Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging,

I really feel sorry for the young Apple employee who left a prototype of a new super-secret Apple iPhone in a California bar. The story follows below.

Have you noticed that the size of the newsletter is shrinking? Advertisers are dropping out. A sign of the times I guess. As the market goes — so goes the newsletter.

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Hubble just gets better with age

EMMA WOOLLACOTT
Fri 23rd Apr 2010
07:39 am

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrates its 20th birthday today with the release of another photo that could come straight from the cover of a 1970s prog rock album.

It shows a small portion of one of the largest known star-birth regions in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Three light-year-tall towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula.

The nebula is being eroded by a gusher of ultraviolet light from young stars in the region, sculpting the elaborate fantasy shapes.

The most striking feature is a 3.5- trillion-mile-long horizontal jet in the upper right of the picture. It's being blasted into space by a young star hidden in the tip of the pillar-like structure.

NASA’s longest-lived and most prolific space observatory was launched twenty years ago tomorrow aboard the space shuttle Discovery during the STS-31 mission. Its discoveries, says NASA, have revolutionized nearly all areas of current astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology.

It has observed more than 30,000 celestial targets and amassed more than a half-million pictures in its archive. The last astronaut servicing mission to Hubble in May 2009 made the telescope 100 times more powerful than when it was launched.

"Hubble is undoubtedly one of the most recognized and successful scientific projects in history," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Last year's space shuttle servicing mission left the observatory operating at peak capacity, giving it a new beginning for scientific achievements that impact our society."

NASA is also partnering with the Galaxy Zoo consortium of scientists to launch an Internet-based astronomy project where amateur astronomers can help divide the galaxies into categories. And it's creating an educational website called Celebrating Hubble’s 20th Anniversary.

[source]

Now on to more news and views.

Wireless Messaging News
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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 readers' comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the Paging, and Wireless Data communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it.

Editorial Opinion pieces present the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of AAPC, its publisher, or its sponsors.

Brad Dye, Ron Mercer, Allan Angus, and Vic Jackson are friends and colleagues who work both together and independently, on wireline and wireless communications projects. Click here  for a summary of their qualifications and experience. They collaborate on consulting assignments, and share the work according to their individual expertise and their schedules.

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Apple surpasses Microsoft's market cap — sort-of

Posted on Apr 22, 2010 5:15 pm
by Marco Tabini
Macworld.com

Apple has surpassed Microsoft’s market capitalization on Standard & Poor’s S&P 500 index, a move that makes Apple the second-largest company on that index behind only to energy giant Exxon Mobil—or so claims an article published today on the Marketwatch.com Website.

According to MarketWatch, Apple’s market capitalization as calculated by S&P rose today to $241.5 billion, thus topping Microsoft’s, which stood at $239.5 billion. The “market cap,” as this key financial metric is often called, represents the total value of all outstanding shares of a company—in other words, the number of shares times their price. That makes market capitalization an indicator of how much the markets think that a particular company is worth, rather than an objective measurement of a company's assets and liabilities.

The S&P 500 index, in particular, is based on a company's “float-adjusted” market cap—that is the value of all shares that are available on the market for sale at any given point in time. While that’s of particular interest to investors—who, after all, are looking to actively trade in a stock—this number doesn't include shares that are held by investors who are not interested in trading. And that makes a big difference: when all shares of both companies are taken into consideration, Microsoft’s full market cap still outstrips Apple's by $275 billion to $241 billion.

Why the difference? Perhaps it’s because investment circles consider Microsoft a stable company that makes sense as a long-term investment due to its more established nature; Apple, which is still growing aggressively, is looked upon as a slightly more speculative opportunity. This would explain why practically all the company’s shares are floating on the market—that is, Apple’s float-adjusted and full market caps are essentially the same.

Therefore, this milestone appears to be more psychological than anything. It's a bit like trying to decide who the richer of two people is based on the amount of cash they have in their wallets. Still, it’s a clear sign of the fact that the financial markets are responding well to Apple’s strategy for growth and innovation, which have led the company to the record revenues and profits announced in Tuesday’s quarterly earnings reports.

PAGING & WIRELESS
NETWORK PLANNERS LLC
WIRELESS SPECIALISTS

www.pagingplanners.com
rmercer@pagingplanners.com

R.H. (Ron) Mercer Consultant 217 First Street South East Northport, NY 11731
Cell Phone: 631-786-9359

Tele-Page "Answers the Call" With a National 3-1-1 Campaign Launch

MONTREAL, QUEBEC—(Marketwire - April 20, 2010) — Tele-Page, a forty year old, multi award winning call center and paging company, has launched a national campaign, with the slogan, "Answer the Call" which asks municipalities to implement 3-1-1 response services for the citizens of their communities.

Tele-Page has earned their reputation as technical innovators renowned for their unyielding approach to customer service excellence.

"The primary reason for the creation of the 3-1-1 program was to eliminate non-urgent calls being received by the 9-1-1 emergency service which is intended for fire, ambulance and police, when every second counts. Research has indicated that as many as two thirds of the calls received by 9-1-1 are of a non life-threatening nature", said Gary Blair, President of Tele-Page.

