| FRIDAY - JANUARY 12, 2007 - ISSUE NO. 244 |
Dear friends of Wireless Messaging, The world of wireless communications changed this week. It will never be the same again. Apple introduced the long-rumored iPhone. Do you think I am over-reacting? Check it out and make your own decision. After over fifty years in radio communications, I have never dreamed that such a device could be created. A long list of really cool features is not so hard to come up with. Putting them all in one small device and making it easy to use is what Apple has done.
There have been many attempts at making "smart phones" but, unfortunately, you have to be smarter than most people just to use them. The Apple iPhone is supposed to become available in June. Some people laughed at the Apple iPod when it first came out — and laughed at the idea of selling music on the Internet. I'll bet they aren't laughing anymore.
I am predicting that the iPhone will have the same impact on the cellphone industry that the iPod has had on the music and mp3-player industries.
So, is this the end of Paging? Not hardly. The iPhone will cost $500 to $600 with a two-year contract on Cingular's network. You know what a pager costs. By the way, Cingular is changing their name to AT&T next week. source My elderly aunt and uncle bought a Cadillac SRX. It is a beautiful machine, but they don't like it. Almost everything is controlled by onboard computers and there are so many little buttons with icons—some of them multifunction—if you push another button first—that it is just too confusing for them learn. At night, when she wants the headlights on bright, my aunt drives with one hand on the steering wheel and holds the turn signal lever pulled towards her with the other hand, because that's the only way she can get them to stay on bright. I showed her that all she has to do is push the lever forward—but that is not how her old car worked. What's my point? I believe that Apple has done what the other cellphone manufacturers couldn't do—they have made a converged device (a smart phone) with many features that is easy to use—like the Macintosh computer. We'll see. Now on to more news and views. |
A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter gets posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central 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 web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it. NOTE: This newsletter is best viewed at screen resolutions of 800x600 (good) or 1024x768 (better). Any current revision of web browser should work 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.) | |||||||||||
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Source: Apple 
Check it out and make your own decision.
| AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PAGING CARRIERS |
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Apple confident it will prevail in Cisco lawsuit January 11, 2007 9:31 pm ET It didn’t take Cisco long to slap Apple with a lawsuit over the use of the iPhone name, but Apple is not worried about the suit and believes it will win if taken to court. “We think Cisco’s trademark lawsuit is silly,” Natalie Kerris, Apple’s Director of music public relations, told Macworld. “There are already several companies using the name iPhone for VOIP products, and we believe that Cisco’s U.S. trademark registration is tenuous at best. The name iPhone is a registered trademark of Linksys, a division of Cisco. Apple and Cisco have reportedly been in negotiations for about two years over Apple’s desire to license the iPhone trademark, said Cisco spokesman John Noh. When Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone Tuesday at Expo, Cisco had not yet received a signed trademark licensing agreement from Apple, even though the two companies had been negotiating terms as recently as Monday night. “We are the first company to ever use the iPhone name for a cell phone, and if Cisco wants to challenge us on it we are very confident we will prevail,” said Kerris. |
Source: Macworld
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For information about our Contract Manufacturing services or our Pager or Telemetry line, please call Bob Popow at 480-515-2344, or Susan Lunday at 870-424-0872 or visit our website www.daviscommsusa.com. E-mail addresses are posted there! |
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Stupak wins fight for emergency communications gear By SooToday.com Staff Stupak: bill gives first responders tools to do their jobs WASHINGTON— On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make the nation safer by implementing many of the recommendations of the bi-partisan 9/11 commission on improving homeland security. The House passed the bill yesterday afternoon by a vote of 299 to 128. "The first responsibility of government is the safety of the American people," said Congressman Bart Stupak (Democrat-Michigan) who co-sponsored the bill. "Adopting the 9-11 Commission's proposals will make America safer and is long overdue," Stupak said. "Democrats pledged during the election to pass a bill to implement the 9-11 commission's recommendations and today I was pleased to vote for the measure," he said. Last year, members of the 9-11 commission issued a report card that gave Congress and the administration a number of poor grades on implementing the commission's recommendations, including five F's, twelve D's and two incompletes. The bill passed today includes a number of steps to substantially improve homeland security, including creating a standalone grant program to provide first responders with the type of equipment that allows them to communicate with one another during emergencies. The 9-11 commission gave the Republican congress and administration an 'F' for their support of first responders' communications interoperability, the ability of different local, state, and federal agencies to communicate during emergencies. "This lack of communications interoperability resulted in the deaths of at least 121 firefighters on September 11th," Stupak noted. "Four years later, those problems had still not been addressed when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast." "Unfortunately, first responders that answered the call experienced communications difficulties." Stupak, a former police officer, Michigan state police trooper, and the founder and co-chair of the