| Wireless News Aggregation |
|
Welcome Back To The Wireless Messaging NewsSTREAMLINED I am trying out a reduced-size format this week. The newsletter is about one-half of its former size. This should make it download faster and make it easier to read. Reader comments?
We need your help. This is the only remaining news source dedicated to information about Paging and Wireless Messaging.
|
NO POLITICS HERE This doesn't mean that nothing is ever published here that mentions a US political party—it just means that the editorial policy of this newsletter is to remain neutral on all political issues. We don't take sides.
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. I spend the whole week searching the Internet for news that I think may be of interest to you — so you won’t have to. This newsletter is an aggregator — a service that aggregates news from other news sources. You can help our community by sharing any interesting news that you find.
Editorial Opinion pieces present only the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any of advertisers or supporters. This newsletter is independent of any trade association. I don't intend to hurt anyone's feelings, but I do freely express my own opinions. |
Service Monitors and Frequency Standards for Sale
(Images are typical units, not actual photos of items offered for sale here.)
|
Subscribe Here IT'S FREE * required field
|
 |
Advertiser Index
|
| Leavitt Communications |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passive Audio Amps For Smart Phones | |||||||||||||
|
Trombone
The rest of the Passive Audio Amps For Smart Phones page has been move to a separate page.
|
Gramophone
These horns are now on display and for sale at:
Stop in for a demo and a great cup of espresso. |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
HEALTH Some Cellphones Reportedly Exceed FCC Radiation Limits—but Don't Flip Out Just Yet Ed Cara
A new Chicago Tribune report on cellphone radiation sure sounds alarming: Popular smartphones were found to emit higher-than-allowed levels of radiation. But while some of the findings are definitely worth investigating further, there’s no reason to be freaked out about health risks for now. The Chicago Tribune, according to its comprehensive report, brought 11 new, popular smartphones of various brands and tested how much radio-frequency radiation they could expose their users to at different distances. The phones, which included four models of iPhone, were sent to an accredited lab where testing was conducted using guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission. This involved turning on the phones to full power and placing them next to a tub of liquid meant to mimic human tissue. Overall, the lab found that nearly every phone exceeded the maximum limit for exposure set by the FCC at various distances. This was most apparent when the phones were only 2 millimeters away—a distance that phone companies aren’t forced to test at but which reflects real-world use, such as having the phone in your pocket. When the Tribune confronted Apple about the discrepancy, the company said the testing was done incorrectly. But even when the lab followed Apple’s instructions, meant to alert the phone’s sensors about being close to human skin and signaling to turn the power down, the iPhones still went over the limit at 2 millimeters. The findings were enough to convince the FCC to do its own series of tests in upcoming months. “We take seriously any claims on non-compliance with the RF (radio frequency) exposure standards and will be obtaining and testing the subject phones for compliance with FCC rules,” agency spokesman Neil Grace told the Tribune. The Tribune’s investigation seems to be well-done and reported in a non-alarmist way. And it illustrates that the landscape of cellphone radiation exposure has certainly changed in recent years. Some companies, such as Samsung, only test their phones at distances of 10 to 15 millimeters from skin, a legally allowed distance, but one that harkens back to the days when people kept their phones on a belt clip (Apple and the other companies included in the report test at 5 millimeters away). The advent of 5G technology, which can use higher frequency bands of electromagnetic energy for their networks, has also spurred calls for the FCC to reevaluate the potential health risks of cellphones. Earlier this August, however, the FCC announced that it had reviewed the evidence and found that the current safety limits for cellphone radiation exposure were fine and didn’t need to be changed. The Food and Drug Administration, which has coordinated with the FCC on monitoring cellphone safety, agreed with the decision. “[T]he available scientific evidence to date does not support adverse health effects in humans due to exposures at or under the current limits,” Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, wrote to the FCC at the time. The Tribune’s reporting would suggest that modern phones aren’t always meeting these limits, however, which is definitely concerning. But as even the outlet admits, there’s no clear indication whether these results mean anything for human health. And the overall evidence—outliers aside—still doesn’t point to any conclusive health risks from cellphones. One major sticking point, which the Tribune alludes to, is the lack of a plausible mechanism of harm. Cellphone radiation isn’t the same type that comes from the Sun or from X-rays, which is called ionizing radiation. These types of energy are known to damage living cells in predictable ways, setting the stage for harmful mutations and eventually a greater risk of cancer. But the same sort of harmful connection hasn’t been shown with humans and the non-ionizing radio-frequency radiation that comes from cellphones. That doesn’t mean such a link isn’t possible, especially among specific populations like pregnant women. Notably, it took decades for doctors to conclusively show how things like cigarettes really harm the human body. But without a smoking gun and more research, there’s really no basis for concern at the moment. Besides, if you want to use your cellphone less, it’s not as if there aren’t plenty of other health-related reasons you could latch onto. |
| Source: | gizmodo |
Paging Transmitters 150/900 MHz The RFI High Performance Paging Transmitter is designed for use in campus, city, state and country-wide paging systems. Designed for use where reliable simulcast systems where RF signal overlap coverage is critical.
