Dear Friends and Industry Colleagues,

Welcome to all the new readers this week! This has been an exciting week, working on projects from Zimbabwe, Burma (Myanmar), Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, India, Colombia, and Iraq. Iraq? Yes, more info on this follows below.

Keeping all these projects in the air like a circus juggler and at the same time trying to convince the telephone company that "the check is in the mail" and to not to cut off my telephone service, has been a challenge.

With all this going on, and trying to keep up with all the work for my good and faithful consulting clients, I have been really busy. I will take a real job over this any day. Oh well, on to this week's news:

Palm, Handspring enhance products

April 15, 2003 1:00 PM EST

MILPITAS, Calif.—Wireless access to e-mail continues to represent a major part of the wireless data industry, as both Palm Inc. and Handspring Inc. announce new features and improvements to their offerings.

Personal digital assistant maker Palm Inc. released a new version of its VersaMail, which allows Palm PDA users to access their e-mail wirelessly or through a wired connection to a desktop computer. VersaMail version 2.5 offers better support for viewing and composing messages and additional display customization options. The program will ship in the box with future Palm Tungsten handhelds. It is available for download for $35.

Separately, wireless corporate e-mail company Notify Technology Corp. said it developed a version of its software for Handspring’s Treo PDA/mobile phone device. The program gives users wireless access to corporate e-mail, calendar and contact information.

Source: RCR Wireless News

DC Circuit criticizes industry, FCC during wireless LNP oral argument

April 15, 2003 1:11 PM EST

WASHINGTON—It was a comedy of errors at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday as the wireless industry tried to have the appeals court overturn the wireless local number portability mandate imposed by the Federal Communications Commission.

The wireless industry was chastised for not properly filing its brief and the FCC admitted, “it missed the boat” in not making an argument that Judge David Tatel thought was important.

In the end, observers believe the FCC will win and wireless carriers will be required to implement wireless LNP come Nov. 24.

Source: RCR Wireless News

Four-In-One Phone

April 16, 2003

news@2 direct Talk about a world phone. UPS plans to give its delivery personnel a new handset next year that will use GPRS, CDMA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-plus global positioning.

The device is being built by Symbol Technologies and is called the DIAD IV, short for Delivery Information Access Device. UPS says the DIAD will allow it to confirm deliveries almost instantaneously.

The delivery company is building out a combination Bluetooth/Wi-Fi network that covers all of is 1,700 locations globally, which will be completed this June. About 70,000 of the current model of the DIAD are currently in use.

Source: Wireless Week

More Wireless Data On Cell Phones

Telecom Ventures, LLC to Provide Mobile News Alerts from the Associated Press To Subscribers of AlertAmericaOnline

AlertAmericaOnline service designed for families, community groups and government agencies that use wireless technology to receive and react to critical news and emergency information.

"Emergencies call for cell phones, now your cell phone can call you in an Emergency™"

(April 16, 2003 - CHARLOTTE, N.C. —PRNewswire—) Telecom Ventures LLC, a wireless application service provider of emergency alerts and other wireless services, has updated its fully interactive, cell phone-based alert service called AlertAmericaOnline to offer breaking news headlines from AP Digital, a division of The Associated Press that provides news and information to interactive markets.

AlertAmericaOnline provides a cost-effective, fully hosted, cross-carrier technology especially suited for members of local citizens' readiness groups, government agencies, volunteer fire departments and not-for-profits with 501(c)(3) status. These organizations can use the service as a part of their communication contingency plans to provide staff security and coordinate relief efforts. AlertAmericaOnline will partner with certain 501(c)(3) agencies to provide financial benefits based on the participation of their members and donors.

Through its national database of subscribers, AlertAmericaOnline sends emergency alerts via Short Message Service (SMS), instant messaging and in real-time interactive mode through Wireless Access Protocol (WAP). The service now includes breaking AP national news headlines.

"We are pleased to work with Telecom Ventures to provide news alerts for the AlertAmericaOnline service," said Thomas E. Slaughter, vice president and director of AP Digital. "AP headlines are carefully selected for distribution based on AP's world-renowned editorial judgment and are particularly well suited to complement specialized mobile content services."

