Dear friends of Wireless Messaging and Paging,

It's a good lesson in marketing and technology development, but it's enough to make a grown man cry. RIM reinvented the "Pager" and fortunately (for them) never called it by that name. Instead of seeing their ideas go by the wayside because of cell phone competition, we are seeing them wholeheartedly adopted by the wireless telephone industry. It seems like every time I read the wireless news on the Internet, I find another cell phone manufacturer that has incorporated these successful RIM Blackberry-type functions into their latest product. Congratulations RIM. You have done well.

I admit to being guilty of saying that these "one-device-does-it-all" type products would not be successful. I remembered the monstrous wood cabinets in the early days of television that had a big TV, a record player, an AM/FM radio, and speakers all included in one big box. If one little part stopped working, you had to cart the whole thing off to a shop for repair, and it took two men and a boy to carry the thing. I even said, for a while, that the only combined-consumer products that ever became successful were the AM/FM/Clock-radios that most of us have by our beds. But this is different—as my friend and mentor Ron Mercer said to me the other day—this is a portable product for people on the go, and it really is more convenient to have multiple functions in one small device. A large article follows from The New York Times. Meanwhile, please pass the box of kleenex tissue.

Don't forget about the AAPC 2004 Fall Conference, "Answering the Challenges of Today & Tomorrow" to be held November 3-5 at the beautiful Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

1. AAPC Conference Brochure CLICK for pdf file
2. AAPC Vendor Prospectus CLICK for pdf file

Now on to the Wireless Messaging news and views—lots of good stuff this week.

Promoting Wireless Messaging, Telemetry, and Paging.

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 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 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.)

Your help is needed.

Help keep the newsletter going. Click on the PayPal button.

ITU Report Foresees Wire-free Future

06-Sep-04

In October 2003, the Asia-Pacific region passed the symbolic mark of one billion telecommunication users, mobile phones and fixed lines combined. The ITU is forecasting that before the end of this decade, another billion users of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are likely to be added to the region's networks, but the majority of them will be connected using various wireless technologies.

In the developed world, at least in urbanized areas, the ITU believes portable Internet technologies are likely to be complementary, rather than substitutive, for existing networks. The market is being driven by handset manufacturers keen to add ever more value to portable devices.

This week’s ITU TELECOM ASIA 2004 in Busan, Korea is showcasing Portable Internet technologies for short, medium and long range distances. Short-range technologies, such as Bluetooth, ZigBee and RFID allow low-power connectivity within a range of 30 metres. Medium-range technologies can communicate at least 150 metres from a hotspot (e.g. Wi-Fi, or IEEE 802.11b) and up to several kilometers, depending on environmental and regulatory factors. Finally, long-range technologies such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) and IMT-2000 (3G) have ranges that extend up to 50 kilometers from a base station, and provide near-nationwide coverage when offered as a networked service.

The ITU has just published a 140-page report on “The Portable Internet”, containing around 60 pages of statistical tables and charts with the latest available data for more than 200 economies worldwide. http://www.itu.int

Source: Converge!

Powell: Congress should make 800 MHz plan law

Sept. 08, 2004 4:00 PM EST

WASHINGTON—FCC Chairman Michael Powell called on Congress today to codify the agency’s recently adopted plan to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band. Such a move would mean that Nextel Communications Inc. would not have to approve the measure to swap spectrum so Nextel’s commercial system would not interfere with public-safety networks.

Powell suggested the language could say that notwithstanding any other provision of law, the FCC’s action is the law of the land. Powell made the comments while testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee on a hearing on public-safety interoperability.

The FCC in August presented a plan to solve the interference problem, swap some spectrum with Nextel and have Nextel pay to move other companies off the spectrum band Nextel would receive. Nextel has not yet said whether it will agree to the plan. Powell’s suggestion that Congress make the Consensus Plan law could be one way of getting around Nextel having to OK the plan.

Source: RCR Wireless News

The whole FCC presentation to Congress can be read here. (pdf file)

For BlackBerry Users, a New Way to Write

By DAVID POGUE

Published: September 9, 2004

In the annals of consumer electronics, certain devices have proven so compelling, they've created consumer cults. You know, Mac heads. Palm freaks. TiVoholics.