Built-in custom interface for Prism-IPX ipBSC Base Controller for remote control, management and alarm reporting.
Prism-IPX Systems LLC. 11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022
GLENAYRE INFRASTRUCTUREI would like to recommend Easy Solutions for Support of all Glenayre Paging Equipment. This Texas company is owned and operated by Vaughan Bowden. I have known Vaughan for over 35 years. Without going into a long list of his experience and qualifications, let me just say that he was the V.P. of Engineering at PageNet which was—at that time—the largest paging company in the world. So Vaughan knows Paging. GTES is no longer offering support contracts. GTES was the original group from Vancouver that was setup to offer support to customers that wanted to continue with the legacy Glenayre support. Many U.S. customers chose not to use this service because of the price and the original requirement to upgrade to version 8.0 software (which required expensive hardware upgrades, etc.). Most contracts ended as of February 2018. If you are at all concerned about future support of Glenayre products, especially the “king of the hill” the GL3000 paging control terminal, I encourage you to talk to Vaughan about a service contract and please tell him about my recommendation. |
The Wireless Messaging News
The Board of Advisor members are people with whom I have developed a special rapport, and have met personally. They are not obligated to support the newsletter in any way, except with advice, and maybe an occasional letter to the editor.
Can You Help The Newsletter?
You can help support The Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above. It is not necessary to be a member of PayPal to use this service.
Newspapers generally cost A donation of $50.00 would certainly help cover a one-year period. If you are wiling and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button above. |
|||||||||||||||||
LARGEST CHIP EVER HOLDS 1.2 TRILLION TRANSISTORS by: Al Williams
We get it, press releases are full of hyperbole. Cerebras recently announced they’ve built the largest chip ever. The chip has 400,000 cores and contains 1.2 trillion transistors on a die over 46,000 square mm in area. That’s roughly the same as a square about 8.5 inches on each side. But honestly, the WSE — Wafer Scale Engine — is just most of a wafer not cut up. Typically a wafer will have lots of copies of a device on it and it gets split into pieces. According to the company, the WSE is 56 times larger than the largest GPU on the market. The chip boasts 18 gigabytes of storage spread around the massive die. The problem isn’t making such a beast — although a normal wafer is allowed to have a certain number of bad spots. The real problems come through things such as interconnections and thermal management. The white paper is detailed while still managing to be a bit fuzzy. In addition to somehow solving the interconnect, packaging and thermal problems with using a whole wafer, the architecture of the cores is supposed to be amenable to sparse matrices and the specific types of algorithms necessary for deep learning. There’s no word as yet on cost or specific availability, but we were hoping at least for an emulator. However, it is certainly big and if it lives up to its promise could drive new deep learning applications. We’ve seen neural network co-processors before. We even had our own deep dive into them. |
| Source: | hackaday |
|
Critical Messaging that works
Secure . . . Dependable . . . and Encrypted |
|
Click on the image above for more info about advertising here. |
Internet Protocol Terminal The IPT accepts Internet or serial messaging using various protocols and can easily convert them to different protocols, or send them out as paging messages. An ideal platform for hospitals, on-site paging applications, or converting legacy systems to modern protocols.
Additional/Optional Features
Prism-IPX Systems LLC. 11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paging Data Receiver PDR-4 The PDR-4 is a multi-function paging data receiver that decodes paging messages and outputs them via the serial port, USB or Ethernet connectors. Designed for use with Prism-IPX ECHO software Message Logging Software to receive messages and log the information for proof of transmission over the air, and if the data was error free.
