Dear Wireless Colleagues and other friends,

Well it's Friday again and here is another copy of the Paging and Wireless Data Newsletter. This is issue number 97 and exactly two years after the first issue that went out on February 7, 2002.

A lot has changed in two years. The first year's newsletters were just short e-mails with some wireless news and a little information about paging and paging telemetry products. Now we have lots of great-looking ads—some of which are designed by professionals—and the news content has grown considerably. Several of the advertisers are reporting good responses from readers while others report not so much response—but that may be just the general slowdown in the paging business. I really believe that we hit bottom last year and are coming back out of the economic recession this year. It's great fun staying in touch with paging and trying to show each week that it's not over yet. Thousands of us lost our jobs, but I am not giving up yet!

About the only thing that I haven't been able to do in the last two years, has been to find a full-time job for myself—one that would allow me to continue with the newsletter of course. At the end of every issue, there has been a link to my job search page, but still no luck. So I just want say, if you don't need a paging executive right now, I can also answer the telephone, type memos, make coffee, and resolve paging system issues as well. I could relocate to anywhere in the USA in one to two weeks. In the meantime, I am keeping busy trying to find news and new advertisers—with an occasional consulting job or an equipment sale. For more information about advertising, please click here.

I have just obtained some new software that can fetch and display news from thousands of different websites and weblogs, making it quick and easy to keep up with the latest news. Instead of bookmarking various sites and returning to them every day, I can now set up a feed, so that the data from those sites is sent to a news aggregator that resides on my desktop. I expect this will add even more interesting content to future newsletters.

Speaking of content, I currently focus on news about Radio Paging, Wireless Data (over paging), including one-way and two-way Telemetry, and occasionally news about the exciting new world of Wi-Fi (802.11x). Once in a while, I include items about similar technologies in the world of broadband, e.g. Cellphones, SMS, and Wireless PDAs. Of course, my best source of news continues to be from readers. If you have a suggestion about content, I would love to hear it. If you have news to share, I would love to receive it. I am also still looking for help in translating key articles into Spanish and/or Portuguese for our many readers in Latin America.

Keeping Paging Alive

A new issue of the Paging and Wireless Data Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon Eastern US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the Internet. 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 data 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 reader's comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the paging, and wireless data 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 website.

NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work just fine. Please notify me of any problems with viewing. This site is compliant with XHTML 1.0 transitional coding for easy access from wireless devices. (XML 1.0 / ISO 8859-1)

American Association of Paging Carriers

A reminder to the paging industry: the Paging Zone will once again be a feature of the IWCE show in Las Vegas next month; it is sponsored by the AAPC. You should plan to come to the Paging Zone at the show, and if you haven't already done so, join the AAPC. It is the only organization that is fighting for the issues affecting our industry.

Join the AAPC today

[One of] ten technologies that refuse to die—from Technology Review

These technologies have survived, and some have thrived, because they fill real needs that their more sophisticated successors don't.

PAGERS
The teens who made these devices essential fashion accessories in the early '90s graduated to cell phones, and even Radio Shack stopped selling them.But pager sales rose in 2002, contrary to industry expectations. Some institutions still rely heavily on pagers: police departments, whose officers' hands and gun belts are often too full for cell phones; hospitals, where cell-phone signals would interfere with diagnostic equipment;and schools,which can't readily afford cellular service. And pagers still beat cell phones in some ways. They're cheaper, with no roaming charges. They need far fewer transmitters than cell phones but still provide better coverage, so they work in the dead spots between local "cells." And pagers tend not to jam up in emergencies the way overloaded cells may. Best of all, they are far less likely to make you crash your car or turn you into a yakking boor. And now, two-way text messaging makes them a plausible alternative to phones.

Source: Technology Review February 2004 (Free registration required.)

Space Data Corporation Receives Patent for Airborne Constellation

Chandler, AZ; February 2, 2004—Space Data Corporation has been granted a broad utility patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its technology to provide ubiquitous wireless service to cell phones, pagers, and telemetry devices. "Although we always knew that our technology was unique, it is gratifying to have that official acknowledgement," said Eric Frische, Space Data's Chief Technology Officer.

Space Data uses balloon-borne platforms, called SkySites, to provide clear, strong wireless signals from an altitude of 100,000 feet. Sky sites operate above the weather and air traffic. From this altitude, a single SkySite can provide service to an area the size of Oklahoma. The Space Data solution is of particular value in the 90 percent of the continental U.S that does not have wireless service. Approximately 50 million Americans live in these areas.

Although balloon systems have been used reliably worldwide by national weather services for decades, Space Data is the first to make commercial use of this well-tested platform. The unique aspect of the Space Data system—and the reason it was granted a patent in the U.S.—is that the company developed the technology to create an entire constellation of SkySites. The patent includes methods for controlling the altitude and the relative position of all SkySites in the constellation. A constellation of only 70 SkySites can provide ubiquitous service to the entire continental United States.