Among the white-collar crowd, though, one particular gizmo has earned a street nickname all its own: CrackBerry. That's a reference to the RIM BlackBerry, an addictive wireless palmtop that displays your e-mail in real time, as it arrives. The airports and commuter trains on both coasts are filled with BlackBerry fanatics, hunched over, eyes glazed, flailing at its microscopic alphabet keyboard with their thumbs callused in funny places.

But for all its popularity among executives and financial-industry types, the BlackBerry is practically unknown to everyone else. RIM hopes to change all that with the BlackBerry 7100t, which it unveiled yesterday. (The device, with phone service from T-Mobile, will go on sale next month.)

RIM believed that everyday consumers avoided the original BlackBerry for two reasons. First, the price was way too high: $500 for the BlackBerry, plus about $30 a month for Internet service on top of a voice plan. That one was easy to fix; the 7100t costs only $200, plus $60 a month for both unlimited Internet and 1,000 anytime phone minutes.

The second reason is that the BlackBerry's Thumbelina keyboard is nearly three inches wide. Recent BlackBerry models are also cellphones, and three inches is awfully wide for a phone. As you walk down the street, you feel as if you're talking into a frozen waffle.

The new 7100t is, therefore, much narrower (2.3 inches). In fact, it's nearly the same size and shape as a standard non-folding cellphone. But what about the keyboard? A full set of alphabet keys wouldn't fit; for proof, RIM's designers had to look no farther than the popular Treo 600 (the BlackBerry's obvious rival). The Treo has a full alphabet keyboard - but even though the phone itself is wider (2.4 inches), its keys are the size of hydrogen atoms.

A standard 10-key phone keypad was out of the question, too; trying to compose e-mail on number-dialing keys is like trying to mow Yankee Stadium with fingernail scissors. So once again, RIM devised something nobody had ever tried before: a keyboard with 20 keys.

The payoff is obvious; compared with standard cellphone keys, these are positively gargantuan. There are only five keys on each row, so even the beefy of thumb will have no trouble hitting the right keys. Of course, now the screaming question is: how do you produce 26 letters and all the numbers when you have only 20 keys?

RIM's solution was to double up. Most of the keys have two letters painted on them; for example, the top four keys are labeled QW, ER, TY and OP. You just hammer away at the keys you want, ignoring the gibberish that may appear at first. By the time you complete each word, the phone's software has consulted its database of 35,000 words and deduced your intentions. It's a crazy, way-out plan, but it actually works. For example, suppose you want to type the word pig. You'd tap the OP, UI and GH keys. Of course, those combinations could also trigger words like OUG, PUH and OIG - but pig is the probable choice, so that's what you get on the screen.

But what if you really want "pug," which requires the same three keys? (Maybe you raise dogs for a living.) In that case, you watch a second, highlighted display just below your insertion point. It shows all possible letter combinations, no matter how strange-looking, that could result from the keys you've pressed so far. If the software starts to go off track, you highlight the correct interpretation using the side-mounted thumb dial or the Next button. Fortunately, you'll rarely have to resort to this irritating interruption. In the opening paragraph of this column, for example, the BlackBerry's software choked only once (on "TiVoholics").

Three factors conspire to make the typing process tolerable and - once you're rolling along - even enjoyable. First, the BlackBerry learns new words (like a street address or "TiVoholic") once you've corrected them, and preferred interpretations (like pig vs. pug) after you've corrected the phone twice.

Second, the BlackBerry's software saves you time in myriad little ways. You can omit periods, apostrophes and capitalizing the first words of sentences. (Just hit the Space bar twice after a sentence to supply both the period and the initial capital.) The Space bar also supplies symbols in e-mail addresses; if you type "billg microsoft com" in an e-mail address box, you get billg@microsoft.com. And to produce an uppercase letter, you can just hold down the relevant key a half-second longer than usual.

Finally, all of this typing takes place on one of the brightest, highest-contrast color screens you've ever seen on a cellphone. You even have a choice of font and size for all the text displays, which, together with the unusually broad, brightly lit keys, makes this gadget especially friendly to the over-40 set. As on existing BlackBerry models, the screen isn't touch-sensitive; instead, you roll the thumb dial to select a menu or icon, and push inward to select it. Navigation is foolproof, thanks to the dedicated Back button on the side.