House law enforcement caucus, has been a leading advocate for first responders in Congress. Previously, Stupak has authored legislation that would create a standalone grant program for first responders' communications needs. "Our first responders risk their lives daily to protect the rest of us, which is why I have long advocated stand alone funding for communications interoperability," Stupak noted. "The legislation passed by the House today will give America's police, firefighters and EMTs the tools they need to do their jobs and protect the rest of us." Beyond the provisions for first responder communications, the legislation includes a number of other important homeland security measures, such as phasing in a requirement of 100 percent inspection of the cargo carried on passenger aircraft over the next three years. The bill would quickly accelerate the installation of explosive detection systems for checked baggage at the nation's airports. Another provision in the bill would phase in a requirement of 100 percent scanning of U.S.-bound shipping containers over the next five years. The bill also includes provisions to better prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMD). For instance, the bill would strengthen the cooperative threat reduction ("Nunn-Lugar") program that focuses on securing loose nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union. The bill provides increased tools for the proliferation security initiative, through which the U.S. and participating countries interdict WMD and also establishes a U.S. Coordinator for the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism in the White House, who would serve as a presidential advisor on proliferation issues. "This legislation will help make our country more secure on many fronts," said Stupak. "While terrorism will always be a threat in the post 9-11 era, these steps will help make our country safer." |
Source: SooToday.com
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www.ProductSupportServices.com Call Or E-mail For More Information |
DHS ranks 75 regions on emergency communications interoperability The biggest problem isn't always outdated equipment January 05, 2007 (Computerworld) — A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) scorecard of emergency communications in 75 U.S. metropolitan areas found only six areas that received the highest ratings for interoperability. Six others scored at the lowest level. The highest ratings in a 179-page assessment released Wednesday went to the regions centered on Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Columbus, Ohio; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Laramie County, Wyo. The lowest scores went to regions centered on Chicago; Cleveland; Baton Rouge, La.; Mandan, N.D.; Yellowstone County, Mont.; and American Samoa. All 75 areas have policies in place for interoperability, the report said, noting that "cooperation among first responders in the field is strong." However, "formalized governance [leadership and planning] across regions has lagged." Of the areas checked, more than 60% are able to talk to each other in a crisis. But only 21% showed the "seamless use of equipment" needed to communicate with each other and with state and federal officials, the report said. The assessment looked at many factors for why firefighters, police and medical personnel in cities, counties and towns fail to provide top-notch interoperability, including their reliance on older technology. But DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said outdated technology is not the only impediment to progress. "Interoperability ... is more than just a matter of technology," he said in remarks posted on the DHS Web site. "People tend to think about it as 'We've just got to find the right radio or the right communications device and then everybody can talk to everybody else.' But in fact, true interoperability also involves matters of governance, policy making...[and] standard operating procedures." The most difficult element is reaching agreement on interoperability standards and protocols, Chertoff said, although cultural resistance has also played a role. "In some communities, not all, there are some long-standing cultural differences between different kinds of responders — police, fire and EMS — that have caused resistance to working together," he said. For example, officials in some regions differ about whether their communities should drop the short-hand 10-code for a more universal language, especially since the codes can vary from place to place, he said. Chertoff warned against comparing one region to another in the assessment, noting that Chicago had previously scored well in an assessment of interoperability in 2004. The reason the Chicago region as a whole rated in the lowest group in the latest ranking was because of the inclusion of all of Cook County, which includes 128 municipalities along with Chicago. "What the scorecard identified was these two entities, the city [of Chicago] and the county, needed to come together and work more effectively as a unified whole to building interoperability across the entire region," Chertoff said. Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications issued a statement shortly after the DHS evaluation was released, saying, "We strongly disagree with the results of this study, and feel the parameters of the study were inconsistent and limited." Chicago's own emergency communications have been lauded by DHS in the past, the agency noted, adding that the Chicago region was the largest urban area evaluated in the DHS scorecard. "Surprisingly, technology capabilities were not included in the DHS evaluation of interoperability," the statement added. If that had been done, "it would have found the City of Chicago is fully capable of communicating with radios from Cook County and any of our 128 other municipal jurisdictions in the county." Further, a new IP-bridging technology helps the region communicate with equipment from New York to Los Angeles "and any jurisdiction in between." "We have confidence in our ability to effectively and rapidly communicate with other municipalities in the Chicago region, as well as [with] our local, state and federal partners -- and we have proven this on multiple occasions." Some regions in the assessment had to provide interoperability only between a handful