3-1-1 provides citizens with an easy 24-hour number that they can call for a wide variety of important, but non-urgent issues such as: Non-functioning traffic lights, noise complaints and dead animal removal, to name a few. 3-1-1 is also a useful resource for information about city services such as garbage removal schedules, road detours and library openings etc.

"After the first MRC service was implemented, we realized that many municipalities had not yet adopted 3-1-1 services for their citizens. It was clear that the timing was right to address this issue through a campaign to connect directly with MRC's", Blair stated.

"Since Tele-Page provides the only turn-key 3-1-1 call center service in Canada, we can support municipalities in their goals to implement this valuable 3-1-1 service for their communities in a way that will be both time and cost-efficient for MRC's", Added Blair.

"In order to draw their attention to our "Answer the Call" 3-1-1 campaign, we created a dynamic package, personalized to each recipient at the municipality. The package contains a personalized web address that when activated, each individual who logs onto the website receives a personal audio and visual greeting. As well, there are videos on the website, from various individuals at Tele-Page, highlighting the many ways in which we can serve municipalities through the implementation of the 3-1-1 service. We hope that our somewhat "out of the box" approach will capture the attention of municipalities and inspire them to think about 3-1-1."

Gary Blair summarized with this statement: "We look forward to the results of our campaign, and are confident that municipalities will seize the opportunity to provide improved 9-1-1 service in their communities through the implementation of 3-1-1."

To learn more about Tele-Page and their "Answer the Call" 3-1-1 campaign, please visit www.311-tele-page.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redmond, WA, April 14, 2010 — With its recent installation of Zetron’s Series 4000 Communication Control System with Integrator RD consoles and Series 3300 VoIP Call-Taking System, the Humphreys County 9-1-1 Center, in Waverly, Tennessee, is now ready to meet critical challenges that are facing public safety answering points (PSAPs) throughout the country. Not only are they equipped to meet upcoming narrowbanding deadlines for radio and to address Next-Generation 9-1-1 standards, but their Zetron dispatch consoles are able to connect to the area’s PassPort trunking system.

“Our Homeland Security district’s PassPort trunking system will make us interoperable with everyone in the district,” says Humphreys County 9-1-1 Director, Bobby Brown. “With the FCC mandate, everyone has to go to narrowbanding. But our PassPort system gives us additional capabilities; we won’t be limited to narrowbanding conventionals.”

According to Brown, cost effectiveness, reliability, and ease of use were among their top reasons for choosing Zetron equipment. “We considered other systems,” he says. “But for the price we’d pay for other companies’ 9-1-1 equipment alone, we could purchase both the Zetron 9-1-1 and radio dispatch systems. We also knew from experience that the Zetron equipment would provide the ease of use, reliability, and capabilities we want.”

Zetron’s Series 3300 supports IP-based administrative phones with fully integrated voicemail. This also resulted in major cost savings for Humphreys County 9-1-1.

“With the Series 3300, we have a new admin phone system that is up to date, offers more options and range, and isn’t nearly as expensive as a new, separate phone system would nave been,” says Brown.

About Zetron
For over 25 years, Zetron has been providing mission-critical communication solutions for customers in public safety, transportation, utilities, manufacturing, healthcare, and business. With offices in Redmond, Washington, U.S.A.; Hampshire, England; Brisbane, Australia; and numerous field locations, Zetron supports a worldwide network of authorized resellers and distributors. This gives Zetron a global reach as well as a local presence in the regions it serves. Zetron is a wholly owned subsidiary within JK Holdings, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.zetron.com.

Zetron, Inc. • PO Box 97004 • Redmond, WA 98073-9704
Phone: (425) 820-6363 • Fax: (425) 820-7031

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One hundred iPads set for deployment at Calif. hospital

Posted on Apr 21, 2010 9:46 am by Jon Brodkin, Network World

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Network World.

Just like the iPhone, Apple’s iPad is a consumer device but also a tempting purchase for many business users. And the business case for the iPad may be nowhere as clear as it is in healthcare, a multi-billion dollar industry and one of the world’s largest consumers of information technology.

Nick Volosin, director of technical services at Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia, Calif., immediately saw the potential of putting the iPad in the hands of healthcare workers, who use a variety of medical imaging applications, are often moving from location to location, and don’t want to be tethered to a device with poor battery life. Volosin bought three iPads for testing and plans to deploy more than 100 within the next two months or so.

In addition to usual office applications such as e-mail, health care workers will use the iPads to look at X-ray images, EKG results and various other patient monitoring programs, all delivered using Citrix virtual desktop and application delivery software.

“Everywhere we go, it definitely has a wow factor,” Volosin says. But more importantly, the iPad can replace the laptop for many employees, particularly home healthcare and hospice workers, and offer a 10-hour battery life. For Kaweah, the iPad will boost efficiency simply by eliminating time wasted turning laptops on and off and charging batteries between appointments.