The Space Data patent also provides protection for the novel design of the SkySite payload, including the use of fuel cells that are powered by the platform's lifting gas to power the system's electronics and the use of nickel titanium linear actuators for mechanical controls. The company also has been granted patents by China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Space Data is now in the first stages of launching a commercial telemetry service to customers in the energy industry. The Space Data solution offers a dramatically more cost effective means of providing communications services when compared to the construction of new towers or to satellites.

For additional information on Space Data and it's technological innovations, visit www.spacedata.net.

###

Contact: Tim Ayers, 202-857-9734, tim@ayersassociates.net

Source: courtesy of Space Data Corporation

FCC NEWS [REPRINT]

FCC SIGNS HISTORIC TOWER SITING AGREEMENT WITH TRIBES AND STREAMLINES TOWER REVIEW

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a major step forward in its relationships with federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages, as well as Native Hawaiian Organizations, by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET). The FCC also launched a new Internet-based Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS).

These two steps were first identified as important milestones in FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Action Plan announced on May 1, 2003, http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234001A1.pdf. Since that time the FCC has implemented more than 90% of the initiatives identified in its NEPA action plan and is nearing completion on the rest.

Memorandum of Understanding with USET

At the Washington Impact Week meeting of the USET Board of Directors, FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell and USET President Keller George signed an MOU regarding the development of Best Practices in siting communications towers. The MOU is the first of its kind for the FCC with Tribes and the "Best Practices" that it envisions will serve as a model for other potential cooperative efforts with Tribes nationwide.

Chairman Powell stated, "The FCC strives to ensure that everyone has access to basic and advanced telecommunications services. Indian Country must be a part of this technological revolution. At the same time, we must ensure that communications services are deployed consistent with the NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] and the NHPA [National Historic Preservation Act] mandates to protect valuable historic and environmental resources, including Tribal sites of cultural importance."

The Best Practices, which are in the final drafting stages, involve the identification of practical, voluntary methods by which the communications tower industry and USET Tribes can work together to preserve properties of religious and cultural significance to Tribes. USET, established in 1968, is a non-profit inter-Tribal government organization comprised of 24 federally recognized Indian Tribes from Maine to Florida to Texas.

NHPA requires federal agencies to take into account the effects of their undertakings on historic properties that are included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, which may include properties of traditional religious and cultural importance to an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization.

Tower Construction Notification System

The Commission also announced the implementation of a new communications Tower Construction Notification System, which will assist the Commission and the parties it regulates in determining when protection of an historic property, Tribal religious site, or cultural site is necessary.

With respect to the new voluntary notification system, Chairman Powell stated, "By providing early notification of proposed tower construction, this new Tower Construction Notification System will increase communication between the Commission, tower builders, and the communities where the towers are located. It will also improve compliance with the Commission's rules and streamline the review process for tower construction."

The purpose of the new system is to provide Tribal and state historic preservation entities with early notification of proposed communications tower construction. The new system is not intended to supplant the existing NHPA government-to-government consultation process with federally-recognized Tribes or antenna structure registration requirements, but rather is a tool to assist tower companies and others involved with towers in ensuring that construction complies with all applicable federal, state, local, and Tribal rules. The FCC reviews proposed tower construction under the NHPA. Demonstrations of the new system have been provided to industry and a number of inter-Tribal and Tribal historic preservation organizations.

Users of the new notification system include anyone involved in the construction of communications towers, specifically, tower companies, outside consultants, State Historic Preservation Officers, federally-recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages, as well as Native Hawaiian Organizations. The TCNS allows anyone proposing to build a tower to submit a voluntary, electronic notification to the Commission about the proposed tower construction. The Commission will then provide this information to the relevant entities, which will have access to the system, and may through the secure, electronic system, submit responses to the notification that will be sent electronically back to the notifier. This will also allow the Commission to consult on a government-to-government basis with federally-recognized Tribes earlier in the pre-construction process.

Further information about the system is available on the Commission’s website at http://wireless.fcc.gov/antenna/outreach/notification/index.html, or through the Commission’s Tribal homepage at http://www.fcc.gov/indians.

- FCC -
[REPRINT]

Source: FCC Press Release (pdf)

MOTOROLA AND GIANT INTERNATIONAL INTRODUCE INNOVATIVESERIES OF MOTOROLA TALKABOUT® TWO-WAY RADIOSDESIGNED TO PROVIDE ACTIVE LIFESTYLE SOLUTIONS

Motorola Talkabout® T5SMS
The Motorola Talkabout® T5SMS is a concept text messaging two-way radio, created to test market acceptance for a dual-use radio that also includes instant text messaging. The T5SMS features Peer-to-Peer Short Message Service, which will allow text messages to be sent and received directly to each other's two-way radio. The concept radio is both a fully functional, two-way radio with an extended range and a completely portable hand-held text-messaging device. The T5SMS Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is $99.99 per pair.

