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FRIDAY - AUGUST 11, 2006 - ISSUE NO. 224

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Wireless Messaging Newsletter
  • VoIP
  • Wi-Fi
  • Paging
  • Wi-MAX
  • Telemetry
  • Location Services
  • Wireless Messaging
WIRELESS
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MESSAGING

EUROPEAN MOBILE MESSAGING ASSOCIATION

A Global Wireless Messaging Association

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Selling the Magic, Parking with paging two months on

Well it has been two months now since the worlds first on street parking system using paging as a payment display mechanism went live! Time to replace the numbers in the estimates column with a healthy dose of reality and relay to newsletter readers the story so far.

The core mission of ParkMagics' Parking service was (and is) to provide users with quite simply the most convenient and simple mechanism to pay for on street parking, without the need for coins, without the need to register and without the need to be a technical whiz kid. We used a blend of technologies, including paging, to deliver this level of simplicity and a service that takes the average parker less than 12 seconds to park, pay and go. 12 seconds! That's less than the time it takes to find and pay a meter, assuming, of course, you have the change. We believe that this simplicity, coupled with the ability to control their account online and pay as they go from a personal account would provide a compelling reason for users to adopt the service.

So we went out there and get 'em all!, every broke student, every shopping mom (or dad), everybody and anybody that ever fed a meter, right? Wrong! ParkMagic is not for everybody. The intent never was to capture every $2 a month customer, that's what meters are for! From the beginning ParkMagics' intent was to capture only those who spent in reasonable volume, the aircon repair guys, realtors, construction workers and others whose business revolves around the city centre metered areas. In reality, ParkMagic is thankfully not compelling for those who use a meter only once a month, however for those who use it twice or three times a day and find themselves running to feed meters or collecting citations it is compelling and thus far in Limerick city is proving to be just that.

This brings me to our key challenge. Effective marketing. ParkMagic has a very clear target customer base, the challenge is to deliver the message to that segment. Normally this is not a challenge given the wealth of skilled marketing staff and marketing material available, however, for ParkMagic the main barrier has been that this has never been done before, anywhere. The thing about working in an environment where there are no competitor services is you cannot learn from the mistakes of others, the upside is when you get it right, the market is yours...for a while, certainly long enough to dig in. The added benefit of patent protections further reinforces the market position. In the two months since launch, the ParkMagic marketing campaign has begun to deliver customers in line with plan and ParkMagic has begun to learn the reality (as opposed to projections:)) of how the market behaves and which marketing tools work and which do not. As a result we have refined our marketing toolkit, honing it to deliver the maximum with the minimum cash commitment. In very brief summary, for the ParkMagic service the most effective marketing tools are the cheap and direct ones, the more expensive channels such as shotgun marketing on TV and radio are effective at building awareness but ineffective in actually converting prospects to customers. However, as previously discussed, ParkMagic is new and unique to the life of a city and as such is newsworthy. By leveraging this fact, ParkMagic has to date received more 'free' radio, tv and newsprint editorial coverage that even our most optimistic budget could have hoped to cover. To see for yourself the range and quality of coverage see www.parkmagic.net and click on media centre.

While we are delighted to be on target with our first and, indeed, the worlds' first ParkMagic city, now is the time to capitalise not sit pretty and our second wave of marketing is about to begin. Phase 2 of our planned marketing campaign focuses on leveraging our existing customer base to deliver new customers by deploying 'recommend a friend' schemes, co-marketing promotions with local stores who offer discounts on their products while also picking up the parking tab for ParkMagic customers. Early tests of these schemes have proved very effective (and lucrative) in not only gaining customers, but rewarding existing customers and providing city businesses with a very focused and cost effective marketing tool (don't forget ParkMagic know where their customers are, when they are there and we can communicate directly with them!)

