Dear friends of Wireless Messaging and Paging,

This week's newsletter started off with a whitepaper from Ron Mercer on encrypting one-way paging messages. In his paper he referred to Claude Shannon. I knew from previous discussions with Ron that as a young engineer from Bell Canada, assigned to Bell Labs in New York City, he used to have lunch with Shannon and was quite fond of him.

During the week, I invited several people to preview Ron's paper and to comment. Well, that started quite a lively debate about the topic as engineers began to discuss the fine points of Shannon's great contributions to digital information theory, and the pros and cons of encrypting paging messages. I decided to do a little background reading about Shannon and his work. This opened up some really fascinating information that I am going to share with you. Even if you are not a scientist or an engineer (I am neither) you might be interested to know that Claude Shannon had one of the greatest scientific minds of the modern age.

Working at Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs (1941–1972), Shannon visualized, before anyone else, that inexpensive high-speed digital data processing would be possible. He had this unorthodox concept that a string of off-and-on pulses (bits) could be understood to represent words, sounds and images. The invention of the integrated circuit (IC) chip had been possible because of his formulas. He calculated the upper limits of communication rates in telephone channels, then later in optical and wireless communications. The term “bits per second” is a legacy of Claude Shannon.

Robert Gallager, a colleague of his at MIT, says that Dr. Shannon deserves to be included among the 20th Century’s greatest minds, certainly a peer with Einstein. Shannon defined the information age now entering its fifth decade with a long future expected.

“He was one of the great men of our time,” said Neil Sloane, an AT&T fellow who co-edited Shannon's collected works. The whole digital revolution started with him. Without him, none of the things we know today would exist.”

Shannon’s theories are as relevant and accurate now as they were in 1948 when he published his landmark A Mathematical Theory of Communication. The importance of his percept is the foundation of the entire digital processing era. Engineers have widely embraced his defining valuations and built upon those as if blueprints had been presented to them.

His life’s work has been praised as “The Magna Carta of the information age.” Genetic engineering, neuroanatomy and computer science used Shannon’s formulas to solve new technical challenges with immediate and far-reaching successes. [source]

A copy of Shannon's famous paper, A Mathematical Theory of Communication, can be downloaded here.

Here are some links to biographies of Shannon that you may want to come back to and read later:

• Claude Elwood Shannon
• Claude Shannon
• Biography of Claude Elwood Shannon
• Claude Shannon
• Claude Shannon, Father of Information Theory
• A Personal Tribute to Claude Shannon
• Claude Shannon (obituary)
• MIT Professor Claude Shannon (obituary)

Now on to the Wireless Messaging news and views. Don't miss the READER'S COMMENTS section.

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.

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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

Wherify Wireless Closes $3 Million Round of Series C Funding

September 22, 2004 08:05 AM US Eastern Timezone

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sept. 22, 2004

Funds to Accelerate Market Launch of Wherify's Aided-GPS Locator Phone and International Market Development Initiatives 

Wherify Wireless, Inc., a leading developer of wireless location products and services based on the company's pioneering back-end location service platform, today announced it has closed an additional $3 million in Series C funding. This brings the total amount of Series C funds raised to $24 million and the total investment in Wherify to more than $40 million since the company's inception.

The investment will support Wherify's efforts to support the domestic and international market launch of the world's first, smallest and lightest, Aided-GPS Locator Phone designed for personal safety, communication and location identification of loved-ones, to include children or elderly relatives. Wherify, which recently entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with IQ Biometrix, Inc. (OTCBB:IQBM) of Fremont, Calif., also plans to use a portion of the newly acquired funds for aggressive business development activities and penetration of new GSM-centric markets in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

"Our ability to acquire additional funding demonstrates the confidence of our investors in our products, technology and overall strategic vision," said Timothy Neher, president and CEO of Wherify Wireless. "This round of funding will strengthen our ability to expedite the market launch of our breakthrough Aided-GPS Locator Phone and focus on the development of GSM markets around the globe. We are in a great market position because of our innovative location technology and rapid-time-to-market business model, which will enable carriers to quickly deploy our innovative technology and generate new revenue streams."