Prism-IPX Systems LLC. 11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
Wireless Network Planners
|
|||||||||||
Streaming Services are Cracking Down on Password Sharingby Jess Barnes on August 23, 2019
The days of freely sharing streaming service passwords with friends and extended family may be coming to an end. Companies are beginning to take further measures to prevent multiple people from sharing an account. Disney and Charter have teamed up and announced, “a comprehensive distribution agreement to continue to deliver Disney’s robust lineup of premier sports, news and entertainment content to Spectrum customers.” As part of that partnership, the companies also said that they would be working together to fight piracy. In the joint statement, the two companies said they have “agreed to work together on piracy mitigation. The two companies will work together to implement business rules and techniques to address such issues as unauthorized access and password sharing.” Disney+ won’t be the only service with password sharing policies in place. Hulu has a limit on how many people can stream at once and will prevent devices beyond that limit from streaming. For Netflix, password sharing violates the terms of service, but the company doesn’t have a way of enforcing the policy. Here’s how some of those services are currently preventing password sharing.
|
| Source: | Cord Cutters News |
|
Remote AB Switches ABX-1 switches are often used at remote transmitter sites to convert from old, outdated and unsupported controllers to the new modern Prism-IPX ipBSC base station controllers. Remotely switch to new controllers with GUI commands. ABX-1 ABX-3 switches are widely used for enabling or disabling remote equipment and switching I/O connections between redundant messaging systems. ABX-3 Common Features:
Prism-IPX Systems LLC. 11175 Cicero Dr., Alpharetta, GA 30022 |
| Leavitt Communications |
|
|||||||
Rural Broadband Gets Nearly $5B in Funds From the FCCThe FCC Thursday authorized over $4.9 billion in support over the next decade for maintaining, improving, and expanding affordable rural broadband. The carrier support includes tribal land, too [...]. The money will go towards 455,334 homes and businesses served by 171 carriers in 39 states and American Samoa. The funds are targeted to smaller rural carriers, traditionally known as “rate-of-return” carriers. These carriers agreed this year to accept subsidies based on the FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model, or A-CAM, which provides predictability, rewards efficiency, and provides more value for each taxpayer dollar. The homes and businesses are located in sparsely populated rural areas where the per-location price of deployment and ongoing costs of providing broadband service are high. They require support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund to facilitate network improvements and keep rates reasonably comparable to those in urban areas. In return for the support, carriers must maintain, improve, and expand broadband throughout their service areas, including providing service of at least 25 Megabits per second downstream and 3 Mbps upstream to over 363,000 locations. Providers will be held accountable through an enforceable schedule for delivering improved and expanded service, with the first interim deployment obligation occurring in 2022. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the action a win-win for carriers and taxpayers. “Carriers get the predictable support they need to deliver broadband to their customers in these high-cost rural areas. And taxpayers, who fund this support through a fee on their phone bills, are getting more bang for their buck.” The list of states where carriers will receive support begins on page two. 51 Attorneys General, 12 Carriers Team Up to Fight Illegal RobocallsA public/private coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 wireless carriers on Thursday said they’ve agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls. The parties say the deal will require carriers to take steps toward blocking the calls and work with law enforcement to bring bad actors to justice. "Illegal robocalls harass and harm people all across this country," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said during a news conference. "By adopting these technological solutions and improving their cooperation with law enforcement, these phone companies are going to better serve their customers." The agreement between industry groups and the government took more than a year to hammer out, reported The Hill. The coalition of companies includes AT&T, Bandwidth, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated, Frontier, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and Windstream. The carriers agreed to implement call-blocking technology at no extra cost to customers, and offer their customers a range of "easy-to-use call blocking and labeling tools." The carriers will abide by a set of eight principles. The state-level efforts come as the federal government is also working toward the same goal. The FCC earlier this summer voted to allow phone carriers to block suspicious calls by default, Inside Towers reported. Many of the carriers involved in the new agreement had already promised to implement the call authentication technology. In Congress, bills passed by the House and Senate would increase penalties for illegal robocallers and promote call authentication technology. Staffers are working over the August break trying to reconcile their two anti-robocall bills, H.R. 3375 and S. 151. Lawmakers are optimistic of an advancing deal and getting the reconciled version to the President’s desk for his signature this fall, according to Politico. In response, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the effort, noting that: “Few things can bring together policy leaders across the political spectrum like the fight against unwanted robocalls. I salute today’s bipartisan, nationwide effort to encourage best practices for combating robocalls and spoofing and am pleased that several voice service providers have agreed to abide by them.” USTelecom, CTIA and NCTA have been working on an industry effort to fight robocalls and spoofed calls, Inside Towers reported. In a joint statement Thursday, they called illegal robocalls, “a deliberate attempt by criminals to flood voice networks with unwanted calls that scam, spoof and prey upon vulnerable consumers who are justifiably fed up. We appreciate the efforts of the state attorneys general, the FCC, the FTC and other agencies to further collaboration that will hold the scammers behind these calls responsible for their actions.” NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield said NTCA member companies take robocalling concerns seriously. “NTCA is supportive of the concepts addressed by the Anti-Robocall Principles and we look forward to working with policy makers to overcome remaining implementation obstacles so that rural operators can participate in the effort to eradicate illegal and unwanted robocalling.” |
||||
| Source: | Inside Towers newsletter | Courtesy of the editor of Inside Towers. It is daily by subscription. Check it out. |
| BloostonLaw Newsletter |
Selected portions [sometimes more — sometimes less — sometimes the whole updates] of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update and/or the BloostonLaw Private Users Update — newsletters from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP — are reproduced in this section of The Wireless Messaging News with kind permission from the firm. The firm's contact information is included at the end of this section of the newsletter.