Source: Giant International Press Release

International Wireless Communications Expo

North America's largest wireless communications conference and exhibition.

IWCE is the one mobile communications show attracting a multitude of technologies. Presenting you with the information and products that you need to keep pace with the changing regulatory climate and advances in technology?IWCE is a must attend event! Find solutions to the many concerns and issues facing users and providers of mobile communication technologies in the carefully designed Conference Program and Workshops, providing full coverage on today's critical topics. IWCE plays host to more than 350 exhibiting companies and 10,000 attendees annually, showcasing the latest in cutting-edge communications technologies and regulatory information for businesses.

IWCE 2004
Technology Workshops:
March 22-23, 2004
Conference & Exhibits:
March 24-26, 2004
Venue: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

Source: http://www.iwce-mrt.com

New Version of ReFLEX Protocol Released

The AAPC Protocol Working Group has completed its review of ReFLEX V2.7.3a, and after making a few minor changes to this DRAFT, has approved the release of ReFLEX 2.7.3 (final version).

The new version of the ReFLEX Protocol Document, V2.7.3, is now available for download from the ReFLEX Licensee Extranet Website. Also available on the website is a slide presentation showing an overview of changes to ReFLEX from V2.6 through V2.7.3.

Please log on to the ReFLEX Extranet Website [note that only ReFLEX licensees have access to this website] and download the new ReFLEX protocol document.

Courtesy of:
Doug Ayerst

Motorola FLEX Family Licensing

Motorola Introduces Two New Pagers Ideal for Health Care, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Utilities Markets

Motorola's newest one-way pagers—the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager—are ideal for users in demanding business environments who need a convenient and cost effective way to stay in touch.

Both the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager were developed for use in hospitals and medical facilities, manufacturing environments, utilities, hospitality applications, campus settings, and for businesses that own and operate their own paging systems.

The Advisor II pager's alphanumeric four-line display and expanded functionality incorporate many of the most advanced paging features available. A major advantage of the Advisor II pager is that it is synthesized which enables the user to program the pager to a specific frequency in the field. Other features of the Advisor II pager include:

• Displays up to four lines of text and 80 characters per line
• Zooms in on two lines for larger view
• Optimax® EL Electra Light for optimum readability
• 52 message slots for storing multiple pages
• Two notebook areas, including a personal notebook and a mail drop notebook

The LS355 numeric pager enables users to receive a "call-back" number that can be returned at the user's convenience. This pager has a one-button design for ease of use. Features of the new LS355 pager include:

• 16 message slots for storing multiple pages
• Six individual addresses to allow the user to receive individual or group pages
• 4 icons including Message Preview, Unread Message Indication, Alert Mode, and Out of Range Indication
• Saves messages when off or when the battery is being changed and offers the time and date when on standby
• RS232 programmable to allow for programming changes in the field

Both the Advisor II pager and the LS355 pager are available in POCSAG, UHF or VHF models and ship with a one-year standard warranty. As part of the continued support of these pagers, Motorola offers a two-year Express Service Plus program. This feature provides hardware repair coverage for two years beyond the standard one-year warranty for a total of three years of pager repair coverage. Both pagers are available through Motorola Authorized Resellers.

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2003.

See you at the IWCE show in
Las Vegas
booth number 10075

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For more information on advertising click here.

two tone pager
QUATTRINO RE529

• Reliable operation
• Flexible programming
• Weather resistant

A fast and reliable alarming system is an indisputable prerequisite for emergency fire and rescue services to respond successfully and efficiently. State-of-the-art paging enables groups as well as individuals to be alerted.

The Quattrino Voice and Memo two tone pagers are suitable for everyone, even for those working in an emergency during severe weather conditions. Continual further development of previous popular models has resulted in a practical, reliable and user-friendly device, innovatively housed with ergonomic operating controls. Design elements include a very long standby function and weather proofing to the European IP54 specifications.

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for Swissphone. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

Advanced RF Communications offers a complete line of products and services to support your new or existing paging system. Our RF and System engineering team utilizes the latest technologies and techniques to deliver reliable high-speed digital data messaging or tone/voice paging for local or wide area simulcast one-way or two-way paging systems.

Advanced RF Communications is a proud sponsor of the:

American Association of Paging Carriers

Our System design and installation services integrate all the "boxes" and deliver fully operational one or two-way paging "system". We can also "tune-up" that existing paging system with our diagnostic and troubleshooting services to restore System performance that has deteriorated over time.

