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Welcome Back To The Wireless Messaging News Drug Dealers Give Up PagersDoctors left as only group still using themby Gomer Blog Team Disclaimer: This post is from GomerBlog, a satirical site about healthcare. A cross-sectional study has confirmed what many physicians have suspected to be true over the past few years: pager use has dropped dramatically nationally, while use of non-1980s-era technology has risen. This effect was even seen among one of the last non-physician holdouts — drug dealers. Subgroup analyses revealed downward trends extending to all types of dealers, from those who peddle marijuana to those selling ecstasy and crack/cocaine. GomerBlog reached out to one marijuana dealer who wished to remain anonymous but had this to say: "Pagers? Really? Are you serious?? First, people in Third-World countries can get cell phones now. Second, have you even seen the first season of "The Wire"?? That's why we don't use them!!" GomerBlog also reached out to the American Medical Association (AMA) to try to understand why in this era of advancing technology, physicians still rely on pagers. In a prepared statement, the president of the AMA said: “Could we update the technology? Sure. Is there a more efficient way of communicating? Probably. But this is the way we've done it for 40 years and there's no reason to change. Generations of doctors have suffered with pagers, and we think the residents of today and tomorrow should suffer just as much as we did. If it means keeping the dying industry of pagers alive, then so be it!”
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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. We are having a cold spell in Southern, Illinois 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. TIME TO HUDDLE UP 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. We need your help. This is the only remaining news source dedicated to information about Paging and Wireless Messaging.
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Press ReleaseSamstagern, Switzerland 14 June 2019 Renewing paging systems across the NHSSwissphone Wireless AG, is proud to announce that over the past 3 months, they have secured contracts with a number of NHS Trusts, including the world-famous Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to replace old paging infrastructure and new provide Emergency Alerting Systems. In total, more than 2,500 Swissphone s.QUAD pagers will be rolled out to staff across these sites. These systems, spread across five NHS Trusts, underline the role that On-Site Paging and Alerting continues to play in the vast majority of NHS Trusts in the United Kingdom. Graeme Hull, Head of International Sales at Swissphone commented: “Recent press reports have indicated that the NHS has been directed to move away from paging in the coming years. The award of these contracts from some of the biggest and most prestigious Healthcare providers in the world, demonstrate that the staff on the ground, who actually have the responsibility of providing emergency alerting solutions for NHS Staff, understand that paging is still the most efficient and cost-effective way of delivering messages in life-critical situations.” Unanimous consensus among the industry leadersIt is the belief of Swissphone and many other industry experts, such as the Critical Messaging Association of Europe (CMA-E) that there is a significant amount of misinformation regarding some of the alternatives to paging currently being promoted. Real issues, such as device usability, network coverage, guaranteed bandwidth availability and overall lifetime costs do not appear to have been thoroughly tested. Pagers provided by Swissphone are designed to give optimum radio performance, meaning coverage of any site can be guaranteed and are robust, being drop tested from 2 meters and waterproof to the IP 67 Standard – something that few smartphones can offer. Alister Cresswell, Project Manager at the Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust noted: “Due to the nature of our clinical work at Papworth, the ability to send medical emergency messages to a team, wherever they are in the new hospital is critical. We looked at other technical options and concluded that paging gives us the best balance of speed, accuracy and cost-effectiveness and the Swissphone solution meets these needs perfectly.” One common misconception being promoted is that pagers are simple, single function devices. Harald Pfurtscheller, Chief Technology Officer of Swissphone notes: “It is simply incorrect to state that pagers can only perform one task. Our devices can receive both speech and data messages, and store both types of message within the device for later review. In addition, they can alert the user with unique tones, vibration, colour coded LEDs or a combination of these. Our systems can integrate to clinical monitoring to provide real-time updates on patient information and fully integrate to the hospital telephone and IT-systems to allow messages to be generated from internal extensions and PC-workstations. In addition, some of our devices allow a user to acknowledge receipt of an emergency message and to inform the operator that they are responding to the call. On the system side, we provide dedicated operator terminals that allow medical emergency calls to be dispatched securely and with priority over other calls. This means that in an emergency, we can get a call to response team members in seconds, wherever they are in the hospital.” Less repair costs, more site coverageOne final, and most important consideration is whole-life cost of any solution. Over many years, paging has proven itself as reliable and highly cost-effective in a healthcare environment. Angelo Saccoccia, CEO of Swissphone: “At Swissphone, we understand that new technology can bring benefits which is why we continually invest in enhancing existing solutions and developing new ones. However, our customers in the NHS realise that a substitution with new technology is not always appropriate, particularly in demanding environments such as NHS wards and clinical areas. Devices need to work for 7 years or more, which is a challenge when they get dropped and can be easily damaged. Therefore, many customers choose Swissphone pagers, with their robust construction and water-proof certification. This reduces repair costs and in