Guidance About Windstream BankruptcyBloostonLaw is working with a large commercial law firm in Florida with a highly competent bankruptcy team, and we have been able to help multiple clients get answers questions they may have about the ongoing Windstream bankruptcy proceeding. Carriers with concerns about amounts due, assets subject to bankruptcy, potential sale of Windstream properties or any other aspect of the proceeding should contact the firm for more information. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, John Prendergast, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. HeadlinesFCC Announces Delay in CAF Phase II Eligible Locations Adjustment Process Until Further NoticeOn August 19, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing a delay in the initiation of the Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II post-auction process to adjust the deployment obligations and support of authorized auction winners when the total number of actual locations in eligible areas is less than the number of funded locations. In a future order, the FCC will adopt specific procedures and requirements for this eligible location adjustment process and announce a new filing deadline that provides participants “adequate time to compile and file evidence.” In the CAF Phase II Order on Reconsideration, the FCC required participants to submit, within one year after release of the Phase II auction closing public notice (August 28, 2019), evidence of the total number of locations in the eligible areas in the state, but also directed its Wireline Competition Bureau to “release a public notice or order (following its issuance of a notice and opportunity for comment) detailing instructions, deadlines, and requirements for filing valid geo-location data and evidence for both [participants] and commenters.” According to the Notice, the delay is a result of several factors, including: the issues raised in comments and ex parte communications in response to the September 10, 2018 and June 5, 2019 Public Notices seeking comment; and the requirement to obtain Paperwork Reduction Act approval. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Comments on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Due September 20On August 21, the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund was published in the Federal Register. As a result, comments are due on or before September 20 and reply comments are due on or before October 21. As we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund would target support to areas that lack access to 25/3 Mbps broadband service. It would be implemented though a two-phase approach that would allocate support using a multi-round, descending clock auction, similar to how Connect America Fund Phase II was conducted. Phase I of the RDOF auction would allocate support to wholly unserved census blocks and Phase II would allocate support to unserved locations in partially unserved census blocks along with areas not won in Phase I. The budget is proposed to be set at $20.4 billion in high-cost universal service support over a 10-year support term, making available at least $16 billion for Phase I and the remainder available for Phase II. The FCC proposes to use a similar “weighting” system for bids as it used in CAF II, and proposes using the same service milestones. Under this system, being assigned a high weight hurts your proposal. The FCC is also proposing to set reserve prices using the Connect America Cost Model to establish the maximum per-location bid amount that the FCC is willing to fund, and a transition framework for phasing down existing support in auctioned areas. Specifically, the FCC seeks comment on how to transition (i) incumbent price cap carriers from legacy high-cost support in areas where Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support is awarded and (ii) price cap carriers from CAF Phase II model-based support in areas where Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support is awarded. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. FCC Issues Report on CenturyLink Network Outage; Makes Recommendations to Bolster ReliabilityOn August 19, the FCC released a report detailing the cause and impact of a nationwide CenturyLink network outage that occurred last December, along with recommendations to help prevent similar outages from occurring in the future. Specifically, the report identifies network reliability best practices “that, if implemented, could have prevented the outage, or at least mitigated its effects.” These include:
A copy of the full report is available here. According to a Press Release, the FCC will next engage in stakeholder outreach to promote best practices and contact other major transport providers to discuss their network practices. In addition, the Bureau will offer its assistance to smaller providers to help ensure that our nation’s communications networks remain robust, reliable, and resilient. Beginning on December 27, 2018, CenturyLink experienced an outage on its fiber network that lasted for almost 37 hours. As described in today’s report, the outage was caused by an equipment failure that was exacerbated by a network configuration error. The outage affected communications service providers, businesses customers, and consumers who relied upon CenturyLink’s transport services, which route communications traffic from various providers to locations across the country. The outage resulted in extensive disruptions to phone and broadband service, including 911 calling. As