Forward” activity which not only occupies channels for a much shorter time period but includes auto-retry capabilities to permit multiple retries that generally remain virtually invisible to the sender.
  • The CDMA technology that is used in several cellular voice networks (covering about 50% of US subscribers) has a characteristic referred to as “Cell Shrinkage” wherein the coverage area of cells is inversely proportional to traffic volume. As traffic increases, the effective coverage area of each cell shrinks producing rapid fading in received signal levels at the outer edge of cells that, in turn, causes audio to sound “chopped up.”
  • Text messaging, like digital paging, uses data bit interleaving that intermixes or scrambles the data bits from multiple messages so that a received signal fade does not affect all bits of any single message. Because text messaging is store and forward, not real-time, the data bits can be unscrambled and reassembled into their proper order in the receiver. The voice component of digital cellular, being real-time, cannot be similarly scrambled/reassembled and, consequently, suffers more from the signal fading that increases during periods of heavy traffic.
  • Modern messaging formats also include Error Detection and Error Correction that can correct a fixed quantity of corrupted data bits (typically 3) and request retransmission when received errors exceed correction ability.
  • While error correction is also applied to voice in digital cellular systems, the real-time nature of cellular voice calls makes the “retransmit” enhancement impractical.
  • Lastly, it should be remembered that the text messaging tests that are tabulated in Table B and D above were made from one cell phone to another when the cell phones were in close proximity and, consequently, were operating from the same Cellular Switching Center. Greater delays could be expected if messages were exchanged between cell phones that were distant from one another and operating from different Cellular Switching Centers.

Respectfully,

Ron Mercer, Consultant
Paging & Wireless Network Planners LLC
217 First Street South
East Northport, NY 11731

Cell Phone: 631-786-9359
E-mail: rmercer@pagingplanners.com

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TC PRO MOTION

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TC

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TC PRO MOTION

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IVYCORP

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IVYCORP

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DAVISCOMMS USA

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PAGERS & Telemetry Devices
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Board Level to complete “Turn-Key”

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Scottsdale, AZ
www.daviscommsusa.com
480-515-2344

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Daviscomms (S) Pte Ltd-Bronze Member-AAPC

 

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DAVISCOMMS USA

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Newsletter Supporter

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CANYON RIDGE Communications

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ProPage Inc.

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PAGE ONE OF WYOMING

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Cook Paging

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MethodLink

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communication specialists

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Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.

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Complete Technical Services For The Communications and Electronics Industries

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Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.
Consulting Engineer
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Tel/Fax: 972-960-9336
Cell: 214-707-7711
7711 Scotia Dr.
Dallas, TX 75248-3112
E-mail: iwiesenfel@aol.com

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Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.

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Hahntech-USA

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www.hahntechUSA.com

 

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Hahntech-USA

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Paging & Wireless Network Planners

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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
ron mercer

Cell Phone: 631-786-9359

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Paging & Wireless Network Planners

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PRISM PAGING

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Note from Phil Leavitt:

For Sale

I have about 95 new CreataLinks and about 285 DataLinks, all 900 MHz POCSAG.

I have approximately 250 ± J39DNW0050 DataLink II Plus — boards only — new, and approximately 95 CreataLink modules. I also have 2 developer's kits and some CreataLink II units.

Philip C Leavitt, Manager
Leavitt Communications
7508 N Red Ledge Drive
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
pcleavitt@leavittcom.com
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Tel: 847-955-0511
Fax: 270-447-1909
Mobile: 847-494-0000
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  • PURC or direct connect
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Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

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  • USB or RS-232 interface
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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
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Tel: 843-821-6888
Fax: 843-821-6894
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Web: http://www.harktech.com left arrow CLICK

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HARK—EXHIBITS AT THE
NASHVILLE CONFERENCE

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David George and Bill Noyes
of Hark Technologies.

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Hark Technologies

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TELEMETRY RECEIVERS FOR SALE

You can help the newsletter by buying these telemetry receivers from Dave Levine:

Hi Brad –

I have 50-60 Daviscomms TMR1F one-way pagers. About 10 of them have the internal antenna and the rest have the BNC connector. I would say about 40 of these have never been used — many are still in the original packaging. The reason that we are selling them is because we are hoping to transition to a cellular network. We also have around 125 flat antennas with BNC connectors. These antennas work very well — better than the duck antennas we typically saw on the units. They have an adhesive backing and can be mounted flat on top of a machine. I have attached a flyer that we made about the antennas. I would be happy with $40 OBO for the receivers and $5 OBO for the antennas — but if someone takes everything, I will sell it for $35 for the receivers and $5 for the antennas. I can take credit card or check.