CONTACT

Advanced RF Communications, Inc. 301 Oak Street—Suite 2-46A Quincy, IL 62301 USA

For further information please contact: Fred Pakosta or Jim Neves

Telephone/Fax: 217-221-9500 E-mail: sales@advancedrf.biz CLICK Web: www.advancedrf.biz CLICK

Need a good paging engineer?

Jason Loefer is looking for a job.

Download his resumé here.

Authentium's COMMAND Antivirus™

COMMAND Antivirus™ is used by leading education institutions, Fortune 500 companies and government agencies for one simple reason - it works. Based on the proven F-Prot engine and developed continuously over a period of more than ten years, COMMAND Antivirus™ deploys more easily, detects more viruses (and potential viruses), handles more file extensions, and returns fewer false positives than competing antivirus products.

Authentium's new representative for Mexico:

Enrique Llaca
Llacom, SA de CV
Mexico City
Telephone: 011 52 55 53734241

Enrique Llaca CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL

Advertise Here

Your company's logo and product promotion can appear right here for 6 months. It only costs $500 for a full-size ad in 26 issues—that's $19.23 an issue.

Details about the NEW 2004 advertising plans can be read here.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

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 we will perish individually. If you want to get involved, please click here. Come and join us!

The AAPC "newsroom" is a great source of information.

The AAPC also hosts the Paging Technical Committee site. There is a lot of good paging industry information here.

Click on the logo above to get a membership application.

Coming Soon

Prism Systems International, Inc.
300 Colonial Center Parkway,
Suite 100
Roswell, Georgia 30076
Tel: 678-353-3366

Wireless Communication Solutions

Hark Systems has provided the wireless industry with innovative products for over 20 years. The Omega family of products continues that tradition.

The Omega Gateway performs the function of a TAP Concentrator, a TNPP Router, and an Internet Paging Gateway. This allows the paging operator with TAP and TNPP connections to their paging network to offer e-mail and Internet based paging services. Any message coming in via any supported protocol (SMTP, SNPP, TAP, TNPP, HTTP) can be converted to another protocol and sent. Pages can also be sent to e-mail boxes for safe keeping. Subscribers can log on with a web browser and view stored alpha messages. The TNPP router function has the most extensive routing and filtering capabilities in the market today. The Internet Gateway also has extensive anti-SPAM and other selective filtering options to protect your system. The Gateway is available as a turnkey system or software only.

The Omega Unified Messaging Platform gives you the competitive edge by offering the ability to bundle a variety of services that can include Voicemail, FAXmail and e-mail as part of customized subscriber packages. Subscribers can view faxes, listen to voicemails, and modify features using a common browser. System administration can also be performed remotely as well as locally. This robust set of features allows the system operator to build a profit center with low initial expense and expand as needed

CONTACT

Hark Systems, Inc. 2675 Lake Park Drive N. Charleston, SC 29406

Tel: +1 800-367-4275 or 843-764-1560 ext. 8104 Fax: +1 843-764-3692 E-mail: leanne@harksystems.com CLICK Web: http://www.harksystems.com CLICK

ISC Technologies is the industry leader in the pre-owned Paging equipment marketplace. We specialize in purchasing, reconditioning, reconfiguring and sales of quality paging infrastructure. We can customize and configure equipment at a fraction of the cost of new. All equipment carries a standard warranty to insure your trouble free operation.

At ISC Technologies we service what we sell and more. Our factory-trained technicians repair most Quintron, Glenayre, Motorola, and Skydata equipment. All of our repairs are done on a Time and Material basis, saving you money over flat rate repair. From vacuum tubes to surface mount equipment, we are ready to handle your repair needs quickly and cost effectively.

CONTACTS

Chris Kephart 888-645-7545 972-221-4528 ckephart@mckcom.com CLICK

Ken Knapp 888-223-4028 217-221-0985 kknapp@4isctech.com CLICK

Web: www.4isctech.com CLICK

• ISO 9001 - 2000 certified manufacturing facility.
• THE High-Quality RF design and Contract Manufacturer of choice.
• Do you have a product or product component that you would like to have manufactured?
• Would you like to have us design and manufacture a product just for you?
• Would you like to know firsthand that your contract manufacturer is one of the leading providers of service with the highest degree of quality in mind?

Daviscomms USA Inc. is your direct connection to Daviscomms (S) Pte Ltd., the leading pager manufacturer in the world with many years experience in Engineering, Design, and Manufacturing of highly-reliable, premium-quality FLEX and POCSAG Alphanumeric and Numeric pagers. Daviscomms offers unparalleled quality, features and functions. We perform our own stringent quality testing as well as certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to meet all of their standards. All of our paging products meet FCC and IC Standards for use in the USA and Canada.

