ISSUE |
DATE |
NEWSLETTER
TOPICS |
146 |
December
31, 2004 |
FCC's
recent order to promote migration to narrowband (12.5 kHz)
technology in the private land mobile radio (PLMR) services
(called Refarming). 2004 Newsletter topic index.
Steve Jobs: Sunday Times Business Person of 2004. |
145 |
December
25, 2004 |
Christmas
Card. |
144 |
December
24, 2004 |
RIM
revenues rise. Space Data Applauds FCC Decision To Bring
Competitive Wireless Services To Airline Passengers. Phones
in flight: The story is data, not chatter. Rumor Mill: Will
T-Mobile bid for Nextel? Survey from Boone Cellular Companions
(BCC). TAPS—Texas Association of Paging Services looking
for network partners. VoIP: A New Day Is Dawning. Too Soon
For WiMAX, IDC Says. Support for WiMax spec heating up. |
143 |
December
17, 2004 |
More
on Payment Guardian. USA Mobility Names Thomas L.
Schilling Chief Financial Officer. Sprint to buy Nextel in
$36 billion deal. Appeals court: RIM violated patents. FCC
OK's wireless Net access on flights. Clarification/correction
on pager intrinsically safe approvals. Semiconductor Breakthrough:
Processor 24 times faster. Toshiba claims hard drive storage
record. Wi-Fi network could become nation's largest. |
142 |
December
10, 2004 |
Introduction
of Payment Guardian, a wireless starter-interrupt
system for the "buy here, pay here" car/truck market.
Mobile phone users double since 2000. Nokia: 2 billion cell
phone users by 2006. New high-resolution camera. Congress
passes E911 bill. Real Telecom hopes to thrive by renovating
pager services, shifting focus. Nextel-Sprint would top business
market in wireless. Wireless network (Siemens) smashes world
speed record. Hackers target wireless systems. Wi-Fi for
everyone? Not so fast. |
141 |
December
3, 2004 |
Special
report on the use of pagers in hazardous atmospheres, and
the meaning of "intrinsically safe." Singapore
Airlines and Connexion by Boeing finalize plans for high-speed,
in-flight connectivity. Cell phone towers in camouflage.
Canadians are finally getting a taste of Apple's iTunes.
Philly & Verizon strike agreement on city's wireless
plans. |
140 |
November
26, 2004 |
Mobile
e-mail still untapped, Yankee says. Motorola A630 on T-Mobile
USA. After AT&T merger, Cingular Wireless expects to
cut 6,800 jobs. Survey: Some iPod fans dump PCs for Macs.
SBC puts wireless spots in Barnes & Noble. Broadcom chipsets
expand Wi-Fi coverage areas. WiMax hype, 802.11 reality. |
139 |
November
19, 2004 |
Arch/Metrocall
merger completed. New name: USA Mobility, Inc. New summary
of their UIS (units in service) this year. BlackBerry® subscribers
pass two million mark. Bluetooth to triple in speed by next
year. Nextel eyes $1B network saving. |
138 |
November
12, 2004 |
Special
reports on the AAPC conference and a visit to Space Data
Corp in Phoenix, Arizona (with lots of photos). Unication
acquired the rights to the PerComm e80 two-way pager and
the OMNIDATA™ OEM ReFLEX telemetry module. More reports
on the pending Arch/Metrocall merger. FCC VoIP Ruling Foreshadows
Changes. Leap boosts content with IM, Spanish services. Novel
approach to tracking shows its accuracy. Rogers Wireless
details executive shuffle following Microcell buy. |
137 |
November
1, 2004 |
Several
updates on pending Arch/Metrocall merger. A politically incorrect
cartoon about paging network rationalization: "The Fable
of the Farmer's Son with an MBA." Lots of reader comments
on the pending merger. Space Data Corporation invites the
AAPC to an open house and cocktail reception. Cingular Wireless
and AT&T Wireless merge. Intel, Clearwire pair for WiMAX. |
136 |
October
29, 2004 |
FCC
and the DOJ conditionally approve the Cingular Wireless and
AT&T Wireless merger. Microsoft SPOT wristwatches finally
hit the shelves. Motorola wins long-standing suit against
the Uzan family of Turkey. SkyTel and Velocita (formerly
Cingular Interactive) both announce encrypted text messaging
devices. "Certified" Wi-Fi Capable PDA/Cell Phones
(and other products) announced. Big Shake Up in Store for
WiMax in 2005. San Francisco aims for free citywide Wi-Fi.
Clearwire (Craig McCaw) partners with Intel on WiMAX networks.