———

I just went into my warehouse and inventoried the receivers and antennas. Some of the receivers have a password which I will give to the buyer. Most of them are brand new, in the original packaging. Here is the complete rundown:

100 Flat antennas
4 Daviscomms TMR1F with internal antenna.
61 Daviscomms TMR1F with BNC Connectors

Of the 61 TMRs with the BNC Connectors, 43 of them are still in the original packaging, the rest were lightly used. All of them have had my labels removed and just need to be reprogrammed and put back into service. Again, I would prefer to sell everything to one buyer.

Thanks –

Dave Levine
LEDXCHANGE LLC
480-332-0844
dlevine@mbmediabrokers.com

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CRITICAL RESPONSE SYSTEMS

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Over 70% of first responders are volunteers.
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  • Secondary Features Supporting Public Safety and Healthcare

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UNITED COMMUNICATIONS

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$65 FLAT RATE REPAIR ON ALL MINITORS!

Why is UCC trusted by over 1000 Fire Departments and Emergency Service Providers to repair their Minitor Pagers? Because for over 24 years UCC has always put our customers first and built our business on providing great value! Plus . . . We do great work!

Call USA’s #1 Minitor Repair Service Center!

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BloostonLaw Telecom Update

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

[Reproduced here with the firm's permission.]

www.bloostonlaw.com

 

Vol. 14, No. 35 September 28, 2011

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Feb. 13 Trial Date Set For DoJ Suit Against Proposed AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle has set February 13, 2012, as the trial date for the Department of Justice’s (DoJ’s) antitrust lawsuit challenging the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger. The trial is expected to last six weeks. DoJ sued AT&T and T-Mobile’s parent, Deutsche Telekom, August 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would be anticompetitive (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, November 7). Huvelle has pressed lawyers for both sides to limit the number of witnesses and the amount of evidence they’ll present, noting that each side proposed interviewing 30 potential witnesses before trial.

Separate suits opposing the merger have been filed by Sprint, the third-biggest U.S. wireless operator, and Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cellular South Inc., the ninth-largest by customers. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) and 99 fellow House Republicans have signed a letter urging the Obama administration to resolve the DoJ’s lawsuit and let the deal go through. The Olson-led letter is one of at least three to the Obama administration from Congress since early September. Three Republicans including Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, in a Sept. 8 letter asked for a briefing from the DoJ and the FCC, which is conducting a separate review. DoJ rejected the request for a briefing.

In a Sept. 15 letter, 15 Democrats led by Representative Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), said the Justice Department should agree to a settlement of the lawsuit “that ensures robust competition” while preserving the deal’s benefits (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, September 21).

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

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

  • FCC’s Net Neutrality rules published in Fed. Register
  • FCC’s NG911 NPRM explores texting, prioritizing calls.
  • E911 Rule Changes Effective Oct. 28
  • FCC white paper outlines vision for deploying DACA.
  • USAC devises proposal for disbursing low-income support to ETCs.
  • FCC establishes Rural Call Completion Task Force.

FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Published In Fed. Register

The FCC has published its “Open Internet” or “Network Neutrality” rules in the Federal Register. As noted last week, the rules become effective on November 20 (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, September 21). The Commission’s Report and Order (R&O) establishes protections for broadband service to preserve and reinforce Internet freedom and openness. The Commission adopted three basic protections that are grounded in broadly accepted Internet norms, as well as the FCC’s own prior decisions.

First, transparency: fixed and mobile broadband providers must disclose the network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of their broadband services.

Second, no blocking: fixed broadband providers may not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices; mobile broadband providers may not block lawful Web sites, or block applications that compete with their voice or video telephony services.

Third, no unreasonable discrimination: fixed broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful network traffic.

The Commission adopted a more limited set of rules for mobile broadband, requiring compliance with the transparency rule and a basic version of the no-blocking rule.

The Open Internet Order also covers key definitions, such as “reasonable network management”, which is likewise broad and which the Commission intends to further develop on a case-by-case basis based upon consumer complaints.

While the rules are intentionally non-specific in order to provide some flexibility in implementing them for providers, the Commission’s order does provide some important clarification on the transparency and unreasonable discrimination requirements.