conjunction with the relatively low cost of providing 100% site coverage, makes our healthcare solutions an effective and economical way of addressing critical messaging requirements.” About SwissphoneThe Swissphone Group is a leading solution provider, that designs, develops and manufactures the most secure and reliable alerting and critical messaging solutions. Our core business is reliably transmitting information to responsible personnel, be it for alerting, notification, searching or informing. Our solutions cover the entire alerting chain from triggering, managing, and distributing, to escalating and reporting alarms. Our mission is to help to protect lives and properties. We aim for optimum customer centrality and innovation leadership, delivering solutions of the highest quality with total reliability. We serve public safety organizations, emergency and health care services, facility management and IT services, as well as manufacturing and oil & gas industries. Swissphone was founded in 1969 by Helmut and Erika Köchler. The company with 200 employees has a prominent market presence with subsidiaries in Germany, Austria, France and in the USA, as well as a growing network of international partners. The corporate headquarters and the production site are located in Samstagern in Switzerland near Zurich. For further information and additional images: Robert Bolecek, Head Corporate Communications
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| Source: | Swissphone Wireless AG |
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 Back To Paging Still The Most Reliable Protocol For Wireless Messaging!
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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. |
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SDG hires consultant to help with new radio system Nick Dunne
To determine the cost of a county-wide radio communication and paging network, SDG council will hire an independent consultant. Council approved the release of an RFP that seeks out an initial consultation on how to upgrade and integrate SDG’s radio and paging networks for roughly $20,000, to be transferred from the service delivery reserve. The idea is to merge all municipal fire department, road crew and operational staff members on a single, comprehensive dispatch radio system, to cut costs. Currently, each township has its own systems. At SDG, there isn’t really a functional radio network given it went with the now-defunct push-to-talk cellphone-based communications system over 10 years ago. RELATEDPut on hold: SDG Council needs more info on radio and paging Big 2019 to-do list for SDG’s transportation and planning department Currently, the equipment of most townships has been described as “very old” by South Glengarry Fire Chief Dave Robertson, who told South Glengarry council in March there are “stability” issues with its system. In April, he told SDG council there are “significant advantages in us going forward (and investing in collectively in new infrastructure).” Consultants familiar with SDG’s systems estimated the cost of replacing the system was $2 million to $2.5 million. Just over half that cost would cover the county-wide infrastructure like towers, while 45 per cent of the cost would be for end-user equipment, like the radios themselves. But IT services director Mike St.-Onge said an independent consultant could provide more affordable options. “In having an independent opinion, an independent engineer, we are more assured that we will get a solution that actually meets our needs, not over-bill, and looks at different options,” he said. Because certain townships have more updated systems than others, the consultants would help determine what each municipality would have to pay. Should council decide against a single communications system, St.-Onge said the consultation would provide fire chiefs with important information on what they’d need to improve their networks. “Even if were thinking, ‘let’s not go any further than this initial engagement,’ we’ll have a better idea of what we have, what we need,” he said. St.-Onge reached out to the City of Cornwall, who was interested in joining the system, but said the city is looking at its own multi-year update to its communications systems. |
| Source: | Standard Freeholder |
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TECHNOLOGY Ever Plugged A USB In Wrong? Of Course You Have. Here's Why June 21, 2019 6:00 AM ET
Your files are done syncing, and you go to plug in your thumb drive. You try once. Failure ensues. Metal clashes with metal. Humiliated and discouraged, you flip it and try again. Failure, again! How could this be possible? Wiping your brow, ready to give up, you flip back to the original orientation for a final try. The hard-won success is unsatisfying, tainted by the absurdity of the process. For years, Internet users have been griping about the USB, or Universal Serial Bus, and its maddening difficulty to plug in right, even creating memes about the commonly shared experience. Some call it the USB paradox, the seemingly impossible process of making a 50-50 guess wrong twice. Ajay Bhatt led the team at Intel that created the USB — a near-ubiquitous connection interface that allows users to plug mice, iPods, printers, thumb drives and other devices into a computer. He recognizes that the model has led to frustration. “The biggest annoyance is reversibility,” Bhatt told NPR. Nonetheless, he stands by his design. Turns out there's a very specific reason for the USB's lack of reversibility. A USB that could plug in correctly both ways would have required double the wires and circuits, which would have then doubled the cost. The Intel team led by Bhatt anticipated the user frustration and opted for a rectangular design and a 50-50 chance to plug it in correctly, versus a round connector with less room for error. One can only imagine the memes that a more challenging USB might have sparked. Five Alternate Uses For Extraneous USB Drives Still, Bhatt recognizes the grievances. “In hindsight, based on all the experiences that we all had, of course it was not as easy as it should be,” Bhatt said. Yet, instead of simply springing for the extra costs, Bhatt's team at Intel strategically chose to keep it cheap. The success of their project hinged on a Herculean task: persuading all the major computer companies to adopt the USB model.