Consumer revenues from wireless location-based services are projected to hit $18.5 billion by 2006, according to Strategis Group, a 100-fold increase over 1999 revenues of $30 million. Analysis Research also indicates wireless location-based services global revenues will reach $18.5 billion by 2006, of which the consumer market accounts for 77 percent of these revenues.

"With the location-based services market growing rapidly, our innovative technologies continue to gain interest around the world," Neher added. "We look forward to maintaining our global leadership position in personal location technology and other products we're developing for vehicles, valuable assets, pets and government agencies worldwide. This can only be strengthened further by our forthcoming merger with IQ Biometrix."

Wherify's next-generation A-GPS products incorporate such features as a voice speakerphone, one-touch programmable buttons with direct dial to a family member, co-worker, or other important contact, and 911 in the event of an emergency. The voice speakerphone adds an extra layer of safety and security for the person using a Wherify A-GPS product and is planned as a standard feature in future Wherify personal location devices, which will come in a variety of form-factors, from handheld devices with unique designs to GPS Locators about the size of a matchbox.

Source: BusinessWire

Trouble in the GSM network

Cell-phone systems in Europe and Asia generally use the same digital network technology: GSM, for Global System for Mobile Communications. In the U.S., however, GSM is only one of four digital technologies in use. T-Mobile uses it exclusively, while AT&T Wireless and Cingular are building a GSM network alongside their older one, which uses TDMA technology. Both carriers plan to offer new data services only on GSM. But the change is creating problems for current AT&T and Cingular customers.

One problem is coverage. The two carriers’ GSM networks don’t appear to provide the same coverage that TDMA customers get. An AT&T spokesman told us that the two networks mostly coincide, but he concedes that “there could still be Bermuda triangles where you get coverage on one but not the other.” A look at AT&T’s map of coverage in North Carolina (see illustrations below) shows how different the two networks can be. With GSM, the home calling area is smaller and thus, the roaming area is larger.

Another problem, which we encountered in our testing, affects the Sony Ericsson T62u phone sold by Cingular. It uses a multinetwork technology that’s designed to provide the best possible coverage on Cingular’s TDMA and GSM networks. The T62u that we purchased for testing worked well for a while, then could no longer pick up a GSM signal. Even though we had the help of Cingular store clerks and customer-service personnel, exchanged the phone for a new sample, and obtained a new phone number, the T62u continued to work erratically.

What you can do. If you’re planning to switch to AT&T or Cingular, choose the phone carefully. Some phones, such as the recommended Siemens (12), also work on the more-extensive TDMA network, bettering the odds that you’ll get service (see table below). Four of the tested GSM-only phones have what’s known as 850/1900-MHz capability, a feature mentioned in stores and ads, that should offer better coverage nationwide as the GSM networks grow. Cingular offers other multinetwork phones, such as the T62u; if you choose one, take advantage of Cingular’s trial period so that you can exchange it if it doesn't meet your expectations.

If you’re a long-standing AT&T or Cingular customer using the TDMA network, sit tight. You can continue to use the phone you have for the foreseeable future.

North Carolina-TDMA	North Carolina-GSM

On the AT&T maps above, orange represents the home calling area—a much larger territory on the TDMA network than on the current GSM system. For AT&T’s or Cingular’s coverage in your area, check the carrier’s Web site.

Source: Consumer Reports

CAUTION DANGEROUS CURVE AHEAD!!!

I. Background
Recent months have witnessed considerable discussion regarding the need for encryption for one-way paging service. While end user desire for an encryption option for one-way pagers is understandable, and while our industry clearly needs to address the needs and desires of the user community, we believe that more in-depth study of a number of concerns is called for:

In general, at least two levels of encryption are conceivable, each offering a different degree of security against surreptitious message interception:

A. Protection against casual or incidental message interception wherein interceptors are not motivated to commit major effort to decipher encrypted messages.