Source: ALERTAMERICA™ Press Release

Motorola Wins Expansion Contract for Largest GSM Network in Pakistan

Countrywide Expansion Project to Double PMCL’s (Mobilink) GSM Customer Base

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—April 17, 2003 – Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced it has won an expansion contract for the largest GSM network in Pakistan that currently serves one million subscribers. Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL) (Mobilink), Pakistan’s largest mobile phone operator in terms of subscribers, has selected Motorola’s Global Telecommunications Solutions Sector (GTSS) to provide wireless network infrastructure equipment that will double the operator’s subscriber base capacity to two million customers on its nationwide network. Commercial deployment is scheduled by mid 2003.

Source: Motorola Press Release

The Mobile Payment Forum

The Mobile Payment Forum is a cross-industry organization launched in November 2001 to create a framework for standardized, secure and authenticated mobile payments, based on payment card accounts. The Forum intends to quickly and efficiently act as the bridge between the mobile and financial industries to accelerate the maturity of the mobile marketplace.

Membership in the Forum includes organizations involved in initiating, processing and delivering mobile payments: telecommunications operators, payment card companies, financial institutions, device manufacturers, merchants, content providers and software and hardware infrastructure vendors.

Our mission is to combine and leverage the expertise of key participants in the mobile communications and payment card industries to create a foundation for standardized technology and functionality for secure, payment account-based mobile commerce. In accomplishing this we intend to:

• Expand the global market for m-commerce
• Simplify the consumer payment experience
• Collaborate on future directions for mobile commerce

Source: The Mobile Payment Forum website

They have a very interesting whitepaper about mobile payments.

A Paging System for Iraq

One of the first things that is needed for the reconstruction of Iraq will be a paging system, and here is how we are going to do it:

The role I have played in the paging industry, for many years, has been to translate technology (techno babble I call it) into terms that business people can understand, and to try to show them how to create new businesses using that technology. In today's world the cell phone has become very widely used, but for the same reason we all don't have private airplanes and ride in limousines, the pager will remain the preferred mode of wireless communications for the common person—for many years to come.

The undeniable facts are:

• paging infrastructure costs a small fraction of the cost of cell phone infrastructure;
• the paging service therefore costs much less as well—and it always will.

The point is, that good, reliable, low-cost wireless communications is needed in Iraq—and right now! Look at those equipment shelters above, loaded on a truck and ready to go. They could have pre-installed and pre-tested paging equipment in them. All it takes is a paging base station, a radio-link receiver, a directional link antenna to point back to the control site, and an omnidirectional antenna for the main paging operating frequency. We can put it all in the shelter, rack-mounted and grounded, with an uninterruptible power supply and an air conditioner. Then we can test the whole system in a big warehouse and ship it to Iraq. Completely de-bugged and 100% functional. Once in country, each shelter can be placed around Baghdad as close as possible to X's on a map. All you have to do is plug it into AC power, drive a ground stake in the earth, orient the link antenna towards the control site, and after installing the control center, it will be ready to go!

This system can be deployed and put on the air in the time it will take the big government contractors just to start their paperwork. I am working with an engineer from Iraq, who is a US citizen living in New York, and who has a brother who is an engineer in Iraq, they have high-level contacts with the opposition party and we have started preliminary inquires about frequency authorization. Like a lot of good ideas, we have everything we need except the funding. There may be someone reading this newsletter who wants to get involved in this project as a strategic partner and investor. This is not just a good business opportunity—it is the right thing to do.

I have talked to some pager manufacturers and although they may not be currently producing Arabic-display pagers, they would be pleased to do so for a substantial order. Arabic-display paging products were created several years ago and the know-how and manufacturing expertise is still available. This is the best way to start, because a text message tells you what to do, where to go, when to do it, and why. I doesn't require the user to make a phone call to find out something. It saves time and is even better in many situations than a cell phone because a cell phone user frequently has to find a pencil and paper the write down the information. We will need some help with an Arabic-text call center for dispatching messages to the pagers. Do any of you readers have knowledge of or experience with systems of this type? It is not hard to do—just like a TAS (telephone answering service). I have seen many of them all over the world, but never in Arabic. We are also going to connect the paging system to the internet so you can send wireless e-mail from anywhere in the world to paging subscribers in Iraq. Who knows, maybe later we can upgrade to two-way paging and use Arabic-display PDRs. That would be the ultimate Arabic pager, using handwriting recognition for transmission of the message is even better than a keyboard. Is that cool, or what?

So will you help me get the word out? If you know someone who can help, ask them to call me.