All in all, progress has been good I'm happy to report, we'll keep you posted on progress. For now we are busy documenting our experiences so that no ParkMagic partners have to climb the same learning curve to replicate the success. We're constantly on the lookout for new partners so, if you feel ParkMagic could fly in cities where you have coverage feel free to contact us to discuss.


Dear All,

Due to some unforeseen circumstances the EMMA board has decided to reschedule and relocate the EMMA conference that was planned for Prague in October.The conference will now take place in Budapest on 15 to 17 November 2006. Details will follow shortly. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Regards,

Derek Banner,
Chairman,
European Mobile Messaging Association


On October 19, 2005, in Helsinki, Finland, a new paging association was formed. Successor to WMA (Wireless Messaging Association UK) and EMMA (European Mobile Messaging Association), the new association retained EMMA as its name. Derek Banner, former chairman of WMA was elected chairman of the new EMMA.

You can contact Mr. Banner by calling him on +44 1895 473 551 or e-mailing him at: derek.banner@wirelessmessaging.org.  left arrow CLICK HERE

Please read the new EMMA whitepaper Radiopaging for Alerting First Responders and Informing the Public during Emergencies.


EUROPEAN MOBILE MESSAGING ASSOCIATION

FEATURED ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

Advertiser Index

AAPC—American Association of Paging Carriers Minilec Service, Inc.
Advanced RF Communications  Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
Advantra—INILEX   Northeast Paging
Aquis Communications, Inc.   NotePage Inc.
Ayrewave Corporation   Outr.net
CONTEL Costa Rica  ParkMagic
CVC Paging   Preferred Wireless
Daniels Electronics   Prism Paging
Daviscomms USA   Product Support Services
EMMA—European Mobile Messaging Association   Ron Mercer
Global Fax Network Services   Texas Association of Paging Services
GTES LLC  TH Communications
Hark Systems   UCOM Paging
Heartland Communications   Unication USA
HMCE, Inc.  USA Mobility, Systems Application Division
InfoRad, Inc.  WiPath Communications
Ira Wiesenfeld   Zetron Inc.

FEATURED ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

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CUSTOM APPLICATIONS

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Zetron Simulcast System

High-speed simulcast Paging with protocols such as POCSAG and FLEX™ requires microsecond accuracy to synchronize the transmission of digital Paging signals.

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Zetron's Simulcast System uses GPS timing information to ensure that the broadcasted transmissions between the nodes of the Simulcast System and associated transmitters are synchronized to very tight tolerances.

This system is ideal for public or private Paging system operators that use multiple transmitters and wish to create new Paging systems or to build out existing systems into new regions. For more information about Zetron's High Speed Simulcast Paging System, the Model 600 and Model 620, go to:

www.zetron.com/paging. left arrow CLICK HERE


Contact
Zetron, Inc.
P.O. Box 97004
Redmond, WA 98073-9704 USA
Tel: 425-820-6363
Fax: 425-820-7031
E-mail: zetron@zetron.com   left arrow CLICK HERE
Zetron Inc.


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WIRELESS MESSAGING NEWS

USA Mobility Reports Second Quarter Operating Results, Adopts Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 Per Share

Subscriber Trends and Operating Margin Continue to Improve

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — USA Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: USMO), a leading provider of wireless messaging services, today announced operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. Reported revenue for the second quarter was $127.2 million and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and accretion) totaled $37.6 million. Second quarter operating income was $18.7 million, while net income was $11.0 million, or $0.40 per share.

The Company also announced the adoption of a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share. The first regular dividend is expected to be paid late in fourth quarter 2006.

Key results in the second quarter included:

"The Company continued to make steady progress during the quarter toward our 2006 goals and objectives," said Vincent D. Kelly, president and chief executive officer. "The rate of net subscriber losses continued to improve as we redirected our sales and service focus on target market segments and customer retention initiatives. The announcement of a regular quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share reflects our confidence to continue to drive substantial cash flow for the foreseeable future. We expect to generate cash over the next five years in excess of this rate of recurring dividend and therefore may augment the regular dividend in future periods. We also launched a targeted marketing campaign to communicate USA Mobility's capabilities as a single source for wireless solutions, with particular emphasis on the superiority of our network for first responder organizations."