Corporate e-mail users really have it made; their BlackBerries, backed at the office by something called enterprise server software, are real-time mirrors of their PC in-boxes. Reply on the BlackBerry, find the reply in your Sent Mail box back at the office. Everyone else will have to settle for a system in which your e-mail (including AOL or Hotmail) is wirelessly auto-forwarded, every 15 minutes, to your phone (and to a special Web site, for your traveling convenience). When you return to your Mac or PC, you'll have no indication that you replied, composed, filed or deleted messages on your BlackBerry. On the other hand, you can open up Word, Excel and PDF files right on the phone.

When it comes to Web browsing and chatting, the 7100t promises to be much friendlier than its BlackBerry predecessors. AIM, Yahoo and I.R.C. instant-messaging programs are built right in, and RIM says that the Web browser will show all graphics and fonts, formatted to fit your screen. (These programs aren't yet complete, so you'll have to take RIM's word for it.) All the usual calling features are here: speed dialing, three-way calling, caller ID and so on. The address book and calendar sync by U.S.B. cable with a Windows PC (or, with the addition of a $30 add-on from pocketmac.net, with a Mac).

Remember that it's a T-Mobile phone, meaning that you may not have service outside of big cities. On the other hand, it's a four-band G.S.M. phone, meaning that it works just the same in 135 other countries (at higher per-minute rates). The new BlackBerry even has a Bluetooth transmitter, so that from the depths of your pocket, it can connect with a headset without a wire. (The Bluetooth feature doesn't work for file transfers, alas—only headset communication.) Battery life is only average: four hours of talk time, eight days of standby. As a pleasant consolation, you can recharge your BlackBerry from a laptop's U.S.B. connector when you're on the road.

If you love the idea of a thoughtfully designed phone that also does e-mail and instant messages, the BlackBerry 7100t is a terrific new candidate, but it sure doesn't make your buying decision any easier. One of its competitors is the Treo 600: available from all five big cellular carriers, has a built-in digital camera, contains superior calendar and address-book programs and runs thousands of add-on Palm programs - but it costs more than twice as much ($450), lacks Bluetooth and has those infinitesimal keys. Another rival is the T-Mobile Sidekick: built-in camera, full alphabet keyboard with comfortably spaced keys, reasonably priced ($250)—but it's much bulkier than its rivals and it lacks Bluetooth.

Of the three, the BlackBerry 7100t offers the lowest price, the smallest size and the biggest keys. In designing a 20-key typing pad, RIM thought way, way outside the box, gambling that people wouldn't mind spending half an hour or so learning to trust the word-guessing software. If that bet pays off, a whole new generation of noncorporate users may join the CrackBerry crowd.

Source: The New York Times

PCIA's Kitchen Announces Retirement

September 9, 2004

After more than a decade as head of PCIA, Jay Kitchen will be calling it quits in 2005. In announcing his retirement, Kitchen agreed to stay on one more year to ease the transition of a new president and CEO.

Kitchen, who decided to resign his post to pursue other opportunities, led PCIA since 1994 after the merger of PCIA and the National Association of Business and Educational Radio (NABER). He also served as vice president and later as president and CEO of NABER prior to the merger.

Kitchen joined the Wireless Infrastructure Association in 1994. "He was the voice of the PCS industry from its launch through the explosive growth years and provided a home for the tower and infrastructure industry from its start as the Site Owners and Managers Alliance to the present," said PCIA Chairman John Kelly of Kitchen. "The wireless industry is going to miss his leadership."

Source: Wireless Week

Asia leading way in global telecom development

Thursday, September 9, 2004

The Asia-Pacific region has progressed as the global trendsetter in telecommunication, but it must overcome the significant disparity in development between the countries, said business leaders and policymakers at the ITU Telecom Asia 2004 convention in Busan. "While it has taken more than 100 years for Asia to reach a billion users in mobile and fixed-line telephony, what's significant is that the next billion will be reached well before the end of the decade," said Yoshio Utsumi, secretary general of the International Telecommunications Union, during a discussion panel at the BEXCO center in the southern port city yesterday.