“It took us some time to prove that this technology is indispensable,” Bhatt said. A cheaper design allowed him to make his case, and in 1998 Steve Jobs released the first iMac with USB ports. Today, the USB is an industry standard. For irritated users who won't accept Bhatt's rationale, the newest model of the USB, the USB-C, released five years ago, is reversible. Bhatt's idea for the USB was inspired by his own experience as a user dealing with tech frustrations far beyond the scope of a get-it-wrong-the-first-time cable. Every time he attempted to plug in a new device, he'd encounter a tumbleweed of tangled wires, each requiring a different type of port. “Both as a user and a developer, I saw that at that time, available interfaces were complex and very user unfriendly,” Bhatt said. He believed that the everyday person should be able to enjoy computers. Since his invention took off, Bhatt has not enjoyed the same fame or profits of his tech-superstar counterparts. In fact, Bhatt has not made a single penny from his USB design, because Intel owns the patent. “We were not worried about notoriety,” Bhatt said. “In the end, it's a team sport — my feeling is that if everyone adopts your idea, then you've succeeded. Notoriety should be given to the technology.” Beyond the USB, Bhatt has dedicated his decades-long career in tech to accessibility. At Intel, Bhatt also helped invent PCI Express, a type of connector present in most motherboards that has increased bandwidth and the speed of data within computers. Born in India, Bhatt faced a number of obstacles throughout his career path. Vying for a hyper-competitive spot in one of India's engineering schools, attaining his U.S. visa and persuading companies to adopt the USB model all required the same tenacity and perseverance. “I had a hard time when people said things couldn't be done, but that's when I got more energy,” Bhatt said. “When you get a lot of opposition, you got to feel that you're working on a problem that needs to be solved.” |
| Source: | NPR.org |
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 |
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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 |
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Survey finds 97% of enterprise Mac users feel more productive after switching from Windows Bradley Chambers
Vanson Bourne, a third-party market research firm, was hired by Jamf to conduct a study to uncover key drivers of Apple in enterprise adoption and satisfaction with the Mac. Their results reveal incredible levels of employee satisfaction, productivity, creativity and collaboration for Mac users across all major types of employee groups (IT, Human Resources, Sales, and Engineering). When asked how their work has improved as a result of using a Mac for work, the answers were very favorable for Apple in the enterprise:
Moreover, the vast majority of people surveyed (79%) stated that they would not be able to do their jobs as well without a Mac. I personally echo those results as I would gladly purchase my own computer over having to use a Windows machine. I’ve become accustomed to the flexibility of apps like Alfred, PDFpen, and Soulver. As an iPhone user, I also love the seamless integration between my mobile devices and my laptop.
All of the information has been compiled into a downloadable ebook that looks at how users perceive the use of Apple products in the enterprise. While Chromebooks are certainly popular in the K–12 market, the Mac is really heating up in the enterprise. As technology has become more personal, employees don’t watch to use cheap PCs that are under-powered and loaded with bloatware. They want to use the technology they are comfortable with, and therefore that is increasingly becoming the Mac. You can download the ebook from Jamf by clicking here. Do you have a Mac at work? Do these results line up with your experiences? Would using a Mac work improve your productivity and/or raise your workplace satisfaction? What are your thoughts on Apple in the enterprise? Photo by Lee Campbell on Unsplash |
| Source: | 9to5mac.com |
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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 |
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CTIA: Wireless Infrastructure Investments Up Nearly $2B in 2018Americans used 82 percent more mobile data in 2018 than in 2017, according to CTIA’s latest Annual Wireless Industry Survey. The 2019 survey analyzes wireless data from 2018. Results showed an increase in wireless across nearly every metric, reflecting unprecedented consumer demand, according to the association. The wireless industry increased its investments to support this growth. Since the launch of 4G in 2010, the industry has made over $253 billion in capital investments. This year, the industry’s investments increased $1.8 billion to a total of $27.4 billion, up more than 25,000 sites from 2017, according to CTIA. Much of this investment goes toward expanding the capacity and coverage of wireless networks and upgrading their technology to support 5G, including increased infrastructure deployment. In 2018, 349,344 cell sites were in operation—an increase of more than 25,000 sites from 2017. That’s the biggest year-over-year increase since 2010-2011, when providers began deploying 4G. Other survey highlights include:
See the full survey results here. |
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| 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.