The Commission’s transparency requirements are geared to provide information “sufficient for consumers to make informed choices regarding use of such services …” While not an exhaustive list, the Commission specified that these measures will satisfy the transparency requirement for the time being:

Network Practices, such as a description of their network management practices, including congestion, application, and device management policies, as well as security policies. Network management disclosures must include information on the purpose and anticipated effect of any congestion management techniques, such as usage limits; explanations of any application- or device-specific management techniques, such as blocking; and a description of the practices employed to ensure customer and network security (to the extent this information does not assist in the circumvention of said security measures).

Performance characteristics, such as a general description of their broadband service tiers, including the average upload and download speeds during “busy hours” (weeknights, 7pm – 11pm); average round-trip latency during busy hours; and a general description of the suitability of each service tier to certain real-time applications, such as streaming video. Providers may also use the metrics used in the Commission’s performance measurement project. Wireless providers may disclose the results of their own or third-party testing.

Commercial terms, such as a description of pricing and privacy policy. Pricing data includes additional fees, such as early termination fees, as well as monthly and usage based fees. Privacy policies include practices regarding the storing of customer data, provision of such data to third parties, and the use of such data by the provider for non-network management uses.

Redress options for user and edge provider complaints and questions.

Disclosures must be posted on providers’ websites and provided at the point of sale, but need not be included as bill inserts or other paper documents sent to existing customers. Otherwise, providers have flexibility in determining how and what to disclose. For example, the Commission clarified that providers can comply with the point-of-sale requirement by directing prospective customers at the point-of-sale, either orally or prominently in writing, to a web address at which the required disclosures are made.

Regarding its unreasonable discrimination requirements, the Commission provided a set of factors which, while not conclusive, would help differentiate reasonable from unreasonable discrimination:

Transparency: Differential treatment is more likely to be reasonable the more transparent to the end user that treatment is.

End-User Control: The more choice an end user has with regard to broadband offerings based on assured data rates and reliability, or with regard to quality-of-service enhancements for traffic of their own choosing, the more likely the practice will be considered reasonable.

Use-Agnostic Discrimination: Differential treatment of traffic that does not discriminate among specific uses of the network is more likely to be reasonable.

Standard Practices: The more a differential treatment conforms with best practices and technical standards adopted by open, broadly representative, and independent Internet engineering, governance initiatives, or standards-setting organizations, the more likely it is to be considered reasonable.

Early opposition to the Open Internet Order has been long delayed as premature in the eyes of the courts. Now that the rules have been published in the Federal Register, we expect these challenges to be refiled.

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

FCC’s NG911 NPRM Explores Texting, Prioritizing Calls

At last week’s open meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to examine ways to modernize the current voice-based 911 system to a Next Generation 911 (NG911) system that will enable the public to send texts, photos, videos, and other data to 911 call centers or Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). The NPRM struggles somewhat with certain fundamental questions, such as what role the FCC should play in creating the NG911 system; how will PSAPs be protected from getting too much information; and what standards should govern NG911 devices.

While the NPRM has been issued based on a round of public comments in response to a Notice of Inquiry, the FCC decided it did not yet have enough information to draft proposed rules. Therefore, it is likely there will be additional NPRMs in this proceeding.

As a result of the East Coast earthquake on August 23, 2011, the FCC said, it is also seeking comment on whether and how to prioritize calls to 911 over other calls during emergencies, which are usually the moments when wireless networks experience the most congestion and calls fail to go through.

The Commission said it recognized the need to ensure the availability of reliable voice-based 911 service, while moving forward with a NG911 system that adds text and other information capabilities. Enabling text, photos, video and data transmissions to PSAPs allows consumers to communicate with 911 in the same way they communicate with others on a daily basis, the FCC said. It added that the capability also enhances public safety by allowing consumers to text 911 when a voice call is difficult or dangerous. NG911 is also particularly beneficial to people with disabilities.

The FCC said the text, photo, video, and data capabilities of NG911 will also provide 911 call centers and first responders with enhanced information and improved technological tools that can be synthesized with existing databases. This allows 911 call centers to dispatch the appropriate emergency response more quickly, a difference that can save lives during emergencies.

The NPRM examines short-term and long-term options for enabling consumers to send texts to 911, including the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. The Commission is also seeking comment on long-term development of multimedia NG911 technology that would support delivery of photos, videos, and data to 911, in addition to texting. The Commission will consider the appropriate role for the agency in facilitating — and, if necessary, accelerating — the rollout of these capabilities, and encouraging the parallel development of NG911 capabilities in 911 call centers. The Commission also noted that the transition to NG911 is not likely to occur uniformly across the country and asked for comment on how best to educate the public about the availability, capabilities, and limitations of NG911 as it is deployed.