Thomas L. Schilling, chief financial officer, said: "Our EBITDA margin improved in the quarter as a result of aggressive cost reductions. Operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) were reduced by 6.9 percent compared to first quarter, outpacing the 5.7 percent decline in revenue." Schilling also provided an update to the Company's financial guidance for 2006, stating: "With the first half of 2006 completed we are pleased to revise our financial guidance: we now expect revenue to be between $495 million and $500 million, at the high end of our original guidance; we expect operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) to be in a range from $363 million to $368 million, below our original guidance range of $370 million to $380 million; and we now expect capital expense to be between $20 million to $22 million, slightly higher than our original guidance of $15 million to $20 million."

USA Mobility plans to host a conference call for investors at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 9, 2006. The dial-in number for the call is 888-802-2266 (toll-free) or 913-312-1270 (toll). The pass code for the call is 9672476 (followed by the # sign). A replay of the call will be available from 3:00 p.m. ET on August 9 until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 23. The replay number is 888-203-1112 (toll-free) or 719-457-0820 (toll). The pass code for the replay is 9672476 (followed by the # sign).

The conference call will be held in conjunction with a meeting for financial analysts and other investors in New York City. The analyst meeting will be held at the offices of Latham & Watkins LLP, 885 Third Avenue (53rd Street and Third Avenue), Suite 1200, immediately following the company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The Annual Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Financial analysts and others planning to attend the 11:00 a.m. analyst meeting should RSVP to Britni Torres at 703-718-6616 or Britni.Torres@usamobility.com. The analyst meeting will also be webcast and accessible via the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://www.usamobility.com.

About USA Mobility
USA Mobility, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a leading provider of paging products and other wireless services to the business, government, healthcare and emergency response sectors. USA Mobility offers traditional one-way and advanced two-way paging via its nationwide networks covering more than 90% of the U.S. population. In addition, the Company offers mobile voice and data services through Sprint Nextel and Cingular Wireless, including BlackBerry and GPS location applications. The Company's product offerings include wireless connectivity systems for medical, business, government and other campus environments. USA Mobility focuses on the business-to-business marketplace and supplies mobile connectivity solutions to over 80% of the Fortune 1000 companies. For further information visit http://www.usamobility.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Statements contained herein or in prior press releases which are not historical fact, such as statements regarding USA Mobility's expectations for future operating and financial performance, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause USA Mobility's actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expectations include, but are not limited to, declining demand for paging products and services, the ability to continue to reduce operating expenses, future capital needs, competitive pricing pressures, competition from both traditional paging services and other wireless communications services, government regulation, reliance upon third-party providers for certain equipment and services, as well as other risks described from time to time in periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although USA Mobility believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. USA Mobility disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contact: Bob Lougee
(703) 721-3080

Source: PR NewsWire left arrow Source includes financial tables.


Parents ease worries with GPS tracking

Date of Publication: August 11, 2006

By Steven Barrie-Anthony, Los Angeles Times

Fifteen-year-old Jordan Murphy loves to play hoops, so after school he and his brother Joshua, 13, jump on bikes and troll their neighborhood in Shawnee, Kan., for pickup games. Often they pedal through a hectic blind intersection to reach courts at the civic center, and then toss their bags on the ground and start dribbling. They don't hear their cellphone ring-ring-ringing, don't allay the fears of their single mother who's telling herself that all's fine, probably, but if only they would just answer the phone...

Then in April mom Jacqui Fahrnow bought Jordan and Joshua a cellphone from Sprint Nextel that doubles as a tracking beacon. Now if the kids haven't arrived at the court by 3:15 in the afternoon, Fahrnow's phone jingles and up pops a color map of their location, replete with street addresses. If they're at or near the courts or at Aunt Valerie's house or the grocery store, Fahrnow doesn't worry; if they're far afield, she knows where to find them. Peace of mind for just $9.99 a month.