many as 22 million customers across 39 states were affected, including approximately 17 million customers across 29 states who lacked reliable access to 911. At least 886 calls to 911 were not delivered. “This massive ‘sunny day’ outage was completely unacceptable and impacted millions of customers across the country. Americans expect and deserve reliable phone and broadband service—especially the ability to call 911,” said FCC Chairman Pai. “It’s important for communications providers to take heed of the lessons learned from this incident. I also thank the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau for its thorough investigation and recommending next steps to promote network reliability.” BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Law & RegulationNews Sources Report Draft Lifeline Order and NPRM on Circulation Within FCCOn August 19, multiple news sources – including C-NET and FierceWireless – reported that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's office began circulating an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at combating fraud in the Lifeline program. At the time this edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update went to press, no formal Press Release or Public Notice from the FCC regarding the circulation of the document was available. Rather, according to the various reports, FCC official briefed reporters on the matter. The briefing reportedly included statements by FCC officials that the draft order would, among other things, require ETCs to prove prospective Lifeline users are living people; prohibit carriers from offering sales employees enrollment-based commissions; and require ETCs to collect their own eligibility documentation if verification was previously done through a state or federal database (where the original verification is no longer available). The Order would also reportedly take steps to reduce duplicate subscribership and better detect rule violations. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. FCC Seeks Comment on NCIC Petition for Forbearance from USF ContributionOn August 16, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing that it is seeking comment on a petition filed by Network Communications International Corporation (NCIC) – a provider of interstate and international inmate calling services – in which they seek forbearance from USF contribution requirements. Comments or oppositions are due September 16, and replies are due October 1. According to NCIC, Inmate Calling Service (ICS) providers are required to make contributions to USF based on their provision of interstate and international ICS calls originating from correctional facilities located in the United States, but at the same time a significant portion of ICS customers that are paying USF ancillary fees are otherwise eligible to receive assistance from USF programs. “As a result, the payment by ICS customers of USF ancillary fees has led to the absurd result of USF-eligible recipients actually contributing to the very programs from which they receive services.” NCIC states that a grant of its petition would “help ensure that ICS customers pay just and reasonable rates for ICS calls … provide more protection for ICS customers than is currently present … encourage additional contact between inmates and loved ones …” without harming the USF budget. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Mary Sisak. FCC Settles Investigations into Misuse of EAS Tones by Cable and BroadcastersOn August 15, the FCC announced that it has reached settlements with TV broadcaster, cable TV networks, and a radio broadcaster for misusing Emergency Alert System (EAS) or Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) tones. Episodes of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” and Discovery’s “Lone Star Law,” as well as promos aired by Meruelo Radio Holdings, LLC’s Los Angeles-area KDAY and KDEY-FM’s morning radio show, all aired actual or simulated alert tones in violation of the Commission’s rules. Combined, the companies agreed to pay over $600,000 in civil penalties, and each committed to a strict compliance plan to ensure such actions do not recur. The specific settlements include:
Concurrently with the announcement of the settlements, the FCC issued an Enforcement Advisory formally reminding the industry about the existing law as it applies to the misuse of emergency alert tones. The advisory states: “We remain concerned about the misuse of the EAS codes and EAS and WEA Attention Signals, or simulations thereof, to capture audience attention during advertisements; dramatic, entertainment, and educational programs, and at any other time that there is no genuine alert, authorized test, or authorized PSA about the EAS or WEA that is accompanied by an appropriate disclaimer. The FCC may issue sanctions for such violations, including, but not limited to, monetary forfeitures.” BloostonLaw Contact: Cary Mitchell. IndustryFCC Staff Recommends Designating ‘988’ as National Suicide Prevention HotlineOn August 15, the FCC announced that it has sent a report to Congress which recommends that the Commission consider designating 988 as the 3-digit dialing code to be used for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The report, mandated by the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, finds that such a 3-digit number “would likely make it easier for Americans in crisis to access potentially life-saving resources.” Currently, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a 10-digit