The NPRM provides a procedural history, together with technical background, regarding three broad classes of text-capable communications, namely Short Message Service (SMS), Internet protocol (IP)-based messaging, and Real-Time Text (RTT), comparing their characteristics, strengths, and limitations in supporting emergency communications.

The NPRM then examines potential short-term methods for sending text messages to 911. The FCC said it did this because of the widespread availability and increasing use of text in communications systems and because many of the emerging IP-based mechanisms for delivering text also have the capability, with relatively minor technical adjustment, to support delivery of photos, videos, and other data as well. The FCC seeks comment on what role the Commission should play to facilitate — and, if necessary, accelerate — the implementation of text-to-911 capabilities by providers in the short term.

Additionally, the NPRM explores the long-term implementation of NG911, with particular focus on IP-based alternatives for delivering text, photos, videos, and other data to 911 that would leverage the increasing percentage of mobile devices that have the ability to access the Internet. The FCC seeks comment on the potential for developing downloadable smartphone applications that both consumers and IP-capable PSAPs could acquire to support capabilities for an early rollout of text and multimedia functionality. The FCC noted that such applications could also provide early access to key NG911 capabilities for mobile callers, especially those persons with hearing and speech disabilities.

The Commission said it explored the full range of options for the agency, including both non-regulatory and regulatory approaches, and it seeks to adopt the least burdensome approach that would achieve the desired result. The FCC also recognized that it must carefully assess the costs and benefits of different regulatory options to determine the Commission’s proper role.

Also at last week’s open meeting, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau presented a cost study on NG911 network connectivity costs, titled, A Basis for Public Funding Essential to Bringing a Nationwide Next Generation 911 Network to America’s Communications Users and First Responders.

The Bureau staff analysis determined that NG911, because of its ability to leverage commercial off-the-shelf technology, has the potential to be more cost-effective to operate and upgrade than the legacy 911 system. The study offers two models for NG911 deployment: a baseline model and a cost-effective model that assumes cost savings from a reduction in the total number of 911 call centers nationwide and a greater percentage of call centers sharing NG911 infrastructure as opposed to operating their own dedicated systems.

Based on these assumptions, the baseline model concludes that the network connectivity and call routing costs to transition to NG911 will be approximately $2.68 billion over 10 years. In the cost-effective model, the transition costs are approximately $1.44 billion. However, it should be noted that network connectivity and call routing costs are only part of the costs involved.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted that the Commission is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local public safety authorities, and the wireless industry to launch, on an accelerated basis, the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN). In the event of an emergency, PLAN allows government officials to send text-like, targeted alerts to all enabled mobile devices in a geographic area, Genachowski said. In just a few months, he added, PLAN will go live in New York City, and it will launch nationwide in April 2012.

Commissioner Michael Copps said: “We’re not trying to identify a silver bullet here. Texting is neither a total response nor a perfect tool. The record so far points out that, unlike phone calls, texts can take precious more time to get to recipients. And, importantly, they lack the automatic location information that accompanies calls to 911 and that is so important is responding to emergencies. ”

Commissioner Robert McDowell said that “we must develop a strong record illustrating the costs and technical feasibility of implementing this technology. Accordingly, I approve of this prudent approach to develop the record further before drafting proposed rules.”

Comments in this PS Docket Nos. 10-255 and 11-153 proceeding will be due 60 days after publication of the item in the Federal Register, and replies will be due 30 days thereafter.

BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, Richard Rubino, Cary Mitchell, and Bob Jackson.

Modified E911 Rules for Wireless and VoIP Providers Become Effective Nov. 28

The FCC’s recent order modifying the E911 Rules for Wireless and VoIP providers (see Blooston Telecom Update July 20, 2011) were published in the September 28 Federal Register, and will become effective November 28.

The FCC retained its current handset- and network-based location-accuracy regime and eight-year implementation period first established in an order last year, which required accuracy to be measured at the county level. After an eight-year period ends in 2019, all carriers will have to meet the handset-based location-accuracy standard. The FCC will decide the sunset date at a later time. New commercial mobile radio service networks will have to meet the more accurate handset-based standards created by the new E911 rules right away.

The order also requires wireless carriers to periodically test their E911 location accuracy results and share the results with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), state 911 offices, and the FCC, subject to confidentiality protections. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Cary Mitchell.