"It's like having another set of eyes," says Fahrnow, who owns an office management business. "This will be even more useful when they get older and start driving. With four wheels under you, a lot of things can happen."

Sprint Family Locator, which debuted in April, is just one of many newly released cellular services that use global positioning satellites — originally developed for military use — to allow family members to keep tabs on each other via their phones. Disney Mobile, which opened for business earlier this month, includes child tracking among its basic features. Verizon Wireless' Chaperone service lets parents enclose up to 10 areas in virtual fencing, and to receive a text message if their children breach a boundary.

This technology isn't cutting-edge, exactly; similar location based services have been marketed with limited success over the last few years, notably Nextel's Mobile Locator designed for companies to track employees. But cellular carriers are in a tizzy to fulfill a Federal Communications Commission mandate that 911 operators be able to pin down phone locations — and it stands to reason that they recoup their investment by offering that same capability to subscribers. Carriers make beaucoup bucks, parents such as Fahrnow rest easier; everybody wins.

Everybody except the people being tracked, say teens and privacy advocates who peg this trend to an unhealthy desire for control. "What do we get out of this?" says Hunter Ligon, a 16-year-old from Oklahoma City who has discussed the technology with his mom but as of yet remains untracked. "We go to school every day, we work our butts off, and there are such strict limitations on our life already. We need to expand our boundaries, to become more independent, and yet now we have one more thing to pull us down."

Communication technology has become synonymous with youth, says Hunter, who carries a T-Mobile Sidekick II so that he can text and instant message and occasionally even call his friends. Kids these days rarely gallivant around the neighborhood until dinnertime, as their parents did; bogeymen on the evening news have driven them indoors, and community has in large part gone virtual. Which makes it particularly galling that technology would become a turncoat, an informer. "Most parents can barely turn on a computer," Hunter said. "They're always asking us for help."

As is the case with Kansas mom Leila Pellant, who couldn't figure out how to set up Sprint Family Locator — and asked her son Spencer, 14, to activate it for her. Spencer obliged, and thenceforth the service "keeps Spencer on point all the time, knowing that I can find out where he is," says Pellant, a real estate agent. "As far as privacy goes, my children don't deserve total privacy."

The argument that it's OK to track kids because it'll keep a few of them from being kidnapped or making mischief is specious reasoning, says 17-year-old Katt Hemman, from Hutchinson, Kan. It's the same argument that the Bush administration makes in defending warrantless wiretapping, she says. A marginal increase in safety isn't worth forfeiting our civil rights, and adults who balk at being spied on and then turn around and spy themselves are hypocrites.

Hers is a generation always looking queasily over its shoulder, says Katt, whose parents haven't (yet) signed up for cell tracking but do monitor her Internet activity. "I don't trust as many people as I want to," she said. "I have moments where I don't trust my own family because I feel as if they're reading everything I write on the Internet."

Of course, kids will fight back. One teen guesses that encasing his phone in aluminum foil might divert the signal; another crafty teen reveals his plan, should mom and dad ever start surveillance: 1) Tell parents he's going to a friend's house. 2) Go to friend's house. 3) Tie his cellphone to their dog, so it moves around. 4) Leave to live an unobserved existence.

But what if your kid is too lazy or obedient to fight back? Or if you track her without her knowledge — and catch her in a lie? How do you explain that you've been watching her through a satellite in the sky? (The Sprint Family Locator notifies kids via a text message when they've been located; other companies, such as Disney Mobile, do not.)

"It's an invasion of privacy in a huge way," says Charles Sophy, a psychiatrist and the medical director for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

Source: SouthCoastToday


Internet-Calling Disputes Create Static

If Vonage Loses Patent Suits, Fledgling Industry's Growth May Be Hampered by Fallout

By SHAWN YOUNG
August 10, 2006; Page B3

Vonage Holding Corp., a leader in the Internet telephone business, is facing a bevy of patent-infringement suits seeking billions of dollars in damages — actions that experts say could hamper the growth of the nascent Web-calling industry if Vonage loses.