B. Protection against more clandestine message interception wherein the interceptors are highly motivated and prepared to go to great lengths in order to decipher encrypted messages.

An example of protection against casual message interception would be that required in the hospital/medical services community to act in accordance with HIPAA requirements. In such applications, the ability to “crack” any encryption techniques and algorithms used is believed to be negligible.

In more sensitive categories of encryption, such as Law Enforcement, Homeland Security or the Financial Community, which require protection against premeditated interception of messages, however, concerns do exist regarding the ability of highly motivated individuals to “crack” the encryption algorithms and intercept messages.

II. Concerns Regarding Encryption In High Security One-Way Paging Applications
The one-way paging environment is believed to be vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals who could “crack” virtually any one-way encryption algorithm with unacceptable ease. While the industry needs to satisfy user demand for encryption capabilities, concern exists that failure to address the potential vulnerability created by the constraints of the one-way environment could lead to overselling of the product and, ultimately, to user dissatisfaction as well as potential liabilities.

This concern is based on several factors:

A. As demonstrated in Shannon’s initial work on encryption, for any encrypted message to be fully secure (“uncrackable”):

1. The encryption key must be as long as the message,
2. Any given encryption key can only be used one time.

B. Generally, pagers include an address which can be accessed via public facilities ( Public Switched Telephone Network, Internet, Email etc.) and most users, even those desiring encryption, will certainly wish to retain this general accessibility.

C. In contrast with two-way paging and other two-way applications that permit frequent changes to encryption keys using OTA techniques, the inability to confirm OTA delivery renders OTA techniques generally undesirable for changing encryption keys in one-way paging. Moreover, if OTA is used in the one-way environment, the incidence of missed messages will certainly increase.

D. The combination of the above items lies at the root of the concern regarding the ability to “crack” any encryption technique used in one-way paging.

An individual intent on intercepting messages to a one-way pager need only:

1. Obtain a “clone” pager or its equivalent (the ready existence of which gives rise to the need for encryption).
2. Send a “dummy” message to the pager’s address via any of the public access techniques.
3. When the “dummy” message is received encrypted it will appear illegible, but knowing the content of the original “dummy” message makes the challenge of “cracking” the encryption key relatively simple. This potential can be even more severe if the “dummy” message is initiated in off hours when the legitimate pager user is inactive (e.g. 3AM) and thus is not even aware of the receipt of the dummy message.
4. Once the encryption key is “cracked”, because it is impractical to change frequently, all subsequent messages can be decrypted and intercepted.

III. Possible Remedies
Several partial remedies to the risk outlined above come to mind:

A. Multiple encryption keys could be included in each pager with the system sequencing from one key to the next for each message transmitted. Some question exists as to of cost and the practical upper limit of stored keys and, more urgently, if one message is missed due to radio coverage anomalies, the pager would fall out of sync with the system and all subsequent messages would be missed.

B. Over The Air (OTA) techniques could be used to change the encryption keys from time to time but the possibility that a pager might miss the OTA transmission due to radio coverage anomalies would also risk getting the pager out of sync causing all subsequent messages to be missed.

C. Users could be advised to be on the alert for the receipt of “dummy” messages and instructed to bring the pager to a service center to have the encryption key changed immediately upon such receipt. This solution places an undue burden on the user and, as mentioned above, the technique becomes less effective if “dummy” messages are generated in off hours (e.g. 3 AM).

D. The system could be configured to recognize the source of each incoming message and encrypt only those messages entering from specific sources. All other messages, which would include the “dummy” messages of concern, would be transmitted unencrypted. This option would require that pagers be capable of receiving and decoding both encrypted messages using a specific encryption key, as well as unencrypted messages.

The message source, upon which the encrypt yes/no decision is based, could be derived from the “from address” if email access is used, from ANI facilities if PSTN access is used, from the “from address” of TNPP if access is gained via links from other systems or a special Pass Code (encrypt request) entered by message initiators if none of the more automatic techniques can be implemented.