FCC White Paper Outlines Vision For Deploying DACA

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at last week’s open meeting, released a comprehensive white paper outlining a vision for how “deployable aerial communications architecture” (DACA) can be used to provide communications following a catastrophic event when the terrestrial communications infrastructure is severely damaged or unavailable. The white paper includes recommendations to the Commission for next steps on how to incorporate this technology into the Nation's communications infrastructure.

Titled The Role of Deployable Aerial Communications Architecture in Emergency Communications and Recommended Next Steps, the paper offers an analysis of how DACA could fit into the restoration of communications services in the early hours immediately after a catastrophic event. DACA is deployable 12 to 18 hours after a catastrophic event to restore critical communications, including broadband, temporarily for a period of 72 hours or more. This capability would be useful in situations where the power grid may be inoperable for several days, depleting backup power supplies and resulting in an almost complete failure of landline, cellular, public safety radio, broadcast, and cable transmissions, as well as Wi-Fi and Internet services.

Based on its conclusions in the white paper, the Bureau recommended several steps for further Commission action:

  • Open an inquiry by the end of the year to gather data and address issues such as the role of DA-CA solutions during catastrophic disasters, radio interference, spectrum coordination, authorization requirements, costs, cost-effectiveness, equipment standards, and operational procedures.
  • Host a workshop on DACA solutions by the end of 2011.
  • Share findings with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other Federal partners to initiate discussions regarding pilot programs and implementation.
  • Working with the Department of State and other appropriate Federal agencies, explore any international implications of these issues.

BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, Richard Rubino, Cary Mitchell, and Bob Jackson.

USAC Devises Proposal For Disbursing USF Low Income Support To ETCs

The FCC seeks comment on a proposal for disbursing Universal Service Fund (USF) low income support to eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) based upon claims for reimbursement of actual support payments made, instead of projected claims for support. Payment based on actual support payments could replace the current administrative process, under which the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) reimburses ETCs for low income support each month based on USAC’s projection of payments and on a “true-up” calculated using an ETC's actual support payments.

ETCs are reimbursed for providing Lifeline and Link Up to qualifying low-income consumers. Carriers providing toll-limitation services (TLS) for qualifying low-income subscribers are compensated from universal service mechanisms for the incremental cost of providing TLS. ETCs use FCC Form 497 to request reimbursement for participating in the Lifeline, Link Up and TLS programs.

The majority of ETCs file support claims on FCC Form 497 on a monthly basis; however, some ETCs file support claims quarterly. USAC disburses low income support on the last business day of each month. The disbursements may be based upon a projection for the prior month’s support and a true-up for support claims for all FCC Forms 497 filed with USAC during the prior month. USAC processes forms received by the last day of each month to determine the disbursements that go out at the end of the following month.

If a carrier does not file an FCC Form 497 during a month, the carrier receives a low income program disbursement equal to the USAC-generated projection for that company. This process allows ETCs to file quarterly, but still receive a monthly disbursement. Projections are trued-up as soon as the carrier files an actual support claim on FCC Form 497. USAC stops monthly support disbursements to any company that has not filed its actual support claims on FCC Form 497 for six months. At that point, USAC notifies the company that FCC Form 497 must be filed before additional support will be provided. If the company fails to file, USAC recovers the support paid for the six month period.

To promote greater accuracy in low income program payment-processing, the Commission’s Office of the Managing Director (OMD) recently directed USAC to propose an administrative process for disbursing low income support to ETCs based on verified claims for reimbursement. The FCC seeks comment on the following USAC proposal:

Filing Deadline. USAC proposes to establish a monthly due date by which ETCs must submit their FCC Form 497 in order to receive a payment at the end of the following month. Carriers that do not file FCC Form 497 by the monthly deadline in a given month would not receive a payment in the following month. USAC would process an FCC Form 497 received after the monthly deadline during the following month, and would make a disbursement based on that support claim in the subsequent month.

Quarterly Filing. Under USAC’s proposal, carriers would be allowed to continue to file quarterly, but those that do so would no longer be paid monthly. Instead, for the month following the month the forms are filed, ETCs filing on a quarterly basis would receive one payment for all three months filed.

Deadline for New Support and Filing Revisions. Currently, USAC maintains an administrative window of 15 months for filing original or revised support claims. Specifically, after the end of each calendar year (closed calendar year), carriers have fifteen months to file original claims or to revise support claims for the closed calendar year. After the 15-month window, ETCs may not file revised or original support claims for any portion of the closed calendar year. Under USAC’s proposed plan, new support claims and upward revisions would only be permitted to be filed within an administrative window of six months.