"There remain large differences between developed and developing countries, but progress toward bridging the digital divide is being made faster in Asia-Pacific than in any other region," he added. The region has emerged as the largest telecommunication market in the world, increasing its size more than five-fold over the past decade and passing the 1 billion mark in combined mobile and fixed-line users last year, while averaging an annual growth rate of 22 percent over the past decade.

In 2003, more than 172 million new users were added to Asian telecom networks last year, equivalent to five every second, with the number of mobile-phone users exceeding fixed-line users for the first time. China has already overtaken the United States as the world's largest market for mobile phones, in 2001, and fixed-line, in 2002.

The number of Internet users has also been increasing significantly in the region. Asia now accounts for around 43 percent of the world's broadband subscribers, with China expecting to overtake the U.S. as the nation with the most broadband users before the end of this year.

However, the disparity in telecommunications development is becoming increasingly evident in the region. In advanced nations such as Korea, Japan, Singapore and Australia, mobile-phone services are estimated to cover more than 95 percent of the population with the penetration rate reaching more than 60 percent. However, the penetration rate is below 40 percent in most other countries.

Source: The Korea Herald

The FCC has issued a public notice outlining its new debt collection program which commences October 1, 2004. The new program is keyed to the Federal Registration Number (FRN) issued to FCC licensees, the use of which is now mandatory on all filings which could result in a "debt" being owed to the FCC.

Source: Courtesy of the AAPC

The official FCC Public Notice can be downloaded here. (pdf)

Dear PTC Members:

The next PTC meeting will be held in conjunction with the AAPC meeting (November 3-5) with subcommittee meetings on the afternoon of the 2nd and the general meeting on the morning of the 3rd.  Attached is a flyer from the AAPC describing the AAPC meeting and location.  We still need a sponsor for the PTC meeting, please contact me if your company would be willing to sponsor the meeting.

I will send out an agenda at the end of September for the PTC meetings.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you,

Stephen M. Oshinsky
Director, Systems Engineering
(601) 460-3449

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E-mail:	info@minilec.com  CLICK HERE
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Building on its long success story in 1-way paging, Advantra International has become the expert in designing and manufacturing the most advanced and lowest cost ReFLEX™ radio modems for 2-way data-communication. The company also focuses on offering total telemetry solutions.

Advantra thanks its solid reputation to its world-renowned development team, state-of-the-art manufacturing, excellent customer service and its proven track-record.

THE PAGING ASSOCIATION NEEDS YOU TODAY !!

AAPC represents our interests in this fast changing industry:

• Narrowbanding—AAPC first flagged for the paging industry the FCC’s order for shared channels to go to 12.5 KHz. This would be disastrous for carriers in 150 and 400 MHz.
• Reverse Billing Numbers —AAPC initiated negotiations with the companies to reinstate LATA-wide numbers.
• FCC Fees—AAPC and others fought against increased fees and was successful in keeping them at the 2002 level.

WE NEED THE AAPC TO FIGHT FOR OUR INDUSTRY—JOIN TODAY !!

Click on the logo for a membership application.

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.

Complete Technical Services For The
Communications and Electronics Industries
Design • Installation • Maintenance • Training

Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.
Consulting Engineer
Registered Professional Engineer

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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. (6 month minimum run.)

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

ZETRON 2100 PAGING TERMINAL
I have a Zetron 2100 paging terminal complete. The original price was 25,000.00 it is for sale for 9,500.00 with full warranty. It is less than 5 years old. This package includes the following:

2000 subscriber with a 1000 subscriber expansion. Additional options that shipped with this terminal:

• Standard CPU/RAM
• System Hard Disk Card
• 3 Dual Telco Card
• 3 Dual Alpha Messaging Input Modem
• Radio Station Card PURC Control (non addressing)
• Voice Controller (4 channels)
• Extra (4) Voice Channels
• 6 Hour Pager Saver
• Memory Expansion Card

Thanks,
Jim Forsman
Jim@born2beep.com CLICK HERE-DEAL DIRECT

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

www.swissphone.com

CALL CENTER

Please click on the image above for more information.

hmce@bellsouth.net CLICK HERE

The Electronic Entities Group

www.EEonTheWeb.com

Remember that old word “Residuals”?