of communities, including Boston -- where nine jurisdictions were measured. The result was a high rating on all areas. By comparison, Kansas City, Mo., got the same high rating but was assessed on interoperability between eight counties and more than 100 cities. The regions were judged in three areas: operating procedures in place, use of communications systems and how effectively local governments coordinated in disaster preparations. For each of those three criteria, there were four possible ratings: early implementation, intermediate implementation, established implementation and advanced implementation. Chertoff talked about why Washington rated in the highest group, noting that all first responders in the National Capital Region from Virginia, Washington and Maryland can communicate with one another either directly or through use of bridging or gateway technology. In addition, the region has a backup system of 1,200 interoperable radios that are pre-positioned across the jurisdictions to be brought to a disaster scene within two hours. Also, various entities have established mutual aid agreements to allow first responders to operate on each other's radio channels. The region also uses a common data platform to allow various emergency operations centers to plug into the same system for greater situational awareness, Chertoff said. in his remarks, Chertoff reiterated his commitment to reach an advanced level of interoperability in all three rating categories by 2009. He did not discuss the costs involved, noting instead that the government has provided more than $2.9 billion to communities around the nation, since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when interoperability was identified as a great need. Some Democrats have criticized Republican attempts to bolster interoperability, and measures have been introduced in Congress to mandate higher spending for interoperable technology. |
Source: ComputerWorld
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Tower Space for Rent in North Central Texas
| Registration Number | Status | File Number | Owner Name | Latitude Longitude | Structure City/State | Overall Height Above Ground (AGL) | |
| 1 | 1050903 | Constructed | A0382848 | CSSI* | 32-16-09.0N 098-18-52.0W | Lingleville, TX map | 93.0 |
| 2 | 1050905 | Constructed | A0446642 | CSSI* | 32-49-04.8N 098-06-13.3W | Mineral Wells, TX map | 24.8 |
| 3 | 1056264 | Constructed | A0446643 | CSSI* | 32-58-33.0N 097-56-33.0W | Whitt, TX map | 92.4 |
| 4 | 1057649 | Constructed | A0382852 | CSSI* | 32-20-33.0N 097-44-57.0W | Glen Rose, TX map | 60.9 |
| 5 | 1057656 | Constructed | A0446641 | CSSI* | 32-18-08.0N 098-29-36.0W | Desmona, TX map | 83.2 |
| 6 | 1057659 | Constructed | A0382844 | CSSI* | 32-21-23.0N 099-26-01.0W | Baird, TX map | 89.3 |
| 7 | 1232880 | Constructed | A0317614 | CSSI* | 32-51-05.0N 098-06-31.8W | Mineral Wells, TX map | 134.0 |
| 8 | 1042515 | Constructed | A0050114 | CSSI* | 32-44-21.0N 097-48-00.0W | Weatherford, TX map map—close up | 112.8 |
* Communications Sales & Service Inc. d/b/a CSSI
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Bye, Cingular, in AT&T Rebranding By DIONNE SEARCEY AT&T Inc. will rebrand its Cingular Wireless service with the AT&T name starting Monday, a move aimed at bringing together the company's newly acquired entities and services under a single moniker. The rebranding comes just a few weeks after San Antonio-based AT&T completed its $85.8 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. and took over sole control of Cingular. Before, the two had owned Cingular together. The new name is a step back in time for Cingular, which bought the old AT&T Wireless in 2004 and eventually dropped the AT&T name altogether. AT&T executives hope a sole brand will signal to consumers that the company is a one-stop shop for myriad services including wireless, TV and land-line phone. But the coming months may be confusing for some Cingular customers who not long ago were absorbed from the old AT&T Wireless. "I think what we're going to see is initially there may be some concerns caused by, well, who are you?" said Scott Lerman, chief executive of Lucid Brands LLC, a New York brand-consulting firm. The service will be sold as "Wireless from AT&T." Initially, AT&T ads will combine Cingular's logo, an orange X-shaped character named Jack, with the round AT&T trademark. AT&T executives say using both logos will train consumers to recognize that Cingular is now AT&T. Over the coming months, AT&T will phase out the Cingular name altogether. This move might prove unpopular with young consumers who prefer it over AT&T's stodgy brand, according to branding and advertising experts. Cingular has cultivated an image of being a hip company, most recently with its partnership with Apple Inc. to offer the iPhone. But in the long term, Mr. Lerman said, AT&T will benefit from the efficiency of having its well-known name appear on all its services. AT&T executives wouldn't say how much the rebranding will cost as they change signs in roughly 2,000 stores as well as employee uniforms and billing letterhead. But executives estimate 20% of the expected operating-expense savings from the merger will come from advertising, because of the single AT&T brand. "AT&T is not trying to go back to being the old AT&T," said Karen Jennings, a senior executive vice president for AT&T. "We know we have to freshen up our brand attributes." AT&T has plans to push its wireless service to corporate customers and consumers while increasing advertising revenue. With its 58.7 million customers, Cingular is the biggest wireless company in the U.S. by subscribers. Placing the AT&T brand on wireless service could dredge up bad memories for some consumers who had numerous service problems with AT&T Wireless. Customer experiences have improved since Cingular took over that company, Ms. Jennings said. AT&T will begin airing TV ads merging the two company's logos as soon as Monday. One ad shows harvesters leaving trails of Cingular's trademark five bars in a field of grain, which morph into the AT&T circular logo. New employees have been added in wireless stores to tout other AT&T services such as broadband and TV. |
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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House passes bill to implement 9-11 commission recommendation