Of the above solutions, solution (D.) appears to be the most attractive. Also, of course, other solutions may be developed and readers are encouraged to submit comments and alternative suggestions. The user demand for encryption capability in one-way paging, together with the apparent risks inherent in the status quo, make further discussion worthwhile.

Respectfully,

Ron Mercer
Global Fax Network Services Inc.
217 First Street
East Northport, NY 11731
Tel: 631-266-2604
Cell Phone: 631-786-9359

To: Ron Mercer; Brad Dye
From: Alan Carle
Subject: RE: Preview of Friday's Newsletter with Ron Mercer's article on encryption

Brad—thanks for the advance look.

RON—I agree with your proposed solution (filtering the incoming messages and encrypt only from authenticated source addresses) However, I am not convinced that the industry is in need of a 1-way encryption solution at this time. I may be reading this wrong, and please, tell me if I am. But, I think the percentage of 1way subscribers needing high security (non-HIPPA) is very low. These people are not where we focus our energy and probably will never be die hard 1-way users. Also, given that any changes to the pagers or systems could be costly, why would 1 way carriers want to pursue this?

If the HIPPA requirement for encryption is gone (or unlikely) is there another need that I'm missing? Believe me, I'm all for heading off a problem of this (potential) magnitude at the pass. But, I think you'll (we'll) have a major battle convincing the business owners there is a need.

—Alan

Thanks for responding Alan. In general I agree that most users of 1-Way devices today do not want to pay extra for encryption. However, there is increasing activity from the Homeland Security community and they appear to want to include 1-Way Paging as a part of the total communications package available to "first responders." Now, if that goes forward, they will probably want an encryption capability! And if they do (and I hope they will) we need to have workable solutions. I'm not suggesting that a commitment be made to actually manufacture 1-Way encryption devices, not yet anyway. But several manufacturers have already committed to at least the design phase (Multitone, Swissphone as well as the ____ organization Brad has been working with). If the requirement does develop, we should not get caught with products which fail to meet real requirements. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure etc.

—Ron

I understand.  It probably still needs discussing. Brad—You can print anything I wrote on this topic today if you still want.

—Alan

Brad,

Another concern, and in fact the reason we've focused here on the HuneTec H200S encrypted 2-way pager, is that keying the pager is a stateful transaction that affects all transactions after it. If the transaction to key the pager doesn't complete properly, then the next message received (encrypted with the new key) won't be displayed. With a 2-way pager, the transaction to set the key is acknowledged in two steps. This is something we could never figure out how to do with 1-way pager.

Thanks,

—James Dabbs

Also,

A. As demonstrated in Shannon’s initial work on encryption, for any encrypted message to be fully secure (“uncrackable”):

1. The encryption key must be as long as the message,
2. Any given encryption key can only be used one time.

From a purely theoretical standpoint, this may be true.  However, just like we can send 54KBit down a phone line with a 4KHz bandwidth, there are practical ways to overcome this.  In practice, the 128-bits used in AES are considered unbreakable with any technology available in the publicly known state of the art, even if gross negligence is used to give up maximum exposure to plain text attacks.

I think there are ways of getting a 1-way pager to be (practically) completely secure, but the keying operations need to be done "out of band" using a contact programmer or the like, as per my earlier message.

—James

Hi Brad,

I have a comment for Ron. . .

Ron,

You state that if a hacker has a copy of the original message and the encrypted version, then the key can be cracked relatively easily. I would think that the ease of doing this is dependant on the algorithm used and the key size employed. Do you have any information to show how easy this is with different algorithms and key sizes?

I guess I'm saying that with AES-128, cracking the key will not be as easy as you imply.

—John Deboer

Hi Brad:

I want to commend Ron for his well written treatise on encrypted one-way paging. I especially agree with his definition of those whom you are trying to keep from intercepting your messages.