Five patent holders including Verizon Communications Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp., both large rivals to Vonage, are suing the upstart company, claiming theft of their technology. Vonage declined to comment on the suits but has said in court filings that the Sprint and Verizon patents are invalid or don't apply to its services. In a court filing, Vonage said some of the patents cited by Sprint are so vague that they are unenforceable. A settlement is pending in one of the suits, which was brought by an individual inventor.

The incentive to file patent lawsuits has increased in the wake of a long-running brawl between the maker of the BlackBerry portable email device, Research in Motion Ltd., and patent-holder NTP Inc. The suit raised the possibility of a court-ordered shutdown of BlackBerry service in the U.S. before Research in Motion agreed to a $612.5 million settlement with NTP in May.

As happened in the BlackBerry case, novel technologies that show signs of growing into viable businesses can become magnets for lawsuits. With the flurry of patent disputes now surrounding Vonage, other Internet calling start-up businesses fear they could become lawsuit targets or be forced to pay licensing fees. That could have a chilling effect on the emerging Internet phone business, particularly among small upstarts not affiliated with deep-pocketed phone or cable companies.

"A barrage of suits could hurt the development of the industry because it diverts resources," said Gene Lee, a partner at Ropes & Gray LLP, which isn't involved in the Vonage suits, but the law firm has represented one of Vonage's financial backers.

Bryan Martin, chief executive of 8x8 Inc., an Internet calling company that owns numerous patents, predicts that "you will see a lot more" legal actions related to Internet phone service. "I almost view it as a sign that the industry is healthy and growing."

Vonage, which has 1.9 million phone lines in service, is by far the largest independent Internet calling rival to the telecommunications and cable giants. Vonage's service works using a regular telephone, and many customers use it to replace a conventional home phone line.

For Vonage, the patent suits have been only one source of anxiety. The company also is beset by shareholder suits after its initial public offering in May, which was a disaster for investors. The Holmdel, N.J., company priced its IPO at $17, and shares plunged on the New York Stock Exchange as soon as they began trading. Recently, the stock has been trading at less than $7. Some analysts and investors have questioned the company's business model and its ability to compete for long against established phone and cable companies.

Vonage spends heavily on marketing to win business — $239 for each new line in the second quarter. And its latest results, which included a loss of $74.1 million, did little to reassure investors concerned about the company's emphasis on growth rather than profit.

Still, Vonage's success in attracting nearly two million customers in its four years of offering service may have helped make it a target of suits from the industry giants, according to Raymond Moser of Moser IP Law Group, a Shrewsbury, N.J., firm that specializes in intellectual-property matters. "The telephone companies have gotten to the point where they're annoyed, and they're taking a pound of flesh," Mr. Moser said.

Officials at Verizon and Sprint Nextel said the companies are motivated by a straightforward desire to protect their intellectual property. Verizon has sued over patents related to features such as call forwarding as well as patents related to fraud detection and call routing. Sprint Nextel's suit deals with patents related to methods for transmitting calls between the Internet and conventional phone networks.

"We look at the suit as just protecting our creativity and innovation," said Sprint Nextel spokesman Matt Sullivan. Verizon's deputy general counsel John Thorne said, "There are several reasons for filing the suit including the fact that it is unfair for Vonage to take away customers from us using our own patented innovations." He said a Verizon victory wouldn't reduce competition in the highly competitive Internet calling field. Neither company has specified the amount it seeks from Vonage.

The Sprint suit was filed in Oct. 2005 in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The Verizon suit was filed in June 2006 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

In addition to contesting the suits, Vonage has taken an offensive role by buying three patents from Digital Packet Licensing Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas, company that had suits pending against Verizon and Sprint. According to a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Vonage paid $5.2 million for the patents, which relate to technology for compressing data, including voice data, so it is easier to maneuver. Vonage said in the filing that it also has other patent applications pending.