Background report on the Arch/Metrocall merger. Space Data
launches data services across south-central U.S. MCI [SkyTel]
messaging solution meets classified security requirements. |
135 |
October
22, 2004 |
Churches
installing cell phone jammers. RIM intros souped-Up BlackBerry® for
mobile enterprise. AFA [flight attendants] supports recommendations
for portable electronic devices. US Public Subscriber
Paging Market Report. When Wi-Fi Will Drive. NETGEAR,
Flarion team on wireless data nets. |
134 |
October
15, 2004 |
Report:
the historic "Carterfone decision" made many interconnect
devices that we take for granted today possible. Broadband
over power line approved despite interference concerns. Multitone
announces launch of US reseller program. WiMAX will bridge
digital divide: Intel. |
133 |
October
8, 2004 |
More
on AT&T Wireless' "Ogo" two-way text messaging
device. Google launches mobile messaging service. Metrocall & Arch
schedule special meetings of stockholders to vote on proposed
merger. Nighthawk Systems ships units to Alabama power supplier.
Searching on the Run with wireless PDAs & Blackberry®.
Patent landrush threatens Wi-Fi standards. |
132 |
October
1, 2004 |
"Fully
Interoperable First Responder Alerting System Based on ReFLEX
Two-Way Messaging Technology" by Barry Kanne Founder
and President TGA Technologies. Ron Mercer responds to comments
about his whitepaper. More lively discussion on the pros
and cons of one-way pager encryption. Reprint of newspaper
report on SkyTel Paging. AT&T releases the Ogo, a dedicated
messaging device. America Online launches Mobile Developer
program. Smart Dust: tiny sensors that can track anything. |
131 |
September
24, 2004 |
Whitepaper
from Ron Mercer on encrypting one-way paging messages: "Caution
Dangerous Curve Ahead!" Special report on Claude Shannon,
Bell Labs scientist and pioneer of digital theory. Wherify
Wireless closes $3 million round of series C funding. Trouble
in the GSM network [coverage]. Wireless carriers leave many
callers in dead zone. |
130 |
September
17, 2004 |
AT&T
Wireless preps new IM device, service [looks like a 2-way
pager]. Music Phones—Nokia & Motorola stake early
lead in reach beyond imaging. FCC blasted for alleged secret
Nextel negotiations. Certicom launches comprehensive security
platform for mobile handset development. Report on the status
of Paging in India. FCC Report to Congress on broadband deployment.
Emerging Broadband Networks: The Case for WiMAX. UT Dallas'
controversial move raises WiFi regulatory issues. |
129 |
September
10, 2004 |
ITU
Report Foresees Wire-free Future. Powell: Congress should
make 800 MHz plan law. For BlackBerry Users, a New Way to
Write. PCIA's Kitchen Announces Retirement. Asia leading
way in global telecom development. FCC reports to US Congress: "Sate
of Competition in the Wireless Industry." Intel's Rosedale
chip brings WiMax closer. Cellular-to-WLAN Roaming Specification
Published. |
128 |
September
3, 2004 |
Nortel
grants interop. approval to Glenayre’s messaging product.
Mobile phone sales soar to record levels. Ericsson Pulls
Bluetooth. New Optical Clock Promises More Accuracy than
Cesium. Cingular Wireless is Prepared for Hurricane Frances.
Apple unveils 'skinny' iMac G5. Philadelphia is at forefront
of wireless for all. |
127 |
August
27, 2004 |
Joke: "Paging
Lucille." News: Wherify A-GPS Locator Phone. FCC holds
some satellite operators outage-accountable. AT&T, AT&T
Wireless end dispute, change brand pact. Exclusive report
from Vic Jackson: "Intercarrier Compensation Forum." FCC
is auditing all paging licenses. Intel's Centrino connects
with all Wi-Fi standards. |
126 |
August
20, 2004 |
AT&T
Wireless gets into "Paging." Bill Clody passed
away. Brian Gilmore comments on AT&T Wireless service
offerings. John Muleta, Chief of the FCC’s Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau, has announced that Scott D. Delacourt
will become a Deputy Bureau Chief. Intel group pitches broadband
WLAN, opposes WWise. |
125 |
August
13, 2004 |
Doug
Richardson, respected Canadian Paging pioneer passed away
at age 83. More thoughts on the RIM/ReFLEX comparison. Valuable
comments from Curtis Rock on the status of the Paging Industry.