While a consumer might hem and haw about whether the $500 iPad is worth the price, Volosin views it as a reasonable cost compared to standard laptops. While the iPad might cost more than a thin client, the $500 is affordable compared to some specialized touchscreen tablets used by hospitals, which might cost $3,000 each, he says.

While the three iPads purchased by Volosin are only being used for testing and demonstrations at the moment, about 20 doctors at Kaweah have purchased their own, including Kidney Specialist Dr. Roger Haley.

“This is going to make my day easier and patient safety better,” Haley said during an interview with a local ABC news station. “Now, I don’t have to find a workstation to do what I need to do; I do it right there, right then, right now.”

While doctors are buying their own, Volosin has ordered 100 iPads for hospital employees, which will be used by home health and hospice care workers, nurses, dietitians and pharmacists.

Ordering such a large amount of iPads from Apple was a bit tricky. Apple’s ordering system automatically canceled Volosin’s purchase, informing him that he could not order more than three. Volosin got the issue straightened out over the phone this week.

“They were limiting people form ordering too many, which I thought was interesting,” he says. “They’re used to dealing with consumers and not bulk orders.”

Volosin also plans to test out the 3G iPads to see if the performance justifies the extra price and monthly payments.

The Kaweah Delta Health Care District consists of five sites, including the main hospital, a dialysis center, a nursing facility, and rehab and mental health hospitals. The IT team supports up to 6,500 users, including physicians and all employees, using Citrix XenApp to deliver virtual desktops and applications. In the data center, Kaweah has 350 servers, about 70% of which are virtual, and 260TB of EMC storage.

Volosin was already delivering desktops and apps to iPhones using the Citrix Receiver software, and extending the Citrix deployment to iPads was relatively simple, he says.

“We’re giving users full access to a full virtual desktop,” Volosin says. “They can run anything we can run internally.”

The Citrix technology lets users maintain desktop sessions across different devices, for example switching from an iPhone to a desktop or thin client as the need arises. “Citrix allows us to have that flexibility,” Volosin says. “We don’t really care about the device. The device is what works best for you.”

FCC Launches USF Reform With Broadband NOI, NPRM

The FCC, at today’s open meeting, took its first step toward a transformation of the Universal Service Fund (USF) from supporting networks providing plain old telephone service (POTS) into what it called “an effective and efficient tool” for making affordable, high-quality broadband communications service available to all Americans.

The National Broadband Plan that the Commission sent to Congress last month identified the need for comprehensive universal service reform that does not unnecessarily burden consumers. Today’s Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) begin the work of implementing the Plan’s recommendations, which include cutting inefficiencies in existing support of voice services and creating a Connect America Fund (CAF) that directly supports broadband without increasing the size of the Universal Service Fund over the current baseline projection.

The NOI asks for public comment on the use of an economic model to precisely target support for areas where there is no private-sector business case for carriers to provide broadband and voice services. The economic model developed in the Plan estimates the gap between the cost of deploying broadband services to Americans living in unserved areas and the potential additional revenue generated from the broadband investment. The NOI seeks comment on how that model could be adapted to determine efficient levels of universal service support to provide all Americans with broadband access.

The NOI also seeks comment on how to quickly provide consumers in unserved areas with broadband access while the Commission is considering final rules to implement fully the new CAF funding mechanism.

The NPRM seeks comments on a number of proposals to cut legacy universal service spending in high-cost areas and to shift support to broadband communications. These proposals include capping the overall size of the high-cost program at 2010 levels; re-examining the current regulatory framework for smaller carriers in light of competition and growth in unregulated revenues; and phasing out support for multiple competitors in areas where the market cannot support even one provider.

At our deadline, the text of the WC Docket No. 10-90 items had not been released.

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC Clarifies Non-Rural USF Support Definitions In Its Response To Court Remand

In 2005, the 10^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver remanded the FCC’s rules regarding high-cost universal service support to non-rural carriers. Although a number of parties have asked the Commission to use this proceeding to consider comprehensive universal service reform, the FCC intends to consider such reform in separate proceedings. As a result, the scope of the current Order on Remand and Memorandum Opinion and Order responding to the 10^th Circuit is narrow.

The 10^th Circuit directed the Commission to address three issues. First, the court held that, in order to demonstrate that the Commission has met its statutory obligation to provide “sufficient” universal service support, the Commission “must articulate a definition of ‘sufficient’ that appropriately considers the range of principles” that Congress established in section 254(b). Second, to ensure that the existing support mechanism produces “reasonably comparable” rural and urban rates (as the Communications Act requires), the Commission “must define the term ‘reasonably comparable’ in a manner that comports with its concurrent duties to preserve and advance universal service.” Third, the Commission must “craft a support mechanism taking into account all the factors that Congress identified in drafting the Act and its statutory obligation to preserve and advance universal service.”

This Order on Remand responds to the court’s directive. First, the FCC defines “sufficient” under section 254(e) of the Communications Act as an affordable and sustainable amount of support that is adequate, but no greater than necessary, to achieve the goals of the universal service program. The FCC concludes that the current non-rural high-cost support mechanism, in conjunction with the Commission’s other universal service programs, provides sufficient support to achieve the universal service principles set forth in section 254(b).