In the early days of mobile telephony when asked about encrypting the channel my first question was "who are you trying to protect against?" Let's face it, if the "enemy" was the US or other technically advanced government, there was no protection. If you were trying to avoid the casual eavesdropper, then virtually anything would work. I think the same rule applies here.

No serious user is going to send highly sensitive data on a regular basis to a one-way pager. So let's forget the more robust solution for this type of user. However, in reference to the earlier comments from Alan Carle, "If the HIPPA requirement for encryption is gone (or unlikely) is there another need that I'm missing? Believe me, I'm all for heading off a problem of this (potential) magnitude at the pass. But, I think you'll (we'll) have a major battle convincing the business owners there is a need." . . . "Also, given that any changes to the pagers or systems could be costly, why would 1 way carriers want to pursue this?"

The fact is, HIPAA does require those who handle information that is patient specific to protect that information from dissemination to unauthorized persons. But I agree with Alan, this is not an issue with which the carriers need be concerned. If subscribers want an encrypted pager, let them purchase it themselves and the encrypting device to go along with it. Alan is right, this is not a business that most one-way carriers would want to pursue.

In fact, the carriers are best advised to stay out of the encryption activity altogether. To actively participate by offering to encrypt outgoing plain text alpha messages puts them at risk of running afoul of the CALEA regulations. Better to let the subscriber deliver an already encrypted message and let the carrier simply pass it as just another text message. This way, the carrier is a transparent conduit for data that is either encrypted or not, based on the needs of each subscriber.

The use of a fixed key for the decryption of the messages in the pager seems to perfectly acceptable and is a demonstration that the user tried to apply reasonable diligence in protecting the sensitive patient information. Yes, the geeks among us may find it an interesting challenge to "crack" the encryption system, but then they are placing themselves in violation of several statutes that deal with interception of radio messages and specifically the interception of alphanumeric paging messages, most of which are federal in nature. Is it worth the risk? Maybe, but I think not.

For the rest of the sensitive user communities like financial, law enforcement and others, one-way paging is probably not their device of choice. Most have moved to some form of two-way messaging device to be able to have a fully interactive encryption key mechanism and also the ability to respond to time-sensitive information. It is a more expensive solution than a one-way device and so it should be. The level of protection is orders of magnitude more robust, but these users have a special need and are willing to pay a special price.

I say, let the marketplace dictate whether the use of fixed key encryption is a winner in the one-way arena. I believe it will fit many of the non-critical applications where it is important to demonstrate that you tried to keep the honest people honest.

—Barry Kanne
   President
   TGA Technologies, Inc.
   (770) 441-2100 ext.114

From: Allan Angus
Subject: Re: Pager Encryption
Date: September 22, 2004 10:47:15 PM EDT
To: Brad Dye

With all due respect to Ron, with whom I've happily shared more than one bottle of good (and less good) wine, I think he misses one other option for secure communications in a one-way world. This model is not that different than what is used to cover e-mail of the sort I'm sending to you.

To make matters simpler, this model is already standardized by the PTC for use and would be capable of implementation this afternoon if anybody wanted to follow through.

It involves the use of public key cryptography together with symmetric key cryptography. In this model, the one-way pager would be assigned a public/private key pair. The public key for the device could be placed on a key server commonly available to the public, or made known only to those individuals or organizations with a need to send the pager secure communications.

To encrypt a message to the device, the sender would randomly choose a one-time message key and use that key to encrypt the message using AES in counter mode (PTC FLEXsuite ADSI algorithm 0x61). The sender would then encrypt this message key with the pager's public key. This entire structure would then be sent to the device as a binary UAR message with ADSI carrying the encrypted session/message key and the AES encrypted message.

To decrypt the message, the recipient pager would first decrypt the session key using its private key. It would then take the session key and use it to decrypt the main body of the message using AES in counter mode.

This process is identical to that used in PGP, X.509, and similar serious encryption methods.