The EE Group is actively seeking Dealers with sales/ service/installation capabilities to promote the latest wireless AVL, SCADA and data products from Telegauge Systems, Inc. This innovative program requires NO inventory and NO billing by your facility; you just sell it and sign up the end user to collect the commissions.

Now the real reason to choose the EE Group and Telegauge over the host of others; we pay you permanent residual income every month on your airtime sales forever.

Airtime commissions range up to 12% per month based on prior sales and you buy all equipment direct from the factory at 2-tiered wholesale prices as well for great margins. 

Telegauge builds fully 2-way overt and covert (hidden) GPS based Automatic Vehicle Location, SCADA, remote management, telemetry and data systems routed via cellular and satellite that are delivered to the end user via the Internet or direct to the desktop. Applications are both ‘canned’ and custom depending upon the customers needs. We even have full dispatch systems including credit card swipe and billing if needed.

Finally, the prices on the product are guaranteed to be the LOWEST in the industry at under $600 retail for the equipment and from $6 to $30 on the monthly airtime with most customers in the $15 range. Note too that the price is the same for cellular OR satellite world wide coverage and no one else has this exclusive capability.

Telegauge provides the product, software, airtime, billing and final information from a single source and you can be a BIG part of it. You stock NOTHING, just collect the checks.

We are paid by the manufacturer to support YOU and unlike other factories; we never bid against you, restrict you or take your deal. We help you with demo equipment, brochures, information, sales assistance, web advertising and user name/passwords for the website so that you don’t even need to buy anything to start up fast.

Contact us for a no-obligation CD of all the presentation and training material, price spreadsheets and information at: EEGroup@EEonTheWeb.com or for fast action call for a link to the Dealers Only page: 310-534-4456 and mention that you found out about it via Brad Dye’s Newsletter. You have nothing to lose and some great residual income to gain. Call or e-mail NOW.

Wireless Telemetry

Data Communications	Level 1	A basic ReFLEX transceiver, sending and receiving serial RS-232 ASCII data.
Telemetry Remote Monitoring and Control	Level 2	An enhanced ReFLEX transceiver, monitoring alarms from a remote site, and sending commands to the remote site.
Asset or Fleet Tracking	Level 3	An enhanced ReFLEX transceiver, with the addition of a GPS module for the reporting of accurate locations to enable tracking.
Field Force Automation	Level 4	An enhanced ReFLEX transceiver, with the addition of a GPS module and a handheld computer terminal for full automation of field service activities all the way from the customer's location back to the service company's back office.
We can generally turn a specification into a prototype in two to four weeks. If you have an interesting application in mind, please give me a call so we can talk about it. ()

PAGING TECHNICIAN

Mark Hood mehood@cox.net

Telephone: 757-588-0537

Paging Field Engineer/Electronic technician in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.

Download resumé here. CLICK

AAPC Mission Statement

To represent paging carriers throughout the United States to ensure the success of our industry by:

• 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.

AAPC links:

• Newsroom
• Paging Technical Committee
• Printed Newsletter archive
• Dues
• Membership application
• E-mail (more information)

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.

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. 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 CLICK

Prism Message Gateway Systems
Modular and Configurable

Your Choice of Options

• Radio Paging Terminals
• Voicemail Systems
• Email and Network Text Messaging Systems
• Digital Trunk Switching Systems
• Digital Trunk and Voicemail Concentrators
• Remote Network Encoders
• TNPP Network Routers

Popular Choice for Domestic and International

• Commercial Paging Carriers
• Private Paging Systems
• Hospitals
• Public Safety
• Federal, State and Local Government
• Industrial Paging
• Energy Companies – Load Management

Logical Choice

• Replace Outdated, UNLICENSED Paging Terminals
• Eliminate Outrageously High Support Costs
• Add New Paging System with ALL THE FEATURES
• Provide Your Customers With Features They Want
• Designed and Supported by Industry Experts

Go ahead… be choosy… choose Prism Systems International

MAXPage
It's like a Motorola PeopleFinder™ on Steroids!

More information

Commtech Wireless introduces MAXPage, a desktop paging terminal packed with features.