Second, the FCC finds that rural rates are “reasonably comparable” to urban rates if they fall within a reasonable range of the national average urban rate. The Commission concludes that the current non-rural support mechanism produces rates that preserve and advance universal service.

Third, the Commission concludes, on the basis of undisputed empirical evidence in the record, that the current non-rural high-cost support mechanism comports with the requirements of section 254.

The FCC further finds that it would not serve the public interest to undertake broad reform of the non-rural high-cost support mechanism in this proceeding. The proposals for reform would substantially increase the size of the universal service fund, and, consequently, the contribution burden shouldered by consumers. Because the current non-rural support mechanism satisfies section 254 of the Act, and because the Commission will soon consider the National Broadband Plan’s recommendation to phase out the existing high-cost universal service support program, including the current non-rural high-cost universal service support mechanism, as part of comprehensive universal service reform, the FCC declines to make changes to the non-rural high-cost support mechanism in this proceeding.

In a separate Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC granted, with modifications, the joint petition filed by the Wyoming Public Service Commission and the Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate for supplemental high-cost universal service support for rural residential customers of Qwest, Wyoming’s non-rural incumbent local exchange carrier. Consistent with Commission requirements for requests for additional support under the current non-rural mechanism, the FCC held that the Wyoming petitioners had established that Wyoming’s rural rates are not reasonably comparable to urban rates nationwide and that Wyoming has taken all practicable steps to achieve reasonable comparability through state action and existing federal support. Thus, the FCC found that the Wyoming petitioners have demonstrated that supplemental high-cost support is required under the current non-rural high-cost support mechanism to achieve reasonably comparable rates.

BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

NTIA Extends Round 2 BTOP Comment Date Until May 10

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that broadband service providers wishing voluntarily to provide information on the services they provide in the proposed funded service areas of any of the submitted Comprehensive Community Infrastructure (CCI) projects for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) will have until 5 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2010. Thus, the window is now open on challenges to BTOP Round 2 applications, and the clock is ticking. This does not apply to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) applications, which will be posted in a separate notice.

Such BTOP information should include the broadband services they currently offer in their respective service territories by Census block group or tract. This comment period adds 10 days to the 15-day period originally provided in the BTOP Notice of Funds Availability for the second funding round (Second NOFA). Clients that would like our assistance in evaluating Round 2 proposals and preparing responses can contact Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak and John Prendergast.

FCC TAKES STEPS TO PROMOTE NATIONWIDE MOBILE CONNECTIVITY: The FCC, at today’s open meeting, adopted an Order on Reconsideration that enhances mobile voice service through roaming agreements that provide consumers with access to other carriers’ networks. Also in a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission seeks input on whether to extend roaming obligations to data services, such as mobile broadband and Internet access services. The Order on Reconsideration expands the availability of mobile voice services by eliminating a home roaming exclusion that the Commission found in many circumstances discouraged, rather than encouraged, facilities-based competition. By eliminating the exclusion, the Order encourages carriers of all sizes to reach commercially reasonable voice roaming agreements, and promotes competition, fosters innovation and empowers consumers, while creating a fair process for the Commission to handle disputes that may arise in an expedited and equitable manner. The Order on Reconsideration also affirms that carriers must provide push-to-talk roaming upon reasonable request. The Commission will address any disputes on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the totality of the circumstances presented to determine whether requiring a roaming agreement would best further the public interest goals. In the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission opens a new phase in its examination of data roaming, seeking comment on whether to extend roaming obligations to data services such as mobile broadband and Internet access services. A more detailed and updated record will assist the Commission in developing policies for broadband data roaming that can encourage carriers to build out new networks and better ensure that consumers have access to mobile data networks anywhere in the United States. The texts of these WT Docket No. 05-265 items were not available at our deadline. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Cary Mitchell.

FCC OPENS INQUIRY INTO SURVIVABILITY OF BROADBAND NETWORKS: At today’s open meeting, the FCC launched an inquiry on the ability of existing broadband networks to withstand significant damage or severe overloads as a result of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics or other major public emergencies, as recommended in the National Broadband Plan. Although core broadband networks are generally presumed to be quite resilient, there may be weaknesses closer to the network edge. Accordingly, today’s Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeks comment, analysis and information on the present state of the resiliency and redundancy of broadband networks to withstand physical damage and severe network overload. This is a vitally important first step in ensuring that the FCC can take all necessary actions to ensure ongoing broadband communications in times of disaster or crisis. The NOI includes the following questions related to the resiliency of broadband networks:

• What are the major single points of failure in broadband architectures?
• What measures do communications providers already take to minimize the potential for single points of failure?
• What provisions are made by communications providers to ensure the survivability of cell sites relied on by first responders?
• What are the most effective and widely deployed physical security best practices?
• Should traffic to and from critical emergency response agencies and for critical services be prioritized on the networks during emergencies?
• What steps have been taken to ensure redundancy and diversity of physical network links to hardware?
• Is the capacity of residential access networks sufficient to handle sudden surges or overloads in traffic during, for example, a pandemic emergency?
• What network management practices are in place to handle overloads during emergencies?