Mr. Moser said a patent suit that could shut down Vonage or any other Internet telephone company seems unlikely at this point. "There does not seem to be a show-stopper patent" in the field, Mr. Moser said. "There are all these nuance patents."

Still some analysts have expressed concern that the suits could hurt Vonage financially. One suit, brought in 2005 by Rates Technology Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeks more than $3.3 billion in damages and court costs. The suit alleges Vonage violates two patents that deal with maintaining power as signals choose routes along Internet and conventional phone networks.

Vonage also is being sued by Judah Klausner, an individual inventor who is seeking $180 million in royalties and damages. His suit claims Vonage infringed on patents he holds related to a popular feature of Internet phone service that enables users to get voice-mail messages in email form.

Another suit was filed last year by Barry W. Thomas in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina claiming Vonage infringed a patent related to use of a preprogrammed smart card in its equipment. Both sides said a settlement has been reached on terms that will remain confidential, and the necessary papers will soon be filed with the court.

Mr. Moser said it may take three to five years for the Internet calling industry to reach equilibrium on patents.

"In the end, it will all be a big royalty-fest," Mr. Moser said. "Everybody will sue everybody, and they'll all settle with royalty agreements."

Source: The Wall Street Journal


FEATURED ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

nighthawk logo

EMERGENCY AUTOMATION & NOTIFICATION

• FIREHOUSES SCHOOLS PUBLIC FACILITIESGOVERNMENT FACILITIES EMERGENCY ROOMS

WHAT DO FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES, WISPS, HAVE IN COMMON?

THEY ALL USE NIGHTHAWK.

Nighthawk Systems Inc. manufactures low cost and reliable remote control products for fire house alerting, volunteer alerting, activation of warning signs and sirens, and a number of applications for public safety.  The Company manufactures the EA1 and the FAS-8 which have been designed specifically for these applications.  Both products are paging based and will work with any public or private paging network.  They are available in all VHF, UHF, and 900 MHz paging frequencies.  The products can serve as the primary notification system or an excellent, low-cost backup to existing systems.

Public Emergency Notification & Volunteer Alerting

The EA1 is the solution for remotely activating public warning signage.  Examples include tornado sirens, flash flood warnings, fire danger, Amber Alert, icy roads, etc.  The EA1 can also send text messages to scrolling signs.  This can occur in conjunction with the activation of audible alarms and visual strobes.  This is ideal for public notification in buildings, schools, hotels, factories, etc. The group call feature allows for any number of signs or flashing lights to be activated at the same time over a wide geographic area.  In addition, the EA1 Emergency Alert is the perfect solution for low cost yet highly effective alerting of volunteer fire fighters in their home.  When activated the EA1 will emit an audible alarm and activate the power outlet on the units faceplate.  A common setup is to simply place the EA1 on a table and plug a lamp into the faceplate.  When paged from dispatch or any touch tone phone the EA1 will awaken the fire fighter to a lit room.  As an option the EA1 can be ordered with a serial cable, allowing for attachment of a serial printer.  When paged the alphanumeric message will be printed out at the same time the alarm sounds and the outlet is activated.  The EA1 is an ideal complement to alphanumeric belt pagers common to volunteers.

nighthawk sign

Firehouse Automation

The FAS-8 is designed for activating one or more relays in a firehouse and if desired, printing the alphanumeric message to a serial printer.  For this application the FAS-8 is set to activate upon receiving the proper paging cap code sent from 911 dispatch.  Up to eight different devices can be activated all with individual time functions.  The most common devices to turn on include the PA amplifier, audible wake up alarm, and house lights.  The most common device turned off is the stove.  The FAS-8 can accept up to 8 different cap codes and have separate relay and time functions per cap code.  This allows for different alerting to be accomplished at the same physical location depending upon which cap code is sent.  This can be very helpful when fire crews and medical crews are housed in the same building.

nighthawk

FAS8

Put the innovative technology of Nighthawk to work for you. For more information on any of our products or services, please contact us.