128/256-bit AES encrypted pager described— may become
available in the future. SBC Foundation gives $1 million
grant to Amber Alert Network to improve technology to find
missing children. |
124 |
August
6, 2004 |
Bob
Spargo passed away. Mobile phone restrictions in hospitals
were outdated and unnecessary, new research claims. Mobile
Phone Use In Hospitals: Balance, Not Bans. Kim Spitznagel
comments on Jim Page's letter. Jay Moskowitz adds some valuable
insight on wireless messaging. FCC takes action to protect
wireless subscribers from spam. Cellphone antennas now on
light poles and signs. |
123 |
July
30, 2004 |
Brooks
Marsden joined GTES. Satellite Security Systems (S3)
technology protects thousands of school children. Verizon
Communications reports: "Wireless data is now a billion-dollar
industry." Several reader comments on Jim Page's letter.
Vaughan Bowden explains his company: "Easy Solutions." Aether
sells transportation division. New Wi-Fi cell phone unveiled
by Motorola. |
122 |
July
23, 2004 |
Jim
Page takes up the recurring thread of discussion about why
RIM has been successful in certain market areas where ReFLEX
has not. A tribute to R. Buckminster Fuller. A GPS tracking
device for dogs. Amber Alerts branch out to e-mail, cellphones
in Texas. SBC expands Wi-Fi access with Sprint, Telmex. |
121 |
July
16, 2004 |
Multitone/Zetron
press release. MCI awarded $125 million contract with HP.
New Love for an Old Gadget (pagers). More about PerComm's
demise. Attorney comments about FCC's new interconnect ruling.
CoolSentry™ is Comverge's brand for its residential
and small commercial load control [electrical load shedding]
programs [using Paging technology]. |
120 |
July
9, 2004 |
PerComm
Technologies (ReFLEX device manufacturer) disappears. US
Congress runs into VoIP divide. 800 MHz decision goes Nextel's
way. Vic Jackson comments on the new "all or nothing" rule:
the wireless/CLEC carrier can only choose to adopt a whole
agreement (all of the provisions as a package) that the LEC
made with another carrier. |
119 |
July
2, 2004 |
Brian
Gilmore receives ATSI President's award. RIM shares gain
14%. Motorola premieres camera phone at New York event. Physician/reader
comments on poor Paging-customer service. AAPC membership
list. |
118 |
June
25, 2004 |
Comdex
trade show gets cancelled for 2004. New objections to F.C.C.
deal with Nextel over spectrum. Cell phone text message could
be anti-crime tool. State of Arizona expands Amber Alert
distribution to public. Guest editorial from Ron Mercer on
inevitable change. Nextel extends international walkie-talkie
service into Mexico. |
117 |
June
18, 2004 |
Brian
Gilmore receives president’s award. Exclusive article: "Wireless
Directory Assistance" by Vic Jackson. Feature article
by David Balsick, Mountain Communications: "The Quest
To Tame Quest." Intel, Proxim Team For WiMAX. |
116 |
June
11 , 2004 |
Bruce
Deer promoted to be President of SkyTel Paging. Report on
SCA Paging Conference held in Myrtle Beach, SC. Contest Over
BlackBerry® patent. Hyatt Hotels to offer T-Mobile Wi-Fi
access. |
115 |
May
28, 2004 |
Introducing
SkyTel FleetHawksm fleet location, tracking,
and management system from SkyTel. AT&T Wireless, Fox's
'American Idol’ set world records in text messaging.