FLEX™ Capcodes

• Defined as Short or Long
• Short Codes 7 Digits - One Code Word
  • 000,000,001 - 001,933,312
  • Two Million Codes
  • Local Systems
• Long Codes 9 Digits - Two Code words
  • 002,101,249 - 999,999,999
  • One Billion Codes
  • Nationwide Systems

For more information about the FLEX™ paging protocol, please read the humorous article: The Guru Speaks on:

• FLEX™ paging speeds
• Bandwidth
• FLEX™ Capcodes

PTX-150

VHF PAGING TRANSMITTER

Specifications and Features

User's Manual

To request pricing and delivery information for the PTX-150, please click here.

Wireless Data

I am a manufacturer representative (MR) for Vytek Wireless Products. (Formerly Sonik.) Please look at their web site to see what they have to offer to the Paging and Wireless Messaging industry.

To download the product brochure for the PL-900 Paging Data Receiver, please click here.

brad@braddye.com  CLICK FOR MORE INFO

To let me know if you would like to receive a price quotation on any Vytek product, click on the link above.

AAPC’s Mission Statement Defines Purpose

• Identifying issues of common concern to its members
• Providing an effective forum for the discussion and progression of issues relating to the industry
• Monitoring and addressing regulatory and legal matters as a unified organization
• Providing research into and development of our industry and its current and prospective markets
• Providing education and resources to address the challenges and trends affecting our operating environments
• Encouraging and maintaining high standards of ethics and services
• Championing the industry and representing paging carriers with a positive voice

Our industry must move forward together or perish individually. If you want to get involved, please click here. Come and join us!

Two-way Paging Network and Transmitter Controller

TGA Technologies believes that the future of the radio paging industry lies in the evolution of 2-way paging for both man and machine, based on the ReFLEX™ format. To that end, TGA has produced the SPARKGAP™ ReFLEX Network Manager. This device is fully ReFLEX 2.7.x compliant and will support campus, local, regional or national networks.  When used in conjunction with the TGA PRISM paging terminal, SPARKGAP™ offers a controlled path for growth in paging technology.

They also have a new product that can replace the RTS Advantage™ that many international paging network members are using.

I completely agree with TGA's strategy. If you would like to have more information about the SPARKGAP™ click here.

Can You Help?

As we all know, Wireless Messaging is less than 20 years old yet it is almost impossible to find evidence of our early experiments and successes.  Many of us experimented with wireless delivery of e-mail using the Teknow solution from the late 80s and others wrote simple scripts to parse and send SMTP messages to our pagers.  However how many of us documented these experiments?

Before what is left goes to the landfill, or is lost as us old timers start to die off, I would request help in archiving the following into a Museum of Early Messaging.  It appears that support to house this museum may be forthcoming from a pioneering company in Wireless Messaging but nothing is firm at this point.

If you think you can help with any of the above I am prepared to cover all hard costs as well as compensate fairly for any old hardware offered to the cause.  

Can you help? Give me a call or e-mail.

Paul Cassel
paul@ve3sy.com
Telephone: 519-634-5139

Legacy Technology Solutions LLC

Paging infrastructure repair with warranty. Please ask for Virgil Jarrard, President, and tell him Brad sent you. Toll-free voice: 1-877-436-8044 or voice: 972-436-8044, fax: 972-436-8944. They are located in the Dallas suburbs, and they occasionally have some good deals on reconditioned paging equipment as well. Check with them for current product availability. You can send Virgil an e-mail by clicking here. CLICK

Don't forget to tell him who sent you.

FLEX™ Telemetry device

A reader has 190 surplus Tellus one-way PDR's (paging data receivers), model no. TSPM9FXSB, tuned to 929.0125 MHz, re-tunable 929-932 MHz (synthesized), with RJ-11 out. All are in original bubble wrap/individual cardboard box packaging.

For general info on the product click here. For technical specs click here.

These are a steal at $49 each—(FOB source USA)—if you take the whole batch. If you want to buy them, please contact me by e-mail or telephone at: .

The PTX-150 VHF Direct Digital Paging Transmitter is designed to meet the paging industry’s latest standards for high-speed FLEX and simulcast operation. It operates with a wide range of standard network interfaces, and is ideal for both new systems as well as upgrading of existing paging networks.