Alpha, Numeric, Tone, & Voice
MAXPage, from Commtech Wireless, is the ideal replacement for the Motorola PeopleFinder™. With its advanced features, it can be used with Alphanumeric, Numeric, Tone only, Coaster pagers as well as 2-tone voice pagers in countless applications.

Serial Interface
With the inclusion of a serial interface, MAXPage can interface with Comp, TAP, Scope™, Waveware & Tekk systems as well as Commtech's Wireless Callpoints.

Telephone Interface
Anyone can be given easy access to the MAXPage system through its telephone interface. Once the system is connected to a telephone port, anyone can pick up a telephone, dial the MAXPage unit and use the keypad on their phone to send messages to pagers. The telephone can also be used to transmit voice messages to 2-tone voice pagers.

Alarm Inputs
A powerful feature of MAXPage is its onboard alarms. The four, dry contact closure, onboard alarm inputs will automatically dispatch messages to pagers or groups when activated. Alarms not cleared within a configured time frame can activate a repeat message (escalation) to either the same pager/group or to an alternative pager/group.

Features*

• 1000 Pager capacity
• Selectable 2 or 4 watt transmitter
• Reminder messages
• Dual mode function keys - one touch messaging
• 2-tone voice paging - from on-board mic or telephone
• 4 alarm inputs
• Voice prompted telephone paging
• QWERTY keyboard interface (PS2)
• Windows® interface for advanced features
• Serial interface for Comp/TAP/Scope™/Waveware/Tekk
• Coaster paging management system

*Some of the features listed are optional and are not supplied as standard

For more information, simply fill out the feedback form or contact us on the details below.

Download Mr. Mercer's resumé. CLICK HERE

The Hark SAFe is a hardware firewall with SPAM and virus blocking designed to protect email servers, corporate intranets, and unified messaging systems like the Hark Omega Messaging and IPT products. System includes a Linux based operating system with Web-based configuration (no keyboard and monitor needed!). Price is $995.00 including hardware!

Firewall protects your Internet enabled paging system:

• Provides a firewall to protect your paging system and internal network.
• Protect company workstations by giving them internal IP addresses.
• Can redirect external IP addresses and ports to specific internal computers.

SPAM blocker eliminates un-wanted email:

• Uses the latest techniques to identify and block SPAM
• Supports new techniques as they become available

Virus blocker:

• Prevents emails with viruses from being accepted.
• Automatically downloads virus signature updates each night.

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

SECOND TERM SUPPORTER

• 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 800 Alphanumeric

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, 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:

• Repeaters
• Repeater Systems
• Paging Transmitters
• Paging Systems
• LTR & MPT1327 Trunking Systems
• MPT1327 Trunking Repeaters
• SmarTrunk II Trunking Repeaters
• Complete Trunking Systems
• Airport Ground to Air Base Radios
• Airport Ground to Air Systems
• Rural Radiotelephone Link Systems
• Antenna Systems
• Combining Systems
• Complete Turnkey Systems
• Engineering & Installation of All Systems