The FCC says it looks forward to reviewing the record and exploring how best to further improve and secure America’s broadband infrastructure into the future. The deadline for comments on the issues presented by the PS Docket No. 10-92 NOI will be 45 days and reply comments 75 days after publication in the Federal Register. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

FCC DECLINES TO ADOPT NEW HIGH-COST SUPPORT MECHANISM FOR NON-RURAL INSULAR AREAS; ISSUES NPRM ON PUERTO RICO USF PROGRAMS: The FCC has concluded that dramatic increases in telephone subscribership in Puerto Rico over the last several years make it unnecessary to adopt a new high-cost support mechanism for non-rural insular carriers as proposed by Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC). In 2005, the Commission considered creating a separate high-cost universal service support mechanism for non-rural insular areas. At that time, telephone subscribership in Puerto Rico (a non-rural insular area) was 73.8 percent, far below the national average of 94.8 percent. By 2008 – the most recent year for which data are available – subscribership in Puerto Rico had jumped to 91.9 percent. During the same period, Puerto Rico has experienced significant growth in disbursements from federal universal service support programs due in large part to changes the Commission made to its rules. Total high-cost support for Puerto Rico has risen from less than $140 million in 1998 to more than $215 million in 2008, an increase of nearly 54 percent, and low-income support has jumped from $1.16 million in 2001 to $23.4 million in 2008. Although subscription rates in Puerto Rico are still lower than the national average (98.2 percent in 2008), the substantial growth in universal service support and the commensurate increase in telephone subscribership represent significant changed circumstances since the FCC issued the NPRM in 2005. In light of these positive developments, the FCC finds that the existing non-rural high-cost support mechanism, operating in conjunction with the Commission’s other universal service programs, is successfully increasing telephone subscribership in Puerto Rico and satisfies the requirements of section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), with respect to Puerto Rico. Telephone subscribership in Puerto Rico is not yet at the same level as in the mainland United States, but the data indicates that the gap is closing rapidly and may well be eliminated entirely in the near future. The Commission, moreover, recently adopted a Joint Statement on Broadband that recommends comprehensive reform of universal service, and delivered to Congress a National Broadband Plan that recommends, among other things, transitioning legacy high-cost universal service support to a new high–cost program that would support broadband as well as voice services. The FCC believes that the public would be best served by focusing on comprehensive universal service reform, rather than developing a new non-rural insular high-cost support mechanism within the existing legacy universal service system. Therefore, in the companion Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FCC addresses this situation and proposes targeted rule changes to help eligible consumers in Puerto Rico take better advantage of existing universal service low-income support programs. Specifically, the FCC asks whether it should provide additional Link-Up support to help offset special construction charges incurred by consumers when facilities must be built to provide them with access to voice telephone service. By removing a remaining impediment to affordable voice telephone service, the FCC would hope to further close the gap in telephone subscribership between the Commonwealth and non-insular areas. Comments in this WC Docket No. 05-337, CC Docket 96-45, and WC Docket No. 03-109 proceeding will be due 30 days after publication of the item in the Federal Register, and replies will be due 15 days thereafter. BloostonLaw contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Mary Sisak.

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON INTRODUCTION OF CAP ALERTING PROTOCOL TO EAS: The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) seeks informal comment regarding what, if any, changes to the Commission's rules governing the Emergency Alert System (EAS) might be necessitated by the introduction of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) deployment of its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). CAP is an open, interoperable, data interchange format for collecting and distributing all-hazard safety notifications and emergency warnings to multiple information networks, public safety alerting systems, and personal communications devices. In conjunction with appropriate alert transmission architectures, CAP will allow FEMA, the National Weather Service (NWS), a State Governor, or any other authorized initiator of a public alert and warning to automatically format and geo-target a particular alert simultaneously to the public over multiple media platforms such as television radio, cable, cell phones and electronic highway signs. CAP will also allow an alert initiator to send alerts specifically formatted for people with disabilities and for non-English speakers. Comments in this EB Docket No. 04-296 proceeding are due May 17, and replies are due June 14. BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, John Prendergast, and Richard Rubino.

GENACHOWSKI SAYS FCC HAS AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN: In his testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said: “Notwithstanding the decision last week in the Comcast case, I am confident that the Commission has the authority it needs to implement the broadband plan. Whatever flaws may have existed in the specific actions and reasoning before the court in that case, I believe that the Communications Act — as amended in 1996 — enables the Commission to, for example, reform universal service to connect everyone to broadband communications, including in rural areas and Native American communities; help connect schools and rural health clinics to broadband; take steps to ensure that we lead the world in mobile; promote competition; support robust use of broadband by small businesses to drive productivity, growth, job creation and on-going innovation; protect and empower all consumers of broadband communications, including thorough transparency and disclosure to help make the market work; safeguard consumer privacy; work to increase broadband adoption in all communities and ensure fair access for people with disabilities; help protect broadband communications networks against cyber attack and other disasters; and ensure that all broadband users can reach 911 in an emergency.” BloostonLaw contacts: Hal Mordkofsky, Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and John Prendergast.