Our manufacturing facility, located in Malaysia, is a 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility. Customers, globally, choose Daviscomms for our QUALITY, RELIABILITY, ON-TIME DELIVERY, COMPETITIVE PRICING and our TOTAL COMMITMENT to providing the best value for their needs.

TMR w/BNC Telemetry	We offer full product support (ODM/OEM) for our worldwide customers, including a complete design center, research facilities, proto-typing, field services, contract manufacturing, commodity sourcing, and distribution.
In addition to both Numeric and Alphanumeric pagers, we have designed, engineered and manufactured 1-way Telemetry devices, paging receivers, 2-way paging (ReFLEX) telemetry devices, DECT phones/devices and PDA accessories.	Bravo 500 Side Mount Numeric

At Daviscomms, we are proud to provide our customers with end-to-end manufacturing solutions while delivering superior quality and support. Daviscomms is at the forefront of the industry with its commitment to leading-edge technology, cost-effective manufacturing and the highest degree of customer service.

Daviscomms delivers low cost, high volume manufacturing solutions to our customers. We help maximize time-to-market objectives while minimizing procurement, materials management, and manufacturing costs.

For information about our contract manufacturing services or our Bravo-branded line of numeric and alphanumeric pagers, please call Bob Popow, our Director of Operations for the Americas, 480-515-2344. (Scottsdale, Arizona) or visit our website www.daviscommsusa.com.

Programming Concepts, Inc. Since 1979

RTS Wireless ADVX System
Support and Enhancements

Programming Concepts, Inc. provides authorized RTS ADVX Wireless Gateway Support & Enhancements. Our RTS lab includes source code control, development tools, and test beds for all deployed RTS systems. Call now to sign-up for our first class support of your aging RTS system. More info ...

PCI (www.programmingconcepts.com) has been in business for 24 years providing custom application programming for medium to large businesses. PCI's primary business segments include web enabled application development, financial industry systems, telephony (IVR, CTI, and Wireless), Secure Enterprise Instant Messaging System, Microsoft Customer Relationship Management (MS-CRM) Applications, and a wide variety of commercial applications.

Contact Sales sales@programmingconcepts.com
or 631-563-3800 x220.

DX Radio Systems

DX Radio Systems, Inc. manufactures high quality, high specification type communications products. The following is a list of products that DX Radio Systems, Inc. manufactures or supplies as a single supplied product and can be included as part of a turnkey system:

Performance that is tough to find anywhere at a price you can afford.

CONTACT

DX Radio Systems, Inc. 10941 Pendleton Street Sun Valley, California 91352-1522 USA

Telephone: 818-252-6700 Fax: 818-252-6711 E-mail: Info@DXRadioSystems.com CLICK Web: www.dxradiosystems.com CLICK

Difficult Technical Problem Solved

I had an interesting problem come up recently. Actually the solution came up recently—the problem has been going on for a while. A paging company in Europe contacted me with a most unusual puzzle. Some of their paging messages were being lost. This is really a serious issue in paging. I reviewed their system configuration with them on the telephone and they sent me some diagnostic data by e-mail. I got in touch with another consultant and we both had ideas about the possible cause of the problem. Eventually I put them in touch with a factory support facility where we found the solution.

It turned out that the issue was with an application that was sending TNPP information into the C-Net system. The pages that were being missed always came in on a TNPP packet with a serial number of "Ø" (zero). According to the TNPP Spec. v. 3.8, only a link initialization packet can use serial number Ø. So the CIU would not encode any packets with a serial number of Ø. They have made a change to the TNPP application that was originating the TNPP packets and initial tests indicate they are no longer missing pages. It sure felt good to help them find a solution. I am passing this along just in case anyone else ever sees this same problem.

Other C-Net configuration tips:

• The C-NET Controller's CIU current FLASH version is 4.38
• Check the backplane of the two NCC Chassis. There should be an Active Bias Board on the first NCC (with the 3 CIU Card Sets) and the second NCC should have the DIP Terminations on J23 and J24. The Active Bias Board will have two C-LAN cables from J1 and J2 to J21 and J20 respectively.
• The sending TNPP system should have a little extra "inertia" just in case of a transmission problem such as noise on the data link. It is recommended to double the number (+ a little extra) of hops (devices the TNPP goes thru from its origination to the CIU). As an example, if there are three nodes that the Packets go thru, then the "inertia" should be about 09.

POCSAG Coding Problems

Although I was involved with the original POCSAG committee (in London, England) my participation was minimal and I was just there as a marketing representative of a paging terminal manufacturer. We didn't realize that a part of a specification that leaves coding choices open to software developers, is a recipe for trouble. There are two parts of the POCSAG code that have caused the paging industry grief over the years.