Nighthawk Systems, Inc.
10715 Gulfdale, Suite 200
San Antonio, TX 78216

Phone: 877-764-4484
Fax: 210-341-2011
E-mail: sales@nighthawksystems.com
Web: www.nighthawksystems.com

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ParkMagic
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Now customers can manage parking online at www.parkmagic.net

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Contact us: ParkMagic
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→ [t] +353-61-311422 → [f] +353-87-52546840

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Download Mr. Mercer's resumé. left arrow CLICK HERE

CALL CENTER

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Complete Technical Services For The
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Tel/Fax: 972-960-9336
Cell: 214-707-7711
7711 Scotia Dr.
Dallas, TX 75248-3112
E-mail: iwiesenfel@aol.com
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DANIELS™ ELECTRONICS LTD.

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SATELLITE CONTROL FOR PAGING SYSTEMS

$500.00 FLAT RATE

TAPS—Texas Association of Paging Services is looking for partners on 152.480 MHz. Our association currently uses Echostar, formerly Spacecom, for distribution of our data and a large percentage of our members use the satellite to key their TXs. We have a CommOneSystems Gateway at the uplink in Chicago with a back-up running 24/7. Our paging coverage area on 152.480 MHz currently encompasses Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Kansas. The TAPS paging coverage is available to members of our Network on 152.480 MHz for $.005 a transmitter (per capcode per month), broken down by state or regions of states and members receive a credit towards their bill for each transmitter which they provide to our coverage. Members are able to use the satellite for their own use If you are on 152.480 MHz or just need a satellite for keying your own TXs on your frequency we have the solution for you.

TAPS will provide the gateways in Chicago, with Internet backbone and bandwidth on our satellite channel for $ 500.00 (for your system) a month.

Contact Ted Gaetjen @ 1-800-460-7243 or tedasap@asapchoice.com left arrow CLICK TO E-MAIL


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Paging for Emergency Notification

From: Ron Mayes <ron@advcom.net>
Date: August 4, 2006 2:45:48 PM CDT
To: Brad Dye
Cc: Ira Wiesenfeld <Iwiesenfel@aol.com>, Ken Knapp <kknapp@4isctech.com>
Subject: from the newsletter

Hey Brad,

Have been reading your newsletter and enjoy all the information.   I'm curious, if everyone wants to sell the idea of utilizing paging for emergency notification to the Government - what are we waiting for? Let's provide the service NOW without having to be included in some government appropriations bill or ten year plan.

Why don't we (AAPC come to mind) coordinate with someone official or agency to have such emergency alerts sent to our respective paging system(s) via email for our specific area(s).   Such alerts would then be sent out to our current alpha numeric customers over our paging system.  Just like we currently do with local Weather Alerts.  As a little guy, it's easy for me to set up a designated group page number for alpha numeric to provide them a short text message of an Emergency Alert.   Numeric customers would be more difficult because they would have to be educated as to what a specific numeric message meant once received. I would see this as a "Value added Feature" and "customer service benefit" to offer our customers in making pagers more attractive vs. cell phones.

If the Weather Alert service (NOAA) is considered the official notification agency of impending threats (weather related) then I'm already set up.  I would estimate so are most all other paging carriers.  Perhaps if other threats are also to be sent (Terrorist, WAR, Space Invaders, Etc.) then the NOAA alert system would be a good point of sending out such notices as well.

If we provide the Emergency Alerts NOW (officially or unofficially), then we would begin to establish a precedence that many customers would expect to continue. Given that most of our customers are already government agencies, emergency response personnel, medical and business users, having such a feature would establish the dialog by example of how paging would serve the publics interest.  So, just what are we waiting for?

My best regards to everyone in the industry actively trying to get the point across.