It also has the singular advantage that the encryption process would not be captive to any particular encryption service; that is, any sender with knowledge of the recipient's public key could successfully communicate with that recipient in a secure manner. Naturally, if the recipient is a one-way pager, acknowledgments and responses are impossible directly; but that is not the point, I suppose.

Truly serious users of secure communication would appreciate this model as about as good as it gets without going to the notion of a one-time pad; that is, pre-loading the sender and the recipient with long strings of truly random bits known only to them. Unlike the one-time pad, any sender can transmit messages securely to any recipient. This is truly the magic of public key cryptography.

Since each message has its own unique session key, and since the entropy of a truly random session key of 128,192. or 256 bits together with the private key of 200+ bits can be of the order of the information entropy of a much longer text message (as demonstrated by the ability to compress such text with utilities like Zipit), so Ron's references to Shannon can actually be very nearly met.

And as I say, these standards are already written and largely based on the work of other accredited standards development organizations, including NIST and ANSI X.9.

—Allan Angus

Brad:

Tell me what "Finding more potential users" [of pager encryption] means and how we can help.

If you mean other industries with OTA security concerns, how about government, military, law enforcement, public safety/public health, financial, and thousands of security-conscious major corporate entities with a need to do secure messaging?

Even political parties who need to keep their communications secure! How many recall Newt Gingrich's infamous intercepted cell phone call, recorded and played on national radio and TV, or the mad attempts to contact Al Gore via Blackberry and pagers as his motorcade made its way to his concession speech venue on election night in 2000 with the news that the Florida vote tally had narrowed considerably and he should not concede? The race for control of the executive branch constitutes high stakes indeed! As it becomes more widely understood how easily such critical communications can be monitored and/or even spoofed (man in the middle attack) who will trust such "consumer-oriented" networks for critical communications?

Data security has already become an enormous concern and wireless data security will be subject to even more intense scrutiny - I believe this will increasingly be reflected in both private sector (corporate) and public policy in the coming years. US law is already getting much tighter on data security issues in the healthcare and finance sectors. Transparent and reasonably user-friendly security will eventually become a de facto requirement for wireless network usage, IMO. Not for wireless teen chat, but certainly for wireless business and government communications.

My fear is what seems to me the best and most robust networks for wireless text messaging (ReFLEX, FLEX, POCSAG, etc.) will fall behind the better capitalized wireless telephone networks on security. Paging networks may have lost battles on public perception and on subscriber devices, but most paging networks still hold the trump card on coverage, penetration, and overall network reliability. Those are core selection criteria for the well informed among wireless text messaging's core market segments. On these criteria, wireless telephone networks will not match paging networks for years to come or perhaps ever. What a shame it would be to let paging networks fade into obscurity because paging carriers failed to recognize clear business and public policy trends and timely deploy network security. Giving away a winning hand makes no sense to me.

From my perspective, what a shame if the TAS/call center community is left with only "lowest common denominator" wireless text messaging over wireless phone networks. Failure in the paging community hurts the TAS industry. I will do anything I can that is ethically and morally right to advance our common interests.

I truly appreciate your good and benevolent work on this issue.

[second message]

The thing I don't understand is why the AAPC carriers have not done a market survey of their healthcare customer base.

Ron Mercer's advice is sound when he says there should be no more Field of Dreams projects (If you build it they will come. . .) but the only way for paging carriers and equipment vendors to know what the demand will be for secured wireless is:

1) to study what their competition is doing (wireless telcos are all over this) and,

2) talk to their healthcare and other subscribers (again, wireless telcos do this relentlessly).

When carriers understand that security is THE key to remaining relevant in all areas of wireless data, (ESPECIALLY healthcare) then and only then can any manufacturer estimate future subscriber equipment demand based on replacement of current subscriber units. (I also grasp the age old problem of "we don't know how many we can sell until we know the price" as balanced with "we don't know the price until we know how many we can sell". . .) Perhaps the problem is that vendors and carriers are still too dazed by the end of the paging boom to adapt to being a very successful niche industry.