This Direct Digital Paging Transmitter is designed to generate all modern paging formats including POCSAG, FLEX and ERMES. Standard output power is 100 watts continuous (adjustable 25-100 Watts). Optional amplifiers are available with 250 and 500 Watts output. Up to sixteen channels can be preset for multichannel operation over the 138-174 MHz frequency range.

For simulcast operation the standard internal 1 ppm TCXO may be supplemented by either a built-in 0.05 ppm high stability option or an external reference oscillator. Precision control over carrier offset and delay equalization is also provided.

The PTX-150 incorporates a wide variety of network interface and remote diagnostic capabilities. The standard unit includes an interface for conventional POCSAG controllers and paging terminals. It also includes an interface for C2000 and C-Net controllers. A separate data port provides comprehensive local or remote programming, real time diagnostics, and alarms for all key operational parameters. A WINDOWS®-based software package is available to provide a convenient and easy-to-use remote monitoring capability.

The PTX-150 is ultra-efficient in operation and incorporates a built-in universal 115/230 VAC power supply (auto select) 50/60 Hz. It is supplied in a compact 4 RU high rack mounted case and includes internal front to back cooling optimized to maintain low PA junction temperatures. The unit is rated for 100% continuous duty at up to 60° C ambient temperature.

Ask me about the availability of 450 and 900 MHz paging transmitters—they are coming.

VYTEK's PL-900 Paging Data Receiver

Wireless Data—breathing new life into the paging industry. The Daviscomms TMR (Telemetry Messaging Receiver) is a one-way FLEX™ telemetry device and is being manufactured by Daviscomms in Singapore. It is being stocked and distributed in the Americas by Vytek Wireless Products as the PageLink™ PDR (Paging Data Receiver). The PL-900 provides a solution for customers looking for a CreataLink™ one-way receiver replacement. THIS IS A HOT PRODUCT.

Do you have a product or service that you would like to promote in this newsletter?

If you have any wireless equipment that you would like to buy or sell, please let me know. I don't charge individuals for listing something for sale. If a sale is made through this newsletter, I ask the seller to send me a 10% commission, much the same as the voluntary payments that are requested on the Internet for shareware. There is no cost to the buyer.

There is a small charge for companies wanting to put their products in the newsletter and on my web site. There is no obligation for payment of a commission for this kind of basic advertising. I would be very pleased, however, to get involved in the sales process as a manufacturer representative—for quality wireless products and reputable companies.

brad@braddye.com  CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Wireless Messaging Software

InfoRad® Wireless Office (Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP) is designed for the professional who needs full-featured wireless messaging capabilities. Features include enhanced user interface,  message log with search function, scheduled paging,  group and individual message addresses, TAPI Smart™, multiple protocol SMS communication compatibility. AlphaCare™ support services available. With a 32-bit architecture, InfoRad Wireless Office is designed for compatibility with Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. For more information on InfoRad Wireless Messaging software, and a free demo, please click on the logo.

  CLICK HERE

Recommended Paging Equipment Broker

Pat Merkel

Telephone: 770-638-1006

hmce@bellsouth.net  CLICK TO MAIL

http://www.h-mce.com

I have known Pat for many years. We worked together at BBL Industries in Atlanta about 20 years ago. She is a friend—you can trust her. If you are hunting for some paging infrastructure equipment, Pat can help you find it.

If you see someone in the field (like salespeople, technicians, and delivery people) using paper forms, their company could probably save a pile of money, and get much better timeliness, accuracy and efficiency, by using converting to Outr.Net's Wireless Forms. Custom applications for as little as $995, delivered in just a few days.

Outr.Net has a web page on Wireless Forms for Timeports at: http://www.outr.net/overnight_pw.htm

Their latest newsletter also discusses Wireless Forms:

http://www.outr.net/newsletter_wireless_forms.htm

Please call me so we can discuss your need or your idea.

Wireless Automation

Check out the following four categories of two-way wireless data communications. We have the ability to customize solutions to meet your (or your customer's) needs.

If you hear any good paging or wireless data news next week, please share it with the rest of us. Also, please take a moment to tell a friend or co-worker about this newsletter. Thanks and have a great week.

With best regards,	Brad Dye WIRELESS DATA CONSULTANT
	Voice:
	Fax:
	E–mail:	brad@braddye.com
	Web:	Consulting and Job search page CLICK HERE
	Can I help you with some consulting on one of your projects? I am also looking for a full-time position and I am willing to relocate.