One is the preamble. The spec says:

The preamble is a pattern of reversals, 101010..., repeated for a period of at least 576 bits. . .

Since not all developers think alike, this part of the spec was taken by some to mean exactly 576 bits, while others thought that since it says "at least" a few more bits would make it better.

The other part concerns how to terminate (and complete the codeword) in alphanumeric text messages. The spec says:

Any unwanted part of the last codeword of the message is filled with appropriate non-printing characters such as "End of Message", "End of Text", Null, etc.

As you can see the spec says the "filler" can be Hex 03 ETX end of message, Hex 04 EOT end of text, or Hex 00 NUL null. I guess "etc." means any other non-printing character. The filler for numeric messages is simple, it must be a space.

This issue of the filler at the end of an alphanumeric message caused a lot of problems. Different manufacturers were using different non-printing codes. It wasn't supposed to make any difference, but certain pagers would not function on some systems, and until the industry agreed on which filler code to use, there was a lot of finger pointing going on and a lot of unhappy suppliers. Finally NEC and Motorola agreed to use the EOT Hex 04 character as the de facto standard.

Encoder manufacturers took the risk of not being able to make some pagers work if they used any of the other non-printing characters that the specification allows. Most of them eventually agreed to use the EOT character. It was my job to coordinate this for a while when I worked for Motorola. I am not sure if there was ever a formal change made to the specification. This is just something that got sorted out within the paging industry.

ProfitPlus by Netflow—the software that streamlines pager billing and system maintenance. ProfitPlus interfaces to your Zetron terminals allowing easy changes to pager settings and billable services.

Zetron Interface: Multiple Zetron Series 2000 terminals supported. Default pager settings. Terminal/phone number association. Future activation/deactivation dates. Easy group maintenance.

Automatic Billing Records: Point of Sale transaction automatically enters pager airtime into monthly billing cycle. Contract pricing. Recurring and one-time billing capabilities.

Tracking: Agent commissions. Phone number inventory/analysis. Product inventory transfer from stockroom to sales locations to customer. Capcode usage reports. Duplicate capcode detection.

• Automatic Past Due
• Prompts and Disconnects!
• Customer Alerts!
• Over 70 reports!

Contact Netflow, Inc at: 800-236-5861
or e-mail: sales@netflow-usa.com
Visit us on the web: www.netflow-usa.com

GL3000 Cards

• RAM Cards, CPU’s, LCC, UOE, QVSB’s, T1s, DIDs, SIO, Drives, Almost any card you need—priced right.
• TOWERS (NEW) Self supporting, Guyed, Monopoles, with all the hardware
• Antenna Line Hanging kits, and misc hardware.

Transmitters

• (12) Motorola Nucleus, 350W, VHF, Advanced Control
• (2) Glenayre QT5994, 45W, 900 MHz Link TX, w/ Hot Standby
• (1) Glenayre QT6994, 150W, 900 MHz Link TX.
• (3) Glenayre QT4201, 25W Midband Link TX.
• (15) Glenayre RL70XC, Midband Link RX.
• (10) Glenayre GLT5340, 125W UHF TX.
• (75) Motorola PURC 5000, UHF, 110W, ACB
• (12) Glenayre GLT85/8600, 250/500W, 900 MHz w/C2000
• (5) Micor PURC UHF, 250W Complete – (Make Offer)

Motorola PURC UHF RF Trays & UHF 110W PAs, tested and ready to ship. Motorola PURC Advanced Control Units, tested and ready to ship.

TOO MUCH TO LIST • CALL OR E-MAIL

Rick McMichael 888-429-4171 rmcm@preferredwireless.com CLICK

Mark Dawson 972-467-8188 markd@preferredwireless.com CLICK

TGA Technologies

PRISM PMG 4500e Radio Paging Control Terminal

Supports both current and future radio paging network needs. Offers both analog (2-tone, 5/6-tone, Quick-Call I and II) formats with voice and digital (Golay, POCSAG and FLEX™) paging formats. Can be tailored to meet special operating requirements of your organization.

Features redundant AC and DC power supplies, plug-in hard disk drives, standard MS Windows 2000 operating system, voice prompts, caller password screening, direct connection to your dispatch console and more. You can use common time source for logging. Supports PURC transmitter control or can be connected to existing transmitter control system.

Redundancy option with geographic separation is available to provide additional protection for critical message control points. Let us discuss your specific needs.

Other PMG models are available with more features and capacities. Also inquire about TGA’s Special Network Application Platform (SNAP)* featuring e-mail messaging inbound and outbound with Web Site Hosting, and don't forget:

TWO-WAY PAGING

CONTACT

TGA Technologies, Inc. 100 Pinnacle Way Suite 140 Norcross, Georgia 30071 USA

Tel: +1 770-441-2100 Fax: +1 770-449-7740 E-mail: sales@tga.com CLICK HERE Web: www.tga.com CLICK HERE

* TGA SNAP is a trademark of TGA Technologies, Inc.