This newsletter is not intended to provide legal advice. Those interested in more information should contact the firm.

NEWS FLASH — SATELLITE FAILURES

• January 11, 1997—Telstar 401 suffers a short in the satellite circuitry—TOTAL LOSS May 19, 1998—Galaxy 4 control processor causes loss of fixed orbit—TOTAL LOSS September 19, 2003—Telstar 4 suffers loss of its primary power bus—TOTAL LOSS March 17, 2004—PAS-6 suffers loss of power—TOTAL LOSS
• January 14, 2005—Intelsat 804 suffers electrical power system anomaly—TOTAL LOSS

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Bluetooth 4.0 spec gets finalized

by Lance Whitney
c-net news
April 21, 2010 9:07 AM PDT

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has completed its promising specification for Bluetooth 4.0, though we'll have to wait until the end of the year to buy devices that use the new technology.

Announcing the completion of Bluetooth 4.0 at its all-hands meeting in Seattle on Tuesday, the Bluetooth SIG is touting the spec for its ability to work with low-energy devices, such as watches and health sensors. But Bluetooth 4.0 will also provide higher speeds for peripherals to communicate with mobile phones, computers, and other gadgets.
First unveiled last December, Bluetooth 4.0 actually offers three specifications in one, all of which can work individually or in tandem, according to the Bluetooth SIG. Classic Bluetooth is the familiar standard that wirelessly connects peripherals with other devices at a speed of around 3 megabits per second (Mbps).

Low-energy Bluetooth technology will be used to connect low-power devices, such as watches and pedometers, that need to run for a year or more on the same small coin-cell battery. High-speed Bluetooth will use 802.11g Wi-Fi to carry its signal and could offer ranges as far as 200 feet and transfer rates comparable to those of current Wi-Fi standards. High-speed Bluetooth should deliver enough oomph to let us transfer our video, music, and photos between our phones, cameras, computers, and TVs.

The Bluetooth SIG seems especially keen on the new spec's ability to support medical, health, and fitness devices. For example, Bluetooth 4.0 could communicate with sensors used in pedometers or glucose monitors, explained the SIG, thereby saving power, cost, and space in those devices. Watches using Bluetooth 4.0 could collect information from fitness sensors connected to someone's body and send that data to a phone or PC.

"Bluetooth v4.0 throws open the doors to a host of new markets for Bluetooth manufacturers and products such as watches, remote controls, and a variety of medical and in-home sensors," said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG, in a statement. "Many of these products run on button-cell batteries that must last for years versus hours and will also benefit from the longer range enabled by this new version of the Bluetooth specification."

Manufacturers of Bluetooth products have until the end of June to test the new specification and start integrating it into their products. As a result, cool new devices running Bluetooth 4.0 won't be ready for us to buy until the end of the year or the beginning of 2011.

Intelligent Solutions for Paging & Wireless Data

WiPath manufactures a wide range of highly unique and innovative hardware and software solutions in paging and mobile data for:

• Emergency Mass Alert & Messaging Emergency Services Communications Utilities Job Management Telemetry and Remote Switching Fire House Automation
• Load Shedding and Electrical Services Control

PDT3000 Paging Data Terminal

• FLEX & POCSAG Built-in POCSAG encoder Huge capcode capacity Parallel, 2 serial ports, 4 relays
• Message & system monitoring

Paging Controlled Moving Message LED Displays

• Variety of sizes Indoor/outdoor
• Integrated paging receiver

PDR3000/PSR3000 Paging Data Receivers

• Highly programmable, off-air decoders Message Logging & remote control Multiple I/O combinations and capabilities
• Network monitoring and alarm reporting

Specialized Paging Solutions

• Emergency Mass Alerting Remote telemetry switching & control Fire station automation PC interfacing and message management Paging software and customized solutions Message interception, filtering, redirection, printing & logging Cross band repeating, paging coverage infill, store and forward
• Alarm interfaces, satellite linking, IP transmitters, on-site systems

Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

Contact
Postal Address:	WiPath Communications LLC 4845 Dumbbarton Court Cumming, GA 30040
Street Address:	4845 Dumbbarton Court Cumming, GA 30040
Web site:	www.wipath.com CLICK
E-mail:	info@wipath.com CLICK
Phone:	770-844-6218
Fax:	770-844-6574
WiPath Communications

 SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:
www.preferredwireless.com/equipment CLICK HERE

Too Much To List • Call or E-Mail

Preferred Wireless Rick McMichael 888-429-4171 rickm@preferredwireless.com CLICK HERE www.preferredwireless.com/equipment OR HERE