True-Up before Transition to New Disbursement Process. Most ETCs currently receive payments based on projections. Under USAC’s plan, in order to transition to paying on actual support claims, USAC would true-up all payments against projections for each ETC. ETCs currently paid based on projections will likely receive little or no support for the month in which the program transitions to payments against actual claims.

Payment of Negative Balance as a Result of Transition True-Up. A carrier may incur a negative disbursement as a result of the true-up process during the transition month. Under USAC’s proposed plan, in the event the negative amount exceeds the carrier’s next monthly payment, USAC would invoice the carrier for the full amount of the negative balance.

Transition Date and Early Transition Option. If adopted, the new disbursement process would contain a transition date by which all carriers would receive support based on claims for actual, rather than projected, support. The FCC seeks comment on what date would be appropriate for the transition, including details to support any dates proposed. Additionally, under USAC’s proposal, ETCs could elect to transition to the new disbursement process prior to the transition deadline. For example, a carrier that claims low income program support in multiple study areas may wish to transition its study areas at different times in order to phase-in payment on actual support claims, rather than have all of its study areas transition at the same time.

Implementation and Outreach. OMD requested that USAC’s proposal include an implementation and out-reach component which USAC includes in its proposal.

Comments in this WC Docket Nos. 11-42 and 03-109 proceeding will be due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, and replies will be due 15 days thereafter.