Developers and Manufacturers of Paging and Mobile Data Equipment

Selective is a developer and manufacturer of intelligent paging receiver/decoders and mobile data equipment. The PDT2000 Paging Data Terminal is a large display pager designed for desktop or in-vehicle mounting and it, along with our range of other Paging Data Receivers provide a significant message processing capability. The PDT and PDR range have multiple uses and capabilities including:

• FLEX or POCSAG decoding
• TNPP input & output
• TAP input & output
• POCSAG output (encoder)
• Parallel printer output
• Serial inputs & outputs (up to 2)
• Relay outputs (1-256 or more)
• PC interfacing
• Interception
• Remote control
• Cross band repeating
• Paging infill
• LED Sign Control
• Remote Printing etc.

Our mobile data equipment includes a range of Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) which may be interfaced to a variety of wireless networks including trunked and conventional radio, paging, GPRS & CDMA cellular, Mobitex etc. Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and GPS solutions, Dispatch & Messaging software. Local area paging systems, paging interception and message reprocessing software, field force automation and mobile dispatch solutions. We export worldwide.

CONTACT
Postal Address:	Selective Communications Group Ltd. PO Box 8798 Symonds St. Auckland, New Zealand
Street Address:	3/2 Haultain St. Eden Tce Auckland, New Zealand
Web site: E-mail:	www.selective.co.nz CLICK info@selective.co.nz CLICK
Phone: Fax:	+64-9-3021142 +64-9-3021148

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for Selective. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS
SALCOM designs and manufactures a range of VHF and UHF FM radio transmitters and receivers to integrate with systems data equipment as well as for voice operation. The design philosophy has always been to be low cost and yet meet the most demanding compliance requirements. Salcom's synthesized UHF and VHF transmitters, receivers and transceivers are utilized in many areas of the telecommunications industry, often in conjunction with Salcom signalling products. To realize additional market segments for the RF products, specialized OEM products have been developed utilizing the standard core technology. Most of these products are utilized in third party telecommunications and telemetry systems.

PAGING EQUIPMENT
Salcom manufactures an extensive range of POCSAG paging products suited to a wide range of system applications such as remote switching, automatic machine monitoring, security and fire alarm systems and nurse calling systems.

EMERGENCY TRANSCEIVER
A transceiver has been developed to meet the demand for a low cost, simple to use, fully immersible, floatable emergency radio. It provides a means of communication from aircraft to personnel in distress where they can not be reached and no alternative communication method exists.

SEA AIR AND LAND COMMUNICATIONS LTD
120 St Asaph Street
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 3792298 • Fax: +64 3 3651580

I am an authorized Manufacturer Representative for SALCOM. Please contact me directly for any additional information. CLICK

Paging Training Course

Specially designed course for sales, marketing, and administration personnel. Engineers will only be admitted with a note signed by their mother, promising that they will just listen and not disrupt the class.

This is a one-day training course on paging that can be conducted at your place of business. Please take a look at the course outline to see if you think this might be beneficial in your employees: Paging training course outline.

Although it touches on several "technical" topics, it is definitely not a technical course. I used to teach the sales and marketing people at Motorola Paging and they appreciated an atmosphere where they could ask technical questions without being made to feel like a "dummy" and without getting a long convoluted overly-technical answer that left them more confused than before. A good learning environment is one that is "non-threatening."

Let me know if you would like to receive a quotation, or if you would like to have any additional information. CLICK

Signal Pro Test Equipment For Sale

This equipment is used for monitoring, optimizing, and capturing paging data which includes full messages, capcodes, times, frame information, and other technical data.

For more information click here.

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All these terms mean the same thing: "people and companies that want to help keep the newsletter publication going with weekly news about business trends and technology in paging and wireless data."

Examples of New Poster Ads

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Satellite Uplinking Service
Affordable and Reliable

• Own and operate our own satellite uplink
• Provide the same reliable services to several other paging carriers with room for more
• Lower than average industry costs
• Completely redundant hardware
• Access to knowledgeable technical staff 24/7

Glenayre Technical Support
Paging Terminals & Transmitters

• Paging terminal upgrades, relocations, troubleshooting, emergency repair & training
• Transmitter installation & maintenance
• Experienced industry technicians and engineers
• Satisfaction Guaranteed

Call or write today to learn more

Alan Carle, Dir of Engineering

888 854 2697 x272 or

acarle@ucom.com

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 is: "Business Development in Mobile Data"

Please call me so we can discuss your need or your idea. Or contact me by e-mail for additional information. CLICK

AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile USA Sign Airport Wi-Fi Roaming Agreement

Agreement Covers Wi-Fi at Denver International, Philadelphia International and San Francisco International Airports  

For Immediate Release: Thursday, February 05, 2004

BELLEVUE, WASH. and REDMOND, WASH. — Driving expanded Wi-Fi (802.11b) service coverage at the nation's airports, T-Mobile USA, Inc. and AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE) today announced a reciprocal Wi-Fi roaming agreement for Denver International (DIA), Philadelphia International (PHL) and San Francisco International (SFO) airports. Today's announcement marks the first roaming agreement between AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile for Wi-Fi service.