Paging Infrastructure Equipment For Sale

1 MOTOROLA SPECTRA TAC
2 MOTOROLA Q1404 D
3 MOTOROLA MICOR TX LINK TX 75.290 RX 72.720
4 MOTOROLA PURC 5000 931.4875
5 GLENAYRE 8500 POWER AMP
6 MOTOROLA NUCLEUS T5482C
7 GLENAYRE 8500 WITH C2000
8 GLENAYRE 8500 WITH C2000
9 MOTOROLA JZB 1101B 454.375 RX 72.300
10 MOTOROLA PURC 5000 158.100 RX 75.54
11 DB PRODUCTS DB 8104-110BW 50-88 MHZ
12 MOTOROLA SPECTRA TAC
13 MOTOROLA NUCLEUS T5482C
14 PURC 5000 Advanced Control for Micor PURC Paging Station Model #'s -T53223A/ T5316A
15 MOTOROLA C-NET CONTROLLERS 60 UNITS

GL Equipment for Sale

We have 1 GL3000/L and 1 GL3000/XL available, all where in operational status when they where shut down do to the sale of the business. Listed below are the specs for each terminal.

The XL, nicknamed Chicago is a vs 6.1. It is a 3 cabinet unit. It has 400k sub database in centi-record format, with the following cards:

8-140-3200 5V Converter, 3-140-3210 12V Converters, 1-140-0766 Alarm, 1-Floppy, 2-148.0729 128 mbyte optical disk drive, 5-148.0729, 2200 MBYTE Drive (I believe one drive may not work, that is why I think there is 5 instead of 4), 1-148-0719 Shelf Power card, 1-2000.2071 CPU-060+ 60/128MB, 1-140-1759 Switch+Clock, 1-2000.00570 NET/BMIC, 3-140-1099 SIO cards, 2-140-1867 SCSI-2 cards, 11-140-2012 ECIF cards, 12-140-1206 DT-DSI Cards, 2-140-1955 Digital OutPut, 1-140-1642-CPT, 3-140-0868 UOE, 14-140-1857 QVSB

The Second L nicknamed Nash:

GL3000L — good, working condition
Power Supply 120v to 48v, Software Version 6.1, 500,000 sub database centi-records, (4) 2.2 gb drives, Cards: 18 QVBS, 1 CPT, 15 DT-DS1 T1 cards, 2 digital out cards, 1 mb-12, 4 2200 mbyte drives, 1 floppy, 1 optical, CPU-060 50/32mb, Switch +clock, 32 ram +, 16mb ram, Net-360 33/32 mb, 3 SIO, 2 SCSI-2, 6 ecifs, 4 5 volt conv., 2 12 volt conv.

Please contact the seller directly for more information, prices, and additional photos. Contact information follows below.

Easy Solutions provides cost effective computer and wireless solutions at affordable prices. We can help in most any situation with your communications systems. We have many years of experience and a vast network of resources to support the industry, your system and an ever changing completive landscape.

Experts in Paging Infrastructure
Glenayre, Motorola, Unipage, etc.
Excellent Service Contracts
Full Service—Beyond Factory Support
Contracts for Glenayre and other Systems starting at $100
Making systems More Reliable and MORE PROFITABLE for over 28 years.

Please see our web site for exciting solutions designed specifically for the Wireless Industry. We also maintain a diagnostic lab and provide important repair and replacement parts services for Motorola and Glenayre equipment. Call or e-mail us for more information.

Easy Solutions
3220 San Simeon Way
Plano, Texas 75023
Vaughan Bowden
Telephone: 972-898-1119
Website: www.EasySolutions4You.com CLICK
E-mail: vaughan@easysolutions4you.com

Wireless Communication Solutions

USB Paging Encoder

• Single channel up to eight zones
• Connects to Linux computer via USB
• Programmable timeouts and batch sizes
• Supports 2-tone, 5/6-tone, POCSAG 512/1200/2400, GOLAY
• Supports Tone Only, Voice, Numeric, and Alphanumeric
• PURC or direct connect
• Pictured version mounts in 5.25" drive bay
• Other mounting options available
• Available as a daughter board for our embedded Internet Paging Terminal (IPT)

Paging Data Receiver (PDR)

• Frequency agile - only one receiver to stock
• USB or RS-232 interface
• Two contact closures
• End-user programmable w/o requiring special hardware
• 16 capcodes
• POCSAG
• Eight contact closure version also available
• Product customization available

Other products

• Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.

Contact

Hark Technologies 717 Old Trolley Rd Ste 6 #163 Summerville, SC 29485

Tel: 843-821-6888

Fax: 843-821-6894

E-mail: sales@harktech.com CLICK HERE

Web: http://www.harktech.com CLICK HERE

For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal

By MIGUEL HELFT and NICK BILTON
The New York Times
Published: April 19, 2010

For anyone who has ever lost a cellphone, remember this: it could be worse. You could be the person who left his phone in a bar in California. And it wasn't just any phone; it was a super-secret version of the next iPhone. That model is not expected to be formally unveiled for a couple of months.

For the people at Apple, it must be like a bad version of the guy walks into a bar joke.

The company is known as the most secretive in Silicon Valley, and leaks are rare. But after the phone prototype was left in a bar in the Silicon Valley town of Redwood City, photos of the device began appearing over the weekend in technology blogs, sparking a frenzy of hype among the Apple-obsessed.