number, 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Calls to the Lifeline are routed from anywhere in the United States to the closest certified crisis center, and in 2018, trained Lifeline counselors answered over 2.2 million calls and over 100,000 online chats. Chairman Pai is planning to launch a rulemaking proceeding in which the Commission would consider designating a 3-digit number— specifically, 988—for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. The report examines the feasibility of using various 3-digit numbers and finds that 988 could be implemented more easily and quickly than repurposing an existing 3-digit N11 code like 511 or 611. The rulemaking would collect further public comment from all interested stakeholders on the findings in the report. “There is a suicide epidemic in this country, and it is disproportionately affecting at-risk populations, including our Veterans and LGBTQ youth,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Crisis call centers have been shown to save lives. This report recommends using a three-digit number to make it easier to access the critical suicide prevention and mental health services these call centers provide. I intend to move forward on this recommendation. In the meantime, my heart goes out to anyone facing a crisis. I hope they will contact 1- 800-273-TALK for support today.” DeadlinesAUGUST 29: COPYRIGHT STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS. The Copyright Statement of Accounts form plus royalty payment for the first half of calendar year 2019 is due to be filed August 29 at the Library of Congress’ Copyright Office by cable TV service providers. BloostonLaw Contact: Gerry Duffy. SEPTEMBER 3: FCC FORM 477, LOCAL COMPETITION AND BROADBAND REPORTING FORM. Normally due September 1, this year’s filing falls on a federal holiday weekend, pushing the deadline back to the next business day. Four types of entities must file this form:
BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy. SEPTEMBER 30: FCC FORM 396-C, MVPD EEO PROGRAM REPORTING FORM. Each year on September 30, multi-channel video program distributors (“MVPDs”) must file with the FCC an FCC Form 396-C, Multi- Channel Video Programming Distributor EEO Program Annual Report, for employment units with six or more full-time employees. Users must access the FCC’s electronic filing system via the Internet in order to submit the form; it will not be accepted if filed on paper unless accompanied by an appropriate request for waiver of the electronic filing requirement. Certain MVPDs also will be required to complete portions of the Supplemental Investigation Sheet (“SIS”) located at the end of the Form. These MVPDs are specifically identified in a Public Notice each year by the FCC. BloostonLaw Contacts: Gerry Duffy and Sal Taillefer. OCTOBER 15: 911 RELIABILITY CERTIFICATION. Covered 911 Service Providers, which are defined as entities that “[p]rovide[] 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities such as call routing, automatic location information (ALI), automatic number identification (ANI), or the functional equivalent of those capabilities, directly to a public safety answering point (PSAP), statewide default answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority,” or that “[o]perate[] one or more central offices that directly serve a PSAP,” are required certify that they have taken reasonable measures to provide reliable 911 service with respect to three substantive requirements: (i) 911 circuit diversity; (ii) central office backup power; and (iii) diverse network monitoring by October 15. Certifications must be made through the FCC’s portal. BloostonLaw Contacts: Mary Sisak and Sal Taillefer. NOVEMBER 1: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. The FCC has modified this form in light of its decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual Form 499-A that is due April 1. BloostonLaw Contacts: Mary Sisak and Sal Taillefer. Calendar At-a-GlanceAugust September October November |
|
|||||||
| MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK |
“No Roots” (Alice Merton Cover) — The Petersens
|
| Source: | YouTube |
| THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK |
“Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. People lose their capacity to walk, run, travel, think, and experience life. I realise how important it is to use the time I have.” —Viggo Mortensen |
 Best regards,  Newsletter Editor 73 DE K9IQY Licensed since 1957 |
Current member or former member of these organizations. | ||||
Institute Electrical and  Electronics Engineers |
MENSA MEMBER |
A Public Library of  Paging and Wireless Messaging Information |
Wireless  Messaging |
||
|
Critical Messaging  Association |
European Mobile Messaging Association  Former Board Member |
ZP5TQ  Radio Club of Paraguay |
Quarter Century  Wireless Association |
|
Back To Paging  Still The Most Reliable Wireless Protocol For Emergencies! |
American Association  of Woodturners |
U.S. Navy  Radioman |
U.S. Navy Radioman  Second Class Petty Officer |
Boy Scouts of America  National Honor Society |
Creator of the  Paging Wheel of Fortune |
National Skeet  Shooting Association |
The National  Rifle Association |
American Radio  Relay League |
The Radio Club  of America |
Life is good!  I am a person in long-term recovery. |
|
CONTACT INFO & LINKS
|
Amateur Radio
|
VETERAN  United States Navy |
|||
| Home Page | Directory | Consulting | Newsletters | Free Subscription | Products | Reference | Glossary | Send e-mail |
Who We Are 