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

LAW & REGULATION

FCC GRANTS CONDITIONAL FORBEARANCE FROM RULE THAT ETCs MUST PROVIDE LIFELINE OVER OWN FACILITIES: The FCC has conditionally granted petitions for forbearance regarding requirement that eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) receiving Life-Line support provide services over their own facilities. Specifically, the FCC (1) granted the petitions filed by PlatinumTel Communications, ReCellular, operating under the brand name MCA Wireless, , and (2) granted in part and deny in part a petition for forbearance filed by CAL Communications. PlatinumTel, ReCellular, and CAL Communications are non-facilities based, wireless resellers seeking forbearance from the requirement that carriers designated as ETCs for purposes of federal universal service support provide services, at least in part, over their own facilities. Consistent with Commission precedent, the FCC denied CAL Communications’ request to extend forbearance to Link Up. As a result of forbearance, these carriers may seek ETC designation to offer discounted service to qualified low-income consumers through the universal service Lifeline program. The FCC said this forbearance does not apply to Link Up or any federal high cost universal service support. To promote accountability and guard against waste, fraud and abuse in the Universal Service Fund (USF), the FCC conditioned forbearance on compliance with conditions imposed on other Lifeline-only ETCs. If PlatinumTel, CAL Communications, and ReCellular are granted ETC designation for the purpose of providing Lifeline service, these conditions will help ensure that their low-income consumers have access to 911 and enhanced 911 (E911) services and will help protect the USF against waste, fraud, and abuse. The FCC denied CAL Communications’ petition for forbearance for the purpose of participating in the Link Up program because the company did not demonstrate that granting its request would satisfy the three-prong statutory test for forbearance. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC ESTABLISHES RURAL CALL COMPLETION TASK FORCE: The FCC has announced the creation of the Rural Call Completion Task Force to investigate and address the growing problem of calls to rural customers that are being delayed or that fail to connect. Rural telephone companies have reported a 2000% increase in complaints between April 2010 and March 2011 regarding incoming calls that are delayed, never completed, of poor quality, or lack accurate caller ID information. Failed or degraded calls not only undermine the integrity of the nation’s telephone networks and frustrate consumers, but they also pose a serious risk to public safety and harm the rural economy. According to the FCC, the problem appears to be occurring in rural areas where long-distance carriers pay charges to complete calls to the local telephone company, calls which may be delivered using specialized call routing providers. The FCC is working to comprehensively reform the system that sets these rates — the intercarrier compensation system — to reduce opportunities and incentives for arbitrage and other manipulation schemes. Reform proposals would also tighten rules that require carriers to provide accurate information about call origin for billing and other purposes. The Task Force will hold a workshop — tentatively scheduled for October 18 — to identify specific causes of the problem and discuss potential solutions with key stakeholders. Details about the workshop will be forthcoming. Issues for the Task Force and Workshop include: (1) the extent of the call termination problem in rural areas; (2) the causes of the problem, including whether carriers are violating the law by blocking or restricting calls to other carriers; and (3) actions that can be taken by the Commission to address the problem. The Rural Call Completion Task Force includes staff from the agency’s Wireline Competition, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Enforcement Bureaus. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON VAYA’s PETITION REGARDING TREATMENT OF VoIP FOR INTERCARRIER COMPENSATION PURPOSES: The FCC has asked for comments on Vaya Telecom’s petition for declaratory ruling regarding the application of intrastate access charges to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)-originated calls that are sent to local exchange carriers’ (LECs’) customers for termination. Specifically, Vaya seeks a declaration that, “a LEC’s attempt to collect intrastate access charges on LEC-to-LEC VoIP traffic exchanges is an unlawful practice.” Vaya asserts that “[c]onsistent with the Commission’s treatment of ISP [Internet service provider]-bound traffic, this LEC-to-LEC, jurisdictionally interstate traffic exchange is subject to section 251(b) of the Telecommunications Act, and not the separate intrastate access charge regimes of the states.” Comments in this CC Docket No. 01-92 proceeding are due October 6. Interested parties may file comments on the Vaya Petition for Declaratory Ruling on or before October 6, 2011. According to the FCC, since the issue raised in Vaya’s petition, the treatment of VoIP for purposes of intercarrier compensation, is an issue already under consideration in CC Docket No. 01-92, 30 days are not required for interested parties to give full consideration to the issues in the petition. For the same reason, the FCC concluded that no reply comment period is necessary. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NDBEDP PILOT PROGRAM THROUGH NOV. 21: The FCC’s rules establishing the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) pilot program became effective on September 21. The Commission will accept applications from programs interested in receiving certification to participate in the NDBEDP pilot program for a period of 60 days, starting from the date on which the rules became effective through November 21, 2011. Section 105 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) directed the Commission to establish rules that define as eligible for funding support programs that distribute specialized customer premises equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind. In accordance with this directive, in April of this year, the Commission established the NDBEDP as a pilot program to distribute equipment used for telecommunications services, Internet access services, and advanced communications, including interexchange services and advanced telecommunications and information services, to eligible people who are deaf-blind. The duration of this pilot program will be two years, with a Commission option to extend the program for an additional year. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC EXTENDS COMMENT DATE ON DRAFT PEA UNTIL NOVEMBER 2: The FCC has extended the deadline for comments on its Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) of the Antenna Structure Registration Program (ASR EA Program) until November 2 (BloostonLaw Telecom Update, September 7). The draft PEA is an outgrowth of the FCC’s proposed interim rules that would impose substantial burdens on antenna tower owners subject to the ASR requirements. In particular, the ASR EA Program considers several different alternatives or options that could potentially impose significant costs and/or regulatory burdens on tower owners that are subject to the FCC’s ASR Rules. In addition to current requirements not related to migratory birds, these include: (a) requiring a 30-day public notice period (and potentially the filing of an environmental assessment (EA)) for all towers that are subject to the FCC’s ASR Rules — irrespective of whether the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) changes its obstruction lighting in order to eliminate red steady burning lights on antenna towers that are equipped with flashing red lights; (b) requiring the filing of an EA for all new ASR registered towers that are located outside of an antenna farm, regardless of height, use of guy wires or lighting scheme — towers in an antenna farm would require an EA only if it involved a substantial increase in size over existing towers or a change in lighting to steady burning lighting. EAs would also need to consider the effects not only on migratory birds, but also on Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Richard Rubino.

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON NPRM REGARDING CLOSED CAPTIONING FOR CERTAIN IP-DELIVERED VIDEO PROGRAMMING: The FCC has asked for comment on its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement provisions of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) that mandate rules for closed captioning of certain video programming delivered using Internet protocol (IP). The Commission seeks comment on rules that would apply to the distributors, providers, and owners of IP-delivered video programming, as well as the devices that display such programming. Comments in this MB Docket No. 11-154 proceeding are due October 18, and reply comments are due October 28. The NPRM seeks comment on proposals that would better enable individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to view IP-delivered video programming, by requiring that programming be provided with closed captions if it was shown on television with captions after the effective date of the rules adopted pursuant to this proceeding. The FCC also seeks comment on requirements for the devices that are subject to the CVAA's new closed captioning requirements. The Commission said its goal is to require the provision of closed captions with IP-delivered video programming in the manner most helpful to consumers, while ensuring that our regulations do not create undue economic burdens for the distributors, providers, and owners of online video programming. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