Cost Consultant Reporting Requirement Effective for This Year’s Form 481On June 17, the FCC published in the Federal Register notice of approval by the Office of Management and Budget of certain revisions to its rules regarding FCC Form 481, the annual eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) report. Accordingly, this revision became effective the same day and will be a part of this year’s Form 481 filing. Specifically, the rule in question requires rate-of-return ETCs receiving high-cost universal service support to identify on their annual FCC Form 481 their cost consultants and cost consulting firm, or other third-party, if any, used to prepare financial and operations data disclosures used to calculate high-cost support for their submissions to the National Exchange Carrier Association, USAC, or the FCC. The FCC indicated that it has therefore revised Form 481 — which is due July 1 — accordingly. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer. HeadlinesComments on USF Cap NPRM Due July 15On June 13, the FCC published in the Federal Register its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on establishing a cap on the Universal Service Fund, establishing comment and reply comment deadlines. Comments are due on or before July 15 and reply comments are due on or before August 12. As we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, the FCC broadly seeks comment on establishing an annual combined USF cap and how to adjust it over time. For example, one proposal would establish a cap of $11.42 billion, which is the sum of the budgets for all four USF programs in 2018, though the FCC seeks comment on whether some other amount would be appropriate. The FCC also seeks comment on whether there are ways to adjust the budget for inflation other than those methods currently in effect. The FCC seeks comment on how an overall cap could be successfully implemented. One example would be to determine when disbursements are projected to exceed the overall USF cap and, in that event, to reduce projected universal service expenditures to stay within the cap. As a part of this aspect of the NPRM, the FCC also seeks comment on how it can use USAC demand projections to better implement a cap. The FCC also seeks comment on how to reduce expenditures if USAC projects the cap will be exceeded. One such proposal is to direct USAC and FCC staff to make administrative changes to reduce the size or amount of funding available to the individual program caps in an upcoming year if demand is projected to exceed the overall cap, such as limiting some or all of the automatic inflation increases in the programs projected to exceed the cap. Finally, the FCC seeks comment on how it can make changes to individual USF programs to better manage the overall budget, such as implementing self-enforcing caps on each program, or combining the E-Rate and Rural Healthcare caps. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Think Tanks File Informal Complaint Against Nationwide Carriers for Location Data DisclosureOn June 14, The Open Technology Institute, Free Press, and the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology filed an informal complaint against AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile for alleged violations of Section 222 and 201(b) of the Communications Act (privacy requirements and the prohibition on unjust and unreasonable practices, respectively). The allegations stem from the carriers’ use and disclosure of their customers’ location data. The issue gained notoriety earlier this year when, as we reported in a previous edition of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, Motherboard reported that it was able to hire a bounty hunter to track a specific phone on the T-Mobile network for $300. According to the article, the bounty hunter was able to provide a screenshot of Google Maps indicating the phone’s current location, which turned out to be “just a couple of blocks from where the target was.” The article describes the channels through which the location data was obtained — it appears that it was not obtained directly from the carrier, but rather from a series of aggregators and bail industry sources. After its article was published, Motherboard has received communications from the three nationwide providers indicating they would stop selling location data to aggregators, though the companies indicated doing so would negatively impact their ability to provide certain roadside assistance and fraud prevention services. Motherboard also reported that Verizon recently told the Washington Post that it was closing its own remaining location aggregator contacts as well. At the time, a spokesperson for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told POLITICO that the FTC "must investigate these clear abuses of Americans' personal data." Wyden, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also called on the FCC to look into the matter. In the informal complaint, the petitioners urged the FCC to investigate these carriers practices with regard to customer location data, and to enforce Sections 201(b)and 222. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Commissioner Carr Announces $100 Million Connected Care Pilot ProgramOn June 19, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced during a visit to a community health care clinic in rural Laurel Fork, Virginia that the FCC will be voting at its July 10th meeting to advance a $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program to support telehealth for low-income Americans across the country, including those living in rural areas and veterans. Specifically, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking the FCC is slated to consider seeks comment on:
“With an Internet connection, patients can now access high-quality care right on their smartphones, tablets, or other devices regardless of where they are located. I think the FCC should support this new trend towards connected care, which is the healthcare equivalent of moving from Blockbuster to Netflix. That’s why the FCC will vote to advance my $100 million pilot program at our July 10 meeting. It will focus on ensuring that low-income Americans and veterans can access this technology. Particularly in rural communities like Laurel Fork, where the nearest hospital is in a different state, access to telehealth can make a life-saving difference.” BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer. Law & RegulationFM Translator Interference Rule Revisions Effective July 15On June 14, the FCC published in the Federal Register its Report and Order of May 9 adopting rules relating to FM translator interference with other broadcast stations. Accordingly, these rules are effective July 15, except for certain revisions requiring approval by the Office of Management and Budget. Specifically, the final rules allow FM translators to resolve interference issues by changing channels to any available same-band frequency using a minor modification application; standardize the information that must be compiled and submitted by any station claiming interference, including establishing a required minimum number of listener complaints; establish interference complaint resolution procedures; and establish an outer contour limit for the affected station within which interference complaints will be considered actionable. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. FCC Announces Task Force on Precision Agriculture; Seeks Membership NominationsOn June 17, the FCC announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee, the Task Force for Reviewing Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force or Task Force). Nominations for membership to the Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force should be submitted to the FCC no later than July 17. In consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), or a designee of the Secretary, and in collaboration with public and private stakeholders in the agriculture and technology fields, the Task Force will:
In addition, within a year of the official establishment of the Task Force, the Task Force will submit to the Chairman of the FCC a report that details the status of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service coverage of agricultural land; the projected future connectivity needs of agricultural operations, farmers, and ranchers; and the steps being taken to accurately measure the availability of broadband Internet access service on agricultural land and the limitations of current, as of the date of the report, measurement processes. House Introduces Infrastructure Deployment ActOn June 13, U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (MI-07) and Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) introduced H.R. 3255, the TOWER Infrastructure Deployment Act, which is designed to address “the need for a highly-skilled, professional workforce equipped to deploy 5G, lightning-fast broadband networks, and new broadcast technology.” Specifically, the Act:
“As the telecom industry deploys next generation technologies, there are tens of thousands of good-paying, highly-skilled jobs but nobody to fill them. Developing a skilled workforce needs to be a top priority,” said Congressman Walberg. “By streamlining workforce development programs and promoting industry collaboration, we can free up resources for greater broadband deployment instead of recreating the same curriculum across the country.” “Women and people of color are underrepresented in the telecom industry, which is why I am committed to drafting and supporting legislation that addresses this unacceptable reality. As a black woman, I know how capable women and people of color are, which compelled me to lead a bipartisan effort to address the telecom industry’s workforce diversity shortage. I am excited to witness my fellow women and people of color who will act as trailblazers in bringing 5G to America,” said Congresswoman Clarke. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr released the following statement: “Expanding America’s skilled workforce is essential to our country’s leadership in 5G and building out next-generation networks. In fact, industry estimates that it could fill another 20,000 job openings for tower climbers and telecom techs alone. So I commend Congressman Walberg and Congresswoman Clarke for tackling this challenge and working to build up the skilled workforce needed to complete 5G builds in communities across the country.” BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Cary Mitchell. IndustryRobocalls Overwhelm HospitalsOn June 17, The Washington Post reported that hospitals around the country are experiencing a wave of robocalls that are disrupting communications for hours on end. According to the article, Tufts Medical Center administrators registered more than 4,500 calls between about 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 2018. In testimony before the House Energy Committee, the chief information security officer for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute testified that over a 90-day period, robocallers called more than 6,600 times, which he estimated had consumed 65 hours of hospital response time. The article goes on to describe how, when representatives from these institutions reached out to Windstream and CenturyLink, they were reportedly told there was nothing the carriers could do. “These calls to health-care institutions and patients are extremely dangerous to the public health and patient privacy,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the Democratic chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a statement to the Post. “The FCC and Justice Department need to go after these criminals with the seriousness and urgency this issue deserves.” DeadlinesJULY 1: FCC FORM 481 (CARRIER ANNUAL REPORTING DATA COLLECTION FORM). All eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) must report the information required by Section 54.313, which includes information on the ETC’s holding company, operating companies, ETC affiliates and any branding in response to section 54.313(a)(8); its CAF-ICC certification, if applicable; its financial information, if a privately held rate-of-return carrier; and its satellite backhaul certification, if applicable. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer. JULY 1: MOBILITY FUND PHASE I ANNUAL REPORT. Winning bidders in Auction 901 that are authorized to receive Mobility Fund Phase I support are required to submit to the FCC an annual report each year on July 1 for the five years following authorization. Each annual report must be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, clearly referencing WT Docket No. 10-208; the Universal Service Administrator; and the relevant state commissions, relevant authority in a U.S. Territory, or Tribal governments, as appropriate. The information and certifications required to be included in the annual report are described in Section 54.1009 of the FCC’s rules. BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Sal Taillefer. JULY 31: FCC FORM 507, UNIVERSAL SERVICE QUARTERLY LINE COUNT UPDATE. Line count updates are required to recalculate a carrier's per line universal service support, and is filed with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). This information must be submitted on July 31 each year by all rate-of-return incumbent carriers, and on a quarterly basis if a competitive eligible telecommunications carrier (CETC) has initiated service in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area and reported line count data to USAC in the rate-of-return incumbent carrier’s service area, in order for the incumbent carrier to be eligible to receive Interstate Common Line Support (ICLS). This quarterly filing is due July 31 and covers lines served as of December 31, 2018. Incumbent carriers filing on a quarterly basis must also file on September 30 (for lines served as of March 31, 2019); December 30 (for lines served as of June 30, 2019), and March 31, 2020, for lines served as of September 30, 2019). BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak. JULY 31: CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODE (CIC) REPORTS. Carrier Identification Code (CIC) Reports must be filed by the last business day of July (this year, July 31). These reports are required of all carriers who have been assigned a CIC code by NANPA. Failure to file could result in an effort by NANPA to reclaim it, although according to the Guidelines this process is initiated with a letter from NANPA regarding the apparent non-use of the CIC code. The assignee can then respond with an explanation. (Guidelines Section 6.2). The CIC Reporting Requirement is included in the CIC Assignment Guidelines, produced by ATIS. According to section 1.4 of that document: At the direction of the NANPA, the access providers and the entities who are assigned CICs will be requested to provide access and usage information to the NANPA, on a semi-annual basis to ensure effective management of the CIC resource. (Holders of codes may respond to the request at their own election). Access provider and entity reports shall be submitted to NANPA no later than January 31 for the period ending December 31, and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. It is also referenced in the NANPA Technical Requirements Document, which states at 7.18.6: CIC holders shall provide a usage report to the NANPA per the industry CIC guidelines … The NAS shall be capable of accepting CIC usage reports per guideline requirements on January 31 for the period ending December 31 and no later than July 31 for the period ending June 30. These reports may also be mailed and accepted by the NANPA in paper form. Finally, according to the NANPA website, if no local exchange carrier reports access or usage for a given CIC, NANPA is obliged to reclaim it. The semi-annual utilization and access reporting mechanism is described at length in the guidelines. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy. AUGUST 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 recent 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 (Form 499-A) that was due April 1. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy. AUGUST 1: FCC FORM 502, NUMBER UTILIZATION AND FORECAST REPORT: Any wireless or wireline carrier (including paging companies) that have received number blocks—including 100, 1,000, or 10,000 number blocks—from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a Pooling Administrator, or from another carrier, must file Form 502 by August 1. Carriers porting numbers for the purpose of transferring an established customer’s service to another service provider must also report, but the carrier receiving numbers through porting does not. Resold services should also be treated like ported numbers, meaning the carrier transferring the resold service to another carrier is required to report those numbers but the carrier receiving such numbers should not report them. Reporting carriers file utilization and forecast reports semiannually on or before February 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending December 31, and on or before August 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending June 30. BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens and Gerry Duffy. AUGUST 1: Live 911 Call Data Reports: Non-Nationwide Providers that do not provide coverage in any of the Test Cities must collect and report aggregate data based on the largest county within its footprint to APCO, NENA, and NASNA on the location technologies used for live 911 calls in those areas. Clients should obtain spreadsheets with their company’s compliance data from their E911 service provider (e.g., Intrado / West). BloostonLaw Contacts: Cary Mitchell. AUGUST 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. Calendar At-a-GlanceJune July August
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
Hi old friend, I have a customer in Canada (a hospital) that has an inventory of pagers he’d like to sell. I told him I’d ask around I asked a few basic questions and you can see his answers below:
Know anyone who may be interested and what a fair value would be? Aaron D. Osgood |
Current member or former member of these organizations.
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| THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK |
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” —Unknown |
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