As a result of this roaming agreement, T-Mobile HotSpot subscribers can soon add DIA and PHL to the list of hotspot locations available to them to stay connected to the Internet, access their corporate networks, or check e-mail via a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or PDA. For AT&T Wireless Wi-Fi customers, the roaming agreement means they will be able to use their Wi-Fi device throughout the public areas of SFO. The companies' respective customers will be able to roam using their existing user ID and password.

"Whether using Wi-Fi in a local hotspot or our EDGE service throughout thousands of cities, AT&T Wireless customers can stay connected to their critical, corporate information while away from the office," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of business data solutions at AT&T Wireless. "The addition of SFO is an important component in our airport Wi-Fi strategy, and it will be the seventh major airport in which our customers will have access to a Wi-Fi network."

"We're pleased to offer our T-Mobile HotSpot subscribers the added value this roaming agreement brings," said Joe Sims vice president and general manager of T-Mobile HotSpot. "In addition to more than 4,000 convenient locations our subscribers can visit today, they will soon have even more airports where they can stay connected to important information during a layover or waiting for their flight."

The parties expect to complete integration efforts and enable roaming in mid-2004. For rates and technical support to connect to either the AT&T Wireless or the T-Mobile HotSpot Wi-Fi service, please visit their respective Web sites at www.attwireless.com/wifi and www.t-mobile.com/hotspot, respectively.

For further information, please contact:

Name: T-Mobile Media Relations
Company: T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Office: (425) 378-4002
E-mail: mediarelations@t-mobile.com

Name: Jeremy Pemble
Company: AT&T Wireless
Office: (425) 580-5997
E-mail: jeremy.pemble@attws.com

Source: AT&T Wireless News Release

BlackBerry Surpasses One Millionth Subscriber Milestone

Waterloo, ON - Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that its BlackBerry® wireless platform surpassed another major milestone with more than one million active subscribers. RIM continues to lead the market it pioneered with integrated wireless data solutions for mobile professionals; and this achievement tangibly illustrates the growing popularity and momentum of BlackBerry.

"This is an important threshold for BlackBerry and even a positive industry indicator since BlackBerry is now the first integrated wireless data platform to reach the one million subscriber mark," said Mike Lazaridis, President, Co-CEO and Founder of Research In Motion. "We look forward to building on this early success along with our carrier, developer and licensing partners around the world."

BlackBerry was originally introduced in 1999 and quickly became the wireless email standard for many enterprise and government organizations. Since that time, the BlackBerry platform has evolved to also meet the needs of small/medium businesses as well as individual mobile professionals. Today, with BlackBerry coverage on fifty networks in over thirty countries, BlackBerry supports a wide range of email, phone, SMS, organizer, intranet and Internet-based applications.

For individuals and smaller companies, BlackBerry Web Client™ allows users to access multiple corporate and/or personal email accounts from a single BlackBerry handheld. For larger enterprises with an IT department, BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ software tightly integrates with Microsoft® Exchange or IBM Lotus® Domino™ and works with existing enterprise systems to enable push-based, secure, wireless access to existing email and other corporate data. RIM also introduced the BlackBerry Connect™ licensing program last year to begin allowing other wireless device manufacturers to connect their handsets to BlackBerry Enterprise Server™ and BlackBerry Web Client™ services. BlackBerry Connect supports Palm OS, Symbian OS and Windows Mobile; and handset partners currently include HTC, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

About Research In Motion (RIM)

Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM's portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM's products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM's periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. The Company has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Source: RIM Press Release

The following words were found written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in the crypts of Westminster Abby:

When I was young and free, and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it too seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only family, those closest to me. But, alas they would have none of it.

And now, as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would have then been able to better my country, and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.

Personal growth is good.

With best regards,	Brad Dye WIRELESS DATA CONSULTANT
	Voice:
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	E–mail:	brad@braddye.com
	Web:	Consulting and Job search page MAY I HELP YOU?
	Anyone wanting to help support the Paging and Wireless Data Newsletter can now do so by clicking on the PayPal DONATE button to the left.

FLEX, ReFLEX, FLEXsuite, and InFLEXion, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
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