Sincerely,

Ron Mayes
President
Advantage Communications & Paging
Wichita, KS
 


The Federal Role in Emergency Communications

From: "Huw Williams" <HuwW@sandiego.gov>
Date: August 4, 2006 4:48:49 PM CDT
To: brad@braddye.com
Subject: Re: from the newsletter

Brad,

The article  “Talking Through Disasters: The Federal Role in Emergency Communications” is well written and interesting.

I am an immigrant of 6 years, have no political allegiance, clueless on the subject of US politics and I don't want to go there (I am not insinuating the article was politically motivated but just that I am not). I don't want to get into a slinging match with anyone, I am writing this e-mail just to pass on some good information. I am also not going to go into a lot of detail as to what is going on here in San Diego but I will outline a couple of projects which are federally sponsored with the grants mentioned in this article and frankly are working well and delivering some great results.

The article was correct in saying that co-operation between agencies needs to be motivated at a federal level. Interop solutions though, need to come from all agencies at local level and from the ground level upwards. Early 2005 Homeland Security launched the ICTAP program (Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program) which was launched in 22 major US urban areas. This launch resulted in the establishment of the ICC project (Interoperable Communications Committee) with definitive goals set. ICC is made up of local City, County, State and Federal agencies. The support for this project from all agencies has been unbelievable, I believe we are seeing true interoperability developing here in America's Finest. A couple of the goals for ICC were firstly to create a TIC plan (Tactical Interoperable Communications) and then to demonstrate the effectiveness or non-effectiveness of the plan, to perform a TICP FSE (Full Scale Exercise). The TIC plan is complete and has turned into a living document with some great ideas coming out of the process of creating this plan. On July 25th we were supposed to have performed our FSE (unclassified multi-agency exercise) under the watchful eyes of DHS evaluators. With the evaluators approval the exercise was canceled and instead they evaluated the plan through a real multi-agency incident, the Horse Fire. This is a great achievement and I am honored to have been a part of the process, even if it was only at the technical working committee level.

A spin-off of the above process is the CCC project (Command Control Communications). This project was initiated by the City of San Diego's P.D. with federal grant funding and as a result of the collaboration experienced in the ICC project, the CCC project has become regional and involves agencies across the board. 3C's is a 150 MBit secure IP microwave network for public safety and will carry all types of sensitive public safety data, from streaming airborne video to criminal records, fire incident information, mug shots etc, etc, etc. All agencies approached for involvement so far, have only one question, “when can I have it ????”

The collaboration instilled locally has been increased 10 fold. If that is not a good thing, I don't what is!!! We are improving communications in more than one way, more of this is GOOD!

I love living in the US and more importantly in San Diego, the people here are really great! Love them!

Respectfully and with regards,

HUW WILLIAMS

Associate Communications Engineer
Information Technology & Communications
City of San Diego
1220 Caminito Centro MS23
San Diego, CA 92102-1801


BBL Reunion

From: "mary thompson" <bblindustries@hotmail.com>
Date: August 6, 2006 1:03:21 PM CDT
To: Brad Dye
Subject: Anyone interested in a BBL reunion?

It's been about 15 years since our last BBL Industries reunion and it's about time we all got together and caught up. Would anyone be interested in getting together on September 30 in the Lawrenceville area (possibly Collins Hill Park) for a reunion? Since (amazingly) most of us are still in touch with various co-workers, PLEASE forward this on. Anyone who receives this and is interested in getting together, please e-mail me back and let me know.

Mary Thompson
bblindustries@hotmail.com


UNTIL NEXT WEEK

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With best regards,
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73 DE K9IQY

Brad Dye
Wireless Messaging Consultant

P.O. Box 266
Fairfield, IL 62837 USA

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Skype: braddye  WIRELESS
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MESSAGING
Telephone/Fax: +1-618-842-3892 
E–mail: brad@braddye.com 
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THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” —Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” —Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)


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