by Jay Moskowitz, On Networks Inc.

A protocol is a set of "rules" that govern the form, format, data content and information flow sent over communication links that connect different devices. Put simply, a protocol is a computer "language" for communicating information. Paging networks use a wide range of protocols to provide communications between different network components. Each protocol has a specific purpose but, in concert with each other, they support all of the features and services that the radio common carrier (RCC) wishes to provide. Some protocols that have been developed are specific to a particular manufacturer's set of equipment, while other protocols have become industry standards.

Paging protocols can be broken down into five major groups shown graphically in Figure 1. These groups and their functions are:

• Input Protocols: Protocols used to enter paging information into a paging terminal.
• Inter-System and Intra-System Protocols: Protocols used to communicate between paging terminals and between networks of paging terminals.
• Transmitter Control Protocols: Specific protocols that operate between the radio paging terminal equipment and the radio transmission equipment.
• Paging Protocols: Protocols specific to subscriber devices which can receive voice, numeric, alphanumeric or binary data for display, processing or transfer to other devices.
• Host Computer Protocols: Manufacturer-specific protocols which allow external computer systems to create new subscriber accounts, delete old accounts, modify subscriber data, extract billing information and forward message data to pagers.

Each of these major groups are reviewed in detail in the sections above.

About the Author
Prior to founding On Networks, Jay Moskowitz was president of Real Time Strategies and RTS Electronics, located in Plainview, New York. These companies design and build one way and two way paging terminals, alphanumeric and data paging front-end systems to add to other manufacturers paging terminals, paging gateways, back-end systems used behind Voice Mail, E-mail, Fax Mail and operator dispatch systems to reliably forward paging requests, networking products, custom systems for the paging industry and hand-held alphanumeric page entry products.

Mr. Moskowitz is also Chairman of the Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) TNPP, TAP, TDP and TIPP protocol committees. He is a patent holder in Telephone Answering Systems, Handheld message transmission devices, and data transmission techniques for telephone message entry and over-the-air paging. He is a Senior member of the IEEE and a member of the ACM. Mr. Moskowitz holds a B.S. degree in Physics from The Cooper Union in New York City.