Monroe County [Ohio] board OKs new paging system. U.K. group
buys Ericsson's Mobitex division. |
114 |
May
21, 2004 |
Correction
to First quarter 2004 loss in US public paging subscribers
Arch and Metrocall. Some numbers were transposed. |
113 |
May
21, 2004 |
First
quarter 2004 loss in US public paging subscribers Arch and
Metrocall. Doug Ayerst leaves Paging at Motorola. More on
the Paging Family Tree. Deep Six for Six Sigma? Wi-Fi' access
provider Cometa shutting down. Cautions on possible interference
in hospital Wi-Fi, cell phone, and telemetry systems. |
112 |
May
14, 2004 |
Metrocall
Q1 financial report. Arch Q1 operating results. More on the
Paging Family Tree. ITA, AMTA to coordinate paging, special-emergency
frequencies. |
111 |
May
7, 2004 |
More
on the Paging Family Tree. Minilec signs expanded North American
service agreement with Motorola. Reader comment and editorial
on business ethics and executive compensation. Report: Expect
50 Million Dual-Mode Wi-Fi Handsets by 2009. |
110 |
April
30, 2004 |
Nortel
board fired their CEO, CFO, and Controller. Editorial comments
on business ethics. Special report from Vic Jackson: "Paging:
Not Dead Yet!" More on Paging Family Tree. Aerial photo
of the site of the former Motorola pager factory. |
109 |
April
23, 2004 |
WorldCom
emerged from bankruptcy as MCI. Chronology—MCI events
from 1983 to present. More on the Paging Family Tree. Special
report from Ron Mercer with suggestions for a simplified
pager encryption technique. More photos of the demolition
of the former Motorola pager factory. |
108 |
April
16, 2004 |
Discussion
started on "Why is RIM succeeding in markets where the
ReFLEX devices are not?" Report: "Homeland Security—Practical
Suggestions." First in a series on the: "Paging
Family Tree." Photos of the demolition of the former
Motorola pager factory and Paging headquarters in Boynton
Beach, Florida. |
107 |
April
9, 2004 |
Spotlight
on Hark Systems ISI-LX device that can connect two serial
ports together over the Internet. Arch Wireless honored with
Best Performance in Public Markets Award. RIM Q4 report. "NOSTALGIA" section
about the "good old days" of radio. |
106 |
April
2, 2004 |
Special
report on Homeland Security by Dr. Peter Kapsales (this is
a "must read" article). SBC Communications to offer
Wi-Fi service in thousands of the UPS store locations nationwide. |
105 |
March
29, 2004 |
Special
report on the Arch/Metrocall merger. |
104 |
March
26, 2004 |
Special
report on the IWCE trade show and conference in Las Vegas
(with lots of photos). RXP 2.0 is released (a non-proprietary,
inter-system linking protocol for ReFLEX messaging systems).
RIM announced a color Blackberry®. |
103 |
March
19, 2004 |
European
Professional Alerting of Population (PAP) Launched by Mobile
Messaging Operators. More On Metrocall's 4Q Financial Report.
A report on the Vocera "Trekkie" Communicator using
Wi-Fi. |
102 |
March
12, 2004 |
Down
south of the border, Telefónica—Spain's telephone
company—bought BellSouth's assets, making them the
largest wireless carrier in Latin America. News about Microsoft's
attempt to reinvent paging with their SPOT (Smart Personal
Object Technology) project. News about Wi-Fi "hot spots." |
101 |
March
5, 2004 |
How
to build a New ReFLEX system today with equipment from TGA
Technologies, Arch 03Q4 Operating Results, Metrocall Declares
Dividend on Preferred Stock, AMD promoted Iain Morris. |
100 |
February
27, 2004 |
A
new company, GTES (Global Technical Engineering Solutions)
led by Russ Allen with other former Glenayre paging experts
will support GL products. More Wireless IM reader comments.
New Motorola CEO apparently shocked at their lack of Wireless
E-mail. |
99 |
February
20, 2004 |
Follow-up
editorial on "Wireless Instant Messaging." Lots
of reader responses, pro and con. Cingular signed an agreement
to acquire AT&T Wireless. Multitone article: "Private
Paging Lives on." |
98 |
February
13, 2004 |
The
wireless industry "discovers" push-to-talk and
text messaging. Editorial on "Wireless Instant Messaging" that
ruffled a few feathers and provoked considerable reader response.
Another diatribe on the Harvard-MBA weenies managing who
manage some paging companies. |
97 |
February
6, 2004 |
Space
Data Corporation received patent for Airborne Constellation,
ReFLEX 2.7.3 was released, C-Net controller problem solved,
POCSAG implementation problem solved, and BlackBerry® surpassed
one-millionth-subscriber milestone. |
96 |
January
30, 2004 |
Motorola
announced plans to close the Boynton Beach pager plant by
the end of the year. Samsung and RIM announced plans to offer
Blackberry®. FCC forces telemarketers to transmit caller
ID. |
95 |
January
23, 2004 |
Important
report, Big Win for wireless at the DC Court of Appeals, ASAP
Paging fights the local Telco. A very interesting article: Remote
Monitoring & Control Service Bureau; An End-To-End Solution by
Marvin T. Serhan. |
94 |
January
16, 2004 |
TCS
completes acquisition of Aether, rumors of a merger or acquisition
involving AT&T Wireless and several different suitors,
and Wherify unveils new GPS location devices. |
93 |
January
9, 2004 |
Microsoft
SPOT wristwatches (FM sub-carrier) announced, Prism Systems
International, run by Jim Nelson, announced it acquisition
of Prism one-way paging terminal products from TGA Technologies. |
92 |
January
2, 2004 |
Setting
goals for the new year, New Year's eve in NYC, WorldCom applies
to FCC for permission to transfer licenses to MCI. Steve
Jobs—CEO of the year. |