Before long, pictures of the product appeared on Gizmodo, a technology news site, whose editors ripped it apart — as if it were an alien from another planet — to dissect its features. The Web site said late Monday that the phone belonged to an Apple engineer.

The phone’s authenticity was hotly debated, but most bloggers concluded it was real. And a person with knowledge of Apple’s hardware plans who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company confirmed to The New York Times that it was real.

Apple declined to comment.

“It is very stunning,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, who has been following Apple for nearly three decades. “Apple has such tight control on new products, and they are kept under wraps diligently and religiously until the day of their release. If it is true, it is really a first.”

Some wondered whether the phone was planted by Apple’s formidable publicity machine.

“For the sake of the person who dropped it, I hope this is a devious marketing scheme,” said Paul Saffo, a veteran Silicon Valley forecaster. “But I think it is unlikely. There is no one else on the planet whose shoes I would less like to be in it at the moment.”

In a blog post on Monday detailing how it obtained the phone, Gizmodo said it was left by an iPhone software engineer at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City.

The person who found the phone peddled it to Gizmodo, which bought it for $5,000, Nick Denton, chief executive of Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, said by instant message.

His company’s sites have had a longstanding practice of paying for scoops, and the windfall was tangible. Traffic spiked on Monday, and at midday more than one million visitors stopped by the site in one hour to see pictures of the coveted gadget.

By late in the day, reports began to surface on the Internet that Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, had called Gizmodo to get the device back. Mr. Denton declined to comment, saying any conversation between Mr. Jobs and Gizmodo would most likely have been off the record.

“We haven’t had any formal communication with Apple,” he said. Brian Lam, the editor in chief of Gizmodo, said his publication would “probably” return the device to Apple.

From the front, it looks similar to the current iPhone, but it has sharper edges and is a little thinner. The volume and power buttons are stylistically different, and the back of the phone appears to be a ceramic glass, which would enable better reception. That would address a persistent problem that has plagued the iPhone since its inception three years ago.

Late Monday night, Gizmodo said that it received a letter from Bruce Sewell, Apple’s senior vice president and general counsel, requesting the phone back. “It has come to our attention that Gizmodo is currently in possession of a device that belongs to Apple,” Mr. Sewell wrote in a letter that Gizmodo published.

“This letter constitutes a formal request that you return the device to Apple,” the letter said.

From: Christopher Loycano
Subject: Re: two old Skytel transmitters
Date: April 15, 2010 3:39:18 PM CDT
To: Brad Dye

Brad,

Sorry, I was trying to get someone to come by and give me a better idea of what I had.

I have a used Destineer cabinet from SkyTel. It was left running at a site and the owner asked me to remove it.

I have pictures but had a hard time finding any model numbers.

Here are some pictures.

Chris

broadcasttower@comcast.net

Please contact the seller directly using the e-mail link above for more information and prices.

From: Paul Delong
Date: March 31, 2010 12:58:20 PM CDT
To: brad@braddye.com
Subject: sale or trade
Reply-To: pdelong@ekn.com

Brad,

Appalachian Wireless has several Kantronics FC-2000 TNPP controllers to sell or trade.

Paul DeLong
pdelong@ekn.com

Please contact the seller directly using the e-mail link above for more information and prices.

Reasons to Believe in a Supreme Being

Four Classic Arguments for the Existence of God

1. Argument from Motion — There is motion in the universe. Since an object cannot move itself, something or someone had to initiate the motion. This can either be accomplished by an external force acting on the object or by an outside force placing within the object the internal means to initiate motion. Once a person acknowledges this fact, he or she has admitted into the equation the existence of an external, supernatural force – i.e., the "Prime Mover," as Aristotle posited.
2. Cosmological Argument — For every effect, there is a cause. Though refined and popularized by famous Christian thinker, Thomas Aquinas, this argument (also called the "First Cause" argument) goes back to Plato and Aristotle. It is based on the scientific and (frankly) common sense observation that the origin of the universe, expansion of the universe, origin of life, origin of consciousness, etc. are all "effects" and these effects require a cause. Such a cause would, of necessity, have to be outside of nature. It would thus be supernatural.
3. Argument from Design — As with the cosmological argument, aspects of the design argument (also known as the teleological argument) were inspired by Plato and Aristotle. Later picked up by Christian thinkers Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, the teleological argument holds that there is an observable order or design in the universe (albeit the order is not always perfect or flawless). The presence of such design demands the existence of a Designer.
4. Moral Argument — Made famous by philosopher Immanuel Kant, this argument centers on the summum bonum ("Highest Good"). The Highest Good is where moral virtue and happiness coincide at their fullest. Humanity, it is observed, always strives for this higher plane of existence, and yet is never able to achieve it. According to Kant, the desire human beings have for happiness as well as moral fairness and justice proves that someone (namely God) planted this desire in their soul. Kant's argument echoes similar claims made by the Apostle Paul (see Romans 1-2).

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