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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

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WiPath Communications

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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

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

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  • Variety of sizes Indoor/outdoor
  • Integrated paging receiver

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

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  • 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

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Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

mobile data terminal

radio interface

  • Fleet tracking, messaging, job processing, and field service management Automatic vehicle location (AVL), GPS
  • CDMA, GPRS, ReFLEX, conventional, and trunked radio interfaces

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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 left arrow CLICK
E-mail: info@wipath.com left arrow CLICK
Phone: 770-844-6218
Fax: 770-844-6574
WiPath Communications

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Preferred Wireless

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preferred logo

Terminals & Controllers:
1 Motorola ASC1500
2 GL3100 RF Director 
9 Glenayre GLS2164 Satellite Receivers
1 GL3000L Complete w/Spares
1 GL3000ES Terminal
2 Zetron 2200 Terminals
  Unipage — Many Unipage Cards & Chassis
Link Transmitters:
2 Glenayre QT4201 & 6201, 25 & 100W Midband Link TX
2 Glenayre QT6201 Link Repeater and Link Station in Hot Standby
1 Glenayre QT6994, 150W, 900 MHz Link TX
3 Motorola 10W, 900 MHz Link TX (C35JZB6106)
2 Motorola 30W, Midband Link TX (C42JZB6106AC)
2 Eagle Midband Link Transmitters, 125W
5 Glenayre GL C2100 Link Repeaters
VHF Paging Transmitters
1 Motorola VHF PURC-5000 125W, ACB or TRC
6 Glenayre GLT8411, 250W, VHF TX
1 Motorola Nucleus, 125W, VHF, TX
2 Motorola Nucleus, 350W, VHF, TX
UHF Paging Transmitters:
20 Glenayre UHF GLT5340, 125W, DSP Exciter
6 Motorola PURC-5000 110 & 225W, TRC & ACB
2 QT-7795, 250W, UHF TX
900 MHz Paging Transmitters:
3 Glenayre GLT 8600, 500W
2 Glenayre GLT8200, 25W (NEW)
15 Glenayre GLT-8500 250W
35 Glenayre 900 MHz DSP Exciters
25 Glenayre GLT-8500 Final PAs
35 Glenayre GLT-8500 Power Supplies

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

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Preferred Wireless

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EastWest Communications Inc.

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Media 1 ® live
by EastWest Communications Inc.

Real-time response to live events

spacer The audience may attend or view/listen to an event nationwide and respond in real time without requiring a computer — even respond while attending an event.

spacer Participate in sporting events, concerts, training programs or other programs to allow the producers to change the program based on audience participation.

Ed Lyda
P.O. Box 8488
The Woodlands, Texas 77387
Cell: 832-928-9538

E-mail: eastwesttexas@sbcglobal.net

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EastWest Communications Inc.

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UNICATION USA

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unication

• With Standard Two-year Warranty

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The New Alpha Legend +
Automatically Transitions From
Wideband Today to Narrowband Tomorrow

 

web: www.unication.com red spacer e-mail: sales@unication.com red spacer tel: 954-333-8222

 

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UNTIL NEXT WEEK

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Brad Dye
With best regards,

brad's signature
Newsletter Editor

73 DE K9IQY

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Wireless Messaging News
Brad Dye, Editor
P.O. Box 266
Fairfield, IL 62837 USA

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Skype: braddye
Telephone: 618-599-7869

E–mail: brad@braddye.com
Wireless Consulting page
Paging Information Home Page
Marketing & Engineering Papers
AAPC web site

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MESSAGING

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

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"The Denver Post is reporting that the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the decision of a Federal judge who threw out and reversed a jury decision in favor of a patent infringement claim and ordered the plaintiff's lawyers to pay the defendants' court costs. U.S. District Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch sanctioned the plaintiff's attorneys for 'cavalier and abusive' misconduct and for having a 'what can I get away with?' attitude during a 13-day patent infringement trial in Denver. With the Appeals Court in agreement, could this case be the 'shot heard round the world' in the revolution against patent trolls?"

[source] Note: This is not recent news, but it is pertinent to this issue of the newsletter.

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left arrow Newspapers generally cost 75¢ a copy and they hardly ever mention 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 willing and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button to the left.

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iland internet sulutions 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.

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THE WIRELESS MESSAGING NEWSLETTER & THE PAGING INFORMATION RESOURCE

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