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

	NEWS
	Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554	News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322
	This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS September 9, 2004	MEDIA CONTACT: Lauren Patrich at (202) 418-7944 E-mail: lauren.patrich@fcc.gov Israel Balderas at (202) 513-4531 E-mail: israel.balderas@fcc.gov
	FCC ADOPTS ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE OF COMPETITION IN THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY Washington, D.C.—The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its Ninth Annual Report to Congress on the state of competition in the commercial wireless—or Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS)—industry. Today, the Commission concluded that there is effective competition in the CMRS marketplace, based on the analysis of several measures of competition, including: the number of carriers competing in an area, the extent of service deployment, prices, technological improvements and product innovations, subscriber growth, usage patterns, churn, and investment. The Commission reviewed competitive market conditions using a framework that groups indicators of the status of competition into four categories: (1) market structure; (2) carrier conduct; (3) consumer behavior; and (4) market performance. Key findings include— With respect to market structure, the Commission found that 97 percent of the total U.S. population lives in a county with access to 3 or more different operators offering mobile telephone service, up from 95 percent in the previous year, and up from 88 percent in 2000, the first year for which these statistics were kept. The Commission found somewhat larger increases in the percentage of the U.S. population living in a county with access to 4 or more, 5 or more, 6 or more, and 7 or more different mobile telephone operators in the past year, indicating that competition is robust in terms of the current number of competitors per market, and also that spectrum availability and other key determinants of entry conditions are favorable to continued competitive entry at the local level. With respect to carrier conduct, the Commission found that competitive pressures continue to compel carriers to introduce innovative pricing plans and service offerings, and to match the pricing and service innovations introduced by rival carriers. Price rivalry, the Commission found, is evidenced by the continued expansion of pricing innovations such as free night and weekend minutes and free mobile-to-mobile calling among an individual carrier’s customers. Though most U.S. mobile telephony subscribers have postpaid service, meaning they pay their mobile phone bill after they have incurred charges, all the nationwide operators offer some version of a prepaid service, either directly to their retail customers or through third-party resellers. The Commission noted that the deployment of competing technological standards also continues to be an important dimension of non-price rivalry in the U.S. mobile telecommunications market. The carriers using TDMA/GSM as their second-generation digital technology continue deploying or planning to deploy the next-generation technologies on the GSM migration path, including General Packet Radio Services (“GPRS”), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (“EDGE”), and eventually Wideband CDMA (“WCDMA”). Similarly, many CDMA carriers have been upgrading their networks to CDMA2000 1xRTT, and some CDMA carriers have begun deploying a high-speed wireless data network using CDMA2000 1X EV-DO (evolution-data only, “EV-DO”), the next step in the CDMA migration path after 1xRTT. The Commission recognized that, in addition to investing in network deployment and upgrades, certain carriers have continued to pursue marketing strategies designed to differentiate their brands from rival offerings with regard to various aspects of network performance such as geographic coverage, voice quality, and wireless data speeds. With respect to consumer behavior, the Commission found that consumers contribute to pressure on carriers to compete on price and other terms and conditions of service by actively searching for information on competitive alternatives and freely switching providers in response to differences in the cost and quality of service. The Commission noted that average monthly churn rates remain at about 1.5 to 3.5 percent per month and that the advent of wireless local number portability in November 2003 has lowered consumer switching costs by enabling wireless subscribers to keep their phone numbers when changing wireless providers. With respect to market performance, the Commission concluded that competitive conditions in the CMRS marketplace are providing significant benefits to consumers by a number of performance indicators. In the 12 months ending December 2003, the United States mobile telephony sector increased subscribership from 141.8 million to 160.6 million, raising the nationwide penetration rate to approximately 54 percent of the population. Mobile subscribers continued to increase the amount of time they spend talking on their mobile phones, with average minutes of use per subscriber per month rising to more than 500 minutes by the end of 2003 from 427 minutes in 2002 and 255 minutes in 2000. The Commission noted that, though U.S. mobile subscribers still prefer to use their mobile phones to talk rather than to send text messages (“SMS”), the popularity of text messaging and other handset-based leisure and entertainment applications increased during 2003 as evidenced by, among other indicators, a steep rise in the volume of SMS traffic and an increase in the estimated percentage of U.S. mobile subscribers considered to be casual data users. Two different indicators of mobile pricing - revenue per minute and the cellular Consumer Price Index (“CPI”)—have continued to drop, while a third indicator based on the consumption patterns of hypothetical users showed a slight increase in 2003. The Commission found that, nevertheless, international comparisons indicate that mobile voice calls are still far less expensive on a per minute basis in the United States than in Western Europe. Action by the Commission on September 9, 2004 by Ninth Report (FCC 04-216). Chairman Powell, Commissioners Abernathy and Martin, and Adelstein with Commissioner Copps concurring. Separate statements issued by Chairman Powell and Commissioner Copps. Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Contacts: Heidi Kroll at (202) 418-2361 or e-mail: Heidi.Kroll@fcc.gov. Ben Freeman at (202) 418-0628 or e-mail: Ben.Freeman@fcc.gov. WT Docket No. 04-111 - FCC -

Source: FCC News (pdf)

Source: FCC Presentation (pdf)

TOWERS FOR SALE
New, never installed, complete with hardware.
Please call or e-mail with questions.

TOO MUCH TO LIST • CALL OR E-MAIL

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

SECOND TERM SUPPORTER

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