I think there is a fantastic opportunity for today's paging industry to score a major victory by retaining its grip on core healthcare, government, law enforcement, public safety and other related markets through,

a) addressing security issues and

b) AGGRESSIVELY educating users on the strategic advantages of paging networks over digital wireless tel networks. I also think this is a great opportunity to reinvigorate existing customer relationships between paging carriers and major subscribers, sell modern subscriber equipment, raise rates, get into long term instead of month-to-month agreements, and get at least some minor growth going to offset loss of individual subscribers.

But the wireless tel carriers are equally exposed on security and I fear they will gut the remaining core market base of the paging industry in the next couple of years. Why? Because they are committed to addressing security issues and because there is a widespread public perception that paging is an inferior technology simply because it is not the very latest.

You might also be interested by the following report and wish to share it with your readers—it is not about wireless text messaging per se, but among other things it demonstrates empirically how important security and privacy issues are becoming to ALL wireless users:

http://www.atkearney.com/shared_res/pdf/Mobinet_Extracts_2004_S.pdf

See especially the findings on security and privacy concerns and how they are depressing the use of wireless data services—the percentage of respondents who don't use the Internet more on Net-enabled mobile phones (worldwide) citing security and privacy worries, has more than tripled in less than two years! (From 7% to 22%, from June 2002 to April 2004 - Page 9)

My opinion: If we could zero in on US corporate/healthcare/government/law enforcement/public safety user statistics, I think we would find wireless security issues are a major depressant for increased uptake of wireless services. And thus my resolute belief that security is a central issue for all serious wireless users regardless of their market segment or network type. What I read in reports like this makes me think the market for secured wireless is ALL users, and this is why I believe all serious competition will take place among carriers touting secured wireless data networks within the next couple of years.

—Brian Gilmore

Ron and Brian's concerns are valid and I too believe we need to address the casual as well as the more critical concerns. This is and always has been a concern for our industry . . . we must have a solution. If we don't . . . it will be one more reason why history passed on this technology.

I believe Ron's concerns with the "cracking" of the messages are related to a simple scrambling algorithm. There are other methods that resolve this concern . . . but at what cost? And will it be reliable? We must have a solution that strikes the proper balance.

It is obvious to me that there is no easy and practical technical solution that allows the infrastructure to completely solve this problem. . .

My vision is that a balance of cost, complexity, security and reliability should be included in the solution and the adjustments left in the hands of the subscriber.

With one-way I believe the most practical solution is to either provide multiple algorithms or have one lightweight solution and allow the user to manually change the private key.

With the lightweight scheme. . . If the end user needs more security. . . they will feel the need to change the keys more frequently.

I can envision that the end user will use a standard browser and make a secure connection to the encryption server. They will change the key on the server and then manually change the key in the pager. A simple UI can be added to the pager or programming can be accomplished via a PC using a cradle or infrared interface.

We can also use separate phone number(s) and route only the important messages to the encryption server. (Let the user have input on the cost, complexity, security and reliability adjustments.)

Most importantly I believe the OTA scheme must allow the pager to decode the encrypted messages such that errors in the message will only affect small data blocks. i.e. one or more errors cannot render the balance of the message un-decodable.

It is imperative that we continue to utilize the artificial intelligent of the end user. . . Currently there is a lot of power in the end user's ability to interpret error'ed messages and ignore errors that land in unimportant areas of the message payload.

—Vaughan Bowden
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   972-898-1119

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acarle@ucom.com

Newsletter repair prices—starting at:

• $4.50 labor for numeric or alphanumeric pagers
• $6.50 labor for 2-way pagers
• $9.50 labor for cellular phones

**Special pricing on cellular and pager refurbishment**

Motorola Authorized Service Center for Paging and Cellular.

Ask for Special Newsletter Pricing.

Please call: (800) 222-6075 ext. 306 for pricing.

E-mail:	info@minilec.com  CLICK HERE
	Minilec Service, Inc. 9207 Deering Ave., Suite A Chatsworth, CA 91311

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

Advertise Here

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

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

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